Hard Rockers Metallica Get Touchy-Feely

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - After two decades as one of the biggest hard rock bands in history, the members of Metallica took the most radical step of their career.

They sat down a few years back and got to know each other.

With the band teetering on the brink, the staunch defenders of bone-crunching heavy metal brought in a therapist who inspired them to share their feelings, hug each other and even resolve issues going back to their childhoods.

Such heartwarming moments play out on "Oprah" every other day, but Metallica didn't sell 80 million records by adopting a warm, cuddly persona. The band became huge through grim anthems like "Creeping Death" and "Seek & Destroy." Onstage, it projected invincibility, pummeling fans with symphonic power.

"St. Anger" (Elektra), Metallica's first studio album since 1997's "Re-Load," set for release the week of June 9, reveals a vulnerable side to the newly enlightened musicians, says drummer Lars Ulrich.

To fans who might worry that the band has lived too long in the liberal bastion of San Francisco, Ulrich told Reuters: "If people don't like the fact that that's what it is now, then at least respect it and then walk away from it gracefully."

That's what bass player Jason Newsted did in early 2001. He stunned the group by quitting after 14 frustrating years during which he was prevented from working on outside projects and also bullied by bandmates grieving his predecessor, Cliff Burton, who died in a 1986 tour bus crash.

"RADICAL CHANGE"

"In retrospect, it's amazing that he lasted 14 years," Ulrich said during an interview at Metallica's headquarters in San Rafael, north of San Francisco. "But what he did was he forced us to take a look at the way we were doing things, and it was very clear that ... in order for this band to have a future and to continue doing something under the Metallica banner, there had to be radical, radical change."

Enter Phil Towle, a performance coach who specializes in getting members of sports teams to get along. But exit singer/guitarist James Hetfield, who spent several weeks that year in alcohol rehab and seemed poised never to return.

Since Ulrich and Hetfield, now both 39, co-founded Metallica in 1981, the two have battled each other for control of the band. The turf war pitted the leonine Hetfield, a shy big-game hunter, against the diminutive Danish-born Ulrich, a self-confessed control freak, whose controversial stand against music piracy enraged fans who like their music for free.

Normally, Hetfield's absence would have allowed Ulrich to grab power. But Towle taught the band -- which also includes 40-year-old lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and Newsted's recent replacement, Robert Trujillo -- to work as a collective.

"We don't spend half our energy now fighting for pole position because now we actually have found a new way of communicating and talking to each other and sitting down and considering other points of view," Ulrich said.

"The whole thing was completely adhered to in the recording of this record, and pretty much all the decisions."

Ulrich and Hetfield were solely responsible for most of Metallica's songs in the past. This time they shared the credit on all of "St. Anger" with Hammett and longtime producer Bob Rock, who filled in on bass.

All the songs were created during lengthy jam sessions at Metallica's headquarters. No one was allowed to bring in any material of his own. After each session, Ulrich and Rock sat at the computer, molding the best bits into songs.

Primary lyricist Hetfield then added the words, with help from his bandmates. Sober and relaxed, he bares his soul in such songs as the title track ("I want my anger to be healthy") and "Dirty Window" ("I drink from the cup of denial, judging the world from my throne").

"COLLECTION OF MOMENTS"

Ulrich calls the record "a collection of moments." Make that "long moments." None of the 11 songs is under five minutes, and three clock in at over eight minutes. That's classic Metallica, before they annoyed fans during the 1990s by recording radio-friendly songs.

Perhaps more worrisome for aficionados is the absence of guitar solos. Ulrich says the band tried desperately to add overdubs, but they ended up "cheapening" the sound.

Trujillo, 38, who was working with Ozzy Osbourne when he got the call to join Metallica in February, said the band has already accepted his input on such matters as album artwork and the DVD that will accompany the CD.

"They're motivated to have a collaborative entity, and that's really important for me," he said. "If this would have been happening two years ago, I may not be sitting here because we might have been clashing in certain ways."

Toronto SARS show sold out in 3 hours

TORONTO (CP) -- It just goes to show how few people are afraid of SARS when weighed against seeing their favourite stars.

All 70,000 tickets for a June 21 concert featuring Avril Lavigne, the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan sold out in just three hours Thursday.

The Concert for Toronto was organized to kick off the summer tourism season at a time when many are avoiding the city because of the SARS scare.

Ticketmaster said its outlets, call centre and online system were busy after tickets went on sale at noon.

"Demand far outweighed the supply of tickets," said spokeswoman Patti Babin. "The response proves that the ticket-buying public is confident in Toronto as the place to be."

Ticket prices for the all-Canadian show -- which also features the Tragically Hip, Our Lady Peace, Sum 41, Swollen Members, Remy Shand and Glenn Lewis -- were dirt cheap at $29.50 and $19.50, compared with other summer concerts that tend to run over $50.

The six-hour show will take place simultaneously at two downtown venues, the SkyDome and the Air Canada Centre, with acts alternating between the two. That means fans at the SkyDome will watch acts at the Air Canada Centre via a video feed and vice versa.

Organizers have said more acts will be added. It's rumoured Shania Twain and Neil Young are being courted to perform and Mike Myers and Jim Carrey to act as hosts.

Stars Flock To Big-Screen Cole Porter Musical

Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette, Robbie Williams, and R&B singer Vivian Green will appear in "Just One of Those Things," a big screen musical portrait of songwriter Cole Porter. Actor Kevin Kline will portray Porter in the MGM production, currently shooting in a number of international locations, including London and Venice. Ashley Judd co-stars as Porter's wife, Linda Lee.

"These are some of the world's top musical talents," director Irwin Winkler says in a statement. "By lending their voices to some of the most spectacular music ever written, we'll be able to introduce the genius of Cole Porter to a whole new generation of fans."

Morissette will dance and sing "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" in the film. She previously appeared in the non-speaking role of God in the Kevin Smith-directed features "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."

Costello -- who performed with Burt Bacharach in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and appeared as himself in "200 Cigarettes" and "Spice World" -- performs "Let's Misbehave." The artist also had a small part as a public defender in the 2001 film "Prison Song," which starred Q-Tip and Mary J. Blige.

Crow, whose previous silver screen acting credit is 1999's "The Minus Man," save for a cameo as a nightclub patron in "54," will tackle "Begin the Beguine." Williams, who has only lent his voice to the animated features "Magic Roundabout" (currently in production) and the 1999 holiday TV special "Hooves of Fire," will perform "It's De-Lovely." He previously recorded Cole's "Did You Evah?" on his 2001 EMI album "Swing When You're Winning."

Krall, a jazz singer and pianist who is no stranger to the Porter songbook, has two songs in the film. She will be seen and heard performing the title song and "I Get a Kick Out of You." Krall will also soon be seen in Woody Allen's upcoming feature, "Anything Else." Expected later this year, that film stars Allen, Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Fallon, Stockard Channing, and Danny DeVito, among others.

Green, who sings "Love for Sale," will be making her film debut in "Just One of Those Things."

Kline will perform a total of 14 songs in the film, including a duet with Judd on "In the Still of the Night." An actress who comes from a musical family that includes sister Wynonna and mother Naomi, Judd also sings "True Love" and several other songs.

Producer Rob Cowan says the film "is unlike any musical seen in recent time. With complex characters and situations for the actors to explore, amazing costumes and choreography, and Porter's terrific music to drive the narrative forward -- the result is moving and exciting."

The film's soundtrack to the film will be released by Sony Music. Projected release dates for the film and soundtrack have not been announced.

Elvis Box Full Of Unreleased Goodies

BMG Heritage has set a July 1 release for "Elvis: Close Up," a four-disc box set featuring a bounty of unreleased Elvis Presley material. "Close Up" follows last year's RCA release of the box set "Elvis Today, Tomorrow, and Forever" and the single-disc collection "ELV1S 30 #1 Hits," which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 2.8 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Elvis: Close Up" collects 89 tracks in all, and each of its four remastered discs represent different aspects of Presley's career. Disc one concentrates on stereo master tapes from the 1950s, marking the first such releases for "Blueberry Hill," "Loving You," "(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)," "Don't Leave Me Now," and more. Disc two culls tracks from four of Presley's films: "G.I. Blues," "Blue Hawaii," "Flaming Star," and "Wild in the Country." The disc features 25 previously unreleased outtakes.

The third disc covers Presley's 1960s sessions at RCA's Studio B in Nashville. Twenty-one outtakes from a number of different sessions are featured, including "Make Me Know It," "U.S. Male," "Surrender," "His Latest Flame," "The Girl of My Best Friend," and "Singing Tree."

The final disc is taken up by a complete unreleased concert recorded April 18, 1972 in San Antonio. The 23-track show features "Burning Love," "Proud Mary," "Suspicious Minds," "Never Been to Spain," "Funny How Time Slips Away," and "Polk Salad Annie."

SURVIVING POLITICS

TV Guide is reporting that CBS execs have nixed plans by Survivor: The Amazon winner Jenna Moraska to star in a new anti-fur ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The network cited "contractual obligations." No other reason was given.

Shania, Neil Young May Join SARS Concert

TORONTO (AP) — According to Canadian reports, Shania Twain and Neil Young are both rumored to be considering participating in a concert billed as "the music event of a lifetime."

It's all part of countering the problem of SARS. Toronto officials are hoping the star-studded June 21 show will restore the city's reputation as a fun, safe place to visit and bring much-needed tourism dollars to the city.

Pop artists Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne and the Barenaked Ladies are already onboard for six hours of music spread across two venues to accommodate 70,0000 people. The two venues will be linked by video feed, so that fans can watch live performances from one stage and video from the other. This project is a separate one from the push to bring the Rolling Stones there for a free show to bring tourists to the city.

Officials say that while the SARS outbreak is far from over, a high-profile event is needed to demonstrate that Toronto is open for business.

Disney Uses Night Goggles to Guard 'Nemo'

ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - With the widely anticipated computer animated movie "Finding Nemo" set to debut in theaters on Friday, The Walt Disney Co. has found a novel way to guard against people illegally taping the film in advance showings.

Disney has hired security firm Burns Pinkerton, a unit of Sweden's Securitas AB, to screen audiences using metal detectors and night-vision goggles. The aim is to catch people using video cameras to make bootleg copies of the movie for resale on the black market.

"Most people think the extra security is just for terrorism reasons," said Robert Kendrick, a Burns security guard at a recent screening for "Finding Nemo" in Albany.

The practice is relatively new. Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. Ltd.'s Fox Entertainment Group also used night-vision goggles in early screenings of May's "X2: X-Men United" and more recently with "Down With Love," starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

The heightened measures point to increased scrutiny the studios are taking in early screenings to prevent black market tapes from ending up for sale on city streets around the world.

"It's estimated we lose between $3 billion to $4 billion a year to this problem despite strong anti-piracy actions by the movie industry," said Rich Taylor, a spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America which represents Hollywood's major motion picture studios including Disney and Fox.

A warning about unauthorized recording has been printed on preview tickets for the last nine months telling violators that if they enter with their video equipment they will be denied admission. If the devices are used, they will be confiscated.

In April, a 33-year-old California man was arrested and charged with illegally videotaping movies in sneak previews. If convicted, he faces up to 26 years in federal prison.

Kendrick and his partner first check movie patrons using the metal-detecting wands because digital cameras are small and compact but they do contain metal parts.

Once inside, the guards sit 25-minute shifts monitoring the projection room's camera and the entire theater. The night-vision goggles are used to span the audience to see if there are any strong lights coming from a video recorder.

"These goggles magnify the light and make the image glow," Kendrick said.

A New PS2!

At E3, Sony unveiled a new Playstation 2 that will be debuting in Japan this year and early next year in America and Europe. Dubbed, the PSX, the new PS2 comes with a hard drive (a la the XBox) and a DVD burner. "We want an extreme product to represent a new platform out of Sony," said Sony executive deputy president Ken Kutaragi. Industry analysts think that the move may be a bad one for Sony, because of the lack of overlap between those who want a DVD burner and those who play video games; it may add to the $945 million loss that Sony experienced January through March 2003. Kutaragi refused to name a price for the new system.

U2 album, tour in '04

U2 apparently hasn't left all of its songwriting talent behind.

Guitarist The Edge this week said the band has been hard at work in a Dublin studio recording the followup to 2000's smash All That You Can't Leave Behind. He said the Irish rockers will tour to support the CD's expected 2004 release.

BEST SONGS

According to the British online music site nme.com, The Edge told XFM: "It's going really well. And we're writing some of the best songs we've ever written ... It's encouraging to kick even harder and make sure that the next batch of songs are as good as anything we've ever done.

"It's hard to describe (the new CD), other than it's just a very raw rock 'n' roll. A band in its primary colours of guitar, bass, drums, voice and a lot of vitality and energy ... so far, anyway. By the time it comes out it could be a country and western album."

The Edge said U2 likely would spend the rest of 2003 finishing the record, ostensibly for an early '04 release.

"Will we tour the album? I'm sure we will," he told XFM.

'Bruce Almighty' Phone Number Annoys Many

TAMPA, Fla. - A lot of mortals who happen to share God's telephone number — or at least the one He uses in the new movie "Bruce Almighty" — have spent days now taking calls from curious dialers, snickering cranks and desperate souls.

In the hit movie, a TV newsman played by Jim Carrey is endowed by God with divine powers, allowing him to perform such feats as parting a bowl of tomato soup like the Red Sea. God's phone number is repeatedly displayed on the newsman's pager whenever the Lord tries to summon him.

Usually, movies and TV shows use the telephone exchange 555, which is not used for homes and businesses. But "Bruce Almighty" used a seven-digit number valid in many parts of the country.

Many moviegoers have remembered the number and put it to work in their own area codes.

A woman in Pinellas Park, Fla., has threatened to sue the movie studio because of the 20 calls per hour clogging her cell phone. A Colorado radio network was getting dozens a day Wednesday, five days after the movie hit theaters, and is planning to build a contest around the phenomenon.

In Sanford, N.C., the listing belongs to a church whose minister is actually named Bruce. And he is not amused.

"It's a movie that mocks God and makes a mockery of religion," said the Rev. Bruce MacInnes, pastor of Turner's Chapel Church. "I'm not too thrilled with it at all. But the Lord God is one that could use something that's meant for evil and turn it around for good. So this may very well be the reason that that number showed up."

Universal Pictures, which produced the film, said in a statement Wednesday that the phone number was chosen because it does not exist in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, where the movie is set. The studio offered no further comment.

A database search turned up more than 30 listings nationwide for the number in the movie.

In Cornelia, Ga., the number belongs to the Rev. Patrick Collington, an evangelist who runs Souls for Christ Ministries. His wife, Tracy, said they have gotten about 100 calls since Friday — mostly people asking for God and hanging up — but they are not bothered.

The family went to see the movie Tuesday night and loved it.

"It was funny, and knowing God's phone number was our number was really something to be excited about," she said.

Donna Augustin of Parrish, Fla., said her family has gotten about 200 God calls since Friday. Her three children think it is hilarious. A new message on their answering machine informs callers that they have reached "God's messenger" and should "call Jim Carrey" instead.

Some callers of the Augustin home leave messages ranging from sweet to obscene. Most try to come up with something funny. One guy wanted to know when God would answer his prayers and make him a porn star.

In Longmont, Colo., the Colorado Radio Network's nine lines started lighting up Monday with God callers, a good number of whom actually seemed to think they found a direct line to the Lord, according to Ron Nickel, the network's senior vice president.

"God, I really need to talk to you," one woman said in a message. "I need to repent because I've cheated on my husband five times, but I guess all of us people who are prostitutes eventually cheat on our husbands."

Nickel said the network of five stations plans to turn the whole thing into a contest. Listeners will be asked what they would say to God if they could call Him. The host of the stations' only religious show will pick the winner.

"This just dropped right out of the sky into our lap," Nickel said. "We would have to be stupid to get angry."

David Lee Roth Pressing Forward With Lawsuit Against Van Halen

Former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth is continuing to move forward with his lawsuit against the band over unpaid royalties. Roth filed his suit on December 11 in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming the group didn't include him in a 1996 renegotiation of its contract with Warner Brothers Records.

Roth said the result is a financial inequity. "If you buy Van Halen I now, if I make 10 cents, the bass player (Michael Anthony) makes 30 cents. And if I make a hundred dollars, the drummer (Alex Van Halen) will make close to three hundred dollars. And I've always maintained since I wrote all the words, and all the lyrics, and all of the harmonies, and structured the tunes, designed most of the album covers--and when MTV happened for everybody, I wrote and directed the videos--with all of that, I should make 25 percent. What do you think?"

Roth's suit is still pending while both sides file legal briefs. Neither Van Halen Music LLC nor Warner Bros., who are co-defendants, would comment on the suit.

Roth left Van Halen in 1985 and was replaced by Sammy Hagar. Roth sang on the two new songs from the group's 1996 Best Of Volume 1, but the reunion didn't last.

Van Halen left Warner Bros. in 2001 and is currently without a label.

Roth's new album, Diamond Dave, comes out July 8. It features cover versions of songs by the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Savoy Brown, and Steve Miller.

Roth next performs Thursday (May 29) at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.

Stars come out to aid T.O.

TORONTO -- Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne and the Barenaked Ladies will lend their popularity to a concert billed as "the music event of a lifetime," as part of the ongoing effort to counter the taint of SARS.

Officials are hoping the star-studded show next month will restore the city's reputation as a fun, safe place to visit and bring much-needed tourism dollars to the city.

"We want summer to start with a real bang, something that's going to bring a lot of livelihood, rockin' and poppin' and all that," Brian Coburn, Ontario's minister of tourism, said Wednesday as he announced the June 21 show.

Six hours of music will be spread across two venues -- SkyDome and the Air Canada Centre -- to accommodate 70,000 people. Tickets, $29.50 and $19.50, go on sale Thursday at noon through Ticketmaster.

Other acts on the bill for the Concert For Toronto include the Tragically Hip, Swollen Members, Remy Shand, Glenn Lewis, Sum 41 and Our Lady Peace.

Officials said more performers will be added in the coming weeks. Neil Young and Shania Twain are among those rumoured to be considering participating in the show.

The two venues will be linked by video feed so that fans at one place can watch performances at the other. Performers will be spread out so no one is on the stage at the same time.

"It's going to be a historic event. We've never presented two shows like this simultaneously," said Shane Bourbonnais, senior vice-president of ClearChannel Entertainment, which is producing the show. "It's going to be one long six-hour show that goes back and forth between both venues."

The announcement comes after weeks of speculation that the Rolling Stones would headline a free "everybody loves Toronto" show at a large park north of the city.

Coburn said the Lavigne-McLachlan show was not the same project.

"There's ongoing discussions (for the Stones show)," he said. "If something like that happens it's one more big plus for us."

Liberal MP Dennis Mills, who has been trying to organize the Stones show, has said private-sector backers are willing to offer up half of the $10 million cost to stage the event, but that government support was needed for the rest.

The concert announcement was made amid the ongoing battle to contain severe acute respiratory syndrome, which escalated late last week in the form of several clusters emanating from North York General Hospital. Thousands of people have been quarantined.

While officials recognize that the SARS outbreak is far from over, Coburn said a high-profile event is needed to demonstrate that Toronto is open for business.

"It's to get people back up on top again, get the juices flowing," Coburn said. "We believe it's time to get on with some of these events, these celebrations to showcase Toronto."

The province is pitching in $5.2 million for the show, and as previously announced, lifting the provincial sales tax on entertainment attractions and hotel accommodations, which lasts through to Sept. 30. The federal government has yet to contribute financially, Coburn said.

The concert will run from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. Officials hope the crowd will then spread across the downtown core and spend money at restaurants and bars that have taken a huge financial hit ever since the SARS outbreak began in mid-March.

The concert industry has also suffered with many high-profile acts, including Elton John, Billy Joel and Lisa Marie Presley, cancelling trips and shows.

"We've lost over $600,000 during this period," Bourbonnais said. "It's our duty and our job to make sure we tell the artists of the world that Toronto is a safe place to come."

To help promote the city and the event, Roots Canada will create a Concert For Toronto T-shirt, with a portion of proceeds going to SARS research.

"This concert has the possibility of being the single, greatest musical event in the history of Toronto," said Don Green, one of the founders of the clothing company.

"It's really going to show the world that Torontonians are not hibernating and they're not hiding at home . . .they're really coming out and enjoying this fine city that we live in."

Lavigne's SK8ER BOI Goes to Film

Paramount Pictures and MTV Films have acquired the film adaption rights to Avril Lavigne's song "Sk8er Boi." David Zabel (ER) is set to adapt the song into a film about a teenage girl that rejects a potential boyfriend because her friends disapprove of him. Later in life, he becomes a rock star and she begins feeling regret. Music production team The Matrix will consult on the screenplay and will create an event album for the film with new songs.

'Idol' Movie Slows Its Rush to DVD

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The profits from the "American Idol" franchise are coming so fast and furious that Fox Studios can be forgiven for almost putting the cart before the horse in its latest run for the money. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox was prepared to blitz the first "Idol" -related film, "From Justin to Kelly" onto video and DVD within six weeks of its theatrical release, scheduled for Friday, June 13.

Not surprisingly, nationwide exhibitors balked at this possibility. Exhibitors typically receive a miniscule percentage of the box office proceeds from early in their run, relying on longevity and shelf-life (as well as popcorn and beverages) to make money.

Longevity and shelf-life haven't necessarily been the watchwords of the "American Idol" franchise. With twice-weekly airings, regular specials, CDs by the winners, CDs by the finalists, concert tours, a spin-off ("American Juniors," starting Tuesday, June 3), and now a film, Fox has realized the importance of capitalizing as quickly as possible on a product that has very little second-run syndicated value.

"From Justin to Kelly," starring the show's first two finalists, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, has already been moved from a proposed spring release to its current early summer slot in order to cash in on the show's sustained popularity and to maintain the show's buzz. An additional dose of aural methadone comes courtesy of Guarini's new album, which is schedule to drop just days before the film. Citing anonymous sources, the HR says that Fox intended to get the film into theaters as quickly as possible and then have the DVDs on shelves before the end of the summer.

Any dead air around that time would be filled by the "American Idol" tour and with the release of singles by this season's winner, Ruben Studdard, and Clay Aiken, the popular runner-up. The DVD momentum then might carry into hypothetical Christmas releases for their full albums, which would flow into the new season of "American Idol" starting next winter. That could gush into the inevitable feature film starring Ruben and Clay, which could be swiftly followed by its own release on DVD.

Exhibitor concerns have reportedly slowed this "Idol" circle of life somewhat and the DVDs of "From Justin to Kelly" won't hit shelves until September.

A Fox spokesperson denies the whole fracas, saying, "As with all of our films, no home entertainment release date has been set prior to the opening in theaters."

...THE NEXT INDY?

Nicolas Cage signing on to star in director Jon Turteltaub's National Treasure, playing an archaelogist-historian who believes a treasure map is hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Jerry Bruckheimer is producing.

Funnyman Bill Murray to play fat cat "Garfield" in new movie

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - US comedian Bill Murray will incarnate the dry-witted and prickly comic book cat "Garfield" in a new live-action Hollywood movie, the entertainment press said.

Murray, 52, will give the fat cat feline his voice in the upcoming feature film that -- like last year's "Scooby-Doo" movie -- will use a combination of live actors and a computer-generated cat, Daily Variety said.

Production on the 20th Century Fox movie coincides with next month's 25th anniversary of the comic strip written by Jim Davis.

The film, to be directed by Peter Hewitt, will recount the adventures of the smart-alec feline who suffers living with a geeky owner and dim-witted dog.

"Toy Story" authors Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow have written the screenplay of the new "Garfield" movie that hopes to cash in on the success of the cartoon that is one of the most widely syndicated strips in the world, appearing in 2,570 newspapers in 111 countries.

Liz Phair Turns to Pop With Latest Album

NEW YORK - Hailed a decade ago as the queen of indie rock, Liz Phair now says she just wants to be a pop star.

Her new album, "Liz Phair," due out June 24, is more mainstream than her critically acclaimed 1993 debut "Exile in Guyville." And it's a very calculated change.

"I didn't want to be some '90s act that was great in my 20s and never did anything else," the 36-year-old musician told Entertainment Weekly for its May 30 issue.

"People are like, 'Don't be commercial, then,'" she said. "And that's one way to live. But even when I made 'Guyville,' I was hating indie then. The whole album was about how much I hated indie."

So she turned to the Matrix — the trio of producers behind Avril Lavigne — for help with her new album, although she knows the poppier sound may alienate some longtime fans.

"Should I pretend to be cool so that you will approve of me? After I had my kid, the revelation I had was, life is incredibly short," Phair said. "I like who I am. And I'm just gonna like what I like and go for what I want go for. It's simple."

McCartney, Mills Expecting a Baby

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Beatle Paul McCartney, 60, and his second wife, Heather Mills, said on Wednesday that the couple are expecting a baby later this year.

"We are delighted with this happy news," the couple said in a statement.

McCartney and Mills married in June 2002. McCartney has three children from his 29-year marriage to Linda McCartney, who died of breast cancer in 1998. He also adopted Linda's child from an earlier marriage.

Mills, a former model who lost her left leg below the knee in an accident, met McCartney at a charity event three years ago.

McCartney helped revolutionize popular music in the 1960s as a member of the Beatles. After they split in 1970, he continued as a solo artist and with the band Wings, which he formed with Linda.

Led Zeppelin Flying High with New Concert Discs

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In the words of one of their songs, Dancing Days are here again for fans of Led Zeppelin.

Defunct for almost 23 years, the pioneering English band behind such hard rock classics as "Stairway to Heaven" and "Kashmir" has cleaned out its vaults to issue eight hours of previously unreleased live material on DVD and CD.

The "Led Zeppelin DVD" contains footage from four tours spanning 1970 to 1979; the CD "How The West Was Won" combines two Los Angeles shows from 1972 to replicate a single concert.

Remarkably, the band's leader and guitarist, Jimmy Page, who compiled the releases, says he remembers all the concerts as if they were yesterday.

"To actually go through it bit by bit and hear sections of it, you go, 'Yeah, yeah, that's really good' or 'I played really well there' or 'My God, that's embarrassing, that bit I played then,"' Page, 58, said in an interview.

Both the DVD and CD were released this week with Page, singer Robert Plant, 53, and keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones, 56, embarking on a publicity blitz. Ironically, Led Zeppelin shunned such chores during its 12-year reign, preferring to let the music speak for itself.

But rumors that the trio would play together came to naught. The band has reunited only twice since breaking up after the 1980 alcohol-related death of drummer John Bonham. Page and Plant toured and recorded together in the 1990s, to Jones' initial chagrin. These days, the threesome's relationship is more business than social, Page says.

"MAGICAL ELEMENT"

"There were four very different personalities anyway in Led Zeppelin, very different personalities," Page said. "But when they bonded musically, the four elements joined together, took on a fifth element -- a thing which is totally intangible and it can't be charted, which was that magical element."

Led Zeppelin's members fused folk and blues influences to create a genre known as heavy metal. The group's catalog, highlighted by their untitled 1971 album and 1975's "Physical Graffiti" has sold about 200 million copies worldwide.

But their strength was arguably live performances. They toured incessantly, setting new standards for ticket sales. Songs from the albums were radically reworked on stage.

The new CD boasts a 25-minute version of "Dazed and Confused," while Bonham drums relentlessly during the 19-minute "Moby Dick." Spontaneity was the key, which is why the band decided to call it a day rather than try to feign improvisation with a new drummer.

"You had to be totally, totally involved. It's like a sacrifice you were there for," Page said.

The DVD features songs from London's Royal Albert Hall (1970) and Earl's Court (1975), New York's Madison Square Garden (1973) and England's Knebworth Festival (1979). And that's it as far as live footage is concerned, Page says.

"We didn't have a documentary crew going round with us all the time. What would we do it for? We weren't a television band," Page said.

"A BIT OF A LAUGH"

Similarly, the only other audio footage in the vaults was from a university gig, which was done "for a bit of a laugh." Page vows it will never see the light of day because the band made so many mistakes. (Page did use some computer tricks to fix a few wrong chords on the newly released material.)

These days, Page divides his time between a historic London townhouse and a mansion in nearby Windsor. His post-Zeppelin career has been patchy, with highlights including a tour with the Black Crowes and recording a rap version of "Kashmir" with rapper Sean Combs. He says he's working on something "quite surprising" but declined to go into detail.

D'Oh Canada: Homer Simpson Named Honorary Citizen

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The debate over just where the cartoon Simpson family lives has raged for years. A forthcoming act by the Canadian city of Winnipeg won't settle it, but it will give Homer another place to hang his hat.

The city will issue a proclamation naming Homer an honorary citizen of the capital of Manitoba on Friday (May 31), the Winnipeg Sun reports. It's not because of the "Simpsons" episode where the family travels to Canada or the recent show in which the characters join together to sing "O Canada."

Instead, it's because creator Matt Groening's father, on whom Homer is loosely based, is a native of Winnipeg.

"We're giving him a giant certificate, and there's going to be an eight-foot-tall Homer Simpson there to receive it," Winnipeg Councilwoman Jenny Gerbasi says.

"I think we'll find there are lots of people in Winnipeg whose father has characteristics like Homer."

BACK TO SCHOOL

Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn are expected to reunite for a sequel to their laffer Old School, which grossed $75 million in domestic box-office receipts, reports Variety. The project is still in early development.

Jewel Pleasing Fans Online, on Tour

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Atlantic Records is offering something extra to Jewel fans who buy her forthcoming album "0304," due June 3, during its first week of release. Each copy in the first run of "0304" will include a download card with a unique PIN number allowing access to a secure site from which users can download solo live MP3 versions of "The New Wild West" and "Life Uncommon."

The promotion runs through June 9.

The bonus site will also allow access to streaming in-studio footage of the artist, tour clips, and live performance videos culled from her last tour, all of which will be available past June 9.

Jewel has scheduled a handful of tour dates in support of the new record, with a full tour expected later in the year. She performed a free show May 27 at New York's GM Plaza for CBS, which plans to broadcast portions of the show Wednesday morning on "The Early Show."

The artist will participate in a few radio-station festivals over the coming weeks: WIOQ Philadelphia's Q Concert in Camden, N.J. Friday (May 30); WXKS Boston's KISS Concert Saturday (May 31) in Mansfield, Mass.; WHTZ New York's Zootopia festival at East Rutherford, N.J. Sunday (June 1); and WITH Washington, D.C.'s Hot 99.5 Anniversary Show in Columbia, Md. June 7.

Jewel is holding a contest to determine two up-and-coming bands to open for her fall tour, and will perform June 19 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., with a host of regional finalists.

Jewel dips into dance music and jazz on the new album, evidenced by first single "Intuition," which is No. 43 this week on Billboard's Hot 100. "0304" is the follow-up to 2001's "This Way," which debuted at No. 9 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 1.49 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Here are Jewel's tour dates:
May 30: Camden, N.J. (Tweeter Center)
May 31: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center)
June 1: East Rutherford, N.J. (Giants Stadium)
June 7: Columbia, Md. (Merriweather Post)
June 19: San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (the Coach House)
Sept. 20: Atlanta (Chastain Amphitheater)
Sept. 30: Providence, R.I. (Providence Performing Arts Center).

Norah Jones Recording New CD, Performs On Willie Nelson TV Tribute

Grammy winner Norah Jones spent time in a New York studio during the month of April to track new tunes for her second solo CD.

According to her label's website Jones was joined in the studio by her band, which includes guitarists Kevin Breit and Adam Levy, bassist Lee Alexander, drummer Andy Borger on drums, and Daru Oda on background vocals. The CD project is due sometime in early 2004.

Jones and her band are currently on tour, with upcoming stops in the Southeast early next month and a three-night stand at New York's Beacon Theatre from June 23 through 25.

Meanwhile, we can catch Jones performing on the 70th birthday TV tribute to country star Willie Nelson. Willie Nelson & Friends: Kickin' It Live will also feature performances by Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Wyclef Jean, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Shelby Lynne, Steven Tyler, and others. The special airs on the USA Network on Monday (May 26) at 9 and 11 p.m., ET, and again on Saturday (May 31) at 2 a.m. ET.

Jones' debut CD, Come Away With Me, earned a total of eight Grammy Awards this year. The album has been certified six times platinum for sales of more than six million copies, and remains in the Number One position on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart after 64 weeks.

Dixie Chicks Backlash Continues

The Dixie Chicks were a last minute addition to the roster of performers on Wednesday (May 21) 38th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards show, live from Las Vegas. During the three-hour event, which was steeped in patriotism, the Chicks still seemed to be suffering from the backlash of resentment over Natalie Maines' remarks about President Bush.

The group performed on the CBS telecast via satellite from a concert in their adopted hometown of Austin, Texas. The band was greeted by applause from the audience in Austin, but when Vince Gill announced the Chicks as one of the nominees in the Entertainer Of The Year category--the crowd in Las Vegas booed loudly. Gill tried to calm the angry crowd, saying, "Stop it, stop it. You know who gets blessed when you forgive--you."

After the broadcast, Reba McEntire was asked if she thought the Dixie Chicks' performance on Wednesday night's show might have helped them win back the support of the fans or fellow performers who were miffed by Maines' seemingly unpatriotic comment. Reba candidly replied, "Didn't sound like it. I announced it, and it was a pretty big negative response. It was very, very bad. I don't think it's over." When McEntire was asked what advice she would give the Chicks, she replied, "When they ask for it, I'll give it. I don't think that will happen, though."

The incident that sparked the backlash happened in March when the Dixie Chicks were performing in London and at a time when the United States was making plans to go to war with Iraq. During the concert, Natalie Maines told the British crowd, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." Since then, the Chicks, have repeatedly apologized for Natalie's ill-timed remark which set off a tidal wave of resentment directed at all three singers.

The Dixie Chicks lost in all three categories they were nominated in--Top Vocal Group, Entertainer Of The Year, and Album Of The Year.

New Items For Your Viewing Pleasure

Its time once again to look at the new video and DVD releases that are hitting shelves today. Many of them are "Should Have Beens", meaning they should have been good, but they just aren't.

Oh sure, they're entertaining enough in their own right, but the sum of the parts involved should have been enough to guarantee the audience that they would be good movies that are worth our time and money.

They just aren't. But they should have been!

Happily, there is one exception. The Oscar winning THE PIANIST also bows today. Take the time to watch this mater work. It is a perfect example of how a great film can move you, entertain you, and educate us all. It shouldn't have been, but it is!

Here are the new titles bowing on DVD and video on Tuesday, May 27th, 2003:

THE PIANIST - A supeb account of man hiding from Nazi's in German ghetto. It is not quite as powerful as SCHINDLER'S LIST, but it stands on it's own as a master work of filmmaking. (Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay)

THE RECRUIT - A CIA protege discovers that nothing is as it seems in this would be thriller that doesn't thrill or leave you guessing. Moynahan is super sexy, though, if you are into that sort of thing. (Colin Farrell [James Clayton], Al Pacino [Walter Burke], Bridget Moynahan [Layla])

NATIONAL SECURITY - Two police rejects turned security guards unearth smugglers in this would be comedy. (Martin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, Eric Roberts)

A GUY THING - A guy thinks he committed the ultimate bachelor party sin in this horrible movie that wastes a great concept and cast and offers no laughs whatsoever! (Julia Stiles, Jason Lee, Selma Blair)

These films were released with little to no expectations and you may enjoy them, as I did, or you may not. Good luck!

Talk To Her - Two men meet while visiting their comatose wives. (Rosario Flores, Javier Camara, Dario Grandinetti)

Love Liza - Man becomes addict after his wife's unexplained suicide. (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Stephen Tobolowsky)

And this release is from the "Take It Or Leave It" file

The Best Of Charlie's Angels - The best moments from the TV series Charlie's Angels. (Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith)

Charlie's Angels: The Complete First Season - The complete first season of the TV series Charlie's Angels. (Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith)

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Season One - The complete first season of the TV series Dr. Quinn. (Jane Seymour, Joe Lando, Chad Allen)

Today's New Releases

Next week, Tuesday June 3rd, will see new music releases from Jewel (who I love), Lou Reed (Who will always rock), Gordon Downey (From The Tragically Hip) PLUS discs from Train, Sugar Ray and Luther Vandross.

Needless to say I am looking past today to next week.

Should you need a music fix before next week, here are the New Music Releases for Tuesday, May 27, 2003:

CHICAGO Chicago (DVD Audio) (Rhino)
DE LA SOUL Singles Collection (Rhino)
FLAMING LIPS Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (DVD Audio) (Warner)
HIGH SOCIETY OST High Society OST (DVD Audio) (Rhino)
LED ZEPPELIN How the West Was Won (Atlantic)
LED ZEPPELIN Led Zeppelin DVD (DVD Video) (Atlantic)
PAT METHENY One Quiet Night (Warner)
RAY MATERICK Life & Times (Linus Entertainment)
SARAH BRIGHTMAN Harem (EMI)

Staind cancels concert over SARS

TORONTO (CP) -- Citing a "health concern" in Toronto, heavy metal rock band Staind cancelled its visit to the city.

An autograph session Tuesday at a local record shop and a concert Wednesday night were each postponed until further notice "due to SARS concerns," according to a statement.

Promoters were refunding tickets for the Kool Haus concert.

Formed in 1994, Staind is touring to promote their latest album 14 Shades of Grey.

Toronto returned to the World Health Organization's list of SARS-affected areas on Monday. However, no travel advisory was issued against the city.

Idol auditions attract 10,000

TORONTO (CP) -- For weeks, they've flocked to cities like Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax and Vancouver by the thousands, belting out songs in the hope of becoming the next Kelly Clarkson or Ruben Studdard.

And as the Canadian Idol auditions came to a close in Toronto on Monday, the CTV show got it's largest crowd yet.

About 10,000 people were queued in a dusty, gravel parking lot across from the downtown Metro Toronto Convention Centre hoping to become the first Canadian Idol.

Many of the popstar wannabes and their parents had been in line, huddling under tarps and umbrellas to ward off rain, wind and the sun, since the start of the weekend.

Coolers, sleeping bags and other camping gear were scattered across the make-shift shelter area. Portable toilets lined a street and litter was piled high. Traffic on adjoining streets crawled during the Monday rush hour as drivers gawked at the scene.

One Idol hopeful was Kristina Monk, a 16-year-old from Napanee, Ont. (Avril Lavigne's home-town) who, like the others, will have to compete through three rounds of judging to make the cut.

"I lived through the cold," said the bubbly teen, while waiting in line in a holding room inside the Convention Centre where a team from L'Oreal was styling hair and painting nails. "My voice isn't up to par. I have a sore throat and I'm nervous."

When asked why she thought she'd have a shot at the title she gushed: "Oh my god, I'm so into music. Music is my thing. I write, I sing, I used to be in plays. It's just what I want to do. It's my dream."

The auditions began at 10:30 a.m. Monday. Approximately 1,600 competitors, aged 16 to 26, were to be processed each day through Wednesday. Those finalists will be reduced to 100 by Wednesday night by a four-judge panel. They will then compete alongside 13,000 others from eight cities across Canada for a chance to be one of 30 semi-finalists.

First in line was a group of four from Windsor, Ont., who pitched a tent outside the Convention Centre's doors early Thursday morning.

Police officers moved them across the street where they then alternated between the chilly tent and a hotel suite.

"We thought that thousands of people would already be lined up on Thursday. That's why we came," said Monique Regnier, an 18-year-old student who travelled with her two sisters.

"I wanted to do this my whole life," added her friend Tara Mandler, also from Windsor. "In Canada there's never any opportunities to things like this. You either have to have money or position or some connection. It's the first opportunity so that's why I'm doing it now." The 25-year-old waitress performed I Want To Love You Forever by Jessica Simpson.

No doubt some contestants will provide great ammunition for the Canadian judges who will likely try to replicate the razor tongue of Simon Cowell, the popular judge on American Idol.

"I'm not gonna look down that's for sure", said Jazz Torralba, 17. The Toronto student says he watched the American series and picked up several pointers for his audition.

The show will air Wednesday nights on CTV beginning June 11. And if the U.S. version is any indication, millions will tune in to watch the spectacle unfold. The second season of American Idol attracted an average of 2.1 million Canadian viewers, with 3.4 million tuning in for the season finale.

The show is based on the 2001 smash hit from Britain, Pop Idols. The franchise has created national Idols in six countries including Poland, South Africa and Germany.

Winning the competition has proved fruitful. Last year's winner Kelly Clarkson saw her album Thankful debut at No. 1 (it outsold Madonna's latest disc by nearly 20 per cent in the U.S.). Runner-up Justin Guarini will put out an album next month and have his big screen debut opposite Clarkson in From Justin to Kelly, a romantic musical comedy that looks like Grease on the beach.

'Idol' voting strained nerves, nation's telephone systems

A week after Fox received a record 24 million calls from American Idol viewers choosing the fate of Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, fans are still debating the accuracy of the final vote. Studdard's margin of victory was only 134,400 votes.

The confusion over the voting totals in Wednesday's live broadcast was fueled by conflicting figures read by Idol host Ryan Seacrest. A spokesman for the show says Seacrest is not to blame. The first incorrect figure — 13,000 — was displayed on the teleprompter. The second — 1,335 — was written on a card given to Seacrest.

Many people received busy signals during the final three hours of voting on Tuesday, causing some to suspect that, in shades of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore presidential contest, the lost votes might have produced a different result.

But like a radio call-in contest, phone networks can handle only so many calls at one time. The Idol finale was like a local radio contest magnified many times, featuring two popular contestants, millions of fans and two phone numbers with equal capacity. All this adds up to a virtual deadlock.

"My daughter dialed more than a hundred times and couldn't get through," says Cynthia McGinnes of Chestertown, Md. "This is a show we all watch as a family, and I guarantee you we will never watch again. My daughter was in tears."

But many opted for different technology. Dana Goldstein, 15, turned to her cell phone's text-messaging option instead.

The Manhattan Beach, Calif., teen couldn't get through by phone, so she switched to text voting. "It's a lot easier, because you get through every time."

AT&T, which supplied the text-messaging option for its 21 million subscribers at 10 cents a pop, supplied 2.5 million votes, or about 10% of the total. "And not a single message got rejected," AT&T's Andre Dahan says. AT&T did not provide a breakdown of votes, but text messaging could have made the difference.

Verizon, the nation's largest phone company, says call volume was up on Tuesday by 116 million calls. "So many called, the network was flooded," Verizon's Daniel Diaz Zapata says. "It doesn't mean the network was faulty, just everybody was trying to dial in at the same time."

SBC, which operates in 13 states, says it received 115 million additional calls. "Our network engineers found that if people waited a half-hour after the voting started, they had a much better chance of getting through," SBC's Suzy Henderson says.

For all the griping about people not being able to connect with their potential votes, "24 million did get through," Fox's Scott Grogin says. "The system worked like it was supposed to."

Last summer's Idol produced 18 million votes, and Grogin says Fox talked about new voting procedures this time, such as using the Internet, but nothing came of it.

The Internet was used for CBS' Star Search, which made its debut in January. That show used a similar system of celebrity judges and viewer votes. Instead of phone calls, CBS opted for online votes, but the show was live, so only viewers in the Eastern time zone could vote. CBS hasn't said how many votes have been counted.

Will Fox try the Net, or alternative methods, in January for the next Idol? Fox isn't saying. "We have seven months for that," Grogin says. "It's a long ways away."

Still, "getting 24 million phone calls into one narrow, short period of time is not an insignificant number," AT&T's Dahan says. Text messaging, however, can handle bigger volumes more easily, because the messages are queued up and stamped with the time, he says. "It will be delayed momentarily, but it gets through and still counts."

Christopher Saunders of the Instant Messaging Planet newsletter says that although Fox should look into instant messaging and the Internet as alternatives, its best bet is continuing with text messaging, because it can pay for itself.

"In Europe, where text messaging is more widespread, many shows charge 50 cents to use the system, and they get a lot of calls. And they always get through."

'Bruce Almighty' Topples 'The Matrix'

LOS ANGELES - The Jim Carrey comedy "Bruce Almighty" reigned at the box office in its opening weekend, taking in $86.4 million and easily surpassing "The Matrix Reloaded" as the No. 1 movie of the Memorial Day weekend.

"The Matrix" sequel earned $45.6 million to place a distant No. 2 in its second week of release, according to studio estimates Monday.

Attendance for "The Matrix Reloaded," which has collected $209.5 million since its powerhouse debut May 14, shrunk by 60 percent — suggesting "The Matrix" is unloading quickly.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co., characterized the performance of "Bruce Almighty" as a "definite surprise."

The comedy stars Carrey as a regular guy who receives the powers of God (played by Morgan Freeman) after complaining too much about life. Before getting his comeuppance, Bruce uses the abilities to look up women's dresses, torment his work rival and teach his dog to use the toilet.

"We all thought this would be a big weekend, but the question was — would "Bruce Almighty' top 'The Matrix?'" Dergarabedian said. "Jim Carrey in a broad comedy like this is pretty much unstoppable."

The only other new film in wide release was the Michael Douglas-Albert Brooks remake of "The In-Laws," about a wild secret agent and meek doctor whose children are marrying. The comedy, based on a 1979 film starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, collected $9.1 million.

"The Matrix Reloaded," a sequel to the 1999 film about a computer hacker trying to unravel a parallel reality devised by machines, faced high expectations after its huge debut — but early success may have shortened its long-term prospects.

"So many people saw that movie so quickly that it's very difficult to maintain for a second weekend," Dergarabedian said.

But the 60 percent plunge in attendance was steeper than other blockbusters, including last year's "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones," which saw second-weekend ticket sales fall by only 38 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

But "Spider-Man" was rated PG-13 and "Clones" was PG. The R-rating for "Reloaded," Warner Bros. executives said, curtailed its audience by restricting most unchaperoned moviegoers under 17-years-old.

"You can't compare an R-rated movie over a holiday period with movies that appeal to a broad family audience. We have a different kind of movie," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. head of U.S. distribution.

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

1. "Bruce Almighty," $86.4 million.
2. "The Matrix Reloaded," $45.6 million.
3. "Daddy Day Care," $18 million.
4. "X2: X-Men United," $13 million.
5. "The In-Laws," $9.1 million
6. "Down With Love." $5.1 million.
7. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," $4 million.
8. "Holes," $3 million.
9. "Identity," $2.6 million.
10. "Anger Management," $2.4 million.

McCartney Serenades Putin, Rocks Red Square

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Paul McCartney has become the first Beatle to sing inside the Kremlin walls, treating President Vladimir Putin to an impromptu version of "Let it Be" before singing to thousands of Russians on Red Square.

Putin, who confessed to being a Beatles fan in his youth, told McCartney Saturday the band had been an inspiration during Soviet times, despite Kremlin efforts to discourage Western music.

"It was very popular, more than popular," Putin said when asked whether he had listened to the Beatles when contacts with foreign music were discouraged. "It was like a breath of fresh air, like a window on the outside world."

McCartney met Putin in the Kremlin for tea and a guided tour, hours before the first Russian show in the musician's 40-year career.

Putin told McCartney he knew of his plans to play in Russia in the 1980s -- ultimately quashed by Soviet authorities.

"It was considered propaganda of an alien ideology," Putin, a former KGB officer, said of Beatles' hits.

Although not banned in Soviet times, Beatles music was hard to obtain. Some albums were locally manufactured and many fans heard songs on the Voice of America and BBC radio.

"The Beatles did make a lot of changes. We didn't set out to make changes, but we did," McCartney said later.

McCartney, on a 14-month world tour, is not the first Beatle to sing in Russia; Ringo Starr traveled to Moscow in 1998. But he is the only member of the band and one of a handful of artists to be given permission to perform in Red Square.

"(Putin) seemed to be a really nice guy," McCartney told hundreds of reporters in the square. "I sang him a song -- he couldn't come to the concert tonight."

He said later he had sung "Let It Be."

Ahead of Saturday's open-air show a group of nationalist Russian deputies objected to plans to stage a pop concert meters from the graves of Soviet leaders Lenin, Stalin and dozens of other communist-era heavyweights.

Thousands flocked to the concert. Tickets sold for hundreds of dollars in a country where monthly wages are below $100.

McCartney, thronged by fans since arriving in Russia, said he would treat 20,000 spectators to three hours of hits, including "Back in the USSR."

Strolling through the Kremlin grounds, McCartney said his trip to Russia had dispelled many notions he had held, including what he might have thought when he wrote that song.

"I didn't know anything about it then," he said. "It was a mystical land then. It's nice to see the reality. I always suspected that people had big hearts. Now I know that's true."

'Simpsons' Creator Wins Best Cartoonist

SAN FRANCISCO - Matt Groening, creator of North America's favorite animated family, "The Simpsons," was named Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year at the 2003 Reuben Awards.

Darby Conley won best newspaper comic for his strip, "Get Fuzzy," which details the adventures of Rob Wilco, a single ad executive, and his temperamental cat Buckeye and gentle dog Satchel.

The 57th annual award ceremony was held Saturday at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. It featured presenters and past Reuben winners such as "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams, "Doonesbury" creator Gary Trudeau, and Cathy Guisewite, creator of "Cathy".

The National Cartoonists Society was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in New York City. Today it includes more than 600 members.

Van Sant Wins Top Cannes Award for 'Elephant'

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Gus Van Sant won the Cannes film festival's coveted Palme d'Or award Sunday for "Elephant," a film that tracks the lives of actual U.S. students to see how they cope with shootings and violence at school.

The prize was a long-awaited triumph for the U.S. director who has won plaudits in Hollywood with films like "Good Will Hunting" and "To Die For," but had yet to win over the arthouse-loving critics of the French Riviera.

Van Sant was also awarded the prize for best direction.

"I thought I was finished," an emotional Van Sant told the star-studded awards ceremony, as he was called back up to the stage for the top prize. "I've been trying to get my films to Cannes for years. To win is miraculous and fortunate and lucky."

"Elephant" uses non-actor children from Van Sant's home town of Portland, Oregon, and improvised lines to paint an impressionistic picture of everyday high school life that turns to tragedy when two students go on a shooting spree.

It comes a year after Michael Moore was lauded at Cannes for his probing documentary "Bowling for Columbine," which also examines America's gun culture and high-school shootings.

"I don't think of it as an anti-American movie. It's made from the viewpoint of my life in the U.S.," Van Sant said.

Festival watchers, who had their money on Lars von Trier's film "Dogville" winning the top award, were surprised when the maverick Dane and his leading lady Nicole Kidman won nothing.

The news will be a blow to Von Trier's production team which reportedly spent half a million dollars on Kidman's trip to Cannes, where she stayed in the priciest hotel around.

CANADA, TURKEY HONORED

Another film touted as a top winner was French-Canadian "The Barbarian Invasions," which ended up winning best screenplay and best actress for Marie-Josee Croze, who plays a drug addict who supplies the dying hero with heroin to ease his pain.

"It's always nice to get a prize," said the grinning writer, Denys Arcand, whose moving tale of a middle-aged professor's estranged wife, son and mistresses gathering around his deathbed provoked roars of laughter and sobs in Cannes -- as well as during shooting.

With so many awards going to north America, Cannes retained its reputation for favoring intellectual world cinema by giving two awards to Turkish film "Uzak" (Distant), a moving study of how a man's home life is upset when a jobless cousin moves in.

Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan won the runner-up Grand Prix and amateur players Muzaffer Ozdemir and Mehmet Emin Toprak jointly won best actor, an honor that goes posthumously to Toprak, Ceylan's cousin, after he died in a car accident the day after learning "Uzak" was shortlisted for Cannes.

World cinema gets invaluable exposure at Cannes, primarily a showcase for arty films that otherwise risk being overlooked.

That said, critics this year complained that the line-up of 20 feature films was the shoddiest in years.

Jury head Patrice Chereau said the nine-member panel managed to remain on good terms during 10 days of lengthy discussion, and actress Isabelle Huppert said it was important to keep things in perspective given "all the unhappiness in the world."

Iranian director Samira Makhmalbaf, just 23, received her second Jury Award in three years for "Five in the Afternoon," her portrayal of life in Afghanistan since the Taliban fell.

BOWLING FOR DVD

MGM planning to release Michael Moore's Oscar-winning documentary, Bowling for Columbine, on DVD on August 19. Among the extras, the filmmaker gives an interview in which he discusses his controversial Academy Award acceptance speech.

'Casablanca' DVD set for release

BURBANK, Calif. (CP) -- Warner Home Video is planning an Aug. 5 release of a two-disc special edition of the classic film Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

The film is already available in a special-edition DVD (on the MGM label) but the new one promises not only "a breathtaking new digital transfer" but also four hours of bonus material, including 10 minutes of newly discovered deleted scenes and outtakes.

Warner is also planning a gala tribute screening at New York's Lincoln Center on Aug. 11 to be attended by Bogie's widow Lauren Bacall and their son Stephen and Bergman's daughter Pia Lindstrom.

Other disc extras include optional commentaries by movie critic Roger Ebert and film historian Rudy Behlmer, a radio drama recording with original cast members, the premiere episode of the short-lived 1955 TV series that starred Charles McGraw, music scoring outtakes, a Looney Tunes cartoon takeoff, vintage trailers and new interviews.

"Recent advances in digital technology allowed us to revisit the early restoration work and create a new digital re-master directly from nitrate picture and sound elements," says Ned Price, vice-president of technical operations mastering for Warner.

Sting releasing new album

Sting is set to release his first studio album in four years, according to his official web site.

"Sacred Love," produced by Sting and his keyboardist Kipper, will hit North American retail outlets on September 23.

The first single, "Send Your Love," is due to hit radio in late June with a commercial release scheduled for September.

The album includes a guest appearance by Mary J. Blige who contributes vocals on the track "Whenever I Say Your Name."

After completing "Sacred Love" in Paris last month, Sting and his band flew to Los Angeles to record a performance DVD of the new material at the Mayan Theatre.

The DVD, which will also include some old material as well as the new songs, will be released in early October.

Sting is also planning a world tour in early 2004.

'American Idol' Winner to Release Single

NEW YORK - "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard won't have time to rest on his laurels — he's spending this weekend in the studio to work on his debut album, which is slated to come out by September.

Studdard, who edged Clay Aiken to win the second "American Idol" competition on Wednesday, has already been signed to J Records, founded by music mogul Clive Davis. And his first single, "Flying Without Wings," which Studdard sang during the competition, will be released next week.

Davis, who will be the executive producer of Studdard's disc, has shaped the careers of artists like Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys. He said Studdard "could very well be a major recording artist for many years to come."

"We're going to make a real state-of-the-art, strong musical album, and take a long term approach," Davis, who is chief executive officer and chairman of RCA Music Group, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Approximately 33.7 million people watched the "American Idol" finale, more than 10 million more than last year's competition.

Kelly Clarkson was crowned the first "American Idol" last September, and has since had a No. 1 single and album.

Studdard, whose sensual tenor is reminiscent of fellow J Records artist Luther Vandross, will record a mix of pop, R&B, and hip-hop-influenced tunes; there's even talk of a collaboration with rapper Fat Joe, one of Studdard's favorites, said Davis.

Already, Davis said he has fielded calls from top producers who want to work with the 24-year-old Birmingham, Ala., native.

Is Davis trying to mold Studdard, who sang mostly love songs on "Idol," into the next Vandross or Barry White? "We're not putting blinders on," Davis said. "We want to make it as exciting (as possible)."

Although Aiken, 24, lost the competition, he is also going to start work on his own album, to be released by RCA Records. His first single, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," is also expected to be released within a few days.

The margin of votes between Aiken and Studdard was so close, it apparently confused host Ryan Seacrest. He announced the number of votes that separated them as about 13,000 at one point and about 1,300 at another.

The actual spread was about 130,000 votes, said Fox spokesman Scott Grogin on Thursday.

"It's simply a case of someone misspeaking on live television," Grogin said.

The tally announced by Fox never changed, Grogin said. Out of more than 24 million votes cast, Studdard received a total of 50.28 percent while Aiken got 49.72 percent, the network said.

Shortly after Seacrest gave the first inaccurate figure, a publicist for the show told reporters at the Universal Amphitheatre about the error and said that the correct figure, about 130,000, would be announced later.

Seacrest, however, announced a second wrong figure on air.

Documents Reveal Some 'Matrix' Profits

LOS ANGELES - New divorce documents freezing some assets of "The Matrix Reloaded" co-director Larry Wachowski shed light on how much the mysterious filmmaker and his brother, Andy, were paid for the sci-fi sequels.

The court papers, which a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge signed May 14, restrained the brothers' company, Anarchos Productions, from disbursing "monies, property or anything of value" to Larry Wachowski.

Attorneys for Wachowski's wife, Thea Bloom, made the request. She's divorcing the 37-year-old filmmaker after about nine years of marriage.

The documents include letters between the couple's attorneys in which Wachowski's business representative, Peter Grossman, said the brothers were to be paid about $16 million for their work on sequels to 1999's "The Matrix" and a video game, not counting profit participation deals set to be paid in 2005.

Grossman's letter said Warner Bros. paid $5 million for the scripts, $2.2 million for preproduction services and $6.6 million during the shoot. The brothers were to receive an additional $2.2 million on completion of "The Matrix Reloaded" and the November sequel "The Matrix Revolutions," the letter said.

Grossman didn't immediately return a call for comment. Bloom's attorney, Dena Kleeman, declined to be interviewed.

The Chicago-raised siblings are notoriously secretive and have hidden from the press since the success of the original "Matrix." Since it debuted last week, "Reloaded" has earned about $152 million.

Fox: 'Idol' Host Given Faulty Numbers

LOS ANGELES - Turns out "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest can read.

On the Fox talent-search show's finale Wednesday, Seacrest twice announced incorrect numbers in describing how close the final vote was between winner Ruben Studdard and runner-up Clay Aiken.

"It wasn't his fault," Fox spokesman Scott Grogin said Friday. The first incorrect figure — 13,000 — was displayed on the TelePrompTer; the second — 1,300 — was written on a card given Seacrest.

The actual spread between the two contestants, out of nearly 24 million votes counted, was about 130,000, according to the network.

Grogin did not detail how Seacrest was given wrong information or by whom.

Atari Sells 1 Million Matrix Games in Week

PARIS - Atari Inc. Friday said it had sold more than 1 million copies of "Enter the Matrix" one week after the computer and video game hit shelves in the United States and Europe.

New York-based Atari shares closed Friday up 73 cents, or 17 percent, at $4.96 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The heavily indebted company, a subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment SA of France, is counting on blockbuster games such as "Enter the Matrix" to revive its fortunes.

The game was released May 15, the same day as the movie it is tied to, "The Matrix Reloaded." The game includes additional footage and is one of the most expensive ever made.

In early May, the company said it expected to sell 4 million units of the game for a total of $160 million in revenue. Infogrames had total sales of $770 million for the year ended in June and does about 65 percent of its sales in the United States.

Atari sales expectations, if reached, would put "Enter the Matrix" on track to be one of the best-selling games of all time.

Atari said the game will be released in Japan June 19.

Lawsuit: Michael Jackson Near Bankruptcy

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson, the King of Pop who amassed a half-billion-dollar fortune over the past 20 years, is saddled with debt and teetering near bankruptcy, his former financial advisers say in a lawsuit.

The lawsuit, set for trial June 18, claims Jackson's extravagant spending has created "a ticking financial time bomb waiting to explode at any moment."

Union Finance and Investment Corp. of South Korea filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming Jackson owes the firm $12 million in fees and expenses, plus interest. Jackson previously paid the firm $3 million, the firm said. The lawsuit also seeks punitive damages.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he does not believe the 44-year-old singer is near bankruptcy.

"I see no signs of this impending disaster," Oxman said. "I cannot say it for 100 percent sure because nobody knows his financial statements. But I can say it for a reasonable certainty."

Oxman also said that Union Finance has been paid for its work.

The lawsuit was filed in April 2002 by Union Finance, described as one of South Korea's leading financial advisory firms. Jackson hired Union Finance in 1998 to help straighten out his finances, according to the lawsuit.

"When they were retained, plaintiffs believed that Jackson was incredibly wealthy," the lawsuit states. "At the time plaintiffs agreed to work for Jackson, there was no clue that Jackson's extravagant lifestyle had all but bankrupted him."

The firm said it soon discovered that Jackson had only two months' worth of available funds.

Union Finance's lawyer said that he stands by the allegations in the year-old lawsuit and that he took Jackson's deposition last week in Beverly Hills.

"For whatever reason, Michael Jackson is not paying his debts," said Pierce O'Donnell, a leading entertainment finance lawyer. "He has little or no means of income. He lives off a line of credit."

He added: "The day of reckoning is near."

Forbes magazine last year estimated that Jackson was earning $50 million a year at the height of his popularity in the 1980s and '90s and had amassed $500 million over his career. Forbes estimated Jackson has $200 million in debts but a net worth of $350 million.

Jackson's 1982 album "Thriller," which has sold 26 million copies, is second behind the Eagles' first greatest hits album in all-time sales in the United States. But sales of recent Jackson albums have sagged.

Jackson's assets include his Neverland ranch in the hills above Santa Barbara and homes in Southern California and Las Vegas. Most of Jackson's assets are in musical holdings worth an estimated $450 million, including 200 Beatles titles and songs recorded by Elvis Presley, Forbes reported.

He is a voracious spender. In 2002, he racked up a $100,000 hotel bill on a brief trip to New York, according to Forbes.

Union Finance said it helped Jackson obtain $200 million in loans through Bank of America between 1998 and 2000. In his deposition last week, Jackson said he didn't know how much he owed on the loans, O'Donnell said.

Tim Burton in Talks to Direct 'Chocolate Factory'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Filmmaker Tim Burton, whose quirky credits range from "Beetlejuice" to "Batman," is in talks with Warner Bros. to direct a new movie adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's classic "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The studio confirmed a report in Daily Variety on Thursday that Burton will meet in London in the next few days with surviving members of the Dahl family to discuss the project.

The Dahl estate, which holds rights to the late author's works, has the final say over a director for the film, and Burton is the family's leading candidate for the job, one source close to the situation told Reuters.

The studio, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., is hoping to begin pre-production on the film by the end of this year, the studio said.

The 1964 novel was first made into a movie in 1971's "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," starring Gene Wilder as the eccentric chocolatier who tempts children all over London with the possibility of finding a golden ticket hidden in one of his candy bars. He then leads the young winners, including meek little Charlie Bucket, on a tour of his mysterious candy factory.

Dahl, who died in 1990, wrote the original screenplay from his own book, though by some accounts was unhappy with the final product. The movie was a box office disappointment and initially drew lackluster reviews, as many critics found it to be too dark. But the film has become somewhat of a cult classic over the years.

"Willy Wonka" was released by Paramount Pictures, which reportedly is developing an adaptation of another Dahl book, "The BFG."

According to Variety, a screenwriter who worked on the "BFG" project, Gwyn Lurie, was tapped by Warner Bros. to pen a rewrite of the initial script for its "Chocolate Factory" adaptation.

Burton is best known in Hollywood for his creative renderings of such fantasy films as "Batman," "Beetlejuice," "Edward Scissorhands," "Sleepy Hollow" and a remake of "Planet of the Apes."

Springsteen Covers Set to Fight Disease

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Elvis Costello, Joe Ely, Graham Parker, Pete Yorn, and Billy Bragg are among the artists who have contributed tracks to "Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen."

The two-disc covers collection was released this week in Spain; a U.S. version with extra tracks will be issued in August. Proceeds will benefit the Parkinson's Disease Foundation and the Kristen Ann Carr Fund, which raises money for research and treatment of sarcoma.

While several cuts have been previously released -- Costello's "Brilliant Disguise," Yorn's "New York City Serenade," and Bragg's "Mansion on the Hill," among them -- many artists have contributed new recordings. Joe Grushecky and his band the Houserockers added a new version of "Light of Day," Elliot Murphy offered a take on "Better Days," and Joe Ely has covered "Workin' on the Highway."

Others who have offered tracks include Cowboy Mouth, Patty Griffin, E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren, Willie Nile, Dion, Steve Wynn, and Rosie Flores.

Spanish Springsteen fanzine editor Sal Trepat and Grushecky manager Bob Benjamin organized the collection. Benjamin, a Parkinson's sufferer and former Billboard employee, tells Billboard.com that the set is "a labor of love. It's helping out two of my favorite causes, and the music is my favorite."

Benjamin is also the organizer of the Light of Day benefit concerts held annually in New Jersey. Grushecky has traditionally headlined the shows, which have been graced yearly by unannounced Springsteen appearances. He's been working with the Parkinson's Disease Foundation "...since a couple months after being diagnosed," and staged the first benefit concert in 1998.

Springsteen's co-manager Barbara Carr and her husband, music journalist Dave Marsh, founded the Kristin Ann Carr Fund as part of the TJ Martell Foundation in memory of their daughter, who died a decade ago from sarcoma, a little understood form of cancer. Springsteen has often donated his time and memorabilia to the organization's fundraising efforts.

Benjamin says that since word got out about the "Light of Day" project, he's fielded offers from more artists than can be included. Although the U.S. version will add bonus cuts, "we want to keep it to two discs," he stresses.

One song on the Spanish release, Cracker's cover of "Sinoloa Cowboys" from Springsteen's 1995 "The Ghost of Tom Joad" album, will not be on the U.S. version of "Light of Day," but is due to appear on the band's next studio album. In its place, Cracker guitarist Johnny Hickman recorded "Candy's Room" under the name Crazysloth, and keyboardist/accordionist Kenny Margolis covered "Valentine's Day" as Lucky 7 for the compilation.

Although he hasn't yet spoken with Springsteen about the project, Benjamin believes it's something to which the Boss would give his blessing. He'll find out for sure when he catches up with Springsteen next month on his ongoing European tour with the E Street Band during a planned trip to Italy.

Here is the tentative list of artists and songs for the U.S. release of "Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen":

Dan Bern, "Thunder Road"
Billy Bragg and the Blokes, "Mansion on the Hill"
Marc Broussard, "Back in Your Arms Again"
Cindy Bullens, "If I Should Fall Behind"
John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, "E Street Shuffle"
The Clarks, TBD
Elvis Costello, "Brilliant Disguise"
Cowboy Mouth, TBD
Crazysloth, "Candy's Room"
Dion, "Book of Dreams"
Joe D'Urso and Stone Caravan, "Badlands"
Joe Ely, "Workin' on the Highway"
Rosie Flores, "Lucky Town"
Patty Griffin, "Stolen Car"
Sid Griffin, "Highway Patrolman"
Joe Grushecky, "Light of Day"
Garland Jeffreys, "Streets of Philadelphia"
Kirk Kelly, "Downbound Train"
Nils Lofgren, "Man at the Top"
Gary Lucas' Gods and Monsters, "Ain't Got You"
Lucky 7, "Valentine's Day"
Elliott Murphy, "Better Days"
The Mystic Knights of the Sea, "Johnny 99"
Willie Nile, "I'm on Fire"
Paradise Brothers, "Souls of the Departed"
Graham Parker, "Pink Cadillac"
Mike Rimbaud, "Atlantic City"
Jason Ringenberg, "My Hometown"
Graziano Romani, "The Promise"
Matthew Ryan, "Something in the Night"
Mark Wright, "Two Hearts"
Steve Wynn, "State Trooper"
Pete Yorn, "New York City Serenade"

Mariah Ditching 'Bells and Whistles' on Tour

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Although Mariah Carey is downsizing her North American tour plans from arenas to theaters, her agent tells Billboard the move had nothing to do with lower-than-expected ticket sales.

"Mariah had been speaking to people, monitoring her Web site, and listening to her fans, and the resounding note she heard was her fans wanted to see her in a more intimate environment and were less concerned about the big production aspects of an arena tour," says John Marx, senior VP of contemporary music at the William Morris Agency.

Beginning June 21 in Seoul, South Korea, the 47-date Charmbracelet world tour, Carey's first in more than three years, was to be her most extensive yet. The North American leg was initially scheduled to begin July 18 at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska, and conclude Sept. 23 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H.; international dates appear to be unchanged.

Marx maintains the tour would have been fine as booked. "Ticket counts were not that bad, and our average capacity on this tour was about 11,000," he says. "She'll have the same band, minus the bells and whistles. She's going to bring it back to what Mariah's all about: the music."

According to Marx, Carey could wind up playing as many as 27 dates, beginning July 26 at Celine Dion's Colosseum showroom at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Island/Monarc is planning to reissue Carey's latest album, "Charmbracelet," on July 29 with four new tracks.

Only four North American shows had gone on sale when plans began to change: Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. (July 26), United Center in Chicago (July 29), Air Canada Center in Toronto (Aug. 7), and the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. Carey's official Web site advised her fans in cities where the shows had gone on sale to hang on to tickets and receipts, presumably for a refund or exchange. But some building officials were out of the loop.

Brian Miller, director of event development for the Xcel Energy Center, says he sold about 2,000 tickets out of the box. But when Billboard contacted him earlier this week, he had yet to be informed that the tour was being scaled back and that his date would be scratched. "Sounds like I need to call the promoter," Miller says. "We're still up and on sale."

Carey was not only supposed to perform July 26 at Xcel, she also had the building booked for rehearsals July 24-25.

Robert Hunter, senior VP/GM of the 20,000-seat Air Canada Center, says sales were at about 4,500 for his show, and the date was still on. It will likely take place in the building's 8,500-seat configuration concert bowl.

Enjoy!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/newline/freddy_vs_jason/fvj_medium.html

What's on TV: Tuesday

--'24' wraps up season: As the clock ticks away on real-time espionage drama 24, which caps its second season on Fox (9 ET/PT), things are looking grim. Having survived torture and repeatedly cheated death, super-agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has one hour to stop a world war and reinstate a president.

--Buffy the Vampire Slayer (UPN, tonight, 8 ET/PT) ends its seven-season run with a rousing hour that accomplishes most everything you could ask of a finale. Joss Whedon, Buffy's ingenious creator, has wrapped up his series in a way that brings the story to a satisfying conclusion without closing off future options. There are tears and laughs, a lesson in choices and empowerment, and a sense that a personal journey has reached completion. Buffy may not have changed the world, but it made one small, electronic part of it a much better place.

--Still, the demons Buffy has faced are nothing compared to the power aligned against her tonight: The finals of American Idol (Fox, 8 p.m. ET/PT). My advice? Watch Buffy live and tape Idol, which is always far better when you can fast-forward to the singing center.

--Get your recording devices ready, because it's a tough night. WB offers the season finale of Gilmore Girls (WB, 8 ET/PT). Rory thinks her college plans are set, but a surprise is in store.

--NYPD Blue (ABC, 10 ET/PT) ends its 10th season with Andy and Connie's wedding. Or does it? You'll have to watch.

Enjoy whatever you watch and don't tell me a thing!

STONED TEMPLE PILOT?

Burbank police arresting Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland Sunday on investigation of drug possession after allegedly finding narcotics in his car during an early morning traffic stop. Weiland's out on $10,000 bail.

MUTANT HOST

X2 star Hugh Jackman tapped to emcee the 57th Annual Tony Awards, airing live from Radio City Music Hall on CBS on June 8.

MORE HARPO

As expected, Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey signing a new deal with King World Productions to continue as host and producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show through 2008.

'Matrix' Has Best-Ever Opening for R Film

LOS ANGELES - Hordes of fans took another trip down the rabbit hole with Neo, Trinity and the other characters of "The Matrix Reloaded," giving the sequel the highest opening weekend gross of any R-rated film on record.

The Warner Bros. sequel to 1999's "The Matrix" took in an estimated $93.3 million from Friday through Sunday, capturing 59.8 percent of the total gross of the weekend's top 12 films, according to studio estimates.

"Matrix Reloaded" made mincemeat out of the previous R-rated weekend record holder, 2001's "Hannibal," which brought in $58 million. "Matrix Reloaded" opened in limited previews Wednesday night, and its total for all five days was estimated at $135.8 million.

"Matrix Reloaded" becomes the second-highest first weekend grossing film of all time, behind last year's PG-13-rated "Spider-Man," which took in $114.8 million its opening weekend. "Matrix Reloaded" was rated R for violence and some sexuality.

Overall, however, Hollywood revenues were down, with the top 12 movies grossing $162.6 million, off 4 percent compared to the same weekend last year.

"Matrix Reloaded" audiences were split almost evenly between those under and over 25, and many theater owners reported a large number of families seeing the film, according to Warner Bros. research.

"You had a whole legion of fans under 17 whose parents were obviously willing to take them to see this movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. "You can almost call this an R-rated family film."

"This just shows that ratings matter to a point, but if people want to see the movie, they're going to see the movie," Dergarabedian said.

The film is the second of a trilogy, which will wrap up in November with "The Matrix Revolutions."

Warner Bros. held back on a major television ad campaign for the film, relying instead on word of mouth from the releases of the DVD of "The Matrix," of a video game based on the films and of a series of animated shorts.

"The Matrix Reloaded" easily knocked its sci-fi rival, "X2: X-Men United," into third place. "X2" took in $17.1 million for a total three-week take of $174 million.

A surprise was the resilience of the Eddie Murphy family comedy "Daddy Day Care," which only slipped 30 percent at the box office in its second week and retained its second-place showing with a three-day gross of $19.2 million, for a three-week total of $51.4 million.

"To be wedged between these two monsters and hold as well as we did makes it that much better," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.

Here are the ticket sale totals for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc..

1. "The Matrix Reloaded," $93.3 million.
2. "Daddy Day Care," $19.2 million.
3. "X2: X-Men United," $17.1 million.
4. "Down With Love." $7.6 million.
5. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," $4.5 million.
6. "Anger Management," $3.6 million.
7. "Identity," $3.4 million.
8. "Holes," $3 million.
9. "A Mighty Wind," $1.7 million.
10. "Bend It Like Beckham," $1.5 million

'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Bites the Dust

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Apocalypse? Like, that is so 1997. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" has thwarted the end of the world so many times since then, it's no longer cool.

The comedy-horror series, about a petite young woman with a penchant for Valley Girl-speech and the supernatural power to karate-kick demons back into the netherworld, will finally rest in peace.

The finale (8 p.m. EDT Tuesday on UPN) pits Buffy against a shape-shifting evil known as The First. Some will live, some will die, perhaps evil will be foiled once more, but then again ... this is the end, right? And Buffy has died before — twice.

Although it was her decision to leave, star Sarah Michelle Gellar said it was hard to say goodbye to the role that made her famous.

"The whole time I kept thinking, 'When am I going to cry?'" she recalled about filming her last scene in the desert outside Los Angeles. "I remember when it finally came it was like getting hit with a brick wall."

Series creator Joss Whedon developed the show from his script for a 1992 movie that starred Kristy Swanson as the perky vampire hunter. The idea for a feminist warrior came to him in 1987 after witnessing a few too many horror-flick cliches.

"It's an old story, but it's true one," Whedon said in April, during a break on his second-to-last day of directing the finale. "I was watching a bunch of horror movies and there was the petite ditzy blonde who got cornered in the alley and killed, and I got tired of it. I felt sorry for her and wanted her to have a champion."

The "Buffy" series became a surprise hit for the WB network when it debuted midseason in 1997 with Gellar, then 18, wielding the wooden stakes. The show jumped to the UPN network two years ago.

Set in the fictional California town of Sunnydale, "Buffy" depicted high school as a literal Hell: the building sat over a gateway to the satanic inferno, attracting monsters like truckers to a highway rest stop.

Far from being the popular girl in school, Buffy's mysterious night-prowling made her seem like a weirdo to classmates.

Her only friends were the wallflower Willow (Alyson Hannigan), who eventually discoverd her lesbian sexuality; the handsome geek Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and the tweed-jacketed British librarian Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), who doubled as her Watcher, an occult-researcher and fight trainer.

Head said he and Whedon still plan to do a TV movie called "Ripper" based on his character's past as a demon conjurer, although neither is sure when that will happen.

Buffy's romances with the bad-boy bloodsucker Spike (James Marsters) and Angel (David Boreanaz), the vampire cursed with a soul to make him regret his monstrous past, were explorations of how otherwise smart, strong women become embroiled in bad relationships, Whedon said.

When Buffy and Angel made love in the second season, that moment of "perfect happiness" released his curse, eradicated his soul and turned him evil again. "That's the ultimate metaphor," Gellar said. "You sleep with a guy and he turns bad on you."

Her tangles with Spike ventured into abusive territory, according to Marsters, who said the finale may help reconcile his character's light and dark sides. "It's at least the chance to show that he cares to try to redeem himself. I don't know if you CAN redeem yourself after doing what he did all of those hundreds of years," Marsters said.

Over the years, Buffy has encountered a song-and-dance demon in the musical episode "Once More With Feeling," and ghostly voice-stealers in the acclaimed silent installment "Hush."

One demon even became a show regular: Anya (Emma Caulfield) was a ghoul who specializes in punishing unfaithful men — until she lost her power, became human and swooned for Xander only to be dumped by him on their wedding day.

In the fifth season, Buffy was implanted with the memory that she has a little sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), who was created by magical monks to house a mystical ball of energy that opened the world to evil gods and ... well, the show was full of breathlessly complex lore like that.

Comedy has been key to humanizing gothic cataclysms. One example: Buffy locked in battle with the vampire archvillain, The Master, looks curiously at his menacing, bloodstained lips and observes: "You have fruit-punch mouth."

While rumors abounded about discord between Gellar and others on the show over her decision to leave, Whedon said he had long planned this season as the last.

When Gellar made her announcement in a March issue of Entertainment Weekly, she said there was still the possibility that "Buffy" could continue without her under a new title. That plan was eventually scrapped, and if there were hard feelings about Gellar's public resignation most of her co-stars now agree it's time to move on.

"I'm happy. It's a good time for it to end. It's going to be sad, but it would be sad no matter what," said Hannigan, who met her fiance, Alexis Denisof, on "Buffy" when he costarred as a fussy Watcher overseeing Giles. Denisof currently stars with Boreanaz on the WB's "Angel" spin-off, which Marsters will join next season.

Now the phony graveyard in the "Buffy" studio parking lot has been plowed under, the ornate goat-faced seal to the Hellmouth has been rolled away, and the last slain vampire has been dusted by the special-effects department.

Whedon said in coming years he'd like to make a "Buffy" movie, although Gellar said she's not interested — at least for now.

"Never say never," she added — proof that nothing in the Buffy realm is ever dead for sure.

Kidman Says She'd Drop Acting if She Met Mr. Right

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman may be the current darling of Hollywood but she would be happy to give up the showbiz lifestyle to settle down with the right man. "I probably won't do this for the rest of my life," Kidman told a news conference on her new film "Dogville," a favorite to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes festival this year.

"There are other things to do that interest me and I think that when I fall in love, that's when I will stop and settle down," said Kidman, 35, glowing in a black evening gown.

She made no reference to her divorce from celluloid pin-up Tom Cruise, who now dates Spanish actress Penelope Cruz.

Cruz, without Cruise, was in Cannes last week ago to promote "Fanfan la Tulipe," a fluffy costume drama that couldn't be more different from Dogville and was slated by critics.

Dogville, on the other hand, the latest epic from maverick Danish director Lars von Trier, is set to win more plaudits for the alabaster-skinned Kidman, who has gone from an actress best known as being Mrs Tom Cruise to an acclaimed artist.

Asked how she dealt with fame, Kidman said: "It's very important to remember where you're at and where you've come from. It's surreal, but it's important to still jump on the hotel bed and go 'oh my God, I'm in the Hotel du Cap."'

Fresh from her Oscar win for her portrayal of suicidal author Virginia Woolfe, Kidman shines in Dogville as a fragile woman hiding from gangsters in a tiny, Rocky Mountain town.

The role involves her at one point wearing an iron dog collar attached to a chain, a bell and a heavy iron wheel, and bearing the brunt of the lust of every man in the town.

"The collar was not discussed on the phone," Kidman joked. "I saw it when I arrived, and I had a pretty strong reaction."

Praised for her high kicks and trapeze stunts in "Moulin Rouge," Kidman is now planning a remake of "The Stepford Wives" followed by two more films with Von Trier.

But she has no intention of letting the job burn her out.

"I love being an actor. But I would hope that I have many other things than this life ahead of me," Kidman said.

"This kind of life is a burn-out. You find yourself saying 'I can't do this for ever'. It will finish in its own time."

Liverpool Gears Up for McCartney Homecoming

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Paul McCartney fans said on Monday they were itching to welcome him home next month for his first major solo concert in his northern England home town since 1990.

The Liverpool-born musician, who made his name as one quarter of 1960s rock and roll phenomenon the Beatles, will play the 90th and final gig of his "Back in the World" tour to 30,000 fans on the banks of the city's River Mersey on June 1.

One fan who is well aware of the value of his concert ticket is Eddie Porter, who for 24 years has been a guide on the "Magical Mystery Tour" bus that shuttles tourists to Liverpool's many sites of Beatles interest.

"Put it this way: you can buy me love, but you can't buy my ticket," he said over a beer near the Cavern Club, where the Beatles performed nearly 300 times.

McCartney had 17 number one hits in Britain with the group.

"They were a unique band, they were teenagers talking to teenagers. When they played, your whole body could feel the heat of the music," Porter said.

Since the band split in 1970, McCartney has had further success with the group Wings and as a solo artist.

In all, some two million people will have seen his latest tour, which started in California in April 2002. It has made McCartney the world's highest earning celebrity and will have taken him through more than 15 countries including concerts in Rome's Colosseum and Moscow's Red Square.

Liverpool city council said tickets for the final date sold out in four hours.

Bob Scott, head of Liverpool's bid to become a European city of culture, said: "It's probably the biggest concert to come to Liverpool in a generation and will be one of the most memorable in Britain this year."

McCartney's tour crew will erect a 70-foot (20-meter) stage in an open-air arena that will buzz to the sound of more than 30 solo hits and Beatles classics like "Hey Jude," "Yesterday" and "Let it Be."

'Matrix' Actor Marcus Chong Sues Over Tank Role

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Marcus Chong has sued the makers of "The Matrix" for allegedly reneging on a promise to recast him as a freedom fighter in the 1999 sci-fi thriller's two sequels.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses Warner Bros. and parent company AOL Time Warner and the film's producers of breaching their 1998 oral agreement and a 2000 contract to revive his character, Tank, in the two sequels, and of slandering him.

Chong, 35, also accused the filmmakers of "intentionally publishing numerous false statements ... that he was a terrorist," and of conspiring to blackball him in Hollywood.

A bail receipt document posted on a fan Web site shows that Chong was arrested on Oct. 18, 2000 for allegedly making threats -- five days after his salary negotiations with the studio collapsed.

Film industry sources said the actor made repeated phone calls of a harassing nature to the filmmakers after his salary demands were not met. Tank was subsequently written out of the sequels and replaced with a character named Link.

A Warner Bros. spokesman and a spokeswoman for writer-directors Andy and Larry Wachowski declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Chong's attorney could not be reached for comment.

Released last week, "The Matrix Reloaded" enjoyed first weekend box office sales of $93.3 million -- higher than any R-rated film in U.S. history and No. 2 among all releases.

"The Matrix Reloaded" stars Keanu Reeves as a resistance fighter who battles an army of machines that seek to take control of the last human city, Zion. It will be followed in November by a third movie, "The Matrix Revolutions."

'The Bachelor' Beats Hitler in TV Ratings

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a ratings battle between love and hate, love conquered all. Even Hitler.

The two-hour finale of ABC's reality romance hit "The Bachelor" was the big winner Sunday in the ratings race for young adult viewers, while the first half of a CBS miniseries about Hitler finished third, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen Media Research.

"The Bachelor" finale, in which winery executive Andrew Firestone, great-grandson of the tire tycoon, proposed to account executive Jennifer Schefft, scored a 7.7 rating for adults under 50, the viewer group most coveted by advertisers.

That was enough to help ABC to a first-place finish in the 18-to-49 demographic for the final Sunday of the TV season.

The show averaged 15 million viewers overall, nearly tied for its two-hour time period with back-to-back telecasts of the season's last two episodes of NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," which ranked No. 2 in adults 18 to 49.

Part one of the CBS miniseries "Hitler: the Rise of Evil," starring Scottish actor Robert Carlyle as the Fuehrer, landed in third place for the 9-to-11 p.m. slot in both total viewers and young adults (13.6 million, l3.9 rating).

If the one-hour season swan song of Fox sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" were counted in the mix (Fox lacks a network program for the 10 o'clock hour), the Hitler miniseries would fall to fourth place.

'Matrix' Producer Dismisses Violent Links

LONDON (Reuters) - The producer of the "Matrix" films reminded fans on Monday that the movies were just fantasy, following a spate of stories in the United States linking it with violent behavior.

"I only can comment that 15 million people have seen the movie and I don't know what the links are," producer Joel Silver told a news conference in London alongside its lead actors Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne.

"The Matrix Reloaded," one of the most-anticipated sequels in film history, opened to record numbers in North America over the weekend and is expected to whip up equal excitement when it his British screens nationwide on Friday.

But a handful of fans in the United States have apparently taken their fascination with the sci-fi smash a step too far by acting out real-life crimes to escape the Matrix -- a computer-generated world controlled by machines.

"It's a wonderful fantasy story that doesn't take place in the real world, so I can't comment on what makes people do what they do," he said.

The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the movie was recently invoked by an Ohio woman and a man in San Francisco who each killed their landlord but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

It quoted producers Warner Bros. as saying in a statement: "Any attempt to link these crimes with a motion picture or any other art form is disturbing and irresponsible."

The first "Matrix" became a cult classic in 1999, grossing almost $460 million worldwide and winning four Oscars.

The sequel continues the kung-fu battle against machines that have taken over a post-apocalyptic earth and harvest humans in a computer-generated world known as "The Matrix."

Beyond its wild action scenes and dazzling special effects, the movies have captivated fans by twisting reality in circles until it disappears altogether.

But Fishburne, who plays sunglasses-wearing Morpheus, one of the film's heroes, told fans to make the ultimate distinction:

"There is no matrix, there is only what is real," he said.

Jewel Bares Herself!

For almost a decade pundits have wondered how long it would be before the gorgeous Jewel used her sexuality in a video to promote a song.

My friends, that day has arrived!

In her video for the song "Intuition" she can be seen in a bikini top, dancing, and moving like an exotic dancer to "show her goods" to the camera. Or as it is described on her website, "See what all the controversy is about as Jewel struts through one commercial scenario after another in this parody of sex-driven advertising and music videos. This is Jewel like you've never seen her before."

Whatever the reason for this video finally being made, Jewel is one of this planet's most beautiful women and if she is comfortable objectifying herself just to sell CD's, so am I.

Thank you Jewel!

See the results for yourself! Jewel's new video, "Intuition," is available here for your viewing pleasure. Just click on "Multimedia."

2004 Golden Globes to air Jan. 25

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Golden Globe Awards, often considered a crystal ball for the Oscars, will air a week later than usual next year.

The 61st annual awards will be presented Jan. 25, the last weekend of the month, rather than on the traditional third weekend, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Tuesday.

Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Dagmar Dunlevy said neither the change in date for the Oscars -- which moved up from March to late February -- nor televised conference championship games to determine who plays in the Super Bowl was a consideration.

The awards usually wind up being held around Jan. 21 anyway, she said.

"Nothing's really changed," she said. "The philosophy was: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it."'

The new date comes just two days before Oscar nominations are announced Jan. 27. The Academy Awards show is set for Feb. 29.

A move had been expected because the date to return Oscar nomination ballots was changed to Jan. 17. If the Golden Globes had kept its traditional schedule, the awards would have been handed out Jan. 18, a day after the Oscar ballot deadline.

Organizations that have adjusted their 2004 dates for awards shows to early February include the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild of America and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The Golden Globes are selected by the nearly 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who have a record of choosing Oscar winners. But their awards have received increasing attention mainly because of timing and television.

The live broadcast traditionally has exposed winners to a national audience before the Oscar balloting deadline. That has led to a view that the Golden Globes were at least the harbingers of the Oscar, if not directly influencing academy voters.

"I always think it's very flattering to say that we have any influence on an awards show," Dunlevy said.

Bad Start for THE HULK

Studio executives are reportedly not too happy with Ang Lee's upcoming THE HULK.

E! Online's Anderson Jones had the word:

He's Mean, Green...and Slow? I hear execs at Universal are turning green this week after a not so incredible screening of Hulk. The studio's top brass was practically speechless. Apparently, director Ang Lee has turned in a melodramatic take on the comic book with an emphasison drama--as in, really long and boring. Uh-oh. The suits concerns are way beyond the fanboy fears that the CGI big guy will look cheesy.

Still, isn't this what Lee promised from the get-go? He has always said Hulk would be an examination of our repressed selves and the release of unchecked rage--an emotion Bruce Banner expresses by turning into a 15-foot mighty green giant. I always expected the story to be a psychological journey--it's about the Hulk inside all of us. Still, one exec says, "It's like he combined The Ice Storm with Shrek."

JERRY SAYS 'FRIENDS' IS 'SEINFELD' RIP-OFF

Five years after his own legendary sitcom had its historic finale on NBC, Jerry Seinfeld is still competitive when it comes to today's hit sitcoms.

In separate TV interviews this week, he expressed amazement about Ray Romano's new contract and implied that the creators of "Friends" stole their concept of a group of friends in New York City from his old show.

He raised the subject of Romano's new deal during a chat with Jay Leno Wednesday night on "The Tonight Show."

The "Everybody Loves Raymond" star just reupped with CBS for $1.8 million per episode. Seinfeld earned $1 million an episode in his sitcom's final season (although he's earned tens of millions since then from the sale of "Seinfeld" reruns).

"I heard in your monologue - it was very interesting - you were talking about Ray Romano setting a world record, the highest-paid actor . . ." Seinfeld said to Leno. "I thought that was very interesting, very interesting, very, very interesting," Seinfeld said wonderingly.

He takes a shot at "Friends" on tonight's edition of HBO's "On the Record with Bob Costas."

In a rare and illuminating interview airing at 11:30 p.m., Costas asks Seinfeld if he thinks his show would have been given time to succeed if it was to premiere today instead of in 1990.

"Has 'Friends' been on too?" Seinfeld asks.

"Yeah, 'Friends' has been on," Costas replies.

"Really," answers Seinfeld, "so they managed to steal it without seeing it!"

On HBO, Seinfeld, 49, told Costas he has no plans to return to TV. He said he's enjoying his new life as husband, father and, occasionally, standup comedian.

HITTING BACK

Mariah Carey telling the New York Daily News she can't believe Eminem would go public with voicemail messages the singer left him while the two briefly dated. "I don't know what the hell he's doing. It's a little excessive. Doesn't it seem a little bit girly? Like we're in a catfight."

...The Matrix Reloaded racked up $9.3 million in its first day of release on Thursday, the largest preview gross in box-office history.

Rock, Older Buyers Rule in Depressed Music Market

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rock and roll never dies, but it's getting older.

According to a survey by the Recording Industry Associationof America, rock held steady as the most popular genre in 2002 while those over age 45 emerged as the steadiest music buyers in a depressed market.

The survey, released on Thursday, also found that 2002 was the first year that more CDs were sold at discount department stores and consumer electronics outlets than specialty record stores.

Earlier this year, the RIAA reported that year-end shipments of CDs, DVDs and tapes totaled $12.6 billion in 2002, down 8 percent from $13.7 billion in 2001.

The embattled record industry blames that drop in large part on unauthorized online file-sharing services, which allow fans to copy and swap music for free.

Experts also cite the economy, competition from video games and a decline in runaway hits as factors behind the slump.

The RIAA survey found that consumers aged 10 to 14 years old represented 8.9 percent of the market, compared with 8.5 percent in 2001.

Purchases by fans 45 and up rose to 25.5 percent from 23.7 percent a year earlier, the survey said.

Rock reigned as the music purchased most, representing 24.7 percent of the market, the survey said, followed by rap or hip-hop and urban/R&B recordings.

Purchases at outlets other than specialty music stores grew from 42.4 percent in 2001 to 50.7 percent in 2002, the survey said.

The RIAA represents the world's major record labels, including AOL Time Warner, EMI Group Plc, Bertelsmann AG, Vivendi Universal Universal Music and Sony Corp.

Peter D. Hart Research Associates conducted the survey of more than 3,000 music consumers in the United States.

SNAKES AND RATS

CBS announcing an all-star edition of Survivor for its eighth installment. Castaways expected to compete for a $2 million jackpot include Jerri Manthey, Richard Hatch, Susan Hawk, Tina Wesson, Ethan Zohn and Rudy Bosch.

...Joey Chooses Pacey in 'Dawson' Finale

NEW YORK - After six seasons, Joey finally ends up with... Pacey. And Jen is the one who dies. The series finale of "Dawson's Creek" took the characters five years into the future.

Jack's a teacher, Jen's a single mom, Pacey's a restaurant owner, Joey's an editor in New York and Dawson's in Hollywood working on a show he created called "The Creek." They came back to Capeside for Dawson's mom's wedding, where Jen collapses and everyone finds out she has a heart abnormality. That's what ends up killing her.

Joey finally chooses between Pacey and Dawson, saying she's known all along. Even though she and Dawson tell each other, "You and me always," in the final scene she's watching "The Creek" with Pacey and he gets the kiss. And it turns out Pacey's been right all these years — his brother Dougie IS gay.

The series finale aired on the WB on Wednesday night.

'Matrix' Star Reeves Says He's No Indy Jones

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Maybe it's the dark glasses. Keanu Reeves, who plays the superpowered character Neo hiding behind his cool black shades and long trench coat in "The Matrix Reloaded," said he is certain he can avoid being typecast in similar superhero roles in the future.

"I don't think, as an actor, that is going to be a concern, in terms of being pigeonholed. 'Well, just go be that Neo guy,"' he quipped, mimicking the voice of a casting director.

The "Matrix" movies have created a cult-like following with their story about humans -- Neo among them -- battling machines that enslaved them in a computer-simulated world.

"The Matrix" in 1999 raked in $456 million worldwide, and by Thursday "Reloaded" was being shown on over 8500 movie screens, or roughly one-quarter of those in the U.S.

As Neo, Reeves risks a fate suffered by many actors in widely hyped, plum roles: repeat the part and become not an actor of many faces, but an actor of only one.

Harrison Ford is still seen by many fans as Indiana Jones of the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" series.

"Harrison Ford is that character. He's such a central figure in that piece. Neo is much more a part of a whole," Reeves told Reuters, alluding to the film's ensemble cast.

That's somewhat true. His team's Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity are cool and sexy killing machines.

"Matrix Reloaded" picks up where "Matrix" ended. The machines are hellbent on human genocide and Neo, or "The One," must stop them. The story was dreamed up by writer/director brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski.

IDEAS, AND FUN TOO

A sci-fi fan, Reeves likes the humans' determination against adversity and their sense of right and wrong. But best of all, he said, the "Matrix" movies are just plain fun.

"It has ideas you can take with you, but it is a film you can also be entertained by," he said.

Neo, of course, flies. He sees speeding bullets in slow motion. He walks on air, flips, twirls, then punches his rivals with deadly force, although Agent Smith just won't die.

With his slick black hair and chiseled jaw, Neo looks nothing like the tousled and slightly rumpled Reeves.

Reeves, 38, has faced this typecasting issue before.

His role as stoner Ted, in 1989's "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," left Hollywood thinking he could only play a dim-witted dude. After 1991's "Point Break" he was dubbed a pretty boy, and 1994's "Speed" made him an action hero.

Each time, Reeves broke the stereotypes by taking diverse parts -- a street hustler in "My Own Private Idaho," or Don John in Kenneth Branagh's version of "Much Ado About Nothing."

He said he tries not to think about nearing 40, and what that means in terms of his career and new roles.

"I don't think I can be a virgin in high school again," he joked.

He has one more shot at Neo, in "The Matrix Revolutions" which hits movie screens in November and is the final chapter in the trilogy of films.

Reeves said he doesn't know whether there will be other "Matrix" movies, and he did not say if he would return as Neo.

"If there is, it might be an incarnation that is something else. The story they (the Wachowskis) wanted to tell, is told."

'Untouchables' Actor Robert Stack Dies

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Robert Stack, who battled TV gangsters as the famed crime-fighter Eliot Ness in "The Untouchables" and helped bring real-life fugitives to justice as host of "Unsolved Mysteries," has died at age 84, his agent said on Thursday.

The actor, who had recently completed chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer, was found dead of a heart attack in the living room of his Bel Air home by his wife, Rosemarie, when she returned on Wednesday from a charity show rehearsal, agent Merritt Blake told Reuters.

Blake said Stack had been given a "clean bill of health" in recent weeks, though doctors were aware that he had an artery blockage that had gone untreated during his bout with cancer.

Although ill, Stack had continued to work recently, and his distinct, deep voice will soon be heard as the narrator of the upcoming Broadway revival of "Little Shop of Horrors," which he recorded for the show two or three weeks ago, said Blake, his agent for the past 25 years. Those recordings were the last work Stack did before his death.

Stack's last public appearance was on Saturday, when he stood up to acknowledge applause from a crowd attending a birthday tribute to Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant.

But Stack had friends in higher places than that, including former President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy, who issued a statement saying they counted Stack and his wife "among our dearest friends in Los Angeles."

CONSUMMATE CRIME-FIGHTER

In a career spanning seven decades, Stack earned a 1956 Academy Award nomination for his supporting role as the playboy son of an oil tycoon in "Written in the Wind" and won renewed popularity with his comic turn in the 1980 movie satire "Airplane!"

However, Stack is perhaps best remembered for his signature role as Eliot Ness, the famed G-Man who battled Prohibition-era mobsters, in the TV series "The Untouchables," which ran from 1959 to 1963. The role earned him an Emmy in 1960.

He also starred as a crime-fighter in two shorter-lived cop shows -- "Most Wanted" and "Strike Force."

He was better-known to a younger generation of viewers as host of the popular docudrama series "Unsolved Mysteries," which combined interviews with dramatic reenactments to explore baffling crimes and all manner of unexplained phenomena ranging from persistent legends to UFO sightings.

Viewers were urged to call a special hotline with clues, and by the end of the eighth season, the show claimed credit for the capture of 140 fugitives.

The series debuted in the late 1980s and ran for about a decade on NBC before CBS picked up the show for two short runs in 1998 and 1999. Reruns, along with some new episodes and updates, have since run on the Lifetime cable network.

Stack made his big-screen debut in 1939 as the leading man opposite Deanna Durbin in "First Love" and was paired with her again two years later in "Nice Girl?"

Interrupting his acting career to serve as an aerial gunner instructor during World War II, he returned to Hollywood to appear in more than 18 films through the 1950s, starting with "A Date with Judy" opposite Elizabeth Taylor in 1948.

Other notable film credits included "The High and the Mighty" with John Wayne, the first commercial 3-D feature "Bwana Devil" and the title role in 1959's "John Paul Jones."

Nashville Matriarch June Carter Cash Dead at 73

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country music singer-songwriter June Carter Cash, the wife of Johnny Cash, died in Nashville on Thursday after complications from heart surgery, a spokeswoman said. She was 73.

"She passed away this evening at 5:04 p.m. Central Time," said Jennifer Jackson, director of public relations at Baptist Hospital, where Cash had undergone heart surgery on May 7.

Her family, including her husband, was at her side, Jackson told Reuters. The funeral will be private, she said later, adding that no additional details would be released.

Cash, the daughter of country music pioneer Maybelle Carter, mother of Carlene Carter and stepmother of Rosanne Cash, also country singers, co-wrote "Ring of Fire," a No. 1 country hit for Johnny Cash in 1963. They were married five years later, and their union was one of the strongest in the entertainment business.

"She's a soft, fluffy Mama Bear," Johnny Cash, 71, wrote in the liner notes of his newest album, "The Man Comes Around." He has suffered from poor health in recent years including diabetes, glaucoma, asthma and pneumonia.

The couple toured and recorded together for more than 40 years. They shared two Grammys in the 1960s for their renditions of "Jackson" and "If I Were A Carpenter." She won a trophy in her own right in 2000 for her acclaimed solo album "Press On."

A witty raconteur, June Carter Cash dabbled in acting, notably playing Robert Duvall's mother in the 1997 film "The Apostle." She would wryly note that in real life, she was only 18 months Duvall's senior. She also appeared a few times in "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," a TV series starring family friend Jane Seymour.

Cash's mother, Maybelle Carter, formed one-third of the Carter Family, one of country music's first superstar acts. As a young girl, she toured America with her mother and sisters, Helen and Anita.

In addition to her husband and Carlene Carter, she is survived by another daughter, Rosie, as well as her sole child with Cash, John Carter Cash.

Applegate Sits at the ANCHOR Desk

Christina Applegate (MARRIED...WITH CHILDREN) is set to star in ANCHOR MAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY with Will Ferrell. In the film, formerly known as ACTION NEWS, Ferrell will play a mustachioed, arrogant news anchor in Portland, Oregon in the 1970s that is paired with an actually intelligent and talented female anchor (Applegate). Through working with her, he begins to realize that his ability to read a Teleprompter while having perfect hair and a mustache is not enough. Adam McKay will make his directorial debut on the film.

POOCH SMOOCH

One of Hollywood's biggest mysteries has finally been solved - the whereabouts on Oscar night of Best Actress nominee Renée Zellweger, who disappeared after losing to Nicole Kidman.

Her vanishing act, she insists, was not sour grapes but instead the needs of the love of her life: her ailing 14-year-old dog, Dylan.

"I wasn't crazy about the parties," she admits, "because at that point I had gone to about 960 pre-parties. So at the end of the Oscar show I thought, 'If I could do anything in the world right now, to celebrate this night and what it means and what this experience has been about, what would it be?'

"And I thought, 'I'd love to kiss my dog on the nose.' So, I thought, 'I'm going to go home and do that.'"

As she was leaving the show, a man opened the door for her - and accidentally stepped on her blood-red, form-fitting, lace designer dress, ripping it badly.

"The tear exposed something that probably shouldn't make an appearance at the 'Vanity Fair' party," said Zellweger.

That made up her mind to head home, she says.

But when she arrived at her house in the Hollywood Hills, she discovered she had forgotten her front door key.

"You don't think about keys when you're putting on the dress on Oscar night and leaving the house," she said.

Fortunately she had a friend ready to help - "He's Dave Palmer, a.k.a. Spider-Man" she laughs.

So as she stood and waited in her driveway, he managed to scale a wall and climb into the house through an open window.

When she walked into her living room, she discovered that poor Dylan had been having a "really bad night" in the absence of his mistress.

"I guess it was hilarious in a way," she says. "I took my dress off and put it in a safe place. Then I took Dylan out into the yard and gave him a little bath."

So instead of spending Oscar night sipping champagne, eating caviar and rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest stars in the business, Zellweger rolled up her sleeves and began to scrub her floors.

The decision to stay home was by now irrevocable. In fact, she says, it was a bit of a relief.

"It was actually one of those life moments that you don't ever forget because it was just a lot of realization that came with it, when you get deposited back into your own life where your heart resides," she said.

"After all of that, I just didn't feel like putting the dress on and going and being 'glamorama.' And it turned out to be a beautiful night because it gave me yet another reason to sit on the couch with my dog."

After relationships with Jim Carrey and George Clooney, Zellweger says she's single now - but hasn't given up on love.

"It's not that I'm too busy for relationships, but I don't meet anyone. Also, I think a relationship doesn't have to be sexual to be romantic. A couple of years ago on my birthday, I sat in a tree with a friend. That was very romantic. It doesn't have to be roses and all that stuff."

And, of course, there's always Dylan to come home to.

MTV Movie Awards Lines Up Presenters

NEW YORK - Brittany Murphy, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Mark Wahlberg and Kate Hudson are among the presenters lined up for the MTV Movie Awards.

Musical performances are planned from rapper 50 Cent, the Russian girl duo t.A.t.U and pop singer Pink.

The 12th annual awards ceremony will be taped May 31 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and it's scheduled to air on MTV at 9 p.m. EDT June 5.

Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync and Seann William Scott (Stifler from the "American Pie" movies) are the hosts.

"Spider-Man" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" lead the nominees with five each. They're both up for best movie, along with "8 Mile," "The Ring" and "Barbershop."

Other categories at the irreverent awards show include best kiss, best villain and best virtual performance, which honors characters created digitally.

Locke's Luck Runs Out

Kimberley "The Cow" Locke's luck ran out on American Idol Wednesday night.

The 25-year-old Nashville resident, who sang Band of Gold, Anyone Who Had A Heart and Inseparable Tuesday night, was eliminated despite receiving positive feedback from the judges. Viewers cast 19 million votes, and each contestant reportedly finished within 4% of one another.

"It's great to know that American Idol isn't just about image," Locke said in her taped goodbye. "I hope that I can give back to alot of people through my music."

The two remaining contestants - Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard - compete in the finals next week. The competition will be decided May 21.

"I'm very proud of you three, actually," judge Simon Cowell said. "All I can say is next week, I cannot wait."

If you liked THE MATRIX, you'll love THE MATRIX: RELOADED. It features great graphics, wild fighting and a solid storyline to bring it all home. This is an action film that all fans must see!

And make sure to stay after all of the film's credits have rolled for a sneak peak at THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS!

MASTER OF HIS DOMAIN

Jerry Seinfeld telling Variety he has an active role in putting together an upcoming Seinfeld DVD, featuring original material, as well as interviews, commentaries and season-ending gag reel outtakes. No word when the DVD will hit stores.

'The Matrix' Filmmakers Remain Low Key

LOS ANGELES - The realm of "The Matrix" is full of question marks, but here's a brain-twister from reality: Who are the elusive brothers behind the computer-phobic fantasy?

Larry and Andy Wachowski, the former carpenters and comic-book scribes from Chicago who dreamed up the parallel digital world of "The Matrix Reloaded," do their best to remain out of sight.

They have refused to be interviewed since the release of 1999's "The Matrix." Their official Warner Bros. biography mentions their only other directing credit, "Bound," before claiming: "Little else is known about them."

While these evasions make them seem as shadowy as their sunglasses-at-night heroes, those who know the Wachowskis say they are slightly timid "regular guys" who love basketball, their parents and hiding from the press.

Keanu Reeves, who stars in the "Matrix" films as a man trying to save humanity from a counterfeit computer universe, says the brothers can be alternately intensely focused, prone to joking or deeply reserved.

Each also seems to know what the other is thinking.

"You can go to either of them and ask a question and much more often than not they'll agree and tell you the same thing," Reeves said. "They are independent and together."

Both are married, have thinning hairlines (Andy showed up at the "Reloaded" premier with a shaved head) and favor backward baseball caps. Both are college dropouts who wrote comic books and horror scripts while supporting themselves through carpentry and house painting.

The bespectacled Larry, 37, is shorter and thinner than his sibling. He projects a professorial image that some say fits his bookish nature — although he sometimes likes to wear pirate-style hoop earrings.

"Larry reads everything. I mean everything," said Jada Pinkett Smith, who co-stars in "Reloaded" as the human revolutionary leader Niobe. "One thing I've learned from working on this film is that life is about research, and Larry, he's constantly researching and constantly reading."

Andy, 35, looks like he could be his older brother's bodyguard: taller, broad-shouldered and thicker, his mouth sometimes rimmed by a dark goatee. Most say Andy is the quieter of the two.

"The Matrix" films are a fusion of the brothers' biggest interests: Hong Kong kung-fu movies, gritty Japanese animation, computer games, fairy tales and Eastern mysticism. "They kind of cooked it all up and made a souffle out of it," said Joel Silver, who produced all of "The Matrix" films.

Silver first met the brothers, whom he calls "the boys," when making the 1995 Sylvester Stallone action film "Assassins." It was the Wachowskis' first produced screenplay, and they despised the way it was altered during filming.

"I was very supportive of them and what they had tried to do," Silver said. "One day after a particular unpleasant experience with the director and another writer, they said, 'You know, we wrote something else that you might want to read.'"

That was "The Matrix," a special-effects intensive sci-fi thriller packed with levitation fighting, massive explosions, marble-wall-pulverizing gunfights — and flavored with philosophy about the nature of consciousness and perception.

The brothers also wanted to direct it themselves, despite their total lack of experience behind the camera. So they did "Bound," a low-budget lesbian heist thriller, in 1996.

"I always felt that they went on and did 'Bound' as an audition to prove — even to themselves, or to anybody else — that they knew what they were doing," Silver said.

"Bound" became an independent cult hit. Warner Bros. then expressed interest in the brothers, and Silver told the studio bosses he had the Wachowski's next screenplay. "They said, 'It probably costs a fortune, right?' I said, ... 'Yeah.'"

Made for about $70 million, "The Matrix" became an international phenomenon, winning four Academy Awards for technical achievement and earning more than $460 million worldwide.

The film's pioneering visuals — such as freezing a battle while the camera swings around it, and "Bullet Time," when characters dodge gunfire in slow-motion limbos — were imitated by countless admirers. Which was ironic, because some critics complained that the Wachowskis themselves borrowed too heavily from Hong Kong action films and "Blade Runner."

The 2001 films "Charlie's Angels," "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and last year's "Spider-Man" were among many featuring high-flying fight scenes reminiscent of "The Matrix." The camera-swinging move was even spoofed by the grouchy princess in "Shrek."

Larry and Andy were not pleased by the mimicry. "The brothers in the beginning were really flattered and then at the end they were irritated by it," said Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays the romantic warrior Trinity in "The Matrix" films.

The Wachowskis devised a multimedia approach to the sequels (the finale, "The Matrix Revolutions," is due in November). They tell the main body of the story in the films, but develop offshoots via a new video game, "Enter the Matrix," and a series of animated shorts called "The Animatrix."

Two of the shorts, which will be included on a DVD released June 3, explain how machines came to dominate humans. Others provide background that explains some of the characters and threats in "Reloaded."

Silver said Larry Wachowski explained how "The Matrix" game, shorts and movies would weave together by scribbling a diagram on a yellow notepad during a 1999 flight from Japan to Los Angeles. "It's not just marketing. It's not just hype," Silver said. "The story is being told in these different mediums."

How Larry and Andy divide their duties remains a mystery. Although Larry sounds like the brains to Andy's brawn, their colleagues remain unsure who is responsible for what in "The Matrix" world.

"I watch them, a lot of times, and I've never see them have a disagreement or argue about anything," Silver said. "Clearly, they spend a lot of time talking about things beforehand."

He said it would be wrong to characterize them as "one brain in two bodies" — but even the cast seems to forget that at times.

As Reeves put it: "They're one of the most sensitive people I've ever met."

Apple's Online Music Store Sells 2 Million Songs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. said on Wednesday that more than two million songs have been purchased and downloaded at 99 cents each from its iTunes Music Store in the 16 days since it opened for business in the U.S. market, continuing strong momentum for the service.

Apple said that, as seen during the first week, over half of the songs bought were purchased as albums, further dispelling what it said were concerns that selling music on a per-track basis will destroy album sales.

The service, which has more than 200,000 tracks for sale, is integrated into its iTunes music software program and for now is available only on its Macintosh computers, and those computers have to be in America. A Windows version is due by the end of the year, Apple said.

Users can listen to free 30-second previews of any track on the service and search by album, artist, music genre and song title. Users click on a "buy it" button to download the music into a folder in the iTunes program.

From there, users can compile play lists and transfer them to CDs up to 10 times before they must shuffle the order of the playlist. They can also move the tracks to as many of its popular iPod digital music players as they like and up to three Macintosh computers.

Apple, of Cupertino, California, said that more than 4,300 songs were added to the iTunes service on Tuesday, including five albums from The Doors.

The online music store is now only available in the United States, but the company is expected to expand the service to overseas markets in the future.

What's on TV: Wednesday

* WB's departing trendsetter Dawson's Creek (8 ET/PT) ends its run with a special two-hour epilogue from creator Kevin Williamson. The story jumps ahead five years as the four friends reunite for a wedding.

* Fox's That '70s Show (Fox, 8 p.m. ET/PT) ends its season with a series of cliffhangers as Fez tries to avoid deportation, and Donna and Eric contemplate leaving town. That would be just fine with Red, who dreams about entertaining people like guest Joe Theismann once he gets his basement back.

* Once again, American Idol (Fox, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT) stretches its results show out to a full 60 minutes. If 59 minutes of filler and one minute of news is your idea of a good way to spend an hour, more power to you.

* The Aaron Sorkin era ends on The West Wing (NBC, 9 p.m. ET/PT) as the president (Martin Sheen) reacts to his daughter's kidnapping. It hasn't been a great seasonfor a number of reasons: too many outsized crises (like, say, a kidnapping); too many characters who sounded too much alike; too great a disconnect between Wing's world and reality. But for two seasons and maybe three, Sorkin made The West Wing the best show on TV. A talent like that has to be missed.

Travolta Joins THE PUNISHER

John Travolta (BATTLEFIELD: EARTH) has taken a lead role in Artisan Pictures' adaption of Marvel Comics' long running character THE PUNISHER. Thomas Jane (61*) has taken the lead role of Frank Castle, a man who turns extremely violent vigilante after his family is murdered by the mob. Travolta will play Howard Saint, the villain of the piece. Saint is a man that appears to be a fine upstanding citizen to the world at large, but is really heavily involved in the criminal underworld. When his son is brutally killed, Saint's darker and vengeful side emerges.

Original 'SNL' Star Dan Aykroyd Returns

NEW YORK - He's played Beldar Conehead, Elwood Blues and Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute. But this Saturday, you can call Dan Aykroyd host.

Aykroyd, an original "Saturday Night Live" cast member, returns to the sketch comedy show this weekend to host for the first time. His appearance on the season finale is scheduled for 11:30 p.m. EDT Saturday on NBC.

Beyonce Knowles from Destiny's Child will be the musical guest.

The 50-year-old actor and comedian was on "SNL" from 1975-80, and made his name with his original characters and impressions of Richard Nixon, Tom Snyder and Jimmy Carter.

After he left the show, Aykroyd appeared in films such as "The Blues Brothers" with John Belushi, "Ghostbusters" and "Driving Miss Daisy," for which he was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor.

Knowles, 21, will make her third appearance on "SNL," singing songs from her upcoming solo album, "Dangerously in Love." She's previously performed with Destiny's Child and with rapper Jay-Z.

New Movie to Feature Hannibal Lecter's Childhood

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Hannibal Lecter is to take to take to the screen again in a new film that will track the cannibal killer from childhood.
 
"The Lecter Variation: The Story of Young Hannibal Lecter" is now being mapped out by his creator Thomas Harris.

Producer Dino de Laurentiis said four actors will be needed to play Hannibal at the ages of 12, 16, 20 and 25 in a film that will trace his childhood in Lithuania through his teenage years in Paris to his arrival in the United States.

"Lecter was born into a very rich family but the war destroyed it and killed his parents," De Laurentiis told the trade paper Screen International for its special edition at the Cannes Film festival on Wednesday.

"He was left with his sister with whom he had a very close relationship," the producer said, giving a glimpse into the plot line for Lecter, brought to life on screen by Anthony Hopkins.

See below for more!

A TANGLED WEB

Tobey Maguire is about as sorry as a star can be.

The 27-year-old is currently in New York, shooting the sequel to last year's $820 million-grossing "Spider-Man" - but he almost lost the part.

Maguire got himself dismissed from "Spider-Man 2" earlier this spring, and got his job back, thanks to some string-pulling by a major Hollywood power player - who happens to be his girlfriend's father.

"I feel like I learned a lesson," he says in his first public comments on the dust-up. "The movie is the most important thing."

Maguire's saga began in March, when he had the notion that Columbia Pictures would arrange the shooting schedule for this costly project on his terms.

Maguire has a bad back, which pained him on the original "Spider-Man" shoot and during the production of "Seabiscuit" (opening in July), in which Maguire plays a racehorse jockey.

But producer Laura Ziskin and director Sam Raimi did not react well when Maguire sent his neurosurgeon to meet them.

Maguire's doctor went over "Spider-Man 2" storyboards, and said Maguire might not be able to perform certain scenes.

A few days later, the studio told Maguire he would be dropped.

Inside sources say the director was already dissatisfied with his star, who had neglected to undergo a computer scan needed by the special-effects team.

"I could have come in," Maguire says, "but I was working [on 'Seabiscuit'] six days a week, 14 to 15 hours a day. I was exhausted.

"If I had understood the importance of it, I probably would have kicked myself and done it anyway."

Within days, Columbia replaced Maguire with Jake Gyllenhaal, another slender man-boy with large soulful eyes.

Many believe Maguire was especially replaceable as Spider-Man because, as with James Bond, the concept overshadows the actor.

Had he not returned to "Spider-Man," says a leading agent, "Tobey Maguire the actor would have survived.

"But Tobey Maguire the multimillion-dollar movie star? I don't know."

Maguire says he was blindsided.

"There was a period when I didn't know what I could do to work it out," he says. "I felt a little bit at a loss."

But Maguire has a powerful friend in Ron Meyer, the head of Universal Pictures, which is producing "Seabiscuit." Maguire is dating Meyer's daughter, Jennifer Meyer.

The mogul got on the phone and told Maguire to fight - reminding him of Michael Keaton, who walked away from a lucrative career mainstay when he refused to get back into the Batmobile.

Although Columbia Pictures head Amy Pascal minimizes Meyer's role, inside sources say Meyer used a career's worth of experience and good relationships to help get Maguire back into a film that is a major franchise for a rival studio.

The studio did not yield easily.

Maguire had to undergo a physical exam, swing from the harness to prove his fitness and make his peace with Raimi.

"I'm just glad it worked out," Maguire says. "I'm glad I got to look these people in the face and say, 'I'm really sorry. I'm going to do whatever it takes.' "

A knowledgeable source says the studio also built into Maguire's contract a number of provisions under which he can be penalized financially if he fails to fulfill his obligations.

Soon after, Maguire fired his agent, Leslie Siebert of the Gersh Agency, and signed with CAA - the agency Meyer had co-founded.

He'll be working with Richard Lovett and Rick Nicita, who represent Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise.

That alone may have made a statement to Maguire, who regained his role - and possibly much more.

She sure does!

French Riviera rolls out the red carpet as the Cannes film festival opens

CANNES, France (AFP) - The world's most extravagant celebration of international cinema, the Cannes film festival, kicked off 12 days of screenings, dealmaking and celebrity bashes in an atmosphere far removed from the uncertainty gripping some parts of the planet.

The first day of the glitzy event, with thousands of movie industry types and journalists in attendance, was to officially start with a red-carpet ceremony presented by stunning Italian actress Monica Bellucci.

"Fanfan la Tulipe", a French swashbuckler starring Penelope Cruz, was then to begin the packed timetable of screenings in front of the crowd of stars and VIPs in evening wear.

More than 700 other films will be shown over the following days of the festival. Most are small productions looking for distribution in the business end of the event, but a selected few -- 20 to be exact -- are in the running for the prestigious Palme d'Or, Cannes's top prize.

French films dominate the Palme field, making up a quarter of the nominations, while US films this year have been whittled down to just three -- although one of them, "Mystic River", is a thriller directed by Clint Eastwood seen as an early favourite.

Films by rising Asian directors, particularly from Japan, are also present, but many other nationalities will still get noticed in parallel sections dedicated to auteur productions.

A special out-of-competition screening of "The Matrix Reloaded", the sequel to the sci-fi blockbuster, will dominate the early days of the festival, especially as stars Keanu Reeves and Bellucci will be there to plug it in person, a day before it opens worldwide.

A near-general strike Tuesday took some wind from Cannes's sails, delaying the arrival of many of the 30,000 festival-goers heading to the Riviera rendez-vous.

But others chose to move their travel plans ahead a day, turning up Monday instead. Among them were the members of the Palme d'Or jury, including actresses Meg Ryan from the United States, Aishwarya Rai from India and directors Steven Soderbergh from the United States and Danis Tanovic from Bosnia.

Bellucci also made it early enough to shrug off her jetlag during a breakfast meeting with a handful of journalists Tuesday, just before Reeves, too, checked in.

The strike nonetheless compounded other problems that tarnished some of Cannes's glitzy welcome.

The mysterious SARS illness from Asia, the global economic downturn (and the plummeting US dollar), along with the aftershocks of the US war on Iraq and the suicide bomb attacks on Western housing complexes in Saudi Arabia's capital Monday all seemed to have some effect.

The manager of one two-star hotel, Marcel Moura, said that most of his guests were expected to arrive Thursday and "for the first time in ages, I still have a free room for the weekend."

French government health authorities distributed a leaflet with each accreditation packet which sought to reassure attendees that festival-goers arriving from Asia did not pose a particular health threat as long as they showed no symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The leaflet did, however, urge those taking part to leave their phone number or address with organisers so they could be contacted after their departure should a confirmed SARS case come to light.

At the same time, French police and festival security staff imposed unprecedented restrictions in and around the stretch of seaside that makes up the festival. Parking was forbidden along Cannes's famous beach promenade and stringent bag- and body-screening took place.

Cannes's police chief, Andre Trouve, said his units "had already been put at the maximum" level of alert and that no extra precautions were being taken in the wake of the deadly Saudi bombings.
 
For the attendees already in the Riviera town, there was little sign of concern at what was happening elsewhere in the world.

At many of the cafe tables set back from the sparkling Mediterranean sea, the conversation was more focused on film business, brushes with celebrity, or party plans for the coming days.

'Matrix' Fans Remember: It's Only Half a Movie

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For fervent movie fans anxious for the widely-hyped debut of science-fiction thriller "The Matrix Reloaded" this week, producer Joel Silver has some news: it is only half a movie.

But wait! Don't get upset and don't ask for your money back from those advanced ticket purchases.

"Matrix Reloaded" begins previews on Wednesday as the most anticipated film since last year's "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" debuted on roughly the same week. Time magazine has replaced cover pictures of war with "Matrix" movie stars -- a sure sign that pop culture has reclaimed news turf.

In fact, "Reloaded" is so much in demand that distributor Warner Bros. has scheduled Wednesday previews ahead of a huge, 3600-theater opening on Thursday. Despite an R rating limiting audiences, "Reloaded" won't be firing box office blanks.

The previous best domestic opening by an R-rated film was serial killer movie "Hannibal" with $58 million in 2001.

"Certainly that opening weekend for 'Hannibal' will fall," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Inc. "I don't want to predict (and) I don't want to put any limits on this film, either."

Still, "Reloaded" is only one-half the entire movie, Silver said, because when it ends, its companion, "The Matrix Revolutions," begins, this coming November.

The original "The Matrix" wowed audiences in 1999 with its tale of software created cities, run by ruthless machines and powered by the minds of humans. It scored big at global box offices ($456 million) and became a king-size cult hit.

"When I made the first film, I had no expectation that would happen at all. "I was just hoping people dug it as much as I did," said Keanu Reeves, who plays the central character Neo, or "The One," whose destiny it is to save humankind.

MATRIX VIRUSES

"Reloaded" picks up where "Matrix" left off. The machines have discovered the human stronghold of Zion deep inside the Earth's core. They are tunneling there to kill the human race.

Neo, along with his comrades Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), must travel inside the matrix to destroy the machines and end their attempt at genocide.

Once inside, the trio discovers freaky software glitches -- sort of like computer viruses -- that mess with the mind of the one being that created the matrix.

Neo must get around the viruses and find the one being to realize his destiny. But he finds the going tough, and his sense of right and wrong, duty and honor are challenged.

"We really develop the vulnerabilities of Neo," said Reeves. "In the first one, he lost his fear and freed his mind. The second one kind of courses back in terms of, now that Neo can do that, what does he think about being 'The One,' what are the responsibilities and how does he feel about that."

The first "Matrix" showcased groundbreaking special effects allowing fighters to walk on air before landing their kicks. It slowed speeding bullets so audiences could see them slide by a dodging Neo. In "Reloaded," the effects are just as sharp. The fashion, again, features long black trench coats, dark glasses, hard bodies and skin-tight leather. "Matrix" dripped with cool and sex appeal. "Reloaded" doubles the firepower.

After cool kickfights, slow-motion gun battles, extended car chases, Neo finally finds what he thinks will end the turmoil and return the human race to a world of peace.
 
But remember fervent movie fans, "Reloaded" is only half a movie. There is more to come in November.

Mike Myers lauds T.O. on 'Tonight Show'

TORONTO (AP-CP) -- Actor Mike Myers declared "Toronto is safe" on NBC's Tonight Show Monday night, urging Americans to visit the city and ignore the SARS hysteria that has kept many in the U.S. away from Canada.

He reminded guest host Katie Couric that Canadians rallied in support of the United States and travelled to New York after Sept. 11, and hopes Americans will now return the favour.

"You're more than welcome to come, and it's completely safe. I just want us all to support Canada," said the Toronto-born actor.

Myers, wearing a shirt with a maple leaf, also gave a "shout out" to Canadian health-care workers who fought to control SARS.

Although 24 people have died from SARS in Toronto, no new cases have been reported since April 19. Still, many people continue to avoid the city and there are fears the tourism sector will take years to recover.

And the entertainment industry took notice of the World Health Organization's controversial travel advisory against Toronto -- which was later rescinded -- leading to cancelled concerts and appearances by the likes of Elton John, Billy Joel, Lisa Marie Presley, American Idol Kelly Clarkson and Catherine O'Hara, a Canadian actor.

Oscar-winner Halle Berry also went on record saying there was no way she would go to Toronto to shoot the upcoming movie Catwoman -- even though Toronto was never chosen as a location for filming.

Monday night was not the first time Myers has talked about Toronto while on American late night talk shows, in fact, it's a pretty regular topic of conversation.

He's talked about growing up in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough with Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jon Stewart several times.

He's also appeared on shows sporting the Toronto Maple Leafs logo and has several references to his favourite hockey team scattered in his Austin Powers movies.

BRIDE JULES QUITS E!

E! talking head Jules Asner has wed her longtime boyfriend, Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh - and quit her job at E!

She is said to be developing a new syndicated talk show.

Asner and Soderbergh were married by a Justice of the Peace last Saturday in Soderbergh's Chelsea apartment in a small ceremony attended by a few family members and close friends (including ABC's Diane Sawyer and her husband, Mike Nichols).

Details regarding Asner's talk show, said to be for Sony, are sketchy, but it's expected to be one hour and possibly on the order of "Oprah." It is not expected to debut until next year.

Asner, who hosts the one-on-one E! interview show "Revealed," moved to New York last fall from Los Angeles after cutting back on her daily E! duties. She continued to host "Revealed" and E!'s red-carpet coverage.

"Jules and the network have amicably decided to part ways later this month to enable her to pursue other opportunities," E! said in a statement released yesterday.

There's no word on where the happy couple went on their honeymoon - though Soderbergh will be attending the Cannes Film Festival in France, which opens tomorrow night.

Don't call me beautiful, Monica Bellucci says before Cannes festival

CANNES, France (AFP) - Monica Bellucci isn't beautiful and isn't a star -- or at least that's what the stunning Italian actress would prefer you believe as she prepares to open the Cannes film festival.

Instead, the raven-haired 34-year-old has her sights set on loftier goals: to be taken seriously as an artist and to develop her soul.

"Beauty is a state of being," Bellucci told a small group of journalists on Tuesday, the eve of the 12-day festival.

"If beauty exists, you have to wait for it to pass. It's like an illness, beauty," she said.

For the millions of people who will watch her officially declare the Cannes film festival open on Wednesday, though, there will be no escaping the thought that the looks that made her a world-class model before turning to cinema have not deserted her.

Nor will the audiences who go to see "The Matrix Reloaded" -- the long-awaited sequel to the sci-fi blockbuster which gets a special screening at Cannes on Thursday -- be able to turn their eyes from Bellucci's strategically bared body.

But for the actress, such focus on her appearance overlooks the efforts she is making to bring her talent to bear on roles.

And it's for that reason Bellucci has created an eclectic track record in films, zigzagging from Hollywood offers, such as this and the next "Matrix" films, to much more intimate European productions in France and Italy.

"Being a star doesn't mean anything... you can become a star from one day to the next, but that doesn't mean that you are an artist," she said.

"And I hope to develop become a good artist," she said.

That ambition has seen Bellucci pile project upon project in recent years. From small roles in Italian films, she managed to win leading parts in France, and finally made her US breakthrough in 2000's "Under Suspicion" opposite Gene Hackman.

Since then, directors have come looking for her, even creating characters specifically for her, such as "Tears of the Sun," the action flick with Bruce Willis that came out this year.

In "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," both of which were shot at the same time, she plays Persephone, a sensual figure in a digital desert who takes an interest in Neo, the gravity-defying hero of the cult series, played by Keanu Reeves.

"Keanu Reeves is a very private person, but he has a big heart," she said of her co-star.

With offers now flowing in -- "you have no idea how many I turn down" -- Bellucci is in the enviable position of being able to cherry-pick her way through her career.

But for every big-budget Hollywood production, she also performs in smaller unsettling films that stretch her as an actress.

Last year, she starred with her husband, French actor Vincent Cassel, in "Irreversible" -- a harrowing tale of violence in which she features in a rape scene shocking in its verisimilitude. The film, which was in competition in Cannes, prompted several people to walk out of the screening.

Her next film is just as unusual, and just as likely to be as far from being a crowd-pleaser as possible.

In "The Passion," which is directed by Mel Gibson, Monica Bellucci plays Mary Magdalene in a story of the last hours of Jesus Christ's life as he is crucified. The film, which Gibson has said he has wanted to make for years, is filmed in two dead languages, Latin and Aramic -- without subtitles.

Then comes another French film with Cassel, "Secret Agents," which Bellucci is still working on.

Her acting, she said, did not tire her at all, even with such a full diary.

"The most exhausting times are when I travel, or these interviews," she said, dipping one sugar into her espresso to fight off jet-lag.

"But the moment when I'm on the set, I have to act, and I forget everything else."

Nevertheless, when "Secret Agents" is out of the way, Bellucci plans to take a break. Having made it so far up the acting ladder so quickly, she figures she now deserves a vacation, "a very long vacation."

The question is: Will the directors, the fans, and above all her own ambition to push herself ever further let her rest?

Bellucci may not have gone looking for beauty and stardom, but now that they both have gotten hold of her, she may find that some "illnesses" are hard to shake.

Vaughn Cast as STARSKY Villain

VARIETY reports Vince Vaughn will play the villain in Todd Phillips (Old School, Road Trip)' STARSKY AND HUTCH action comedy, and other new castings include Juliette Lewis, Chris Penn, Fred Williamson, and Amy Smart.

Scheduled for release next year, the film stars Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson as the buddy cops, and Snoop Dogg as their pimp informant Huggy Bear.

Not Today!

Somedays, when there are plenty of goodies on the New Release schedule, DVD stands for "Dan's Visual Dilemma" as I can't decide which new releases to purchase. I don't have that problem today.

Here's hoping you find something you like!

These are the new video and DVD releases for Tuesday, May 13th, 2003:

COMEDIAN (VHS & DVD)
EQUILIBRIUM (VHS & DVD)
THE HOT CHICK (VHS & DVD)
THE MISSION: SPECIAL EDITION (DVD)
THE IN-LAWS (DVD)
THE X-FILES: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON (VHS & DVD)
THE JEFFERSONS: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON (DVD)
ANALYZE THAT (VHS & DVD)
DRACULA II: ASCENSION (VHS & DVD)
THE INCREDIBLE HULK (DVD)
WRONG MEN & NOTORIOUS WOMEN: FIVE HITCHCOCK THRILLERS (DVD)
PERFECT MURDER, PERFECT TOWN (VHS & DVD)
CANOE (VHS & DVD)
THE LIFE OF MAMMALS, VOL. 1 - 4 (VHS & DVD)
DESCENDANTS OF DARKNESS: TAROT CURSE (VHS & DVD)
TOWNIES (DVD)
CAMPION: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (VHS & DVD)
COPENHAGEN (VHS & DVD)
KISS ME KATE (VHS & DVD)
THE FLUFFER (VHS & DVD)

Good luck!

What's on TV on THURSDAY, Dan?

DAWSONS CREEK Two-Hour Finale on Wednesday

Series creator Kevin Williamson returns to DAWSON'S CREEK to write tomorrow night's two-hour series finale. The episode takes a look at the characters five years after last week's episode, and involves a wedding, a death, a baby, and much more. Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under) and Virginia Madsen both guest star in the episode, and it's also likely there will be a few surprise guest stars, like Meredith Monroe reprising her role as Andie.

John Goodman on WEST WING Finale

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY reports John Goodman will play the Republican Speaker of the House on the WEST WING season finale this Wednesday night at 9, on NBC. It's unknown if Goodman will return to the show in the fall.

What's on TV on THURSDAY, Dan?

Secrets Discovered & Marriage Proposed on FRIENDS Finale

The season finale of FRIENDS this Thursday night runs 75 minutes long. Entitled "The One in Barbados," the episode sees the gang traveling to Barbados where Ross is speaking at a paleontology convention. There are a trio of love triangles as the sitcom closes out its penultimate season, between Ross, Joey, and Charlie (Aisha Tyler), Rachel, Charlie, and Joey, and Phoebe, David (Hank Azaria), and Mike (Paul Rudd).

WILL & GRACE Guest Stars

Deborah Harry guest stars as herself on the WILL & GRACE season finale this Thursday night. In the finale, Karen confronts her late husband's mistress (Minnie Driver), while Grace goes into a jealous fit after meeting her husband's sexy co-worker (KNOTS LANDING's Nicolette Sheridan).

Death Hits Home on CSI

The team loses one of their own during a bank heist on the season finale of CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, and even though I accidentally found out who while researching the issue (Curse you, TV GUIDE!), my lips remain sealed. The episode, airing Thursday night at 9, also has Grissom making a major decision regarding his hearing problem.

All-Claymation Episode of LATE NIGHT This Thursday

Thursday night's LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN will be broadcast entirely in clay animation. The show, which has been in production for months, is a start-to-finish recreation of an October episode that featured Johnny Knoxville, Richard Lewis, David Bowie, and a "In the Year 2000," sketch guest starring Mr. T.

New Music Tuesday!

I don't want anyone to kill me because I wrote anything negative about Marilyn Manson, so I am not writing anything other than:

Here are the new CD releases for Tuesday, May 13th, 2003:

MARILYN MANSON The Golden Age of Grotesque (Interscope)
THIRD EYE BLIND Out of the Vein (Elektra)
MACY GRAY The Trouble with Being Myself (Epic)
COLD Year of the Spider (Flip/Geffen)

Plus... ALKALINE TRIO, ANATOMY OF A GHOST, CHIMAIRA, THE DEUCE PROJECT, JOHN EDDIE, HOT BOY$, THE KLEZMATICS, LUCIA, RECKLESS KELLY, BRYAN SUTTON, THIRD WORLD, LIZZ WRIGHT, and the soundtrack to *DOWN WITH LOVE.

HANSON Depart Label Over Album Disagreement

HANSON have announced their departure from ISLAND DEF JAM Records.

The band, who are currently wrapping up work on their new album, "Underneath," reportedly ended their relationship with the label over disagreeing on their musical direction.

The new record is co-written in large part by Matthew Sweet and produced by Danny Kortchmar (Bon Jovi, James Taylor), and features Michelle Branch on backing vocals on one of the tracks.

No, seriously! Hanson still had a record deal?!?!

RADIOHEAD Promote 'Thief' With Guerilla Marketing

A number of sign posts in the Los Angeles area have been plastered with a secret poster campaign promoting the new RADIOHEAD album.

The fliers read "Hungry? Sick? Begging for a break? Sweet? Fresh? Would you do anything? We suck young blood? We want sweet meats," which happen to be lyrics from the "Hail to the Thief," track "We Suck Young Blood."

The poster also includes a phone number, 866-868-4433, or 866-TO-THIEF, where callers are treated to a preview of the album depending on what menu choices are made.

IDOL TALK

The music supervisor for American Idol telling TV Guide that Paul McCartney plans to drop in for the third season of the Fox talent contest, slated to get underway sometime in January.

Pink's New Track Titled 'Feel Good Time'

Pink's new track for the film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle will be called "Feel Good Time." The singer recently completed filmming the video for the song, and it will debut on May 19.

Pink participates in several stunts in the video. At one point, the singer narrowly escapes an explosion. In another scene, she has a run-in with a bad guy.

Pink also performs a cameo in the film. For her part, the singer participates in a high-adrenaline motocross scene. Also appearing in that scene is Pink's boyfriend Carey Hart, who makes his living as a professional motocross racer.

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu, opens nationwide on June 27.

What's on TV: Monday

--So who do you think looks more desperate? The producers of Boston Public (Fox, tonight, 8 ET/PT), who have gone to ever more preposterous lengths to draw attention to their show, culminating this week in a prom performance by Whitney Houston? Or Houston herself, who struggles stiffly through a plot that makes it look like a prom is the best gig she can get? The shame is, Boston was once a promising drama, and it's just this sort of stunt that destroyed it.

--Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company (NBC, 9 p.m. ET/PT) would have you believe the once-popular ABC comedy was destroyed by its misbehaving stars. Could that have all been a misunderstanding?

--If you enjoyed last season's miniseries Rose Red, you may be interested in the prequel, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (ABC, 9 p.m. ET/PT). I didn't, and I'm not.

--AMC celebrates the rise of female Hollywood executives with Women on Top: Hollywood and Power (10 p.m. ET/PT), narrated by Chloe Sevigny. Among those interviewed are Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry and Sandra Bullock.

--And the NHL Playoffs continue with Anaheim in Minnesota (8 p.m. ET) for Game Two of the conference finals.

IS NEW 'IDOL' CAST BORING?

As "American Idol" heads into its last two weeks, judge Randy Johnson says he's "bored" by the performances of the final few contestants.
"These kids are singing terribly," Jackson tells TV Guide.

Jackson realizes that on the air in recent weeks, he has appeared irritated and out of character.

And he recognizes he's becoming the show's new Simon Cowell - "Idol's" blunt and bossy judge.

"In the last couple of weeks, people have been telling me: 'Dude, you've gotten so mean,' "

"No, I'm just bored," he says

And why bored?

"These kids are singing terribly," Jackson says.

Jackson does not explain what he means - or if any contestant in particular seems to be bothering him.

In the same article, Cowell also said there was something amiss about the final weeks of this competition compared to the first show.

"I miss the showmanship of Justin [Guarini] and Tamyra [Gray]," Simon says. "I think some of these contestants have tried too hard to play it safe."

The series is down to just three singers now - Ruben Studdard, the favorite; Clay Aiken, the likable North Carolinian; and Kimberly "The Cow" Locke, the dark horse contender.

'MATRIX' DECODED

Just three more days.

That's all we'll have to wait to finally see "The Matrix: Reloaded," the much-anticipated sequel to 1999's mega-grossing "The Matrix."

But like the original, the mind-bending, cyber-thrill extravaganza "Reloaded" raises more questions than it answers - and the final installment, "The Matrix Revolutions," won't hit screens until November.

Here's a refresher course to what you need to know from the first movie - and answers to some of the sequel's most compelling mysteries.

What is that drizzling green computer code?

That is the visual manifestation of the Matrix, a virtual reality world constructed by machines with artificial intelligence to enslave the minds of human beings while their bodies are used as energy sources.

In the original film, the rebel captain Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) plucked ace computer hacker Neo (Keanu Reeves) out of the Matrix because he believed he was The One who could save the human race from the machines.

When the first movie ended, Neo had just killed (or so he thought) the machines' top assassin, Agent Smith, and finally begun to realize his full capabilities - which include the ability to stop bullets and fly.

Neo is obviously The One, so why did The Oracle tell him he wasn't?

In "The Matrix," The Oracle told Neo he had the gift but was waiting for something: "Your next life, who knows?" she said. At the end of that film, Neo died in a hail of bullets but was brought back to life with a kiss from Trinity - signaling that his next life had arrived and he become The One.

What are Squiddies?

That's the nickname for the octopus-like machines called sentinels, whose sole objective is to destroy members of the rebellion, who are based in the city of Zion.

What's with all the weird names?

"Matrix" writer/directors Larry and Andy Wachowski are avid students of mythology and philosophy and reference everything from Buddhism to "Neuromancer" author William Gibson to cybernetics.

Some examples: Morpheus' ship Nebuchadnezzar is a biblical reference to the king of ancient Babylon; Monica Bellucci's character, Persephone, derives her name from the daughter of the mythical Greek goddess of fertility, who was married to Hades, the god of the underworld; and the foppish French villain Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) is named after a line of medieval French kings.

What role was the late Aaliyah supposed to play?

The R&B singer had filmed just a few scenes before she died in a plane crash in August 2001. Marvin Gaye's daughter Nona replaced her as Zee, a human born in Zion and the wife of Link, the new operator of the Nebuchadnezzar.

What happened to Tank, the original operator of Morpheus' ship?

Though the character survived the first film (one of only four major humans to do so), the actor who played him didn't have such luck. Marcus Chong was not invited back for the sequels after he had a falling out with the producers. Harold Perrineau ("Oz") took his place behind the controls, playing Link, Tank's brother-in-law.

Who is Councillor West?

The rebel city of Zion is ruled by a council, which includes a character played by Dr. Cornel West, the author of "Race Matters," a professor at Princeton University and a frequent guest on "Nightline" and other news programs.

The Wachowski brothers are such West fans they wrote him into the movie.

Who is The Kid, and why is he so attached to Neo?

Actually, we don't know. But we'll find out who this obsequious character - who follows Neo around on Zion - is on June 3, with the release of "The Animatrix," a DVD featuring nine short animes set in the Matrix universe.

"Kid's Story," directed by Shinichiro Watanabe ("Cowboy Bebop"), is about a boy who's sitting in his high-school classroom one day when he gets a personalized invitation from Neo to escape the Matrix.

What's the significance of the silver spoon The Kid gives to Neo for luck before he leaves Zion?

In the original "Matrix," one of the youngsters waiting to see The Oracle to find out if he is The One teaches Neo how to do a Uri Geller and bend a spoon with his mind, uttering the line that has been oft-quoted since, "There is no spoon."

How the hell did they do that?

If you thought the first movie's special effects were impressive, wait till you see Neo's spectacular fight - dubbed the "Burly Brawl" - with 100 versions of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), who survived the first movie with the ability to replicate himself at will.

Special-effects wizards John Gaeta and Kim Libreri recorded a mass of motion capture data while Keanu Reeves was fighting Weaving and a dozen or so stuntmen. They then edited and multiplied it digitally, eventually putting the duplicated characters into a virtual reality environment.

What should I do when it's over?

"Reloaded" ends on a cliffhanger, literally stopping mid-scene. But don't dash out of the theater too soon - you won't want to miss the trailer for "Revolutions," which comes after the end credits roll.

Michael J. Fox Urges M.D.'s to Find Cures

MIAMI - Michael J. Fox urged the next generation of doctors to "care deeply" about medical research that will advance the treatment of incurable diseases.

Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, addressed more than 130 graduates Saturday at the University of Miami Medical School's commencement ceremony.

"In the last few years, I've gone from talking to my agent on my cell phone to discussing cell biology with leading physicians," said Fox, 41. "I urge you as physicians to care deeply about these issues and add your voice and your vote into the public debate."

University of Miami President Donna Shalala, who sits on the board of Fox's foundation, presented him with the president's medal.

Fox announced in 1998 that he had Parkinson's, a disease marked by tremors, stiffness and imbalance. Since 2000, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has provided more than $20 million for Parkinson's research, including a $375,000 grant awarded to Mayo Clinic Jacksonville in January.

Swimsuit Model Jenna Wins 'Survivor'

NEW YORK - Jenna Morasca wasn't expecting to be the newest "Survivor" millionaire when the ballots were finally tallied.

"I'm shocked," the 21-year-old swimsuit model told the Associated Press moments after she was declared winner Sunday over Matthew Von Ertfelda, a 33-year-old restaurant designer from Washington, D.C., on the live finale of "Survivor: The Amazon."

Morasca said that in December she returned home to Pittsburgh from her adventure expecting that the sealed vote had gone Von Ertfelda's way: "He embodies everything a survivor is. He's an amazing guy.

"But I'm so proud of myself," she added, "and happy that I won."

On this, the sixth season of CBS' hit adventure game show, it was an upset victory (and a blowout vote) for Morasca, who since "Amazon" premiered in February had been generally regarded as good-looking but spoiled and lazy.

During the months she waited to learn her fate, Morasca said she rested, hit the gym "to get back some of the muscle that I lost," and regained 20 pounds dropped during the rugged ordeal. "I stuffed my face with chocolate," she confided.

For beating 15 others in the competition, which was taped during 39 days last fall in a remote rain forest on the Amazon River, Morasca collects the $1 million prize as "sole survivor." Runner-up Von Ertfelda wins $100,000.

Now what will she do with the money? Pay school loans and take her mom on a vacation, she said. "Then we'll see if there's anything left."

Sunday's broadcast began with four finalists, but middle school principal Butch Lockley and Rob Cesternino, a computer projects coordinator, were eliminated before the final tribal jury. The 6-1 vote for Morasca, sealed since December, was handed down by a jury of seven ousted "Amazon" castaways.

Widely considered the best "Survivor" season since the original that aired Summer 2000, "Survivor: The Amazon" began with a fresh wrinkle: For the first time, the castaways were divided into male and female tribes.

Then another bit of history was made: Morasca and the equally fetching Heidi Strobel stripped naked on the memorable seventh episode, in exchange for a much-desired snack of peanut butter and chocolate.

The episode that aired Thursday had a dramatic twist: a smoldering fire left unattended consumed the camp site, destroying most of the castaways' clothes and other belongings.

In its first 12 airings, "Survivor" tied for seventh place in viewers with "Everybody Loves Raymond," according to Nielsen Media Research.

On Sunday's finale, the setting for the next edition of "Survivor" was announced: the Pearl Islands off the coast of Panama. It premieres this fall.

NBC to Add 3 Comedies, 3 Dramas for Fall

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - With NBC's bubble shows, "Ed," "Boomtown" and "Good Morning, Miami," all snagging last-minute full-season pickups, NBC will introduce six new series this fall, sources said -- three comedies and three dramas.

The network has given 13-episode orders to the untitled Tracy Morgan and Whoopi Goldberg comedies, and adaptation of the BBC ensemble comedy "Coupling," an untitled Las Vegas drama starring James Caan, an ensemble legal drama with Rob Lowe, and the dramedy "Miss/Match" toplined by Alicia Silverstone.

NBC is said to be going for changes on six nights, up from three last year. Staying intact is this season's Sunday lineup of "Dateline," "American Dreams," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "Boomtown," sources said.

On Monday, "Fear Factor" continues as the anchor at 8 p.m., followed by the untitled Las Vegas drama while "Third Watch" is said to be moving to 10 p.m. from its current 9 p.m. slot.

On Tuesday, the Goldberg and Morgan comedies are expected to lead into "Frasier" at 9 p.m. and "Good Morning, Miami," which is moving from Thursday 9:30 p.m. to Tuesday 9:30 p.m., though sources said another scenario under consideration would have "Miami" Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.

Larry Wilmore, the Emmy-winning writer-producer who inked a deal at NBC Studios following his much-publicized exit from Fox's "The Bernie Mac Show," has been tapped to serve as showrunner/executive producer of the Goldberg comedy alongside Kris Turner, another "Bernie Mac" alum, and series co-creator Terry Turner (no relation).

As for the pickup of "Miami," sources said NBC opted to pick up the show regardless of whether producers can persuade Heather Locklear to join the cast, something NBC was pushing for late last week. The former "Spin City" actress met with the show's producers Friday and is expected to make a decision in the next few days. But one "Miami" cast member who won't be returning for Season 2 is Suzanne Pleshette, sources said.

On Wednesday, Lowe's new legal drama will land at 8 p.m., making it the lead-in to his old colleagues at "The West Wing," which is believed to be staying put at 9 p.m. along with "Law & Order" at 10 p.m.

The only new addition to the Thursday lineup is understood to be "Coupling" in the 9:30 p.m. berth behind "Will & Grace."

On Friday, the buzz-worthy dramedy "Miss/Match" would lead off at 8 p.m., followed by "Ed" and 10 p.m. dynamo "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

In a surprising move, NBC is said to be keeping Saturday as a movie night but in a scaled-down 8-10 p.m. slot while the Jill Hennessy starrer "Crossing Jordan" would move to the 10 p.m. berth in its third season. However, there was speculation that "Crossing Jordan" might be held back for midseason in part because Hennessy is pregnant.

NBC's other midseason orders were still hazy on Sunday. Sources said the Christine Baranski- John Larroquette starrer "Happy Family" was still a contender, along with drama "Homeland Security."

Freshman series that didn't make the cut for a second season include the comedies "In-Laws," "Hidden Hills," "A.U.S.A." and drama "Mister Sterling."

Merger Reports Sweep Through Music Industry

LONDON (Reuters) - The familiar tune of merger rumors swept through the music business again on Monday when a report suggested AOL Time Warner and Bertelsmann were in music merger talks to secure a future in the battered industry.

The Wall Street Journal said media giant AOL Time Warner Inc. and Germany's Bertelsmann AG were discussing a possible merger of their Warner and BMG recorded music businesses, though a deal was still highly uncertain.

Facing an outlook of declining sales and escalating piracy, the smallest three of the big five music companies have been in repeated merger talks with one another in recent years in an effort to build bulk and cut costs to survive.

The Journal report cast gloom over EMI Group Plc, the world's third-biggest music company, which has been in separate talks with both Bertelsmann and AOL in recent months, according to sources familiar with the situation.

EMI shares were 0.2 percent lower at 126-1/4 pence at 1040 GMT, after earlier falling as much as five percent on concerns that it could be left out in the next round of mergers.

"The valuation gap is likely to widen further over the medium term as it becomes evident that further restructuring is required in the face of ongoing revenue pressure," ABN Amro said in a note, cutting its EMI rating to "sell" from "hold."

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal said talks had heated up between AOL and Bertelsmann, including at the highest levels. But the newspaper added that key issues such as valuation and management remained outstanding.

Bertelsmann declined to comment on the report.

"Lots of talks are going on throughout the music industry but we do not comment on speculation," said a spokesman.

AOL Time Warner was not immediately available to comment.

AOL's Warner Music ranks number four in the world with artists including Madonna and Linkin Park while Bertelsmann's BMG ranks five with artists including Avril Lavigne and the Elvis Presley catalog. However, a combination would rival industry leader Universal Music in the key U.S. market.

Both AOL Time Warner and Bertelsmann separately came close to merging their music businesses with EMI three years ago but were confounded by European regulators who were uncomfortable with the world's five biggest music companies shrinking to four.

However, the music industry has since shrunk and recent European rulings have led some to believe that regulators could be more open to a deal among the big five now.

The Journal suggested that AOL and Bertelsmann may strip their music publishing businesses out of the deal currently being discussed to smooth the passage through regulators.

While merger talks have focused on Warner, BMG and EMI, the world's biggest music company Universal Music also recently held talks with Apple Computer Inc..

However, sources close to the companies say those talks have since cooled, although Apple may still be interested in taking a stake in Universal Music as part of an online deal.

Romano Nets $50 Million for 8th Season

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Not bad for a sportswriter from Queens. Ray Romano has struck a deal that will make him the highest-paid actor in television with a nearly $50 million salary for the upcoming eighth season of "Everybody Loves Raymond," sources said.

At the same time, CBS has quietly struck a deal to renew the show for an additional two seasons at a hefty license fee of nearly $6 million an episode.

After lengthy negotiations, sources said Romano has come to an agreement with CBS and "Raymond" producers Worldwide Pants and HBO Independent Prods. for a one-season deal that will pay him about $1.7 million-$1.8 million per episode, up from his current salary of roughly $800,000 per episode, sources said.

The new deal puts Romano in a tax bracket ahead of "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer, who held the record with the $1.6 million-per-episode pact he struck with Paramount Network TV and NBC two years ago.

Reps for Romano and CBS would not comment Sunday on the deal.

The series renewal deal covers two seasons, through 2004-05, sources said, a clear sign that CBS hopes to persuade Romano to extend his stay with the Barone clan even longer. "Raymond" is the anchor of CBS' powerhouse Monday night lineup, ranking ninth this season among all primetime series.

Romano is said to be looking to make a transition into features with his first big-screen starring roles in the upcoming Artisan picture "Eulogy," with Winona Ryder and Hank Azaria, and the 20th Century Fox/Intermedia Film's Donald Petrie-directed "Mooseport," in which he stars opposite Gene Hackman, Marcia Gay Harden and Maura Tierney.

Romano hasn't been shy about letting it be known that he wanted to move on from "Raymond" while the show was still on top. Last fall, he told TV Guide that the show "could be one more (season) after this ... You don't want to leave when you're sliding down."

"Raymond" creator/executive producer Phil Rosenthal has echoed that sentiment. "Never say never, (but) we can't see going beyond eight years," Rosenthal said in January.

Tenacious D Halfway Toward 'Destiny'

The script for the long-awaited Tenacious D feature film, "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny," is about halfway complete, co-writer/director Liam Lynch tells Billboard.com. Shooting will hopefully begin by the end of the year for the film, which Lynch says "follows the stages the D had to go through, as well as one of their first character-building quests, to help prepare them to be the greatest band in the world."

Lynch says initial script ideas pitched from writers outside the D camp were "funny," but failed to capture the comedy rock duo's hard-luck essence. "Part of what is funny about the D is them being the underdogs and thinking they're awesome, but you're in the reality of what they actually are," he says.

Lynch, who directed the video for Tenacious D's "Tribute," eventually asked group member Jack Black if he could take a crack at a script. "I just said to Jack, 'nobody can tell you how to be the D. You guys are the D. Let's write it ourselves,'" he says. "We wrote six movie treatments and refined it into exactly the movie that everybody wanted to see and make."

"For the last four weeks, every night -- we don't even take one night out -- Jack comes over and we write all the dialog and jokes," Lynch continues. "We know what has to happen in every scene now, so it's just a matter of getting the wording right. It does have some wonderful fantasy sequences and some mystical sequences."

Music will naturally be a major part of the film, the soundtrack for which may double as the follow-up to Tenacious D's 2001 self-titled Epic debut. "As we're writing, we're recording all these little crumbs of song ideas," Lynch says. "There are obviously several musical scenes and some that are almost like a musical or a video. There are other scenes of them in their apartment working on a tune."

Luckily, fans won't have to wait too long for a glimpse of the D. Lynch just finished work on a double-DVD set, tentatively titled "Tenacious D - The Masterworks" and expected in September. The release compiles the duo's short-lived HBO series, music videos, some short films, a 90-minute concert from London's Brixton Academy, and a tour documentary.

"This is the package all D fans will want," Lynch says proudly. "I'm even sick of having things on so many different videotapes all over my house. Now everything will all be in one spot. We want it as much as the fans do."

Finally, Tenacious D will play a brief set May 28 at the Hollywood Palace as part of a benefit for NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).

REMEMBERED

Honduran President Ricardo Maduro unveiling a monument in tribute to Lisa Left Eye Lopes' memory in La Ceiba, where she was killed in an automobile accident April 25, 2002.

BEAM-UP BRIDE

Actress Jolene Blalock, aka T'Pol on UPN's Enterprise, tying the knot boyfriend Mike Rapino in an instant wedding in Jamaica last week. Blalock secretly flew friends and family to the island--where the couple was vacationing--and popped the question. Rapino said yes, and they married the next day.

AILING

June Carter Cash, wife of Johnny Cash and a star performer in her own right, hospitalized in critical condition in Nashville Saturday due to complications from heart surgery. The 73-year-old singer-songwriter cowrote her husband's classic "Ring of Fire" and dueted with him on the Grammy-winning "Jackson" and "If I Were a Carpenter."

Cruise wraps up 'Last Samurai' shoot

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Tom Cruise says he'll miss the local beach and fish and chips now that he's finished filming his scenes for "The Last Samurai."

Cruise, accompanied by his two children, Conor and Isabella, flew on his private jet from the North Island town of New Plymouth Friday.

The 40-year-old actor spent nearly four months in the Taranaki province filming on the set of the movie about Japan's legendary warrior class adapting to Western influence in the mid-19th century.

"I'm going to miss the fish and chips, we're going to miss our Friday night McDonald's you know, we are going to miss the beach at night," he told a local radio station shortly before his departure.

Producers said 80 percent of the $114 million movie was shot at 10 locations around the province. "The Last Samurai" is set for release in the United States in December.

'X2' Continues Box-Office Dominance

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mutants preserved their power at the box office as "X2: X-Men United" remained the No. 1 movie, taking in $41.4 million in its second weekend.

Eddie Murphy's family comedy "Daddy Day Care," in which he plays an out-of-work father who starts a toddler-tending business, opened in second place with $27.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"X2," the sequel based on the comic book about genetic mutants with superpowers, lifted its 10-day total to $149 million after an opening weekend of $85.6 million, the fourth best of all-time.

By Wednesday, "X2" should pass the $157.3 million that "X-Men" took in during its entire run three years ago, said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released both movies.

The improved box office indicates fans of the comic books drove the first film, while its exposure since then through home video and TV airings has broadened the franchise's appeal, Snyder said.

"It's grown in stature, plus this one got the kind of reviews that drove more of an adult audience and a female audience to see it, people who might not normally go to see a comic-book-based story," Snyder said.

The overall box office was down, with the top 12 movies grossing $103 million, off 11 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Spider-Man" continued to dominate theaters.

Murphy, whose early movie career was built on street-smart action comedies such as "Beverly Hills Cop" and "48 Hrs.", has bombed in his recent edgier flicks, including last year's "Showtime," I Spy" and "The Adventures of Pluto Nash."

His hits lately have come from family movies such as "The Nutty Professor," "Doctor Dolittle" and their sequels.

"Eddie Murphy is Bill Cosby," said Tom Sherak, a partner in Revolution Studios, which produced "Daddy Day Care" for Sony. "People who grew up with the edgy Eddie Murphy, they're older now and parents, but they still want to see him. He's not that urban kid any more, he's a grown-up, a good father and family man, and he makes these movies that appeal to families."

Opening "Daddy Day Care" over the family-friendly Mother's Day weekend helped, and the studio avoided big head-to-head competition by sandwiching it between the opening weekends of "X2" and the upcoming "The Matrix Reloaded," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.

"The Matrix Reloaded," which debuts Thursday, is expected to top the $58 million opening weekend of "Hannibal," the record-holder for R-rated movies. But the higher rating could make it tough for "Matrix Reloaded" to match the opening of "X2," which is rated PG-13.

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. "X2: X-Men United," $41.4 million.
2. "Daddy Day Care," $27.6 million.
3. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," $7.8 million.
4. "Identity," $6.3 million.
5. "Anger Management," $5.5 million.
6. "Holes," $4.6 million.
7. "A Mighty Wind," $2.9 million.
8. "Malibu's Most Wanted," $2.1 million.
9. "Bend It Like Beckham," $1.65 million.
10. "Confidence," $1.5 million.

Osbournes Parting Ways with Sony Music

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne is leaving his Sony Music label after 23 years, and daughter Kelly, who issued her debut album on Sony last year, is going with him, family matriarch and manager Sharon Osbourne said on Friday.

Sharon Osbourne, who is negotiating her family's exit from Sony, said in a statement that her husband and daughter were looking for "fresh ideas," but she offered no specific explanation for their move.

The Osbournes' publicist, Lisa Vega, called the departures, "an amicable split." She denied a report in US Weekly magazine that Sony had dumped Kelly from its roster as she was finishing up work on a second album.

"She was not recording a second album," Vega said.

Osbourne said she and Sony had mutually agreed that her 18-year-old daughter would leave the label after former CEO Tommy Mottola, who signed Kelly last year, left the music company in January.

"Sony has been a part of the family for years ... and Tommy Mottola was the person they had dealt with all those years, and when he left, they decided it was time for a change as well," Vega said.

No comment was immediately available from Sony Music, a division of Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp.

A source close to the label dismissed the notion that Sony was unhappy with Kelly's debut album, "Shut Up," which, according to Nielsen SoundScan, sold nearly 150,000 copies in the United States, a respectable tally for a new artist.

Kelly joined Sony as she was basking in the success of her family's MTV reality show, which turned the Osbournes into instant pop culture stars.

Ozzy Osbourne, the British-born former frontman for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath has released about a dozen albums through Sony's Epic Records since the early 1980s, most recently this year's "The Essential Ozzy Osbourne" collection.

Kelly Osbourne plans to embark on a European tour this summer with British pop star Robbie Williams, while her father is gearing up for a Canadian tour in early June and will headline the annual Ozzfest rock spectacle again this summer.

The third season of "The Osbournes" is due to premiere on MTV in June.

Cannes Film Festival Raring to Go Despite Hitches

CANNES, France (Reuters) - The 56th Cannes film festival, which begins on Wednesday, has been dogged by late entries, security concerns and fears that Asian participants might bring the killer SARS virus with them.

Yet film stars and paparazzi are descending in droves on this Mediterranean resort for the extravaganza that mixes intellectual cinema with Hollywood razzle-dazzle.

Hotels are fully booked, lavish parties are being planned and the Riviera resort is abuzz with anticipation.

"A lot of things have happened in the past year, but life must go on," said Festival President Gilles Jacob whose biggest headaches are late-landing films and last-minute withdrawals.

While playing down concerns the star-studded event could be derailed by a terror attack, organizers have drafted in a security team of several thousand to add to 600 local police.

And to appease SARS concerns, industry players coming from Asia have agreed to undergo medical checks on arrival in France.

The Cannes crowd will run to tens of thousands, from actors and directors to fans coming to soak in the atmosphere and glimpse stars like Clint Eastwood and Elizabeth Taylor.

Security was tight last year with even the stars undergoing body scans and bag checks. Police say they are also out to stop the muggers that habitually prey on wealthy foreigners at night.

As usual, deep-and-meaningful foreign films risk being overshadowed by a giant Hollywood showing -- the much-hyped sci-fi sequel "Matrix: Reloaded."

But critics are keenly awaiting new offerings from Denmark's Lars Von Trier, revered for his dramatic tearjerkers, and Peter Greenaway, the British master of outlandish eyebrow-raisers.

VIVE IL CINEMA

Also competing for the coveted Palme d'Or, is movie veteran Eastwood with crime drama "Mystic River," five French directors and films from as far apart as Russia, Brazil, Iran and Japan.

"The strength of Cannes lies in discovering original works, outside the mainstream and not Hollywood-made. But the big movie producers will be there too, so pressure will be intense," said Fordham University Media Studies professor Paul Levinson.

The festival has a feel-good opener -- -- an out-of-contest remake of "Fanfan la Tulipe," starring Penelope Cruz as a tousled-haired gypsy with a plunging bosom to rival any starlet.

Nicole Kidman, ex-wife of Cruz's beau Tom Cruise, will be looking somewhat more dowdy as the downbeat heroine in Von Trier's Dogville, but is sure to dazzle on the red carpet.

And for fans stuck outside, open air screens will pay tribute to the legendary Federico Fellini, whose reaction on winning the 1960 Palme d'Or for "La Dolce Vita" makes up this year's Cannes poster -- in large pink letters, "Vive il Cinema."

Beatles, Not Battles, as McCartney Takes Colosseum

ROME (Reuters) - Taking the floor where gladiators once battled wild beasts and fought to the death, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney brought rock 'n' roll to Rome's Colosseum for the first time.

"We understand it's the first time there's been a band in the Colosseum since the Christians," McCartney joked with the audience, in reference to the persecution of the early Christians by the Roman authorities.

"Rock the Colosseum," he yelled toward the end of the show on Saturday night, before launching into sing-along Beatles hit "Hey Jude" to a rapturous response.

Lighting in hues of orange gave an intimate atmosphere to the concert despite the immense space. In its heyday some 2,000 years ago, the Colosseum could seat as many as 80,000, but on Saturday just 400 people were let in for the benefit show.

"This is a beautiful, beautiful place," the 60-year-old McCartney told the audience of VIP guests and a lucky few who nabbed rare paying seats in an Internet auction.

Proceeds from the auction will go partly to Adopt a Minefield, a charity set up by McCartney's wife Heather Mills McCartney, and partly to archaeological projects in Rome.

McCartney made ample use of his treasure trove of Beatles hits, with 18 out of the 27 songs he performed coming from the pioneering 1960s band's repertoire -- including "Can't Buy Me Love," "Let It Be" and "Yesterday."

"I've loved these songs for more than 30 years, and to see him perform them in the Colosseum is almost too good to be true," said Renato Jacopetti, who paid $1,263 for two tickets and came down from the northern city of Padua.

McCartney was due to give a second concert in Rome on Sunday, but this time just outside the monument, using its arches as a backdrop. The concert will be free, and organizers have said they expect some 200,000 people to turn up.

Proceeds from the sale of television rights for both concerts will go to an Italian archaeological mission in Iraq that aims to help the looted Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad get back in operation.

McCartney is in the final stages of a world tour that has made him the world's highest-earning celebrity. By the time it finishes on June 1 in Liverpool, birthplace of the Beatles, nearly two million people will have paid to see him play.

'Survivor 8' contestant search launched

Looking to capitalize on the finale of 'Survivor: The Amazon' this Sunday, CBS has announced they are accepting applications for 'Survivor 8' on their official Web site.

Those willing to eat live bugs, backstab the friends they make and allow themselves to be filmed almost 24-hours-a-day, have until July 9th at 5:00 p.m. PST to send in the written application and a three-minute audition video.

Much to chagrin of many enthusiastic Canadians chomping at the bit to be part of the reality show, the rules again clearly state that only U.S. citizens who live in America can apply.

Prospective contestants must be at least 21-years-old and willing to travel at their own expense to attend semi-final interviews in August. L.A. is where the final selection process will be held in September. The producers are picking up the tab for "pre-approved economy travel" and the lodgings. Filming of 'Survivor 8' will take place between mid-October to mid-December 2003. "Survivor 8' is set to air in early 2004.

Rumours persist that the producers are toying with the idea of an 'All-Star Survivor' featuring tribes made up of contestants from the previous editions of the series. Following the producers' yearly shooting schedule, 'Survivor 7' should be on location throughout the summer and airing in September.

The two hour finale of 'Survivor: The Amazon' airs this Sunday at 8:00 p.m. EDT on CBS. Players Matthew Von Ertfelda, Rob Cesternino, Jenna Morasca and Butch Lockley make up the Final Four. The finale will be followed by an hour-long reunion show hosted by Jeff Probst.

PAULEY WANNA BREATHER

After 27 years at NBC, Dateline co-host Jane Pauley leaves the peacock network this coming Tuesday at 10 p.m. The special will include clips from her 1976 debut on The Today Show. Michael J. Fox and wife Tracey Pollan sit down for Pauley's final interview.

The Simpsons in the flesh

James Lipton, who, come to think about it, kinda looks like Springfield's Comic Book Guy, welcomes the voice cast of The Simpsons to Inside The Actors Studio (premiering June 8 on Bravo!). Having never seen Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Apu, Moe, Chief Wiggum) and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns) do a table read, all I can say is: Be like me and don't miss it.

Soundtrack will be famously big

All the bad boys will be hanging together this summer. Bad Boy Entertainment CEO Sean "P. Diddy" Combs will launch his new deal with Universal Records with the superstar-studded soundtrack to the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence film Bad Boys 2.

Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Notorious B.I.G., Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Mary J. Blige, Lenny Kravitz, Beyoncé Knowles, Pharrell Williams, Loon, Fat Joe, Foxy Brown, Mario Winans and Smith are all part of the lineup.

The album hits stores July 15, three days before the movie arrives in theaters.

In the movie, Smith and Lawrence reprise their roles as detectives from their 1995 hit, this time investigating a vicious Miami drug kingpin.

The soundtrack's lead singles will be Jay-Z's La La La (Excuse Me Again) and P. Diddy's collaboration with Nelly and Murphy Lee of the St. Lunatics on Shake Your Tail Feather. Videos are being shot for both.

The soundtrack also will be the only place that fans can find the underground hit The Realest, featuring 50 Cent and Notorious B.I.G.

"This is my first album with the new venture and I wanted to come out with a big bang," says Combs, who signed with Universal in February, eight months after ending his longtime partnership with Arista.

"Out of the top 20 artists in the industry, I probably have 70% of them on the soundtrack," Combs says.

AIRHEAD DEFLATED

The Tribal Council extinguishing Heidi's torch on Survivor Thursday night much to the surprise of...Heidi, who, minutes before, boasted of her immunity. The season finale airs Sunday night on CBS.

ONE LAST ROMP!

Carrie will still be dating Jack when the sixth and final season of HBO's Sex and the City gets underway with the first of 12 episodes airing on June 22. The final eight will begin airing in January of next year. No word on whether Mr. Big will return.

Alec Baldwin in RED RABBIT?

Zentertainment recieved an anonymous tip on Thursday, in regards to Alec Baldwin's possible involvement in the upcoming Jack Ryan film, "RED RABBIT".

"Secret Squirrel" had the details:

SMALL SCOOP, NOTHING MAJOR..BUT YOUR SITE IS A FAVE, SO HERES SOMETHING I FOUND, DATED LAST WEEK APRIL.

ALEC BALDWIN IS TIPPED TO BE STARRING IN "RED RABBIT" OPPOSITE BEN AFFLECK.

IRONICALLY, BALDWIN PLAYED JACK RYAN IN "RED OCTOBER".

ACCORDING TO LEMONSOFT WEEKLY MAGAZINE, AFFLECK IS EXPECTED TO PLAY RYAN, AND PARAMOUNT IS IN TALKS WITH BALDWIN TO PLAY CHIEF OF STATION, ED FOLEY.

VANDROSS UPDATE

Contrary to earlier reports, Luther Vandross is not breathing on his own. His publicist says the singer's mother mistakenly believed her son was breathing without a respirator. Vandross, 52, remains unconscious in critical condition in the intensive care unit of a New York hospital after suffering a stroke last month.

Weird Al is back with POODLE HAT

'Weird Al' Yankovic spoofs a whole new crop of pop stars on his latest album, POODLE HAT, due May 20 from Way Moby/Volcano Records. On the 12-track set, you'll hear the album's lead track, 'Couch Potato,' a commentary on America's obsession with media and celebrity, set to Eminem's 'Lose Yourself.'

While Eminem did approve the track, he asked that Al not make a video for the song. Also on POODLE HAT, Avril Lavigne's 'Complicated' becomes 'A Complicated Song,' while Nelly's 'Hot in Herre' is morphed into 'Trash Day.' Yankovic also turns Billy Joel's 'Piano Man' into a 'Spiderman' parody as 'Ode to a Superhero,' and the Backstreet Boys' 'I Want It That Way' into the send-up 'eBay.'

Justin Timberlake as Jimmy Olsen?

According to an article posted on Yahoo News, Warner Bros. has offered the role of Jimmy Olsen in the upcoming SUPERMAN film to musician, Justin Timberlake. Timberlake received the script last month and has not yet made a decision as to whether or not to to accept the role.

MAKE HER LAUGH

CBS is hoping America will have a love affair with "Cupid."

On the new reality show created by snarky "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell, 25-year-old Lisa Shannon, an advertising executive from Detroit, will travel the U.S. looking for Mr. Right - and a $1 million prize.

"He's not the Hannibal Lechter I thought he'd be," Shannon says of Cowell.

Each week, Shannon and two of her best friends - acting as judges - will travel to a major city to "audition" potential mates. They'll arrive in New York on May 23.

At each audition, guys will have just 30 seconds to impress Shannon and her friends "with their sense of humor and making me laugh," says Shannon. "By being down to Earth, not being cocky or arrogant - just being a genuine person. You can tell if you like someone right away."

By the third episode, the trio will whittle the list of suitors down to 10.

In the fourth episode Shannon will start going on a series of filmed dates with her suitors, after which her friends - Kimberly Tarter, a work colleague, and Laura Restum, her hairdresser - will react to the dates on live television - while viewers will vote off the guy they like least.

"They know every bad relationship I've had - their my Rottweilers."

After 11 episodes, it'll be up to a suitor chosen by viewers to propose to Shannon. If she accepts, they'll split a $1-million "dowry."

"I'm pretty comfortable with this," Shannen says, explaining that she's had problems in the past with finding the right man.

"I've told my girlfriends that I'm obviously missing something here. I'm making the same choices and getting hurt the same way. So let's see what America can do for me because I've been picking the wrong guys," she says.

Cowell will not appear on the show - hosted by MTV's Bryan McFadden - but is said to have a major, behind-the-scenes hand in its direction.

Shannon, an award-winning copywriter for the Campbell-Ewald ad agency, is the oldest of four siblings and lives with her grandmother in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

"The one thing about CBS as opposed to the other networks with reality, is that they do it right," said TV industry analyst Marc Berman.

"What they've done with reality is very smart - they haven't overwhelmed the viewer with a million [reality] options like ABC has and NBC will."

Both NBC and ABC will rely heavily on reality programming this summer.

Is Clooney as Reed a stretch?

Rumors are flying that Marvel Studios exec, Avi Arad is eyeing actor, George Clooney, to star as Reed Richards in his upcoming FANTASTIC FOUR film - to be released on November 4, 2004.

LOOK, MR BILL: CONAN'S FEAT OF CLAY

You may want to cry "Oh no!" when you hear how Conan O'Brien has converted an entire edition of "Late Night" into clay animation.

The all-clay "Late Night" is the result of six months of painstaking production work. It is scheduled to air next Thursday night on NBC.

O'Brien made the announcement during Wednesday night's show. He also showed a picture of himself rendered as a clay figure, complete with red hair, jacket, tie and immovable O-shaped mouth.

In fact, the figure's expression seemed inspired by the famous look of surprise worn years ago by the accident-prone Mr. Bill on "Saturday Night Live" when he realized he was about to be mashed by a giant fist or heavy object.

Unlike Mr. Bill, the all-clay "Late Night" is "violence-free," according to the show's head writer, Mike Sweeney, who also explained why the clay show was made.

"We kind of liked the idea of going to all this trouble just for a typical rerun of the show," Sweeney said. "It's just a new way to look at the same images, the same things that are on over and over every night for 1,700 shows. So it's a nice change of pace."

The all-clay "Late Night" was adapted from a show which aired originally last October. To make the clay version, "Late Night's" in-house animators (actually staffers in the show's scenic department) laboriously posed each clay figure hundreds of times to simulate movement.

The guests on the show were "Jackass" Johnny Knoxville, Richard Lewis and David Bowie. TV tough guy Mr. T was also on hand to perform a "Year 2000" sketch with O'Brien.

All of the performers, including band members and other bit players, were reproduced as miniature clay figures who were animated on miniature models of the show's studio.

Limp Bizkit's 'Panty Sniffer' Album Bumped to Sept.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Limp Bizkit's long-percolating new album has been retitled and rescheduled yet again.

According to a post from frontman Fred Durst on the group's official Web site, the Flip/Interscope set is now called 'Panty Sniffer' and will be out 'for sure the first week in September.'

In prior posting, Durst has referred to the album as 'Less Is More,' 'Bipolar,' and 'The Search for Teddy Swoes.' The set seemed ready for release in May, but after Bizkit finally named Mike Smith as the replacement for guitarist Wes Borland, the group scrapped the finished tracks and began working on new material.

'Sometimes you just have to go with the flow of creativity and we're doing just f***ing that,' Durst wrote. 'The new band is exploding at the seems . You're not gonna comprehend where we took this one.' Speaking of Smith, he enthused, 'He's giving me riffs I've always wanted to have. If you're scared of revolution then you'd better run for shelter.'

The original plan called for the album to be released in time for the July 4 kickoff of the Summer Sanitarium tour, which features Limp Bizkit alongside Metallica and Linkin Park. Durst now insists an as-yet-unnamed single will be issued beforehand.

WILL FERRELL DITCHES NAME FOR MYSTERY DRAMA ROLE

Mystery surrounds the surprise appearance of funnyman Will Ferrell in a rare dramatic role in the season finale of "The Guardian."

Sparking the intrigue is the fact that he's not listed in the show's credits. Instead, the actor playing Ferrell's role on the show is identified as "Phil Reston," a name which turns out to be fictional.

In the show, the former "Saturday Night Live" star plays Larry Flood, an eager new lawyer in the Pittsburgh-based show's non-profit, legal-assistance center.

He turns up about 12 minutes into the episode, which was sent out on tape to TV critics this week. It airs next Tuesday night at 9 on CBS.

After introducing himself to various clinic staffers - including surly Nick Fallin (series star Simon Baker) - Flood converses briefly with clinic director Alvin Masterson (Alan Rosenberg) and then exits.

The cheerful new hire appears again only once, near the episode's conclusion.

The role is low-key and not entirely essential to the plot, but it's not a comedic role either.

And the actor is definitely recognizable as Ferrell, despite being dressed in a business suit and made up with a mustache and glasses.

For reasons which remain unclear, CBS publicists - perhaps hoping to keep the lid on a surprise for "Guardian" viewers - were reluctant at first to acknowledge Ferrell's involvement in the episode.

They eventually confirmed that it is him.

"Guardian" executive producer David Hollander did not return a phone call seeking comment and Ferrell could not be located by his own publicist.

One source speculated that Hollander and Ferrell have mutual acquaintances who may have arranged Ferrell's walk-on as a lark.

However, the origins of Ferrell's pseudonym, Phil Reston, remain a mystery.

It's not likely that Ferrell will return to "The Guardian" next season either. Indications are that his guest-starring stint was a one-shot deal.

NO KEANU RAVES FROM 'MATRIX' BOMBSHELL

Carrie-Anne Moss may be one sexy girl in "The Matrix: Reloaded" - but co-star Keanu Reeves says she's also one lazy girl.

While filming the sci-fi sequel, Carrie-Anne injured a leg two weeks into rehearsals - and was forced to spend six weeks hopping around on her one good leg.

But whenever she tried to rest her sore limb, Reeves showed not a shred of sympathy, she tells Esquire.

"He'd call me lazy," she says. "If I sat down and tried to take a break, he'd say, 'What are you doing?' It kinda drove me crazy."

And that wasn't the only thing that had Carrie-Anne climbing the walls. She says her steamy nude scene with Keanu was tough to shoot.

"I'm such a private person, and sexuality is such a private thing," Moss says.

The self-conscious starlet also says that she sobbed through an early screening of the first "Matrix" flick.

"I just can't stand my voice sometimes, or how my face looks," she says.

Summerall Exits Broadcast Booth

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Pat Summerall, who has been associated with pro football for 51 years -- the past 41 as an announcer -- is retiring, Fox Sports confirmed Thursday.

Summerall, who will be 73 on Saturday, told the Dallas Morning News that he decided to retire after he and Fox could not come to an agreement over his schedule for next season. He said he wanted to call only Dallas Cowboys games, while Fox reportedly preferred he work a full 17-week schedule.

Last season, Summerall worked the entire schedule, calling games alongside Brian Baldinger, including 10 involving the Cowboys, after Fox removed him from the network's lead time following John Madden's departure to ABC's 'Monday Night Football.' Summerall was used to working on the No. 1 announcing team, having done so since 1981.

In a statement, Fox Sports president Ed Goren praised Summerall, saying his decision to join Fox when the network launched its NFL programming in 1994 'helped lead one of the most successful launches in the history of television. His legend gave us credibility with viewers the minute he stepped into our booth.'

Summerall, who worked a record 16 Super Bowls, was probably most noted for his 21-year partnership with analyst Madden, beginning at CBS in 1981 before the pair moved to Fox. Their final game together was Super Bowl XXXVI last year.

'X2' Sets Summer of Sequels Off to Strong Start

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It's not too fast; it's '2 Fast'! It's not dumber; it's 'dumberer!' And after 'X2' struck box office gold, a summer of movie sequels that once looked semi-slow on Thursday appeared headed for blockbusterdom.

Yes, blockbusterdom. It's a word -- in Hollywood.

By now movie fans know that comic book thriller 'X2: X-Men United' debuted to $85.9 million in U.S. ticket sales last weekend, which was the fourth best three-day debut ever after 'Spider-Man' and the first two 'Harry Potter' movies.'

Still to come are a multitude of other sequels starting with 'Matrix: Reloaded' on May 15, 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' and 'Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life' in July, and even some original big-action, special-effects thrillers like 'The Hulk' in June.

The followups don't stop with action, either. Comedy 'Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde' hits screens for July 2 and 'American Pie' followup 'American Wedding' has sparks flying in August. For kids, there's 'Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over' on July 25.

While sequels are less-risky because they come with built-in audiences, fans sometimes find them boring. Because of that, box office pundits think Summer 2003 may lag 2002. After all, there is no 'Spider-Man' spinning a magic web.

'Ah, they say that every summer,' said actress Michelle Pfeiffer, dismissing the idea with a flick of her wrist. She is the voice of goddess Eris in July's animated film, 'Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.'

KATZENBERG CAN'T WAIT

Dreamworks studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg, sitting in with Pfeiffer, agreed. 'I can't wait to see 'Matrix' ... I hear 'Italian Job' is fantastic. The 'Finding Nemo' people say it's really good. And 'Sinbad', whew,' he said, sweeping his palm across the horizon as if to say 'Sinbad' is flat out the best.

Of course, he is the film's producer, but give him credit for pumping up his rivals, too.

'The Matrix Reloaded' hits theaters next week with all the flying special effects and martial arts fighting of 1999's 'The Matrix,' but this version is biggerer, louderer, longerer and badderer -- those being Hollywood words.

Keanu Reeves returns as Neo, or The One, who was pulled from a computerized world by humans rebelling against the machines that made the simulated society of 'The Matrix.' In the first, Neo learns what being a leader means; in the second, he re-explores his humanity to decide the fate of humankind.

'A lot of the second one is about the man inside the cape and behind the dark glasses,' Reeves told Reuters.

Also making computerized waves will be Disney/Pixar's May 30 animated film 'Finding Nemo,' about a father fish who loses his son fishing and goes on an undersea quest to find him. Parents should expect laughs in the manner of other Disney/Pixar films like 'Monsters, Inc.'

'Italian Job, a heist film with Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron debuting May 30, is winning a lot of early buzz. 'Down with Love' on May 16, with Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger, is earning points for recreating 1960's sex comedies.

RACY JUNE, HULKING JULY

June is flanked by two sequel thrillers, street racing film '2 Fast 2 Furious' on June 6 and action adventure 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' on June 27.

In between, comes comic book movie 'The Hulk' on June 20. It stars Eric Bana as scientist Bruce Banner whose experiments transform him into an overgrown green man with a bad temper. It is directed by Ang Lee, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' so with the action, expect a good story.

For laughs, 'When Harry Met Lloyd: Dumb and Dumberer' reaches theaters on June 13, absent the two stars that made 1994's 'Dumb and Dumber' a hit, Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey.

At a recent event for his May 23 movie, 'Bruce Almighty,' in which Carrey returns to comedy as a man with God-like power, Carrey said he hadn't seen 'Dumb and Dumberer' but wished the new dolts, Eric Christian Olsen and Derek Richardson, well.

'I get a lot of people coming up to me thinking I'm in it,' Carrey said, adding that he didn't want people to be misled.

There are other comedies, dramas, romances and adventures for July and August being buzzed about, such as horse-racing film 'Seabiscuit' (July 25) and romance 'Gigli' with real-life lovers Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez (Aug. 1).

Indie movies on the must-see lists include Sundance Film Festival documentary winner 'Capturing the Friedmans' on May 30 and Toronto festival favorite 'Whale Rider,' June 6.

ABC Struggling to Rebuild Prime-Time Lineup

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A new sitcom for morning TV host Kelly Ripa and a drama based on the Jennifer Lopez/George Clooney film 'Out of Sight' are among the pilot series drawing the most buzz as contenders for the fall schedule ABC will unveil next week.

Those two shows and nine other pilots have emerged as the leading candidates for an ABC launch next season as executives at the Walt Disney Co.-owned network toil away on a program lineup that can boost its sagging fortunes.

Meanwhile, ABC executives are said to be uncertain about the future of two existing shows -- veteran legal drama 'The Practice' and the freshman remake of 'Dragnet.'

ABC, which has struggled for two seasons in the ratings doldrums, found marginal success this past year with several comedies, like 'George Lopez' and 'Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.' But the network remains desperate for a breakout hit.

The network's most pressing challenge is to find solid new dramas for the 10 o'clock hour. A number of dramas launched last fall collapsed from poor ratings, and the highly anticipated 'Dragnet' series from producer Dick Wolf has struggled to find an audience since its debut early this year.

The Emmy-winning 'Practice' has likewise stumbled in the ratings since it was moved out of its longtime Sunday night berth to make room for 'Dragnet.'

One major bright spot on ABC's lineup this season has been the hit reality franchise 'The Bachelor,' but network executives have acknowledged pressing their luck with such unscripted duds as 'I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!' and 'Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People.'

ABC is due to announce its programming lineup for the 2003-04 season next Tuesday at its 'upfront' sales presentation to advertisers in New York.

In terms of ABC's scripted development slate, word has it that network executives have narrowed their choices for the upcoming season to nearly a dozen shows, including the Kelly Ripa comedy and a drama inspired by 'Out of Sight.'

LIVE WITH REGIS

Ripa, the daytime drama veteran who currently shares the stage with Regis Philbin on 'Live with Regis & Kelly,' would star in a family sitcom tentatively titled 'Hope and Faith,' about a soap opera actress who moves in with her sister's family. Philbin himself once pulled double duty on his morning talk show and ABC's prime-time schedule while hosting the onetime game show sensation 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.'

The pilot series adapted from 'Out of Sight' would star little-known actress Carla Gugino, movie veteran Robert Forster and former 'thirtysomething' star Peter Horton. The series is based on characters created by Elmore Leonard and adapted for the 1998 film that starred Lopez as a federal marshal and George Clooney as a career bank robber.

Another leading contender is a legal drama based on John Grisham's best-selling novel 'The Street Lawyer,' co-starring Mario Van Peebles and Hal Holbrook. Lawyers also figure prominently in two other promising pilot dramas -- one set in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office and another about a recovering alcoholic who opens a storefront law practice.

Rounding out the short-list of most favored drama pilots is the female cop 'Partners' and 'Threat Matrix,' about men and women in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A similarly themed pilot drama on NBC's development slate is also a candidate for the fall schedule. ABC already has ordered 13 episodes of a new ensemble FBI drama for next season.

On the comedy front, ABC is said to be high on four other sitcoms -- including one from former 'Spin City' star Michael J. Fox, one from producer Chris Henchy tentatively titled 'I'm with Her' (inspired by his marriage to actress Brooke Shields) and a 'Bird Cage'-esque romance about the son of conservative family dating the daughter of a gay couple.

Britney Spears Readying New Album

Britney Spears is already hard at work on her next album--the follow-up to her 2001 self-titled set.

According to a posting by Spears' mother Lynne Spears on britneyspears.com, the singer has been recording as well as taking dance classes with one of her childhood dance partners.

"Britney is really excited about her next album," Lynne wrote. "Everything has fallen into place, and the result is great--the music is fantastic!"

"Britney's been working out," Lynne added. "She went to a dance class taught by her old friend, Brittany Hastings. She said that it was a great workout in addition to her regular routine."

As for Britney's new shoulder-length brown hair, her mother explains, "She was tired of the same look.... a new look seems to give you extra spunk and energy."

Nelly's Sister In Dire Need Of Donor And Bone Marrow Transplant

The sister of superstar rapper Nelly is in immediate need of a bone marrow transplant. Both the rapper and his sister, Jackie Donahue, will be heading a nationwide awareness and recruitment effort to find a donor.

The campaign they've launched is called Jes Us 4 Jackie. With it, they hope to increase the donor numbers on the National Marrow Donor Program Registry and to specifically find a donor for Jackie.

Nelly and Donahue will hold a press conference on May 14 at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. to share Donahue's plight and provide information about the disease.

On June 21, Jes Us 4 Jackie will be sponsoring a nation-wide donor drive for patients in need of bone marrow transplants. The event will target New York, St. Louis, and Los Angeles and specifically look for more African-American donors and donors of mixed heritage.

Also on June 21, the 4 Sho 4 Kids Foundation will sponsor the cost of the test that's required to join the registry as well as the educational materials for all potential donors. Donors must be between 18 and 60 years old.

For more information or to make a monetary contribution, please visit jesus4jackie.com or
marrow.org.

What's on TV: Thursday

--Part of me wants Rob to get the boot tonight on Survivor (CBS, 8 ET/PT), but the other part thinks Sunday's finale would be a lot less exciting without him. And won't he suffer more if he gets a little closer to the prize, only to have it pulled away by a vengeful jury?

--Two guests drop by on Friends (NBC, 8 p.m. ET/PT). John Stamos shows up as a possible sperm donor for Monica, and Hank Azaria returns as Phoebe's sometimes boyfriend.

--The guest parade continues on a very funny Will & Grace (NBC, 9:20 p.m. ET/PT), as Minnie Driver reprises her role as Stan's new flame. Or ex-flame: Stan has passed on, leaving Karen to wonder if he changed his will before he went. Oh, and we also find out the gang hates "that know-it-all daughter on the Gilmore Girls," for those keeping track of Will's TV references.

--ABC examines the scandal that befell the British version of one of its former hits, as PrimeTime Thursday (ABC, 9 p.m. ET/PT) devotes two hours to the convicted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire cheats. They insist they're innocent; a British court found otherwise.

--Oh, and the NHL Playoffs continue with another Game Seven. Vancouver plays Minnesota (CBC, 10 p.m. ET) for the right to lose to Anaheim in the next round. Go Leafs, go! (Yes, I know they were eliminated two weeks ago!)

Enjoy!

'Matrix' fans unload on 'Time'

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. So can too much.
That's what Time magazine is learning after revealing most of the plot details of the rabidly anticipated sci-fi thriller The Matrix Reloaded ahead of its opening next Wednesday. The article, by reviewer Richard Corliss, was careful to warn those who wished to remain in "blissful ignorance" of when spoilers began and stopped.

But blissful is not the word for Matrix fans who are upset that the publication not only spilled the beans, but also broke several unwritten rules of cinematic journalism. Namely, thou shalt not reveal surprise twists and film endings.

Expect next week's letters column to be filled with anger. Time's Patrick Smith couldn't give an exact tally but says, "It's safe to say that people are concerned."

Joseph Nathan, 26, of Burbank, Calif., who posted a gripe on the Web site ComingSoon.com, says: "I don't care if the story warned of spoilers or not. You shouldn't give secrets away to a film this important. You can't hang a sign in the street that says 'Don't look up' and expect people not to look up."

Adds comingsoon.com Web master Mirko Parleviet: "Just because fans can't wait to see a movie, that doesn't mean they want to hear about it beforehand."

Word is that Matrix producer Joel Silver is furious as well.

Time executive editor Priscilla Painton says, "It's part of what we sell when we get exclusive news. We were the only newsmagazine with access, and that's one of the great assets of the cover story."

Many question that access. Time and Warner Bros., the Matrix studio, are both part of AOL Time Warner. But Painton denies any preferential treatment and says the story isn't a review (one will run next week), though Corliss reports mixed crowd reaction.

Asked if her enjoyment of the movie was hurt, she laughs and says, "Did you see the cover line?" Which is, "If we told you everything, they'd have to kill us."Hope no one takes them up on the offer.

The Return of ATARI

Franco-American video gme publisher Infogrames, in an effort to increase its profile with consumers by reaching back into gaming history, said Wednesday it is changing its name to Atari. To mark the new Atari and the new ticker symbol ATAR, Chief Executive Bruno Bonnell is set to open the Nasdaq on Wednesday.

Infogrames/Atari shares have been on a run of late, rising more than 130% on the Nasdaq since April 18, when the company said it had completed work on Enter the Matrix, the hotly anticipated video game companion to the forthcoming Warner Bros. film The Matrix Reloaded.

The Atari name is the most storied in video gaming, dating back to the early 1970s, when Nolan Bushnell and a team of engineers at Atari created "Pong," the arcade video game that was so popular machines sometimes jammed up because they were overflowing with quarters.

"What we have decided to do, following a very precise strategy, effectively is to adopt this brand Atari," Bonnell told Reuters. "Clearly we feel like it is the symbol of the global company that we became during the last two years."

Over the years, Atari went through many incarnations, and at one point operated as a subsidiary of what was then called Warner Communications and is now known as AOL Time Warner.

It ceased to be a stand-alone company in 1996, when it was acquired by JTS, and in early 1998 JTS sold the Atari rights and assets to toymaker Hasbro.

Infogrames, founded in France in 1983, acquired the rights to the Atari brand in early 2001 when it bought Hasbro Interactive. In October 2001 the company relaunched the brand and began using it as a games publishing label.

Though its origins are French, Bonnell said 65% of the company's business is done in the United States. Last year the company cut 60% of its French workforce.

Bonnell said the parent company trading on the French bourse will continue to be known as Infogrames Entertainment, as the process for changing the company's name will take longer there.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS get animated

While CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE doesn't open in theaters until July 4, you can get your fix of Angels online, beginning May 13 when a series of online-only animated adventures hit the web with Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz providing the voices for their animated selves which are brought to life by the same people responsible for The Simpsons.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS: THE ANIMATED ADVENTURES will consist of six episodes, each only 2-3 minutes in length, only seen at Animated Angels.

Swayze Dances Dirty Again

Patrick Swayze has officially signed on to star in DIRTY DANCING 2: HAVANA NIGHTS - successfully beating Ricky Martin for the role. The film is set in Havana, Cuba in 1959 - and also stars Diego Luna, Jonathan Jackson, Sela Ward and John Slattery, in a film that attempts to capitalize on the current Latino music trend.

More Marvel Movies On The Way

In Marvel's annual first quarter report, they announced that the upcoming FANTASTIC FOUR movie could see a release on November 4, 2004 with 20th Century Fox films. Additionally, Marvel Studios are working on BLADE 3, THE PUNISHER, SPIDER-MAN 2, IRON MAN, NAMOR and several other film adaptations.

EXITING

Saturday Night Live stars Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan making their final appearance as regulars on the show's May 17 season finale. After seven years, Kattan is leaving to make feature films while Morgan is set to star in a sitcom for NBC.

Fx Whiz Takes 'Matrix' where No Film Has Been

By Paula Parisi

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The 'bullet time' effect in 1999's 'The Matrix' was a shot heard 'round the world, one of those rare bits of 'cinemagic' that transcends film lexicon and permeates popular culture.

The visual effects team behind that movie received an Academy Award for its efforts and so clearly had its work cut out when attempting to up the creative ante again for the May 15 release 'The Matrix Reloaded' and November's 'The Matrix Revolutions.'

But to hear senior visual effects supervisor John Gaeta talk about the work during the thick of postproduction, it sounds like fun.

'It's exciting, but it can also kill you,' he laughs from a cell phone during his daily commute down the California coast from the former Alameda Naval Base -- where Larry and Andy Wachowski's production company, Eon, keeps offices in the control tower -- to Venice.

The base also is home to ESC, the visual effects company formed by the Wachowskis and Warner Bros. Pictures to handle effects for the 'Matrix' sequels, which incorporate more than 2,000 shots on a combined VFX budget said to be in the vicinity of $100 million.

In addition to ESC -- named after the 'get-me-outta-here button' on a computer keyboard and pronounced, by some, 'escape' -- work spilled over to eight or nine other firms, including Tippett Studios, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Giant Killer Robots, Australia's Animal Logic and Paris-based BUF Compagnie. In all, 800-1,000 people worldwide were striving for a synchronized vision.

'This is a massive operation,' Gaeta says. 'It's the biggest thing that's ever been done that isn't ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) doing 'Star Wars.' It's much bigger than 'The Lord of the Rings.' And we got some stellar performances out of these third party compaies.'

To achieve their latest eye-popping visuals, Gaeta and company continued to push the envelope in virtual cinematography techniques and image-based rendering, mapping photographic images over 3-D wireframe models. (A more physically based-method for acquiring impossible camera moves was used to achieve the original film's 'bullet time.') For the 'Burly Brawl' scene -- in which Neo (Keanu Reeves) battles an army of rapidly multiplying Agent Smiths (Hugo Weaving), with the camera whirling by at supersonic speed -- the technology was used to create 3-D scenes that are 100% computer-generated, including the actors.

To achieve what Gaeta describes as heretofore-unseen authenticity for synthetic performers, he worked with fellow 'Matrix' alumni -- including George Borshukov, Kim Libreri and Dan Piponi, the core team at ESC -- to devise the technique that made that possible: 'universal capture,' or, more familiary 'U-cap.'

'What it is we get the shape and the performance in one go, rather than digitizing you, then capturing your motion, then later adding the skin,' Gaeta explains. 'What it does is eliminate the need for scanning.'

Though it can be done using any cameras, including film cameras, they chose to use five Sony HDW-900 cameras in an array configuration. the actors were scanned making a range of facial expressions. That information was mapped onto wireframes of the actors' cranial structures and later set atop the bodies of motion-captured stunt doubles. The combination of 3-D characters and 3-D sets allowed the filmmakers to unfetter their imaginations using a virtual camera with unlimited mobility.

'Once you have the 'ballet' in the computer, we can precisely capture how each body arcs, swings and rolls then create a negative, an inverse of that motion for the camera,' Gaeta says. 'It's always perfect, full-tilt -- no fake Hollywood punches.'

Another major 'Matrix' effects set piece is the 'Sentinel Reveal,' a superhighway of corrosive sewer pipes patrolled by drone-like Diggers -- 250,000 of them, to be exact. The sequence incorporates towering, 30-foot miniatures -- called 'big-atures,' with the name deriving from the huge environments in the 'Rings' films -- and physical interaction was needed.

But, again, most of the scene was built digitally, 'with a tremendous level of detail and sense of scale,' ESC visual effects supervisor Joe Takai says.

Although the technological expertise and artistic detail required to pull off the set pieces are impressive, Gaeta says the real secret behind the mind-blowing look of the 'Matrix' movies is simpler.

'It has everything to do with the connection between the development of the film and the creation of the effects,' he says. 'There's a linkage from Larry and Andy, with myself, to ESC that is greater and deeper than any standard vendor contract. And if you're to look out in the field, it's only Pixar and maybe PDI that have a really deep linkage to the creative development of their content.'

But Gaeta predicts that such arrangements are 'the wave of the future,' and if he has anything to say about it, effects houses 'will get out of this racket of 'self-destruct projects' for studios that don't really help subsidize the technology side, the growth side. The only way they won't fall is if they create a new formula on which they're given points on a film -- and the only way they can do that is to be co-developers.'

Citing the 'Matrix' model as an example, Gaeta explains that 'the content, the imagery and the concepts are heavily routed through Eon, which squeezes out the ideas. ESC is the one that's bringing the technology to the table, so it's a good collaboration.'

Beyond that philosophical collaboration, the logistical aspects of data collaboration presented an awesome challenge to Eon. The company simultaneously developed and produced not only two large-scale feature films, but also an animated film, an online game and a video game.

Given that volume of work, development of a robust asset-management system was a key plank of the firms' technical strategy. Everything from concept sketches to low-resolution images to high-rez files was databased and accessible from multiple locations.

'We developed, basically, a relational image bank that houses thousands and thousands of shots and images at all resolutions,' Gaeta says. 'We transfer that around to all our different media, and we're like a full-on post facility. I'm sure Pixar does this as well, but in a different way. I mean, Larry and Andy's company is as capable and robust as your most high-end post facility; they're just a couple of directors with the same setup they'd need going into post on any live-action film -- but they've got it exponentially.'

That combination of creative energy and technical savvy has made ESC 'easily more capable than any other effects firm in the industry,' says Gaeta, who works at Eon but was part of the team at Manex, the now-defunct Bay Area effects house that handled the original 'Matrix' film. 'It's a magic combination. In terms of talent and technology, they've surpassed everyone, in my opinion.'

The fate of ESC and its 290 employees is not clear beyond the completion of 'Revolutions.' It is not uncommon for talented effects guns to move from project to project and facility to facility, following their fancy as well as industry demand. But Gaeta hopes for a miracle, even as he laments some industry trends -- specifically, that the volume required by today's tentpole releases has resulted, to a large degree, in the commoditization of visual effects.

'Some of these firms are giant engines, but at the end of the day, in visual effects, they're not known, really, for their product,' he says. 'Visual effects are supposed to be unique, one of a kind -- that's how you move things forward. Without that spark, films are all going to look the same.'

Pop Charts Topped by 50 Cent Again, Madonna Falls

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Madonna took a tail spin on the pop charts on Wednesday, falling so far that two releases spawned by the amateur talent show 'American Idol' outsold her.

Rap artist 50 Cent returned to the top of the album charts just ahead of the two 'American Idol' discs while Madonna's first album in three years, 'American Life,' plunged to No. 8 in its second week of release, after opening at the top.

'Get Rich or Die Tyrin',' the major-label debut from 50 Cent, the hard-core rapper signed by Eminem, sold 128,000 copies during the week ended May 4, its 13th week in release, according to album sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan.

Fifty Cent's latest tally was down about 10 percent from the previous week but still enough to reclaim the No. 1 chart position, raising his cumulative haul to 4.5 million units.

Opening at No. 2 this week was the RCA Records package 'American Idol Season 2: All Time Classic Love Songs,' which sold 101,000 copies. The winner of the show's first season, Kelly Clarkson, held steady at No. 3 with her debut solo album, 'Thankful', which posted sales of 100,000 copies in its third week.

Meanwhile, 'American Life' sank to eighth place in the charts as sales dropped more than 60 percent to 91,000 copies. The album opened last week at No. 1 with 240,000 copies sold.

Rounding out the top 10 was Cher's best-of collection at No. 4, followed by the Grammy-winning album 'Come Away With Me' from vocalist Norah Jones (No. 5); rock outfit Evanescence with 'Fallen' (No. 6); metal band Linkin Park's 'Meteora' (No. 7); the soundtrack to 'The Lizzy McGuire Movie' (No. 9); and R&B singer Kelly Price's new release, 'Priceless' (No. 10).

Another made-for-TV act from the 1960s, The Monkees, landed at No. 51 in the charts with the launch of their new greatest-hits collection, 'Best of the Monkees.'

'IDOL' FANS SEND OUT THE MARINE

Like many Marines these days, Lance Cpl. Josh Gracin is going home.

But instead of leaving the deserts of Iraq, Gracin is departing the wilds of Hollywood after getting voted off "American Idol" last night.

Gracin, 22, who seemed best throughout the competition with Country/Western music, thanked viewers, the judges, his wife and young daughter.

"At this point [in the competition] this is kind of like ending a relationship," host Ryan Seacrest said. With Gracin off the show, there are only three contestants left - all of them fan favorites to win a contract with a record label owned by the contest's snarky judge, Simon Cowell.

But even without snaring first place, all three remaining contestants - Ruben Studdard, Kimberly Locke and Clay Aiken, all 24 years old - are so popular, they could be signed by major record labels.

Gracin spent most of the competition on leave from his unit, based at Camp Pendleton near San Diego. And the Marines kept him on 24-hour notice to be called up for active duty at anytime during the Iraq war.

Had he been called, the show's producers decided early on that he would be allowed to return next season as one of the show's top 10 finalists.

During his stay in the Hollywood mansion where "American Idol" finalists live during the competition, a staff sergeant from the corps' Los Angeles unit was assigned to keep Gracin in top shape in the event he was ordered to ship out.

Gracin became something of a celebrity among the Marines - and some made up marching rhymes about him.

Actor Roger Moore Collapses on Stage in New York

LONDON (Reuters) - British actor Roger Moore, 75, who starred as secret agent James Bond in the 1970s and 80s, collapsed on stage in New York and was being treated in hospital on Thursday, his agent said.

'I can confirm he collapsed during a performance of a play, but I have no more information as to his condition,' his London agent told Reuters. British media reported that Moore was being treated in a Manhattan hospital with respiratory problems after collapsing on Wednesday during a performance of 'The Play What I Wrote,' in which he had a minor role.

He was reported to be in stable condition.

London-born Moore took over the role of 007 agent James Bond from Sean Connery in the 1973 film 'Live and Let Die' after shooting to international fame in the 1960s on television as 'The Saint.'

Moore went on to star in another six Bond films -- his final appearance was in 1985's 'A View to a Kill' -- and always played the secret agent with a heavy touch of humor.

He became an ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund in 1991 but continued performing, more recently presenting television programs.

Beyonce Readies 'Dangerous' Solo Debut

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Destiny's Child frontwoman Beyonce Knowles has set a July 8 release date for her long-awaited Columbia solo debut album, 'Dangerously in Love.'

The set will feature guest appearances by the likes of Jay-Z, Luther Vandross, Missy Elliott, Sean Paul, Outkast's Big Boi, and more.

Other contributors to 'Dangerously in Love' include Mark Batson, Mario Winans, D-Roy & Mr. B, Rich Harrison, Fanatic, and Scott Storch. Vandross lends his pipes to the duet 'Closer I Get to You.' The same cut will appear on Vandross' forthcoming album 'Dance with My Father,' set for a June 10 release on J Records.

Knowles is planning a world tour in support of 'Dangerously in Love,' and she has also set a bevy of television appearances for the coming months. She will debut the set's first single from the set -- 'Crazy In Love' featuring Jay-Z -- May 17 as a musical guest on 'Saturday Night Live.' Other planned TV appearances include CBS' 'The Late Show with David Letterman' on June 14, NBC's 'Today' outdoor concert series on June 27, the CBS 'Early Show' on July 8, and ABC's 'The View' on July 9.

The artist will also be the subject of a pay-per-view TV special, 'Ford Presents Beyonce Knowles, Friends & Family, Live From Ford's 100th Anniversary Celebration in Dearborn, Michigan,' set to air June 14. Knowles will be joined for the special by her Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, her sister Solange Knowles, and other musical guests.

Knowles will take part in the May 22 'VH1 Divas Duets' special, broadcast live from Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena. She'll join Celine Dion, Lisa Marie Presley, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Jewel, Chaka Khan, and host Queen Latifah.

Radiohead Creeps Onto The Big Screen

Radiohead will beam into select Famous Players theatres across Canada on June 5, when their MTV2-sponsored New York concert will be broadcast live via satellite.

The event is in support of the British art-rockers' sixth studio album, "Hail To The Thief," which will be released June 10.

Tickets are available Friday at all participating Famous Players Theatre box offices or online.

The list of confirmed theatres and times are as follows:

Montreal, QC @ StarCite (10 p.m. ET)
Montreal, QC @ Paramount IMAX (10 p.m. ET)
Kirkland, QC @ Colisee (10 p.m. ET)
Laval, QC @ Colossus (10 p.m. ET)
Hull, QC @ SilverCity (10 p.m. ET)
Ste. Foy, QC @ SilverCity (10 p.m.)
Ottawa, ON @ Coliseum (10 p.m.)
Gloucester, ON @ SilverCity (10pm ET)
Toronto, ON @ Paramount IMAX (10 p.m. ET)
Toronto, ON @ Colossus IMAX (10 p.m. ET)
Mississauga, ON @ Coliseum IMAX (10 p.m. ET)
London, ON @ SilverCity (10 p.m. ET)
Polo Park, MB @ SilverCity (9 p.m. CT)
Calgary, AB @ Paramount IMAX (11 p.m. MT)
West Edmonton Mall, AB @ SilverCity IMAX (11 p.m. MT)
Vancouver, BC @ SilverCity Metropolis (10 p.m. PT)
Victoria, BC @ SilverCity (10 p.m. PT)

Rock legends Led Zeppelin raid the archives

PARIS (AFP) - Rock legends Led Zeppelin are about to release a whole lotta archives onto the market, but the surviving band members insisted there will be no reunion concerts.

On May 27, the band who's Stairway to Heaven once straddled the globe will release a two-disc DVD set featuring live performances from 1970 to 1979, and the three-CD "How The West Was Won," drawn from June 1972 concerts in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.

However Fifty-nine-year-old Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page scotched any idea of a new concert tour.

"The reason Led Zeppelin was not reformed is because we lost a major ingredient, John Bonham. It would have been inconceivable to bring in someone else".

Bonham, the group's drummer, died in 1980 aged 31 after a heavy night of drinking, leaving fellow group members Page, singer Robert Plant and bassist-pianist John Paul Jones to pursue their own projects.

Page said that there was relatively little film of Led Zeppelin in action, no singles were released in Britain and the band rarely appeared on television, seeing themselves mainly as a live band. "As a result we have little visual documentation," Page told reporters during a visit here.

The five hour twenty-minute film by Dick Carruthers, who has also worked with Oasis, the Rolling Stones and the Who, includes footage from half a dozen performances ranging from their appearance at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1970 to their last concert appearance in Britain, in front of 400,000 people at the Knebworth festival the year before Bonham died.

Their classic songs including "Whole Lotta Love", "Stairway To Heaven", "Immigrant Song", "Black Dog", and "Rock And Roll" are all included along with a 20-minute version of one of their earliest compositions "Dazed And Confused".

Page said he had paid the price for being a rock star in the 1970s.

"I was driven by Led Zeppelin, I was living, breathing, drinking L.Z, the price I paid for was a broken marriage".

"Rock and roll is pure escapism. It should be taken like a good medecine," the veteran rocker added.

The guitar virtuoso confirmed that he had played on three 1960s rock classics before Led Zeppelin was formed; "Gloria" by Them, featuring Van Morrison, "You really Got Me" by The Kinks and "I Can't Explain" by The Who.

Led Zeppelin released eight albums which sold a total of 200 million copies worldwide, vying for supremacy in the 1970s with the Rolling Stones, whom Page admitted he had also played with.

Townshend Cleared of Possessing Kid Porn

LONDON - Pete Townshend was cleared Wednesday of possessing pornographic images of children. But The Who guitarist was warned by police not to access a Web site containing images of child abuse.

Townshend was arrested in January on suspicion of making and possessing indecent images of children. The arrest was part of Operation Ore, an FBI-led crackdown on Internet child pornography.

After a four-month investigation, London's Metropolitan Police said Wednesday that the rocker "was not in possession of any downloaded child abuse images," but had accessed a site containing such images in 1999.

The musician acknowledged using his credit card to enter a Web site advertising child pornography but said he was doing research for his autobiography.

The title character in Townshend's rock opera "Tommy" — a deaf, dumb and blind pinball wizard — is sexually abused by an uncle, and Townshend said he believed he had been sexually abused as a young boy, while in the care of his mentally ill grandmother.

Police said it was not a defense "to access these images for research or out of curiosity."

As part of the cautioning procedure, Townshend's fingerprints, photograph and a DNA sample will be taken by police, and he will be placed on a national register of sex offenders for five years.

Townshend was one of The Who's four founding members, along with bassist John Entwistle, singer Roger Daltrey and drummer Keith Moon. Moon died in 1978 and Entwistle died last year.

The group, founded in London in the early 1960s, was part of the first British rock invasion, alongside the Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Their hits included "I Can See for Miles," "Pinball Wizard" and "Won't Get Fooled Again."

Wal-Mart Pulls Racy Magazines from Store Shelves

NEW YORK (Reuters) - First Sheryl Crow had to go. Then Barbie's pregnant friend was shunned. Now, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. the world's biggest retailer, is axing three men's magazines known for cover photos of scantily-clad models.

Wal-Mart has pulled Maxim and Stuff magazines, published by Dennis Publishing, and Emap Metro LLC's FHM magazine from its shelves, saying some customers were uncomfortable with their covers.

"Wal-Mart has been the most notorious for refusing to carry, for example, music with warning labels," said Marjorie Heins, director of the Free Expression Policy Project based in New York. "Some of these large chains seem to have their marketing decisions driven by ideological rather than truly financial motivations."

In 1996, the retailer refused to sell an album from Sheryl Crow because it contained a lyric talking about children buying guns at Wal-Mart. Last year, it yanked from its shelves Barbie's long-time pal Midge -- a married character doll that featured a stomach with a curled-up baby inside.

The decision to stop carrying the magazines was made last week, company spokesman Tom Williams said. Wal-Mart is the top U.S. seller of products ranging from dog food to diamonds with sales of $244.5 billion in the fiscal year ended January 2003.

All three magazines have seen their U.S. circulation soar, helped by their eye-catching covers and short, cheeky and sex-oriented content.

"We carried those magazines initially in response to customer requests, but we have had customers around the country that have consistently been telling us they're uncomfortable with us carrying these magazines," Williams said.

Maxim magazine has a circulation of 2.5 million, with about 900,000 sold via newsstands. Stuff magazine has a circulation of 1.2 million, with about 450,000 sold on stands.

A spokesman for Dennis Publishing said sales of the publisher's magazines via Wal-Mart accounted for only 1 percent of total circulation.

FHM, or For Him Magazine, has a circulation of 1.1 million. The title was taken off Wal-Mart newsstands in October 2001.

"They put us back on the newsstand with our January and February 2003 issue," a spokeswoman for FHM told Reuters. The magazine has since been removed again.

"Our sales figures at Wal-Mart this year are not significant, only 1 percent of our total circulation," the spokeswoman said.

DOUBLE STANDARD?

Racy covers on magazines racks are not hard to find. Recent covers from music magazine Rolling Stone -- which is sold at Wal-Mart -- featured singer Christina Aguilera wearing nothing but a guitar and heavy make up.

"We are dismayed at the double standard Wal-Mart has set with magazines," Dennis Publishing said in a statement later on Tuesday.

"We hope Wal-Mart will realize that the front covers and contents of Maxim and Stuff are no more provocative than those of other men's magazines such as GQ, Esquire, Details, and Rolling Stone -- and usually less provocative than the covers and contents of many women's magazines," the publisher added.

Family Plans Release of Unearthed Marley Cuts

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The family of Bob Marley has discovered a batch of unheard recordings by the reggae icon that may be used as the basis for an album partially produced in the same style as the mid-1990s Beatles singles "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love."

Marley's eldest son, Ziggy, told Billboard.com the eight-track recordings, which his father made at home, will likely be supplemented with vocals from himself as well as some of his musical siblings.

Just as surviving Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr built "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love" around rough recordings of unreleased John Lennon vocals, the Marleys would embellish some of the newly discovered songs, says Ziggy.

In addition, Ziggy says he would like to have such top-shelf musicians as Carlos Santana (a well-known Marley fan) contribute to the album. The Marley family is in discussion with Universal Music for the release of the album, which Ziggy hopes will be issued next year.

Recorded in the late '70s, the songs will not be familiar to Bob's fans. "I didn't know any of these songs," Ziggy says. "The way he was playing the guitar on one song that I heard, it was like jazz. It wasn't what you would expect from him at all."

Last month, Ziggy issued his Private/RCA solo debut, "Dragonfly," his first album without his sibling backing group, the Melody Makers. The rock-leaning set features appearances by Red Hot Chili Peppers members Flea and John Frusciante, as well as ex-Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Manning, the Wallflowers' Rami Jaffee, and revered multi-instrumentalist David Lindley.

Elton John, Bernie Taupin Doing B'way Vampire Show

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Elton John and Bernie Taupin dreamed of writing music to Anne Rice's literary look at vampires more than 25 years ago. Now will they get their wish.

The rock star and lyricist partner announced on Tuesday that they are collaborating for a Broadway show based on Rice's Vampire Chronicles, tentatively titled "The Vampire Lestat," and aimed for the 2005 theatrical season.

John and Taupin stressed the production would have a classical feel and not resemble a rock opera.

"This will be more opera than rock," said Taupin.

The venture will mark the first stage musical for Taupin, whose songs with John have sold over 150 million copies since they began creating hits in the late 1960s. The vampire show will be John's third Broadway musical, following his work on hit shows "The Lion King," and "Aida."

"Bernie and I have been huge fans of Anne Rice's books for a long time," said John. "When I read "Interview with The Vampire," for the first time, I wanted to become a vampire."

The project, the first foray by producers Warner Bros. into Broadway theater, will also feature a script by Linda Woolverton ("The Lion King," Beauty and the Beast," and "Aida") and will be directed by Robert Jess Roth ("Beauty and the Beast").

"I've spent 10 years looking for the right vehicle," said Taupin, who said he and John had several meetings with Rice back in the 1970s about putting music to her work.

"As things happened, everything went down a different path. Anne is very excited and has given us her blessing."

"The Vampire Lestat," the second book in Rice's series, was published in 1985, nine years after "Interview with The Vampire," which was made into a 1994 movie starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Her 1988 "Queen of the Damned," was made into a film last year.

Vampires came and went quickly on Broadway this past season, with the short-lived "Dance of the Vampires" -- a campy musical that was savaged by critics.

"You're not going to see capes and bats or crosses or tap-dancing vampires," said Taupin.

"This will be dark, sexy and scary, but that doesn't mean it has to be cliched. This is serious, not a parody."

Rapper 50 Cent Sued by New York Doctor

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York surgeon is suing rapper 50 Cent alleging he owes more than $32,000 in fees for the treatment of gunshot wounds nearly three years ago.

According to the civil complaint filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday, 50 Cent, who also is known as Curtis Jackson, and friend Charles Johnson showed up at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in the New York borough of Queens on May 24, 2000, "with multiple gunshot wounds."

No one has been arrested for that shooting and the legal document does not say how many wounds 50 Cent suffered.

The complaint alleges that the surgeon, Nader Paksima treated 50 Cent for the gunshot wounds, including the use of X-rays and post-surgical treatment both in the emergency room and hospital.

"Despite repeated requests for payment to date, the sum of $32,511.87 ... remains due and owing," said Christopher Galiardo, the surgeon's lawyer.

"My client feels that 50 Cent has prospered and moved on with his career since the shooting. Dr. Paksima found 50 Cent to be a nice, charismatic man and we are hopeful he will settle this before going to trial," the lawyer said.

The 27-year-old rapper's attorney in the civil matter, Mark Gann, did not return calls for comment.

A protege of Eminem and slain hip hop pioneer Jam Master Jay, 50 Cent has bragged in interviews to promote his CD "Get Rich or Die Tryin"' that he was once a crack cocaine dealer and has been shot nine times.

In January, 50 Cent was arrested with four other men on weapons possession charges after police found two loaded guns in their car. He faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted on the weapons charge.

DiCaprio Questioned in NY Street Brawl Lawsuit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has been questioned in a $45 million lawsuit stemming from a five-year-old case that alleges he ordered friends to beat up actress Elizabeth Berkley's ex-boyfriend.

But DiCaprio's lawyer Paul Callan said he expected the charges to be dismissed against the star of the movie "Titanic" and "Gangs of New York" before the case reaches Manhattan Supreme Court on Sept. 2.

In the lawsuit filed against DiCaprio and his friends, the star is accused of inciting his entourage, referred to in court documents as "his posse," to attack screenwriter Roger Wilson, who once acted in two "Porky" flicks.

The March 4, 1998, brawl took place outside the trendy Asia de Cuba restaurant on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

Wilson, once the boyfriend of "Showgirls" star Berkley, alleges he suffered a broken larynx and other injuries when he was punched in the throat after being goaded by a member of DiCaprio's entourage -- injuries which he said ruined his singing career.

Last Thursday, DiCaprio spent several hours being questioned by Wilson's lawyer, Leslie Kelmachter, during depositions. "The civil suit and depositions are going very well," she told Reuters.

Kelmachter expects depositions to continue throughout most of the summer. But DiCaprio's lawyer Paul Callan said, "it's about time this is all coming to an end."

"Leonardo DiCaprio has repeatedly and forcefully denied any wrongdoing in this case and looks forward to these false charges being dismissed by the court," Callan said.

Henson Family to Buy Back Muppets

FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and their Muppet friends are back home.

Ailing German media group EM.TV & Merchandising AG said on Wednesday it agreed to sell Jim Henson Company, the maker of the Muppets, to the children of their inventor, the late Jim Henson.

Putting an end to a protracted auction that has been going on for years, EM.TV said it would sell its wholly owned subsidiary completely for $89 million. It bought Henson for $680 million at the peak of the stock market bubble in 2000.

EM.TV said the Henson family would pay $78 million in cash for the group, and that EM.TV would receive Henson Company's current liquid assets of $11 million. The group said it would use the proceeds to pay back a $14.3 million loan and to bolster its liquidity.

Shares in EM.TV jumped over 20 percent on the news.

Taking more turns than Miss Piggy's mood, the auction had attracted interest from several media firms, including giant Walt Disney Corp., media investor Haim Saban and a group around investor Dean Valentine.

Singer Jewel sported her new pink — and more punk — image for a Today show summer concert series performance.

By the way, the lady's new CD "0304" comes out on June 3rd.

What's on TV: Tuesday

--Is this what TV does to people? Josh began his run on American Idol (Fox, tonight, 8 ET/PT) as a stiff but endearingly polite soldier and became an early fan favorite because of it. Now, a mere three months later, he comes across as an overweight, rude redneck, snarling at his elders and refusing to accept even the mildest criticism. The Marines had better reclaim him fast, before he's ruined for good.

--Rob Estes guests on Gilmore Girls (WB, 8 p.m. ET/PT) as Jess' long-lost father, Jimmy. If all goes according to plan, Jimmy will eventually take Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) home with him, launching the two of them into their own series. We'll worry about crossing that bridge should it ever actually be built.

--Here's even better news. 24 (Fox, 9 p.m. ET/PT) breaks out of an extended post-bomb slump with one of the season's most exciting episodes. The spark is the first confrontation between two of the show's heavyweights — Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and Sherry (Penny Johnson Jerald). It's a fine hour overall, with a few characters getting their long-deserved comeuppances. But it would be worth watching just to hear Jack growl, "Don't try me, Mrs. Palmer." How long we've waited for someone to say that.

Music Experts Dissect The 'American Idol' Final Four

USA TODAY's Bill Keveney gathered a panel of music-celeb judges to clue us in.

Q: Why should viewers vote for you to be American Idol?

Clay Aiken: "You can't campaign. You just hope. I really hope that people vote for me because they like what I do, because they feel what I sing is quality and is something that moves them."

Joshua Gracin: "I can honestly say I'm the only one that's been myself on stage and off stage. I don't play no acts. I don't smile for the camera on cue. That's why some people think, 'Oh, he looks like something's wrong with him.' It's not that. If I'm happy, you'll know I'm happy."

Kimberley Locke:"I want people to vote for me on talent and talent alone. Unfortunately, I don't think that happens every week. But the only thing I ask is that people vote on my performance."

Ruben Studdard: "I don't really know what to say. I think I've proven I'm consistent every week. I'm just chillin'. I have so much fun on stage. I just get out there and do my thing every week."

Pat Boone, former pop idol who has his own record label, Gold Label:

On Clay Aiken: "I like his quality of sincerity. He never seems like he's trying to impress you. He has the perfect voice, perfect pitch. He was like a tenor Tom Jones, at least on Build Me Up Buttercup. There's a confident little smile." Should win: "Clay has shown he is more versatile."

On Joshua Gracin: "On Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye, he had great pitch. I thought he did a great job. I really think he needs to go right into country. Josh has the best chance at a major career. I not only love him as a country artist, but as a Marine, there's a particular connection (with the country audience)."

On Kimberley Locke: "I felt I Heard It Through the Grapevine was uncomfortable for her. She should try to sing songs with which she's comfortable. She has her own natural soul. Where the Boys Are is a hard song to sing, but she sang it beautifully."

On Ruben Studdard: "Last (week), Ruben was incredible. ...On Ain't Too Proud to Beg, he was mellow and confident and supremely talented. There's a sound in his voice that I think he could sing the phone book and it would stir emotion."

Terry Ellis of En Vogue, who contributes to the album Church: Songs of Soul & Inspiration, out June 3:

On Clay Aiken:"His vocals are absolutely incredible. He has such a powerful, classic sound. I could see him as a 2003 soulful Barry Manilow. He takes criticism extremely well, because he has completely evolved into an overall entertainer."

On Joshua Gracin:"What I like about Josh is his masculinity. He's got that heart, as if he's performing in the movie Top Gun. He's got this down-homeness that I really love. He's got a good stage presence, except he seemed a little nervous. I would say to him, just be confident in your talent. It doesn't matter what other people are thinking."

On Kimberley Locke: "I loved Kimberley's second song, Where the Boys Are. There was a sweetness and sincerity and a sense of nostalgia. On I Heard It Through the Grapevine, she sounded great, but like she was holding back a little bit. It would be nice if she gave you a little more. Her voice is sultry, solid and powerful."

On Ruben Studdard: "He sings with so much heart and so much passion. He has this natural sincerity about him. On the ballad he sang, Ruben gave it a more 2003 pace. He had that whole Luther vibe about it, sincere, sultry and smoky."

Doug Robb, lead vocalist for rock band Hoobastank, aiming for a September release on its second album:

On Clay Aiken: "The guy looks like he should be a rock singer, but he sounds like he should be on Broadway. He has a great voice. When I say he seems like he's more suited for Broadway, that's not an insult at all. It's about it being theatrical. He's got a good look that the pop culture could embrace."

On Joshua Gracin: "I'm not really feeling his (performances). He has a kind of country feel. If they're trying to make pop stars out of these people, he doesn't encompass the whole package of what people would buy into. He's got a better chance if he doesn't win this contest to go pursue the country side. He obviously enjoys that more."

On Kimberley Locke: "She has a pretty genuine feel to her. Her charisma is real, not put on just for the show. I think people can relate to her just being normal. She's got a really smooth, great voice and she knows how to use it well."

On Ruben Studdard: "He's a good singer. There's something about him that is pretty real. I get the feeling he genuinely likes to sing and is doing this for the right reasons. I don't know if I get that same vibe from everybody else."

Vitamin C, pop singer whose new single, Last Night, is due soon:

On Clay Aiken: "I am so impressed by his growth (as a singer). He's gotten rid of the cheesy elements. He blew me away with Solitaire. He's a really good performer. He seems like an old-time teen idol. He seems comfortable moving around the stage. He doesn't lose concentration and he shares his enjoyment with others."

On Joshua Gracin: "He has a spectacular-sounding voice. But I don't think Josh has found his whole persona as a performer. He will have a long recording career. I thought it was interesting, what he did with Bad Blood. Kind of cool. It was slightly outside the norm, opting into the country flavor."

On Kimberley Locke: "I thought she was spectacular on Where the Boys Are. I thought she was OK on Grapevine, but I just didn't buy the song. Kimberley is really pleasant to listen to. She has great range. She can go from soft to loud and do it with great feeling. She seems at home with herself."

On Ruben Studdard: "He's got a great voice. A lot of these singers are better than the average top 10 artist. But the tough thing about being a pop idol is that it doesn't have (as) much to do with the singing. It's the whole package."

Weird Al Yankovic, whose new CD, Poodle Hat, will be available May 20:

On Clay Aiken: In appearance, "it looks like he went from a huge dork to a not-quite-so-huge dork. I should know from experience. He's a talented singer, with enthusiasm and stage presence. That was a bravura performance on Solitaire. I thought Neil Sedaka was going to propose to him at one point. Clay seems like a young Barry Manilow with Ryan Seacrest hair."

On Joshua Gracin: "He's got a very pleasant country voice. In Bad Blood, he seemed rattled. He might have forgotten a couple of words. He's still a very talented singer. He doesn't seem as confident. I certainly wouldn't want to be the one who votes Josh out. He looked like the guy who beats you up in gym class."

On Kimberley Locke: "I thought she was wonderful. She's my second favorite, next to Ruben. She even made Where the Boys Are sound soulful. I can't offer any criticism. She was ear-delicious, as Neil Sedaka said."

On Ruben Studdard: "He's a cross between Luther Vandross and Teddy Ruxpin. I like the way he gives props to his homies in 205. He's happy to be on stage. Makes it look effortless. Maybe he could have a salad once in a while."

Ken Barnes, USA TODAY music editor:

On Clay Aiken: "He's a smooth and powerful vocalist, but he painfully overenunciates every syllable and, as Simon Cowell says, is better suited for Broadway. Puppy-dog appeal could swing the popular vote, though."

On Joshua Gracin: "He's a smooth and powerful vocalist, but he painfully overenunciates every syllable and, as Simon Cowell says, is better suited for Broadway. Puppy-dog appeal could swing the popular vote, though."

On Kimberley Locke: "A solid singer, but non-musical factors (specifically her lack of teen-idol appeal) will probably hurt her."

On Ruben Studdard: "Ruben has the most natural singing ability, despite his lackluster uptempo performances."

Bryan Adams Shot With Air Rifle In London

Bryan Adams, who is currently in the middle of a European tour, was shot with an air rifle in London last week. Adams told the BBC that he was riding a motorcycle with a friend when "I felt a jolt on my back...Later on, I found out that I'd been shot with an air rifle...I had a hole in the back of my jacket." Adams was wearing a helmet, so the unknown shooter likely didn't know who he was aiming at. Adams is fine.

Adams is one of the artists featured on the recently released album, Peace Songs. Proceeds from the sale of the album will benefit War Child, a network of independent organizations working across the world to help children affected by war.

Other artists featured on Peace Songs include Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Jann Arden, Bruce Cockburn, Moby, and Sheryl Crow.

The Matrix ... Restricted

The Matrix Reloaded may ultimately win the war but it's going to lose the battle of opening weekends, producer Joel Silver says bitterly.

The first sequel to The Matrix, which hits North American theatres a week from Thursday, is saddled with an R (restricted) rating in the United States. This will slash its box-office potential, Silver says.

The "R" rating in America is similar to Ontario's former Adult Accompaniment or "AA" rating, and it means that no one younger than 17 in America is allowed to see The Matrix Reloaded unless accompanied by an adult.

Even though The Matrix Reloaded is the most hotly anticipated movie of the spring and early summer, Silver says it is "silly" for him to even dream that his movie might beat the all-time opening-weekend record of $115 million, set by Spider-Man last year. Silver indicated that his movie cannot even hope to match the stunning $85.6 million generated by X2: X-Men United this past weekend. The take for X2 -- which has a "PG-13" rating in the U.S., thus allowing teenagers to go on their own -- is the fourth-highest opening weekend ever.

"That's silly because this is an 'R' movie," Silver says of earlier hopes that Matrix Reloaded could vault past Spider-Man. "I mean, whether it should be 'R' or not is another discussion. But it is an 'R' movie and it's not 'PG-13', so it's troubling because the largest 'R' movie of all time is far less, about less than half."

The best opening weekend by a movie rated "R" in the U.S. is the $58 million racked up by Hannibal in 2001. "Whatever we do over the $58 million of Hannibal is huge, a legendary figure or whatever," Silver says. "It will be record-breaking, but people are looking for it to be much more than that and it may not be possible."

The "R" rating from the U.S. ratings board, which issues its edicts nationally, is unlikely to be changed before the opening.

"I guess they said, 'Science fiction violence'," Silver says of the board's objections.

"I don't even know what that is!"

The Matrix Reloaded is incredibly intense and sometimes violent. There is also a love-making scene between two major characters. No naughty bits can be seen, even though the actors appear to be nude. There is also a mass dance sequence in the underground city of Zion during which female bare breasts can be seen in the distance. But there is no explicit nudity anywhere, and there is little blood-letting, even in the many fight sequences.

"It's really weird," says Silver, who cites less restrictive ratings in other countries as proof. In Ontario, the movie got a "14-A" rating. In Scandinavia and Germany, teens are free to go on their own. The German system allows anyone 15 or older to go, he says, "which is pretty much what we would have loved (in the U.S.)."

Despite the ratings and according to surveys, The Matrix Reloaded may have staying power that would eventually generate a huge box office, Silver says. That's because surveys show it appeals to all four demographic "quadrants," namely young male, older male, young female and older female.

As is the norm in Hollywood, opening-weekend box-office figures combine U.S. and Canada receipts and are quoted in Yankee dollars.

MONICA STAYING UP LATE

Monica Lewinsky will be the co- host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" next week for three nights.

Producers have long been trying to land Lewinsky for Kimmel's late night show, sources said yesterday.

But aside from a recent appearance on Barbara Walters' daytime talk show, "The View," the former White House intern has done very little to promote her stint as the host of Fox's latest reality show, "Mr. Personality."

Lewinsky will appear on "Kimmel" next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Each week, Kimmel features a new celebrity co-host. Recent notable names have included Mike Tyson, psychic John Edward and his old "Man Show" co-host, Adam Carolla.

NEW HIATT: TRY IT

By DAN AQUILANTE

JOHN HIATT & THE GONERS "Beneath This Gruff Exterior"

Most couldn't pick John Hiatt out of a lineup if he was colored as blue as his songs, but his low-key, gruff persona hasn't kept the likes of Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt from tagging and covering his tunes for their albums.

On his tuneful and well-named bio-disc "Beneath This Gruff Exterior," Hiatt takes a couple of steps forward while looking back at life.

He's just turned 50, has made 20 albums over the last 30 years and on this rockin', bluesy, twanging mutt of a record, he proves he's too young to die but old enough to gripe.

Right up front, on the opening track "Uncommon Connection," Hiatt shouts to a double-time rock tempo, "Well I do my best work sitting on my a- -, sitting here waiting for things to pass."

From the vantage of his porcelain throne, he sings about people who rush to the future and others who run from the past, and how he's found a separate peace.

The songs all rock and the lyrics smartly grasp the writing technique that if you keep the ideas simple, you can achieve universal appeal.

Most great songwriters work this way, so it isn't surprising that when "The Nagging Dark" or "Missing Pieces" play, you're apt to credit Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen instead.

But the music here is all Hiatt.

Some kids might appreciate this album for its fine rock, blues and country treatments, but the nothing-is-easy lyrics will make these songs most appealing to those who've traveled long enough to have scars, tattoos and the knowledge that a fond memory might be made around the next turn in the road.

DVDS THIS WEEK

By MICHAEL GILTZ

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN"

In this witty film about con man Frank Abagnale Jr. ($29.99, DreamWorks), Leonardo DiCaprio delivers the polished, seemingly effortless performance of a movie star that is key to the success of countless Hollywood projects but rarely recognized by critics or the Oscars. Thoroughly professional (in the best sense of the word) with a buoyant score by John Williams, a clever title sequence that immediately sets the right tone and fine supporting work by Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken. Sadly, director Steven Spielberg continues to avoid doing an audio commentary track.

THE JACK RYAN COLLECTION

Four movies featuring Tom Clancy's durable hero at a solid price ($69.99, Paramount). Solid, that is, until you actually watch "Patriot Games" (1992), "Clear and Present Danger" (1994) and "The Sum of All Fears" (2002) again and remember that the only Jack Ryan movie worth watching at all was the enjoyable submarine flick "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), with Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery. Happily, it's available separately at $19.99.

"THE EMPEROR'S CLUB"
"THE WAY HOME"

Here's a little secret: Critics hate sentimentality unless it comes with subtitles. "The Emperor's Club" ($26.98, Universal) is Kevin Kline's rather bittersweet spin on "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," with the twist that the teacher doesn't always succeed in shaping the lives of his students for the better and they may not even care that he tried. Thoroughly conventional in its approach, the movie was seen as sentimental and generally dismissed. But "The Way Home" ($29.99, Paramount) is a far more shamelessly heart- tugging movie about a little boy from the city who learns to love his deaf-mute (!) grandmother. If this were in English instead of Korean, it would have been pilloried.

JIMMY STEWART WESTERNS

A roundup of seven Jimmy Stewart westerns at bargain prices ($14.95 each, Universal). Generally, you can't go wrong with Stewart in an oater. But the best of the bunch include 1939's "Destry Rides Again," which paired him oddly but successfully with Marlene Dietrich (you'll enjoy "Blazing Saddles" more if you watch this one first) and three collaborations between Stewart and director Anthony Mann, including "Bend of the River" (1952), "The Far Country" (1954) and my favorite, 1950's "Winchester '73." Their five films have deservedly grown in stature over the years and "Winchester" (with Shelley Winters and Dan Duryea) will show you why.

"ZATOICHI" Nos. 6, 7 & 8

If Clint Eastwood had decided those spaghetti westerns starring the Man With No Name were all he ever wanted to do, the result might have been a dozen or so movies akin to Zatoichi, the fun, long- running Japanese film series about a blind samurai ($19.95 each, HVE). The latest releases - "Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold," "Zatoichi's Flashing Sword" and "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight," are all from 1964, all in color and all dependable. Check out the Independent Film Channel every Saturday morning at 8 and at 2 p.m. if you want to sample Zatoichi before buying.

ALSO OUT:

Sissy Spacek's Oscar-winning performance as country singer Loretta Lynn in "Coal Miner's Daughter" ($14.98, Universal); "Babylon 5": The Complete Second Season ($99.98, Warner Bros.), with Bruce Boxleitner joining as the commander and the series kicking into high gear; and a handful of minor Bing Crosby double features ($14.98, Universal) with the best pairing Billy Wilder's "The Emperor Waltz," from 1948, with "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," from 1949.

OUT NEXT TUESDAY

The seventh-season boxed-set of "The X-Files," Jerry Seinfeld's documentary "Comedian," David Attenborough's fascinating wildlife series "The Life of Mammals," and two very different movies starring Robert De Niro - "Analyze That" and a deluxe edition of "The Mission."

Indiana Jones' DVD Date Is Official!

After years of waiting and high expectation, another of the "holy grail" DVD titles is finally here. On November 4th, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Paramount Home Entertainment will release The Adventures of Indiana Jones - The Complete Movie DVD Collection. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade have all been meticulously restored by Lowry Digital Images to meet the exacting THX standards of quality, and include a new Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. All three films are close-captioned and subtitled in English, French and Spanish in the U.S.

The fourth disc of supplemental material includes new interviews with Indy's creators, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford; a look at the making of the films; recently unearthed archival material and a spotlight on the real world history behind Indy's fictional globe-trotting adventures. Including the films, this set offers more than 10 hours of Indy entertainment.

Though a final suggested retail price has yet to be announced, the four-disc set is expected to be available for about $49.95 in the U.S. The set will be available in both widescreen and full screen formats. Take a look at the box art for each below, and expect more details on the exact contents of the supplement disc to become now in the weeks ahead.

Also note that there are no audio commentaries included in the set, and that the films themselves - thankfully - have not been digitally altered, a la Star Wars or E.T.

THINK DIFFERENT

Apple Computer Inc. announcing on Monday that it has exceeded the expectations of the record industry by selling more than 1 million songs since the launch of its online Apple iTunes Music Store a week ago. Songs are just 99 cents per download and the service does not guarantee copyright protection.

DJs Suspended for Playing Dixie Chicks

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Country station KKCS has suspended two disc jockeys for playing the Dixie Chicks, violating a ban imposed after the group criticized President Bush.

Lead singer Natalie Maines told a British newspaper she was "ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas."

"We pulled their music two months ago, and it's been a difficult decision because how can you ignore the hottest group in country music," station manager Jerry Grant said.

He said there has been discussion about whether to reinstate the music, but the DJs, Dave Moore and Jeff Singer, became impatient.

"They made it very clear that they support wholeheartedly the president of the United States. They support wholeheartedly the troops, the military. But they also support the right of free speech," Grant said.

The station has received a couple of hundred calls and 75 percent favored playing the music.

Grand said Moore and Singer will be out for a couple of days.

"I gave them an alternative: stop it now and they'll be on suspension, or they can continue playing them and when they come out of the studio they won't have a job."

The station plans to play the group's music again eventually. "Most stations are starting to play them again anyhow a song here, a song there. I just have a problem with the way this was done. We would have put them in anyhow. But we'd like to do it on our terms," he said.

Al Pacino Voted Greatest Film Star in Poll

LONDON (Reuters) - "Godfather" star Al Pacino has been named the greatest movie star of all time in a poll of British film fans.

Italian-American Pacino topped the Channel 4 television poll to find the 100 greatest movie stars, followed by Robert de Niro, who played his father in "The Godfather II."

The results, broadcast on Sunday and Monday, reflected a strong bias toward the current generation of male actors.

Known for a string of gritty roles, Pacino, 63, was twice nominated for an Oscar for his performances as Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's "Godfather" movies but did not win.

Pacino picked up an Oscar in 1992 for a more tender role as embittered blind army veteran in "Scent of a Woman"

Tom Hanks and Kevin Spacey came in at number three and four, followed by Harrison Ford and Jack Nicholson in fifth and sixth position.

More than 25,000 votes were cast in the poll. The highest placed British star was Anthony Hopkins at number seven, ahead of Sean Connery at eight and Ewan McGregor at nine.

The 32-year-old Scottish actor was the youngest Top 10 entry. Cary Grant, star of classics such as "North by Northwest," was the highest posthumous placing at number 10.

There were no actresses in the Top 10. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" star Audrey Hepburn was the highest female entry at number 13, while Sigourney Weaver, best known for her roles in the "Alien" movies, took 20th place.

This year's Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones did not make the list, but her husband Michael Douglas came in at number 100.

The list of candidates was compiled by a panel of film critics and filmmakers, with voting taking place on the Channel 4 Web Site and by text message over a six-week period.

Copies of New 'Harry Potter' Book Found in Field

LONDON (Reuters) - Publishers of the best-selling Harry Potter books launched an investigation on Tuesday after a newspaper reported that advance copies of the long-awaited fifth installment were found dumped in a field.

Bloomsbury Publishing said it suspected first editions of author J.K Rowling's latest boy wizard saga, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," had been stolen from a nearby printworks.

"The matter is currently under investigation, with the suspicion that theft is involved," Rowling's publisher and agent said in a brief joint statement.

The fifth Harry Potter installment is due out on June 21 and is expected to smash publishing records.

Bloomsbury said it had yet to report the matter to police and declined to give more details.

The Sun newspaper reported that a man stumbled across the books on Monday as he walked near a printworks in the small town of Bungay, in Suffolk, eastern England.

It said the 40-year-old father-of-two had contacted the paper and handed over the books.

The copies will be returned to the publishers and no details of the closely-guarded plot will appear in the paper, the Sun said.

Printer Clays Ltd, which is churning out hundreds of thousands of the books, declined to comment. News International, the Sun's publishers, said it would release a statement later on Tuesday.

The first four books about the teenage wizard have now sold almost 200 million copies in 55 languages and 200 countries.

The last Harry Potter book, "Goblet of Fire," broke records everywhere and is still on bestseller lists around the globe.

Rowling, who wrote the first book as a penniless single mother in an Edinburgh cafe, is now richer than Queen Elizabeth with a personal fortune put at 280 million pounds ($450 million).

The teenage wizard has also taken to the silver screen, grossing more than $1.7 billion in two films.

COVER BAND

Sum 41, Limp Bizkit, Korn and Avril Lavigne among those covering Metallica's hits at an MTV tribute to the band Saturday. The special, which also features Metallica unveiling their new bassist Rob Trujillo and the track "Frantic" from their upcoming album St. Anger, will air Tuesday on the music network.

THE LATE SHOW

A constant and consistent bar rage of blown deadlines are what ultimately finished Aaron Sorkin's four-year tenure as the behind-the-scenes brains of "The West Wing."

"There were financial issues and creative issues," a "West Wing" source said.

Sorkin, who created, executive-produced and wrote almost every single episode of the critically acclaimed White House drama had been under increasing pressure from Warner Bros., the studio that produces the show to get his scripts in on time.

"There were times when the actors where sitting around with no script and getting paid for it," a source said.

Sorkin, co-executive producer Thomas Schlamme and the show "amicably" parted ways last week. Executive producer John Wells - who also oversees "ER" and "Third Watch" - is now in charge.

Behind the scenes, Sorkin and Wells are said to have participated in an increasingly contentious series of meetings and conference calls with Warner Bros. brass who were angry at Sorkin's tardiness, industry sources say.

"There were conversations were it was said that 'businesses can't be run this way,' " an insider said.

"Those blown deadlines ended up costing the studio millions and wreaked havoc on the schedules on the cast and crew," the insider told The Post.

As the pressure mounted, Sorkin - who has famously battled drug abuse -wanted out. In 2002, during an appearance on the "Today" show Sorkin even said he planned to leave the "West Wing" in about a year.

"The late delivery of scripts was hard on production and brought the show in way over budget," a studio source said. "It's just hard all the way around on everyone and they were way, way over budget because of it."

But Sorkin, "likes to do the show the way he likes to do it and probably decided 'I'm gonna go out this year and that'll be it," a source close to the producer said.

Sorkin could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, Sorkin's exit is said to be bittersweet for the cast who loved and respected the producer, but sometimes were hard pressed to memorize pages of the show's trademark, tricky dialogue in record time.

Warner Bros. officials did not return calls for comment.

The administration change on "West Wing" comes less than a month after reports surfaced that Warner Bros. had put Sorkin on notice and warned that it would no longer tolerate cost overruns on Wing - due in part to Sorkin's habit of delivering scripts late.

Sorkin's fall from grace with Warner Bros. is just latest chapter of woe for a group of powerful writer/producers who rose to fame in the late 1990s.

David E. Kelley, who was once considered one of the gifted in the business could be facing the series finale of his long-running show "The Practice" tonight. ABC might dump the show from its schedule later this month.

With the exception of "Boston Public," other Kelley shows haven't fared well either in recent years. "Ally McBeal," "Snoops," "girls club" and "Chicago Hope" have all been canceled.

TV Producers Await Word on Shows' Futures

NEW YORK - This is the week that Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett, executive producers of NBC's "Ed," find out if their creation died with a kiss or whether the romance will continue.

It's the most nerve-racking week of the year for television producers, many of whom are waiting for phone calls that will change their lives.

Starting May 12, networks announce their schedules for the fall. Producers of hits like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Friends" or "American Idol" have nothing to worry about. They've already been renewed.

But for shows on the bubble like "Ed," "The Practice," "Becker," "Boomtown" and "Hack," there's genuine suspense.

"We're optimistic," Burnett said, "only because we think there's genuine enthusiasm for the show (among NBC executives). They've always been big fans of the show, they've praised the quality of the show and the move to Friday night has been by all measures a success."

Beckerman and Burnett met last week to map out ideas for a fourth season, a job they had put off because, well, they still don't know if it's a waste of time.

Their season ended in March with an episode that raised suspicions that they knew they were goners.

Ed and Carol, the central characters played by Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen, finally concluded their three-year flirtation with a sensuous kiss as fireworks exploded in the background. They stood in the same place where they shared an initial kiss in the show's first episode.

It seemed like an extremely neat ending, especially given that the previous two seasons finished with cliffhangers. Last year, for instance, Carol left on a trip with another man with the expectation they would be engaged.

"It had more to do with changing the paradigm of the show for the future than ending the series," Burnett said, though conceding it also worked well as a punctuation.

The producers had grown tired writing about the cat-and-mouse game between Carol and Ed, they said, and it had nearly reached the point of unbelievability. Real people in the characters' situation would either get together, already, or separate for good.

The risk is that the show's quirky nature — sexual tension played out with skywriters and suits of armor — will be lost once that tension is gone.

"As many people who have said to me, `is the show over now that Carol and Ed are together?' I've had people say, `Get them together and let them go on with their lives instead of freezing them in this particular period of their lives,'" Beckerman said.

To outsiders, other ominous signs about the show's future were the late-season move from its Wednesday 8 p.m. time slot to Friday at 9, the April 11 season finale (most shows bow in May) and the decision not to rerun any episodes.

The latter two calls were made last summer, Beckerman said. Serial dramas with ongoing stories get poorer ratings in reruns than self-contained shows. NBC also wanted to run the season straight through without interruption, he said.

The producers said they had begged for a move to a 9 p.m. time slot, sensing it was difficult for many viewers to tune in earlier.

This season, "Ed" averaged a middling 10.3 million viewers on Wednesday, ranking No. 55 among all prime-time shows, according to Nielsen Media Research. The three Friday episodes averaged 10.5 million — a positive sign given that, in general, fewer people watch television on Friday night than Wednesday night.

"We feel at 9 o'clock it's not out of the question that `Ed' can be a top 20 show," Burnett said. "At least we have a chance. At 8 o'clock, we didn't have a chance."

Jeff Zucker, NBC entertainment president, said a decision on the future of "Ed" hadn't been made.

All sorts of factors are weighed, including whether the show has gas left in the tank creatively, whether pilots for new shows that could replace "Ed" turned out well, and whether the program has a young, upscale audience desirable to advertisers.

"We love `Ed,'" Zucker said. "We're very fond of `Ed' and I think we all are looking forward to a fourth season. I'd be shocked if it does not come back."

Since the decision is Zucker's to make, we'd be shocked, too.

But there's still enough doubt for Burnett and Beckerman to relax. In the first season, they learned in January that "Ed" would be back the following fall.

"The funny thing about these things is that all you can do is do the show and the rest of it depends on everyone else," Burnett said. "We feel like we did what we could do. We would feel a lot of frustration if we weren't given a shot to succeed in a 9 o'clock time slot."

If Burnett hears from Zucker later this week, that's probably good news. Executives love those happy conversations.

But if Burnett's agent calls first, that could be an ominous sign — the equivalent of receiving a thin envelope from the college you've applied to. Networks tend to leak bad news early to soften the blow, and sometimes top executives delegate the bad news calls to unfortunate underlings.

Either way, Burnett and Beckerman will be waiting by their phones.

'X-Men' Sequel Opens Strong at $85.8M

LOS ANGELES - The mutants of "X-Men" are stronger than ever, showing even more box office power than in their first outing.

The superhero sequel "X2: X-Men United" debuted with $85.85 million domestically, the fourth-best opening-weekend gross ever and a 58 percent increase over the $54.5 million first weekend of the original "X-Men" three years ago.

Opening in second place was "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," starring Hilary Duff in a big-screen adaptation of her Disney Channel TV series about a young teen coping awkwardly with adolescence. With an audience of mostly young girls, the movie took in a healthy $17 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Receipts for "X2" came in behind the record $114.8 million for "Spider-Man" over the same weekend last year. The first two "Harry Potter" movies had the second and third best openings, $90.3 million for "Sorcerer's Stone" and $88.4 million for "Chamber of Secrets."

Overall, however, Hollywood revenues were down with the top 12 movies grossing $140.8 million, off 7.6 percent compared to the same weekend last year, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"X2" drew about 14.3 million viewers, up 4.2 million from the opening weekend for "X-Men."

Distributor 20th Century Fox blanketed theaters with the sequel, which played in a record 3,741 cinemas, topping the previous high of 3,682 for last year's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." However, "X2" played on about 1,300 fewer movie screens than the record 8,500 for "Chamber of Secrets."

The studio also opened "X2" in a record 95 countries, with the movie taking in nearly $70 million overseas.

"X2" reunites director Bryan Singer with his "X-Men" cast, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as mutants with superhuman abilities that include telepathy and shape-shifting.

It teams good and bad mutants against a human enemy who has hatched a plan to destroy their race.

The film's success continues a string of hits based on Marvel comic books, including "Spider-Man," "Daredevil" and "Blade II." Marvel's "The Hulk" opens next month.

"Marvel today is a bona fide brand name for the movie industry," said Avi Arad, Marvel Studios president. "More and more, the audience is catching on that when they see the Marvel logo, they know that fun is about to begin."

In limited release, John Malkovich's directing debut, "The Dancer Upstairs," opened solidly in 13 theaters with $105,300. The film, which expands to more theaters over the next three weekends, stars Javier Bardem as a Latin American policeman tracking a terrorist.

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. "X2: X-Men United," $85.85 million.
2. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," $17 million.
3. "Identity," $9.5 million.
4. "Anger Management," $8.5 million.
5. "Holes," $6.5 million.
6. "Malibu's Most Wanted," $4 million.
7. "Confidence," $2.5 million.
8. "It Runs in the Family," $1.55 million.
9. "Bend it Like Beckham," $1.455 million.
10. "Bulletproof Monk," $1.45 million.

Boldly Going for Worst Beatles Cover

LONDON (Reuters) - "Star Trek" star William Shatner's version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" has been picked as the worst Beatles cover of all time. Shatner's spoken word massacre of the Beatles classic was chosen as the biggest crime against the Fab Four in a poll conducted by the digital TV channel Music Choice.

Second place went to British TV's singing piglets Pinky and Perky for their unforgettable "All My Loving."

Former Formula One star Damon Hill was fourth for his version of "Drive My Car" while Hollywood star Jim Carrey reached No. 6 with his "I Am The Walrus."

""The likes of Damon Hill, Jim Carrey and William Shatner are best advised to stick to the day job," said Simon Bell of Music Choice.

'Grease' Still the Word at Paramount

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hoping "Grease" lightning can strike a third time, Paramount Pictures is drawing up plans for "Grease 3," a continuation of the hit musical franchise.

The plan is to set the new project in the late-'70s, feature plenty of disco music and have the story evolve around the children of the original characters. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, stars of the 1978 original, have already been given a heads-up that their services will be sought once a script is completed. A search for writers is underway.

Didi Conn, who played Frenchie, is serving as an executive producer. She is said to have been instrumental in generating the studio's current enthusiasm for putting together a new installment of the film.

At the studio's DVD release party for "Grease" in the fall, sources said Conn approached Paramount chief Sherry Lansing after Travolta and Newton-John wowed partygoers with the musical number "You're The One That I Want."

The original "Grease" spawned a sequel four years later, "Grease 2." Its failure was ascribed by some observers to the introduction of a new cast of characters, headed by Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer.

In developing "Grease 3," the producers hope to avoid that problem by bringing back the old gang from the first installment while also introducing new characters.

'Friends' Star Matt LeBlanc Weds in Hawaii

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Matt LeBlanc, who stars on the hit TV comedy series "Friends," married his longtime fiancee Melissa McKnight on Saturday, in a star-studded cliffside wedding on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, according to syndicated television show Extra.

LeBlanc, 35, and McKnight, a former model who is believed to be in her late 30s, became engaged in 1998, Extra said. She has two children from a previous relationship.

The ceremony took place overlooking exclusive Anini Beach along a 12-acre cliffside property. LeBlanc dressed in a dark suit bedecked with a white lei and his bride wore a long white gown.

Fellow "Friends" stars including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer attended the ceremony as did Aniston's husband, Brad Pitt, and Cox's husband, David Arquette. Other details about celebrity guests were not immediately available.

A tented reception was held in the same location, Extra said. Many of the guests wore Hawaiian shirts and leis. They dined on a four-tiered passion fruit cake that was large enough to feed 150 people and offered a champagne toast to the couple at midnight.

Survey Says: Ralph Fiennes for Next James Bond

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) – Ralph Fiennes ("Maid in Manhattan") has been voted by film fans as their favorite to be the next James Bond. The British actor beat out George Clooney ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind") who came in second.

In a survey of 1,000 people conducted by Amazon.com to celebrate the forthcoming DVD and video release of the latest Bond film "Die Another Day," 24 percent thought Fiennes would make the perfect replacement for current Bond Pierce Brosnan.

Third place was shared by Colin Firth ("What a Girl Wants") and Clive Owen ("Bourne Identity"), with pop singer Robbie Williams coming in fourth.

Hollywood heavyweights Leonardo DiCaprio ("Gangs of New York"), Ben Affleck ("Daredevil") and Russell Crowe ("Beautiful Mind") got only 10 percent of the vote between them, while Hugh Grant ("Two Weeks Notice"), Jude Law ("Cold Mountain") and Ewan McGregor ("Moulin Rouge") were all missing from the list.

Police Deny David Lee Roth Intruder Story

A press release from David Lee Roth says he used a shotgun to stop an intruder at his California home over the weekend. There's only one problem with the story--the police say it really didn't happen that way.

According to Roth's release, at about 3 a.m. PT on Saturday (April 26) he "was awakened by the sounds of breaking branches to discover a man had scaled his manor's 10 foot high wall. Roth grabbed his shotgun and went onto the grounds where he encountered the man who was carrying a knife. Roth cornered the man and held him until the Pasadena Police arrived to take him away in handcuffs." At the end of the dramatic confrontation Roth stated, "Anyone found bearing arms here at night...will be found here in the morning."

A spokesperson for the Pasadena Police Department confirmed that a neighbor of Roth's, 47-year-old Charles Cooley, was arrested on the singer's property, but the police account of the events leading up to the arrest are quite different from Roth's heroic version.

The police report states that Cooley was apparently breaking the windows in his own home--which is near Roth's--when neighbors called the police. When they arrived they couldn't find anyone at Cooley's house, but they heard two men arguing nearby. The police traced the voices to Roth's estate and asked him to open his security gates. They entered the scene and found Roth standing on a second-floor balcony pointing at Cooley, who was lying flat on the lawn below him.

Cooley told police he was carrying methamphetamine, and he was taken into custody and charged with possession. He also said he had a knife, but it was on the grass a few feet away and was not taken as evidence. There is no mention in the police report of Roth holding a shotgun on Cooley.

Roth is preparing for a lengthy tour that starts May 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

He'll release a new album called "Diamond Dave" on July 8. It features Roth doing his own material, as well as covering artists such as the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Miller, Savoy Brown, and Van Halen.

Police Deny David Lee Roth Intruder Story

A press release from David Lee Roth says he used a shotgun to stop an intruder at his California home over the weekend. There's only one problem with the story--the police say it really didn't happen that way.

According to Roth's release, at about 3 a.m. PT on Saturday (April 26) he "was awakened by the sounds of breaking branches to discover a man had scaled his manor's 10 foot high wall. Roth grabbed his shotgun and went onto the grounds where he encountered the man who was carrying a knife. Roth cornered the man and held him until the Pasadena Police arrived to take him away in handcuffs." At the end of the dramatic confrontation Roth stated, "Anyone found bearing arms here at night...will be found here in the morning."

A spokesperson for the Pasadena Police Department confirmed that a neighbor of Roth's, 47-year-old Charles Cooley, was arrested on the singer's property, but the police account of the events leading up to the arrest are quite different from Roth's heroic version.

The police report states that Cooley was apparently breaking the windows in his own home--which is near Roth's--when neighbors called the police. When they arrived they couldn't find anyone at Cooley's house, but they heard two men arguing nearby. The police traced the voices to Roth's estate and asked him to open his security gates. They entered the scene and found Roth standing on a second-floor balcony pointing at Cooley, who was lying flat on the lawn below him.

Cooley told police he was carrying methamphetamine, and he was taken into custody and charged with possession. He also said he had a knife, but it was on the grass a few feet away and was not taken as evidence. There is no mention in the police report of Roth holding a shotgun on Cooley.

Roth is preparing for a lengthy tour that starts May 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

He'll release a new album called "Diamond Dave" on July 8. It features Roth doing his own material, as well as covering artists such as the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Miller, Savoy Brown, and Van Halen.

Devlin Wants More ID4

Producer Dean Devlin has announced that he and director Roland Emmerich are working on a sequel to INDEPENDENCE DAY. "Roland and I are writing it, so hopefully it’ll come out good," Devlin said. "If not, we’ll bury it." About the chance to get the original cast back, Devlin said, "I think if we had a good script, everyone would want to come back. If the script’s not good, then they’ll probably tell us to go our own way."

Kiefer Sutherland talks 24 - Season Three.

There are Spoilers in this story. Proceed at your own risk!

TV Times talked with Kiefer Sutherland about what to expect next season:

"We've planned a third season, even from the first day of doing season two. The events of the season finale set up what will be our third season. Sarah [Wynter] is back, but that's all I care to say. The finale is a great rollercoaster ride. Seriously". Sutherland also talked about a possible movie-spinoff - "It's a natural progression, yes. It's usually the other way around - TV Series become movies - but in this case we think we've created something that's far more entertaining each week, and much better written, than some of the movies out there. If we can take this great weekly series and turn it into a two-hour cinematic movie, why not. I know everyone is looking forward to that happening. We've got a big "Die Hard" style spectacle planned in the back of all our minds. The show itself is big enough in itself, but the movie is sure to bring it on".

T'Pol Gets a New Haircut, We Get More Jolene!

The news about ENTERPRISE's radical new direction for season three is going mainstream in the May 10th issue of TV Guide (on stands Monday, May 5th), according to a press release from the magazine. Executive producer Rick Berman will reveal all new details about the prequel series' finale "The Expanse" and what it means for the third season of the struggling UPN show that TV Guide recently lambasted for lack of imagination (story).

In the season finale, "a mysterious probe from space will blast a swath of destruction across North and Central America, causing epic explosions and annihilating everything between Florida and Venezuela," according to the article. "As viewers will learn, this is a preemptive strike by an alien race known as the Xindi (that’s Zin-dee), who have obtained knowledge that Earth will destroy their home world 400 years in the future. The hour ends on a chilling threat of more devastation to come, but this is no mere summer cliff-hanger. In fact, it marks a whole new direction for the series."

Rick Berman says the new direction will be a first for the STAR TREK franchise.

"What we are about to do is a first for STAR TREK,” Berman tells TVG. “In the past, our captains have had the general mission to explore outer space and, in the case of Voyager, a mission to find a way back home. But there has never been a Trek series built around a specific mission and specific stakes-in this case, the very future of mankind.”

He goes on to say that the new Xindi threat will be the greatest that Captain Archer's Earth will yet have faced.

"We find out that the Xindi space probe was merely a test and that they are creating an even more powerful weapon,” Berman says. “It’s up to Captain Archer to go there and stop them from destroying us altogether.”

TV Guide also reveals new details about the repercussions of the finale for next season, writing that the Enterprise NX-01 will be "retrofitted for war" and that we'll get our first glimpse at the use of photon torpedos in Starfleet's history. Furthermore, the dangerous Delphic Expanse, likened to the Bermuda Triangle, causes those who enter to "become anatomically inverted (skin on the inside, organs on the outside)." Furthermore, even Jolene Blalock's 'T'Pol', as a result of resigning from the Vulcan High Command, "will sport a new cat suit and hairdo next season."

All the grisly details will be on newsstands May 5th.

Diana Krall, Elvis Costello to marry

Canadian jazz phenom Diana Krall and singer-songwriter Elvis Costello are engaged to be married, Krall's father has told the Victoria Times Colonist.

Jim Krall, a Nanaimo, B.C., accountant, said Thursday he doesn't know any details about when or where the wedding might take place but said he's happy about the plan, the newspaper reports.

Rumours of a romance between Krall, 38, and Costello, 48, spread after the duo was spotted dining together at a New York restaurant in January.

"It's a wonderful thing and it's special to me. I'm really happy," she said of the relationship earlier this year.

Costello came on the scene as a rocker in the late 70s with the album My Aim is True. Krall has had a series of popular albums and won a Grammy this year for best jazz vocal album for Live in Paris.

The Times Colonist said a source at Sam Feldman & Associates, the Vancouver company that manages Krall, confirmed the engagement but declined to provide details.

Back in November, Costello split from his wife, ex-Pogues singer Cait O'Riordan, after 16 years of marriage.

Officials move to take the edge off Oscar campaigning

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Oscar bosses are planning to impose tough new rules to stop Hollywood studios from waging overly aggressive campaigns to convince Academy Awards voters to honor their movies, officials said.

The proposed beefed-up restrictions on pre-Oscars campaigning for cinema's highest honours come after unprecedented controversy over attempts by certain top Hollywood producers to influence Oscars voters.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president, Frank Pierson, said he had formed a committee to investigate Oscar campaign practices, according to Academy officials.

The campaign committee will confer with major players in the industry with the aim of "reducing the intensity of the campaigning," the officials confirmed.

"We all share the belief that it threatens the integrity of the Oscar," Pierson was quoted as saying. "The implication is that the Oscar can be bought by an intense campaign."

The proposed crackdown on over-zealous campaigning comes after Miramax studios came under fire ahead of this year's Oscars in March for allegedly breaking unspoken Academy rules on campaigning for a best director Oscar for "Gangs of New York" filmmaker Martin Scorsese.

Scorsese lost the award to "The Pianist" director Roman Polanski.

A year earlier, there were allegations that one studio launched a public smear campaign against the ultimate winner of the 2002 best picture Oscar "A Beautiful Mind" in a year marked by some of the dirtiest campaigning ever.

Pierson told industry bible Daily Variety that he would be meeting Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein in New York next week to discuss the planned crackdown on campaigns that officials fear could tarnish Oscar's reputation.

"I know Harvey, too, is concerned," Pierson said.

The Academy asks that its 5,816 voters do not discuss their choices ahead of the awards and that they refrain from holding parties specifically aimed at boosting the Oscar potential of a particular film or star.

Studios traditionally spend many hundreds of thousands of dollars on newspaper, trade journal and radio and television advertisements as well as on billboards across Los Angeles to tout their movies and stars.

This year there was rash of parties "in honor of" various nominees, with Academy voters being invited to salute people they had never met, a practice severely frowned upon by the Academy, Variety said.

But industry insiders said it would be hard to implement tough new rules as they could obstruct the US right of expression by ordering that certain people not hold certain parties or that they do not speak of their choices.

Next year's 76th annual Oscar will be held about a month earlier than usual -- on February 29 -- as part of a two-year experiment aimed at shortening the annual awards campaigning season that traditionally has Hollywood in a lather.

Asteroid Is Named in Mister Rogers' Honor

PITTSBURGH - Mister Rogers now has an asteroid named in his honor.

"Misterrogers," formerly known as No. 26858, honors Fred Rogers, creator and host of public television's "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Rogers died Feb. 27 at age 74.

"I doubt that there are many who have not been touched in some way by the life and work of Fred Rogers," said John G. Radzilowicz, director of the Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium & Observatory at the Carnegie Science Center, which made the announcement Thursday.

The science center worked with Family Communications Inc., the production company Rogers founded, to produce a planetarium show for preschoolers called "The Sky Above Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." The show now plays at 15 planetariums across the country.

"Misterrogers" can be found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and is about 218 million miles from the sun, which it takes about 3 1/2 years to orbit. It was discovered in 1993 by E.F. Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California.

The International Astronomical Union names comets, asteroids and surface features such as moon craters after individuals. The honors cannot be bought, and they are based on merits judged by the astronomers.

Dixie Chicks Fans Cheer at Tour Opener

GREENVILLE, S.C. - A sold-out crowd cheered, danced and sang along during the Dixie Chicks' summer tour kick-off concert, showing little concern for the controversy that has surrounded the band since a member criticized President Bush over the war with Iraq.

The show Thursday marked the first time the group had performed in the United States since lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience on March 10: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

The comment was made as war was looming with Iraq, and Maines later apologized. But her remark brought the group a flood of criticism and media attention.

Thursday night, the Dixie Chicks quickly realized their fans still loved them as about 15,000 packed the Bi-Lo Center for the sold-out concert. If there was a boo as the band appeared on stage, few could hear it.

"I think it's a good idea if we start every single tour right here," Maines said. "Y'all have been an awesome crowd."

Maines didn't wait long to address the problems that have arisen from her comments. "We have a plan for this," Maines said. "If you're here to boo, we welcome that. We're going to give you 15 seconds to do that."

And when Maines counted to three, the sold-out crowd erupted in cheers and the Chicks broke into "Long Time Gone."

Although Maines apologized for her remarks, sales of the latest Dixie Chicks' album "Home" dropped sharply and many country radio stations pulled their music from their playlists. In recent interviews, the trio has said their lives, and the lives of their families, have been threatened.

But Thursday seemed to be nothing but fun.

"They said you might not come, but we knew you would," said Maines, as fans whistled and pounded the backs of their seats.

"I loved it," said Leigh Anne Stephens, 23, of Charlotte, N.C., decked out in a cowboy hat and a Dixie Chicks T-shirt.

Maines mentioned Bush just once, right before the band started its encore. "They just told me that the president has announced that the war is over," said Maines, referring to his speech aboard an aircraft carrier earlier Thursday night.

Before the concert, about 15 protesters milled outside the arena, carrying signs reading: "The three French hens" and "Nothing Dixie about these Chicks."

But maybe most of the anti-Dixie Chick crowd was at the Marshall Tucker Band show, the alternative concert held 30 miles away in Spartanburg.

'West Wing' Creator Sorkin Leaving Show

LOS ANGELES - Aaron Sorkin, creator of the Emmy-winning White House drama "The West Wing," is leaving the series after this season, he said Thursday.

Sorkin, who was involved in writing most of the scripts for the NBC series, also served as executive producer. Thomas Schlamme, another executive producer, also is leaving.

The show will continue with John Wells, another executive producer, in charge. Wells' other series include NBC's "ER" and "Third Watch."

There had been reports of tension between Sorkin and the studio that produces the show, Warner Bros. Television. He had reportedly been cautioned about budgets and production delays.

"This has been the experience of any writer's dreams," Sorkin said in a statement. "I had the best job in show business for four years and I'll never forget that."

Schlamme and Sorkin said they will pursue other film, television and theater projects. They will remain "the two biggest fans of `The West Wing,'" according to their statement.

Their work was lauded by the studio and NBC.

"Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme have done an extraordinary job in their four years at the helm of `The West Wing,'" said NBC entertainment chief Jeff Zucker and Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth.

"The West Wing" won its third consecutive best drama trophy at last year's Emmy Awards. Sorkin has won an Emmy for writing for the series, while Schlamme has won two Emmys for directing.

Sorkin, 41, had gone through difficult personal times during his work on "The West Wing," which stars Martin Sheen as fictional President Josiah Bartlet. In 2001, Sorkin had been arrested for possession of cocaine and hallucinogenic mushrooms and ordered to enter a drug treatment program. The charges were dismissed after he completed the program.

Wells, whose production company John Wells Productions co-produces "The West Wing" with Warner Bros. Television, has been asked by Warner to take a "more active role" next season, the studio said.

"Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme are irreplaceable," Wells said in a statement. "... They will be sorely missed."

A team of writers, directors and producers has been assembled to help in the transition, he said.

Canadian Sex Expert Entertains Dave

NEW YORK (CP) -- Canadian sex therapist Sue Johanson engaged in a frank and humorous exchange on David Letterman's The Late Show on Wednesday in a conversation that covered such topics as masturbation and penis size.

The talk show host seemed to choke on words like "ejaculate" from Johanson, whose straight talk on sex elicited uproarious laughter and applause from the audience, as well as mock astonishment from Letterman.

"What people don't realize is that penis size does not matter, because the top two-thirds of the vagina has no nerve endings, there's nobody home up there," she said to a roar of audience approval.

Letterman's response was to tell Late Show band leader Paul Shaffer, also a Canadian, not to be embarrassed.

Johanson's Sunday Night Sex Show is in its eighth season on Canadian TV and is seen on W, the Women's Television Network. She also hosts a parallel show, called Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, on the U.S. channel Oxygen.

And Johanson broke into laughs after the talk show host seemed to have trouble spitting the word "intercourse" out.

When asked about taking calls from viewers that might be "putting her on," Johanson said she always gives honest advice.

"Although it may be a put on call, somebody out there has that question. And they really believe if you swallow ejaculate you can get pregnant."

Letterman simply coughed and cleared his throat in reply.

The Late Show host seemed to especially enjoy an anecdote concerning a caller who asked if it was OK to masturbate into a jar of peanut butter.

"That will get you thrown out of the supermarket," he said.

Johanson returned the quip, saying her studio director told her to ask the man if the peanut butter was "crunchy or smooth?"

"Well sure, makes all the difference," Letterman said.

"I've never eaten peanut butter since," she replied.

The sex therapist also said Canada is more progressive regarding sex education than the United States, and put the difference down to politics.

The former nurse and educator is a popular interview subject, having appeared in January on Conan O'Brien's late-night talkfest. She has also written three books on sexuality and her show was the subject of yet another publication, Nocturnal Admissions: Behind the Scenes of the Sunday Night Sex Show.

From Metallica to Manson, PLUS Liz Phair, it's gonna be one rockin' season!

Every summer needs a soundtrack. But this year's could be a little louder than usual, if the number of hard-rockin' albums due over the next few weeks is anything to go by. Here's a guide to the best of the season. As always, dates are subject to change, so don't blame me if they do.

Metallica - St. Anger (Warner, June 10) - It's been six years since their last studio album, but Metallica have hardly been idle. They've spent most of that time sabotaging their career. First, they alienated fans and came off like spoiled whiners by killing Napster. Then singer James Hetfield went into rehab and they lost bassist Jason Newsted. Now, finally, they've picked up the pieces and put them together into St. Anger. Featuring ex-Ozzy bassist Robert Trujillo and produced by Bob Rock, this 11-track disc is the most important record of Metallica's career. If it's great, they could reclaim their throne. But if they don't smack it out of the park, it's over.

Limp Bizkit - Bipolar (Universal, June/July) - Speaking of make-or-break discs, this fourth studio release from rap-metal mainstays Limp Bizkit has its share of hurdles. First and foremost is the loss of guitarist Wes Borland, who absconded with most of the group's musical credibility and coolness after 2000's Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavoured Water. Which leaves us with nakedly ambitious singer Fred Durst, whose recent fling with Britney Spears can only leave you wondering which of them has worse taste.

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (EMI, June 10) - If you're a real fan, you've probably already heard this. Or have you? Radiohead now say the tunes that famously landed on the Web a few weeks back were rough mixes and works in progress and not the finished product. Well, a few of the tunes -- which hew closer to the angular post-rock of Kid A than the lulling whale music of Amnesiac -- sounded pretty finished to us. Either way, the truth is that no matter what Radiohead comes out with, we -- and a few million others -- are going to want to hear it anyway.

Turbonegro - Scandinavian Leather (Epitaph, May 6) - These randy Norwegian sleaze-rockers are quite possibly the greatest band that ever lived. At least, they're the greatest band most North Americans have never heard. Get up to speed when the boys release their sixth CD Scandinavian Leather, which offers another flawless amalgam of black eyeliner, chainsaw guitars, sailor suits, Cheap Trick licks, hedonism and song titles like Wipe it Til it Bleeds. And don't say we didn't warn you.

Deftones - Deftones (Warner, May 20) - It's been three years since these California rap-rockers broke through with their third album White Pony. Now we'll finally get to see what singer-guitarist Chino Moreno and co. do for an encore with this self-titled 11-song followup. At least we know there's no chance of a sophomore slump.

Sam Roberts - We Were Born in a Flame (Universal, June 3) - A couple of years ago, Canadian pop-rocker Sam Roberts was a mover. In that short time, he's gone from hauling couches up stairs to climbing the charts, thanks to the surprising success of his debut EP, The Inhuman Condition. Here's the full-length followup that could take him to even greater heights. Looks like he's still a mover.

The New Pornographers - Electric Version (Mint, May 6) - These Vancouver popsters seduced the indie scene with 2000's Mass Romantic and its infectious single Letter From an Occupant. Now, the outfit comprised of current and former members of Zumpano, Destroyer and Thee Evaporators -- and let us not forget sultry country songbird Neko Case -- return with a sophomore CD of jangle and melody.

Led Zeppelin - How the West Was Won & Led Zeppelin DVD (Warner, May 27) - Sure, it's been a long time since they rock 'n' rolled. But Ledheads aren't likely to mind once they get ahold of two simultaneous upcoming sets -- How the West Was Won, a three-CD set of previously unissued live material, and a live Led Zep DVD. Both will be available for Father's Day. What a coincidence.

Steely Dan - Everything Must Go (Warner, June 10) - Walter Becker and Donald Fagen took two decades to follow up Gaucho with 2000's Two Against Nature. Hope they weren't rushed by recording Everything Must Go in just three short years.

Marilyn Manson - Golden Age of Grotesque (Universal, May 13) - Granted, nowadays Marilyn Manson about as scary as last year's Halloween costume, but at least you know he's not going to do a duet with Lionel Richie.

Liz Phair - Liz Phair (EMI, June 24) - Former indie-rock queenie Liz assimilates with the machine, collaborating with Avril Lavigne hitmakers The Matrix for this CD.

MAY
3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun (Universal)
Anthrax - We've Come For You All (EMI)
Blur - Think Tank (EMI)
Foxy Brown - The Fever (Universal)
Jack Johnson - On and On (Universal)
Randy - Welfare Problems (Epitaph)
Lillix - Falling Up Hill (Warner)
Third Eye Blind - Out of the Vein (Warner)
Beyonce Knowles - Dangerously in Love (Sony)
Busta Rhymes - I Know What You Want (BMG)
Less Than Jake - Anthem (Warner)
Macy Gray - The Trouble With Being Myself (Sony)
Powerman 5000 - Transform (Universal)
Staind - 14 Shades of Grey (Warner)

JUNE
Annie Lennox - Bare (BMG)
Dave Gahan - Paper Monsters (Warner)
Eels - Shootenanny (Universal)
Gordon Downie - Battle of the Nudes (Maple)
Jewel - 0304 (Warner, June 3)
Stereophonics - You Gotta Go There to Come Back (BMG)
Sugar Ray - In the Pursuit of Leisure (Warner)
Type O Negative - The Dream is Dead (Universal)
Michelle Branch - Hotel Paper (Warner)
The Locust - Plague Soundscapes (Epitaph)

City gets nod for Juno Awards show

The stars will settle in Edmonton next spring when the city hosts the first Juno Awards show ever held in Alberta, government officials announced yesterday.

"It will be the single largest musical-awareness event to occur in the history of this province," said Alberta Community Development Minister Gene Zwozdesky, a former musician and former chairman of the Alberta Recording Industry Association.

"It will attract producers and record labels from not only across Canada but also from across other parts of North America and indeed a few even from around the world."

Edmonton launched a bid to host the Juno Awards after Mayor Bill Smith spied the suggestion in a March 2001 column by Sun writer Kerry Diotte.

Smith said he learned yesterday that the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences - which organizes the event - is officially endorsing Edmonton's pitch. "Of course, we're very honoured to accept," a beaming Smith told reporters at a hastily organized news conference.

"The Junos will be coming to our city Sunday, April 4, 2004."

Edmonton still has to work with the academy's board to meet a couple of conditions, but "they're not significant," Smith said.

Funding to host the event is already in place, he added.

The province has committed $250,000, the city will contribute services in kind, and Senator Tommy Banks has helped secure $250,000 in federal funding.

Banks said that hosting the Junos is a real coup that will "showcase" Edmonton.

"It's certainly more than one television show," he said. "There will be a lot of business done there."

Zwozdesky said the economic impact should be "in the millions of dollars.

"You have to imagine that stars who will be receiving the Juno awards will bring with them their own entourages, but they will also bring enormous numbers of fans who will all require hotel rooms and food to eat and gas to drive their vehicles and other such things," Zwozdesky said.

Premier Ralph Klein said the Junos are a good fit in Edmonton.

"It's a culturally alive city. Certainly, it has demonstrated a devotion and commitment to the arts and I think (Skyreach Centre) would be an entirely appropriate venue," he said.

The tentative schedule of events includes the televised Juno Awards show April 4 at Skyreach Centre, an off-camera awards show and gala dinner April 3 at the Shaw Conference Centre, and other weekend events including an autograph signing session and clubs showcasing local artists and Juno nominees.

The Junos have been held in the West twice - both times in Vancouver.

Elton John Guests On New Brian Wilson Album

Elton John will make a guest appearance on an upcoming album by Beach Boys legend, Brian Wilson. John sings and plays piano on a song called "How Can We Still Be Dancing." Wilson said he also wants to collaborate with Sting and Eric Clapton.

Wilson told Rolling Stone, in the publication's May 15 issue, that the new album has "a little more thickness to it. The sound is a little more ballsy." He is recording with his regular touring band, the L.A. group, the Wondermints. No release date has been announced.

Clapton joined Wilson and his band onstage last year, during an October 6 benefit for the Carl Wilson Foundation at Royce Hall, on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles. He played guitar and shared vocals on the Beach Boys' "Warmth Of The Sun" and took a rhythm part for "Good Vibrations," adding blues licks at the end of the song. He also played during encores of "Barbara Ann" and "Surfin' USA."

Wilson will play three shows in June on the East Coast. The first concert, set for June 14 in Boston, at the Hatch Memorial Shell, coincides with his receiving an honorary degree from Northeastern University. Wilson and his band will also perform on June 16 in New York City at the Beacon Theatre and on June 17 in Newark, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Great TV Finales. Horrible TV Finales!

And Now for the Big Finishes... Oz and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch have already left the building, Dawson's Creek (WB; May 14) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (UPN; May 20) are down to their last few episodes and it's looking like The Practice, Just Shoot Me and The Drew Carey Show may be put out to pasture at the season's end. Meanwhile, Sex and the City begins its final fling on HBO this summer, and TV fans are already guessing how Friends will wrap its 10-season run next year. Yep, it's the beginning of the endings.

In the two most anticipated series enders, according to those fast-flying rumors, Buffy and pals will face the possible destruction of Sunnydale, while Dawson and his oh so verbose cohorts will jump five years into the future. The romantic entanglements (surprise, surprise) haven't really changed all that much, and big buzz is weddings--as in, plural.

Matrimony, future shock, the complete annihilation of the world as we know it...Sounds like standard series-finale fodder. Let's just hope the Buffy and Dawson's folks really do go out with a bang and leave us long devoted (and long suffering) fans satisfied. If producers have a shot at some last-minute tinkering, though, perhaps they should take a little flashback of their own and recall the greatest moments in series-finale history...

• M*A*S*H (CBS, Feb. 28, 1983): "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was the two-and-a-half hour installment that found the 4077 gang shipping out Stateside as the Korean War ended. But a traumatized Hawkeye (Alan Alda, who nabbed Emmys for acting, writing and directing) and his best bud Hunnicut (Mike Farrell) had trouble saying farewell. The most ironic moment in the episode, which attracted a record 125 million viewers, was Section 8-minded Klinger's (Jamie Farr) decision to marry Soon-Lee and stay in Korea. The most poignant: Hawkeye, departing the camp via helicopter, looks down and sees Hunnicut has finally bid him adieu, by spelling out the word goodbye with rocks.

• Newhart (CBS, May 21, 1990): "The Last Newhart" may go down as the most clever series wrap-up ever. Vermont inn owner Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) is the sole holdout when a Japanese conglomerate offers big bucks to the townsfolk to snap up their land. But after getting bonked on the noggin by a golf ball (the inn is now located in the middle of the new development's golf course), Dick wakes up and realizes the whole thing--actually, the whole Newhart show--has been a dream. "Honey, wake up. You won't believe the dream I just had," Dick tells Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), the wife of the Newhart's Bob Hartley character in the 1972-78 Bob Newhart Show. After Bob relates the details of his slumbering delusion, Emily says, "That settles it. No more Japanese food before you go to bed."

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NOT SO GROOVY

Lady Miss Kier, flamboyant singer for British dance band, Dee Lite, suing Sega accusing the videogame maker of stealing her image and signature cry of "Ooh La La" for its 2000 game Space Channel 5.

PRETTY WOMAN

Halle Berry makes People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful list for the seventh time. The special issue, with Berry on the cover, is due on newsstands Friday.

IDOL NEWS

Next week's American Idol theme will be The Bee Gees and singer Robin Gibb is flying in from London to be a guest judge, says the show's executive producer.

IDOL TREK

The second season Idol finalists kicking off a two month summer tour July 8 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Billboard reports.

NEWSBREAK

President Bush addressing the nation on TV tonight at 9 p.m. He's expected to announce the end of war with Iraq. He'll speak for 20 minutes. On Thursday night. During sweeps.

GET LOVE

Want to join Courtney Love's band?

Grunge's most famous widow is looking for a new bass player and guitarist - and only girls need apply.

"Join Courtney Love's touring band and get famous, see the world!" reads an ad in this week's Village Voice.

"Must play bass or guitar (really play), and look like a goddess. No boys!"

To apply, send a videotape to P.O. Box C238, New York, N.Y. 10011, or call (212) 802-7269.

MEMPHIS BELLE GETS 'IDOL' BOOT

Trenyce, the woman who looks like comedian Eddie Griffin, was the loser last night on "American Idol."

The 23-year-old singer was ejected by "American Idol" viewers in a vote that stunned the judges and studio audience.

They were equally taken aback when Trenyce was joined in the show's "bottom two" by beefy Ruben Studdard of Birmingham, Ala. The judges felt both performers deserved better treatment.

"This is crazy, dude!" exclaimed judge Randy Jackson.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," chimed in fellow judge Paula Abdul.

Simon Cowell, who was just as surprised as the other judges, nevertheless conceded, "We've given the public the right to vote - you have to respect their decisions."

Studdard, 25, and Trenyce were among the final five performers left on "American Idol."

Trenyce was gracious in defeat. She thanked the judges and the show's producers for giving her "the opportunity of a lifetime" and then sang the old Captain and Tennille song "Love Will Keep Us Together."

Four contestants now remain. Besides Studdard, the survivors are Kimber "The Cow" Locke, 25, of Nashville; Joshua "The Mean Marine" Gracin, 22, of Oceanside, Calif.; and jug-eared Clay Aiken, 24, of Raleigh, N.C.

Vandross Remains in Critical Condition

NEW YORK - Luther Vandross remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition at a New York City hospital after suffering a stroke. He has been unconscious since he was stricken, unable to speak or open his eyes.

A published report quotes a neurology professor at the Mayo Clinic as saying the lack of progress so far indicates the seriousness of the stroke Vandross suffered. James Meschia tells USA Today that unconsciousness is "an uncommon occurrence in patients with stroke." He notes that in many cases, stroke patients are discharged to home or to a rehabilitation center within a week of being stricken. Vandross suffered his stroke two weeks ago yesterday.

Vandross has sold more than 20 million albums in the United States alone, and his hits include the love ballads "Here and Now" and "A House Is Not a Home."

Oh, and by the way, his record company wants you to know that his new album, "Dance With My Father," is scheduled for release in June. Here's hoping it isn't a posthumous release.

Dixie Chicks Set to Open Their U.S. Tour

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Under tight security, the Dixie Chicks were getting ready for their first concert in the United States since the Texas trio's lead singer spoke ill of President George W. Bush almost two months ago.

The Dixie Chicks were set to open the U.S. leg of their world tour in Greenville on Thursday night. During a March 10 concert in London, as war with Iraq was looming, lead singer Natalie Maines told the audience: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Maines, a Texan, and the other members of the country band say that since then they have received more than complaints — their lives and livelihoods have been threatened.

Maines' comment also sparked war supporters to plan an anti-Chicks concert Thursday featuring the Marshall Tucker Band. Now, it's not just the Dixie Chicks who are receiving threats from a country divided over the Iraq war.

Even in South Carolina, heavy with flag-waving patriots, some are feeling the pressure from war protesters.

"Just as people are unhappy with Natalie Maines, people are unhappy with us," said radio talk show host Mike Gallagher, who is promoting the anti-Dixie Chicks concert about 30 minutes from here in Spartanburg. Dixie Chicks ticketholders have been able to trade for free VIP passes to the Marshall Tucker Band show, Gallagher said.

The band's lead singer, Spartanburg native Doug Gray, said he also has received threats but that's not going to stop him from taking the stage Thursday night. Gray, a sergeant in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969, said it took him about a minute to decide whether his band should play. Maines "said something in another country she shouldn't have said," Gray said.

Gray, 55 and the only remaining founding member of the band, keeps the situation in perspective, saying he knows his concert probably won't affect the Dixie Chicks, who have sold out most of the 59 concerts for this tour — including the Greenville show.

"It's not going to hurt them as much as people would like it to," Gray said. But "it's really good for us."

Maines and the other Dixie Chicks — sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire — have said the fallout was too harsh for the offense and they've always supported U.S. troops even though they questioned the war.

"We know some of our fans were shocked ... and upset, and we are compassionate to that," Maguire had said. "My problem is, when does it cross the line? ... When is writing a threatening letter OK?"

After Maines' remarks about Bush, radio stations began boycotting the Dixie Chicks, even though she publicly apologized later.

The group's song "Travelin' Soldier," which was No. 1 on Billboard's country charts around the time Maines made the remark, tumbled afterward.

Security will be tight at both concerts Thursday. Metal detectors will be used for the Dixie Chicks' show at the 15,000-seat Bi-Lo Center, where a man in a pickup truck passing by Wednesday night yelled: "Dixie Chicks go home."

There also will be a significant security presence for the Marshall Tucker Band. Gallagher said security and catering for the anti-Chicks show was being donated.

Gallagher came up with the idea for the alternative concert to raise money for military families "while sort of tweaking Natalie Maines ... at the same time."

He said the project is a partnership with Feed the Children of Oklahoma City.

"We've been delivering truckloads of food and personal care items to military families all over the country," Gallagher said. "We're going to raise tens of thousands of dollars for military families in this one night alone."

Mr. T Sues Best Buy Over 'Foolish' Ads

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tough-guy actor Mr. T is famed for his scowl and now he is glaring at a discount retail chain that the former "A Team" star says stole his likeness and made him look like a fool in their ads.

Mr. T, who lent his famous gold-adorned image to everything from TV shows and movies to action figures and a breakfast cereal in the 1980s, said Minnesota-based Best Buy Co. Inc. made unauthorized use of his 1982 breakout role in "Rocky III" to hawk its wares.

The 50-year-old Chicago-born actor sued the company in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, demanding that it stop using his image and pay him unspecified damages.

A Best Buy spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit accuses Best Buy, one of the nation's largest appliance retail chains, of running a November 2002 ad campaign featuring a boxing scene from "Rocky III," in which Mr. T and Sylvester Stallone fight.

The chain allegedly altered the "noble and serious" boxing sequence by digitally removing Stallone and making it appear that Mr. T was boxing with a "middle aged, balding, out-of-shape" Best Buy salesman.

"At no time did Mr. T consent to Best Buy's use of his likeness, photograph and voice ... to promote Best Buy," the lawsuit said. "Best Buy's portrayal of Mr. T as a fool thus has the likelihood of injuring Mr. T's business reputation and of diluting the distinct quality of Mr. T's professional persona."

The former pro wrestler, born Laurence Tureaud, got his big break playing boxer Clubber Lang opposite Stallone in the third installment of the "Rocky" saga.

He lent his out-sized personality and trademark line "I pity the fool," to his role of Sergeant Bosco "Bad Attitude" Baracus on TV's "The A Team" starting in 1983. At the height of his popularity, his mutton-chop mug was everywhere -- in a Saturday morning cartoon, on an action figure, on countless TV guest appearances. But in the mid-1990s, T dropped out of sight to battle cancer, which he beat in 2001.

Mr. T reemerged on-screen in 2002's "Not Another Teen Movie" and as a pitchman for a long-distance telephone service.

Metallica to Play for San Quentin Inmates

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The members of Metallica are the heroes of the day at San Quentin State Prison, one of the most infamous prisons in the United States.

The hard rock quartet, preparing to release its new album "St. Anger" on June 10, is shooting a video for the title track at the prison on Wednesday, and will perform an hourlong concert the following day, the group said on its Web site.

The video will be directed by the Malloy Brothers, who previously worked with 311 and Foo Fighters. The 150-year-old prison, just north of Metallica's San Francisco home town, was the location of one of Johnny Cash's most famous recordings, 1969's "Live at San Quentin."

Metallica is then scheduled to play on Saturday at MTV's annual mtvICON tribute event in Los Angeles, where such acts as Avril Lavigne, Sum 41, Limp Bizkit and Korn will cover the group's songs. The 90-minute special will screen on May 6. Four days later, Metallica will appear on MTV2's "Headbanger's Ball" as hosts of the revived series' debut episode.

Metallica last week announced it would play four "secret" club shows at San Francisco's Fillmore theater on May 18, 19, 21 and 22 to prepare for its summer tour of Europe and North America.

Madonna's Latest Album Debuts at No. 1 on Charts

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Madonna's new album, "American Life," opened at No. 1 on this week's U.S. pop charts despite a critical debate about whether the Material Girl's latest effort lives up to its hype.

"American Life" sold 241,000 its first week in stores, a respectable debut by most standards but far below the 420,000 units tallied three years ago by her last release, "Music," according album sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan.

That album went on to sell 2.9 million copies in the United States alone.

Madonna, whose 20-year recording career has often thrived from controversy, no doubt gained a commercial boost this time out from the stir she created with the original video accompanying the title track to "American Life."

The video, featuring images of Madonna tossing a hand grenade at a George W. Bush look-alike, was pulled shortly after its release earlier this month. The performer said that scene and other war-related imagery was being misinterpreted by some as critical of the United States and the Bush administration while the nation was at war with Iraq.

The song itself, like much of the album's lyrical content, is a critique of America's consumer culture, materialism and the superficial trappings of stardom, which some observers noted as ironic coming from the Material Girl.

Madonna also recently irked fans trying to download her music for free on the Internet by posting decoy songs on file-sharing Web sites berating users with an obscenity.

Issued by Warner Bros. Records, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., Madonna's new album has drawn decidedly mixed reviews, including some of the most scathing of her career. One particularly harsh notice called it the "most wretchedly empty thing she's ever done."

'SHOCKINGLY EARNEST'

Entertainment Weekly, however, thought much of the music was, "refreshingly -- hell, shockingly -- earnest."

"At its best, her new album offers blunt, questing, decisive music at a chaotic time. At its weakest she sounds like a gal who's grown content with hubby and kids and the hard-earned privilege of hiring the help to keep herself at tip-top tautness," the magazine's Ken Tucker wrote.

The release of "American Life" also comes months after the commercial and critical flop last fall of Madonna's latest movie, "Swept Away," which was directed by her husband, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie.

Still, as the only new release last week from a high-profile artist, "American Life" comfortably clinched the No. 1 spot in the album charts.

Hard-core rapper 50 Cent remained in the top rungs of the charts with two releases, rising three spots to No. 2 with his debut album "Get Rich or Die Tryin"' while his DVD/CD combination "New Breed" fell from second place to No. 10 its second week in stores.

Meanwhile, Kelly Clarkson, winner of the Fox reality show "American Idol," slipped to No. 3 after opening atop the charts the previous week with her debut album, "Thankful."

Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were metal band Linkin Park at No. 4 with "Meteora," followed by Cher's best-of collection (No. 5); the Grammy-winning album "Come Away With Me" from jazz vocalist Norah Jones (news) (No. 6); rock outfit Evanescence with "Fallen" (No. 7); veteran rockers Fleetwood Mac's latest "Say You Will" (No. 8) and the latest "Now" compilation from various artists (No. 9).

Artisan, Microsoft Unveil High-Definition 'T2' DVD

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When "Terminator" star Arnold Schwarzenegger uttered his famous movie line "I'll be back," he likely had no idea it would be in digital form.

Film studio Artisan Entertainment Inc. and software giant Microsoft Corp. on Monday unveiled the first DVD to be released especially for digital high-definition computer and television monitors, "T2: Extreme DVD"

The two-disc DVD contains one standard DVD of hit 1991 Schwarzenegger movie, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," for playback in a normal DVD player.

The second disc, however, contains a high-definition version of the movie to be played on a computer DVD ROM drive and high-end monitors.

People who own home theater systems with the correct cabling and high-definition TV monitors, too, can view the special version of "T2."

"There are a lot of high-def capable systems out there, but not a lot of pre-recorded content to enjoy," said Randy Wells, executive brand director for Artisan Home Entertainment. "When you see a great movie on DVD in high-def ... you notice things you didn't notice before."

For years, electronics manufacturers have touted the super-sharp picture quality that high-definition monitors can bring film and TV viewers, but due to many technological and financial reasons, Hollywood has yet to deliver much content aimed for owners of "high-def" equipment.

Slowly, that is changing and the major TV networks will sometimes broadcast top-rated shows, such as professional football's Super Bowl, in high-definition.

However, the massive amounts of digital data needed to format a movie into a high-definition version had prohibited the making of high-def DVDs.

Microsoft's new Windows Media 9 software solved data compression issues, said Erin Cullen, product manager with Microsoft's Windows Digital Media division.

Cullen admitted the computer system requirement for playing the high-def DVD is high, but added that equipment prices are dropping quickly. She said in some cases a system that could play the high-def DVD can be bought for less than $1,000.

Artisan's Wells, too, said that the high-def DVD is targeted to a small market of users, but that there "truly is a viable market out there" that it is growing rapidly.

Both the high-def and standard DVDs contain additional features including 16 minutes of additional film, director James Cameron's commentary, and behind-the-scenes footage.

With a suggested retail price of $29.98, the two-disc set hits stores on June 3, about a month ahead of Schwarzenegger's new movie "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."

'X2' Looks to Breathe Life Into Movie Box Office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Last summer "Spider-Man" ruled the roost and the summer before it was "The Mummy Returns" that made cash registers ring. Now Hollywood is counting on "X2" mutants like Wolverine and Nightcrawler to breathe life back into moribund movie box offices.

It is all part of an established box office pattern as "X2" opens on Friday to kick off the summer movie season. In recent years, Hollywood has turned to explosive action, computerized special effects and stories with broad appeal to young men and women to boost May ticket sales and fuel the box office fire through June, July and early August.

"There's always an audience for an action movie" said Lauren Shuler Donner, producer of "X2: X-Men United" and its blockbuster predecessor "X-Men."

That's an understatement.

"Spider-Man," like the X-Men, was another Marvel comic book character turned movie superhero, and he spread his sticky web across the United States and Canada on the first weekend of May 2002 to capture a record $114.8 million in three days.

Again this summer, the studios have loaded up with loud, raucous, roller-coaster action movies.

Two weeks after "X2" comes "The Matrix: Reloaded" followed by "The Hulk," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life," to name but a few.

Hollywood needs the help of muscle-bound action heroes. The 2003 movie box office has proved a bit anemic with total ticket sales off 4 to 5 percent depending on which box office tracking service is doing the number-crunching.

So far, ticket sales have reached $2.51 billion, off 5.6 percent from $2.66 billion at the same point last year, according to Exhibitor Relations Inc. Rival AC Nielsen/EDI puts the year-to-date box office tally nearer to $2.44 billion, off 4.1 percent from $2.54 billion last year.

SQUASHING SPIDEY

But the bigger questions leading up to the "X2" debut, which distributor 20th Century Fox has loaded into a record 3,741 movie theaters for Friday, is whether "X2" can beat "Spider-Man" and whether it will kick-start a boffo summer.

Despite the huge debut, box office watchers said "X2" will be hard-pressed to untangle Spider-Man's record web because of the pent-up demand going into last year's movie. And they called "Spider-Man's" three-figure, three-day debut an anomaly that will be hard to repeat two years in a row.

"I don't envy any film that is compared to the opening weekend of 'Spider-Man.' It's unfair," said Exhibitor Relations President Paul Dergarabedian. "Statistically, to repeat that (record) two years in a row would be pretty tough."

Still, the experts agree "X2" should top the original's $54.5 million opening weekend debut in July 2000.

The experts said any comparison against 2002 -- whether a weekend, a season, or a year -- is difficult anyway because ticket sales were so strong last year that by the time the year was totaled, they had risen 12 percent to hit $9.37 billion.

"If we can stay even a few points off what was an incredible year in 2002, then 2003 can still be good," said Dan Marks, executive vice president at AC Nielsen/EDI.

Moreover, the experts do not discount the fact that the slew of films packing movie theaters this summer just may nudge 2003 beyond last year.

"Stranger things have happened," said Dergarabedian.

Strange things indeed.

In "X2," the world's fate is thrown into peril when mutant Nightcrawler makes an attempt on the life of a U.S. president.

The government calls in mutant hunter William Stryker to destroy the mutants, and it is up to outcasts like Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops and Mystique to band together and stop Stryker.

Will they get their man? Can they save the world? Can they squash Spidey's record, and save Hollywood from half-filled summer champagne flutes? Only time -- and box office grosses on Sunday -- will tell.

'Grace Under Fire' Creator Sues Over Show Profits

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The creator of TV's "Grace Under Fire" has sued the show's producers saying he lost millions of dollars in part because of payments made to cast and crew members who were sexually harassed and verbally abused by star Brett Butler.

Chuck Lorre, a writer and producer who worked on the sitcoms "Roseanne" and "Dharma & Greg," also alleges accounting irregularities by the company, Carsey-Werner-Mandabach.

Butler's manager, Mark Burg, disputed the allegations against the actress.

"The crew that did 'Grace Under Fire' was the same crew that started the show," Burg said. "Nobody left. They all supported Brett and she's still friends with people from that crew. To this day some of her best friends are the people she worked with on that show."

Carsey-Werner spokesman James Anderson said he could not comment on the breach of contract lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

According to the suit, Lorre created "Grace," wrote the pilot episode and served as executive producer for the first season. The suit says he signed a contract with Carsey-Werner that would pay him about 11 percent of the show's net profits.

Lorre claims in the court papers that after his departure as executive producer, Carsey-Werner "failed to properly manage" the show, which ate into the net profits.

Among his allegations are that Carsey-Werner permitted a hostile working environment "in which sexual harassment and verbal and emotional abuse by Butler against cast and crew members were tolerated or ignored."

The lawsuit did not offer details of the alleged harassment and abuse but claims that Carsey-Werner settled them by paying "substantial" settlements to those who complained.

"Plaintiffs allege that an executive producer and at least two and possibly three supporting cast members received large cash settlements to resolve their claims of sexual harassment and emotional and verbal abuse," the lawsuit said.

Among Lorre's other allegations are that Carsey-Werner continued to pay some cast and crew members after the show was shut down during the fifth season and that it tried to hide accounting irregularities from him.

He asks for compensatory and punitive damages "in an amount to be determined at trial but in excess of $3.4 million."

"Grace Under Fire," a sitcom about a recovering alcoholic mother struggling to bring up two children on her own, ran from 1993 to 1998 on ABC.