MOI? JUST CALL ME SHY

We have her all wrong. In her first interview since the sex-tapes scandal surfaced, Paris Hilton says she's really just a "shy" girl.

"People have a different impression of me than [how] I really am," Hilton tells TV Guide in an interview to promote her reality show "The Simple Life."

"I'm pretty shy. I'm sweet and a good person, and I love animals and I'm funny."

Hilton and her childhood friend Nicole Ritchie star in "The Simple Life," which places the two Bevery Hills rich girls smack-dab in the middle of a Midwestern farm town - then tapes the proceedings to document how these fish-out-of-water types deal with the locals.

In the show, Paris and Nicole move in with the seven-member Leding family and are forced to make their beds, stick to a midnight curfew and refrain from swearing (heavens!).

"We wanted to wear jeans and T-shirts, but [the producers] wouldn't let us," Richie says. "It was their idea for us to wear all the annoying designer stuff."

"The Simple Life" will run for seven episodes on Fox.

Four Alien movies hatch next week as state-of-the-art DVD boxed set from Fox

TORONTO (CP) - It's a monster. In more ways than one.

As DVD special edition collections go, 20th Century Fox's Alien Quadrilogy - a boxed set of all four Alien sci-fi thrillers - is one of the fledgling medium's most comprehensive and sophisticated releases so far. The set, to be released Tuesday, boasts more than 45 hours of content on nine discs - two versions of each film, with and without optional audio commentary by the filmmakers.

Still, every shred of material of possible interest to fans is included in the "quadrilogy" (a word not found in the Oxford Dictionary). The only thing missing is slime.

Each Alien film is offered in its original version, but also in a director's cut or alternate special edition. A companion disc contains gobs of background material for each title, and a ninth disc has the leftovers, the trailers, a 65-minute documentary and all the extras from the old laser disc releases.

"This is our best release ever," Sven Davison, director of DVD production for Fox Home Entertainment, said recently in Toronto. "I like Fight Club but I feel like we've finally beaten Fight Club."

The set begins with director Ridley Scott's 1979 original, often described as a haunted house movie set in outer space. Sigourney Weaver broke new ground as Ripley, a tough-as-nails crew member of the Nostromo, a deep-space cargo vessel ordered to make a pit stop at a planet from which someone is sending an SOS. There, they encounter a creature that is not only hideous but cunning, boarding the vessel to kill the crew one by one. It is clear that if this thing gets back to civilization, it would wipe out the entire human race.

In James Cameron's sequel, Aliens, which is as good as the original, Ripley and a group of heavily armed marines return to the planet to destroy the alien nest, but find themselves in the fight of their lives.

Alien 3, by David Fincher, the worst of the four, was a bleak, nihilistic vision that turned off many fans. The series finally petered out with Alien: Resurrection in which Ripley - and the alien species - are cloned 200 years later, with predictably terrifying results.

For those who appreciate only the first two films, or those who embrace all things alien, the full set offers some interesting innovations.

First, Fox managed to squeeze both versions of each two-hour film onto one side of a disc. This is accomplished by something called branching technology in which the DVD player can be set to play either version of the film by seamlessly inserting previously deleted scenes, instead of copying the entire film twice, saving the bit space for better quality.

Also, viewers can click a button which puts an icon in the corner of the screen every time an inserted scene plays. The films have had effects, foley and soundtracks updated with digital DTS tracks now available on the first and last ones.

Here is a rundown of each title:

Alien (1979): Scott added four minutes (including the previously unseen nesting sequence) but cut five, mostly by tightening entrances and exits to speed up the pace.

"Why not adjust something if you think it's not quite right," Scott has said. "I wanted to keep the film fresh for today's audiences."

This version screened at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theatres on Halloween as a director's cut. There's new audio commentary by Scott and all the cast except Ian Holm.

Aliens (1986): Cameron delivered more action than horror. The special edition is the one released on DVD in 1999. The only thing new is the original theatrical edit, but Cameron has said he prefers this longer version. Background extras show that Fox had tossed out a lot of the pre-1992 behind-the-scenes content. It was salvaged from the personal collections of Cameron and Scott.

Alien 3 (1992): Fans rejected Fincher's soulless vision in which just about everyone dies. Background materials don't gloss over the fact that Fincher and Fox had a major dispute over the release and, while the director was the only one who didn't co-operate on this DVD project, the studio did its best to stay true to his original concept, restoring more than 30 minutes of footage taken out before theatrical release.

Alien 4: Resurrection (1997): This is not a director's cut of Jean Pierre Jeunot's film, but an extended cut. Bits and pieces were added to existing scenes and the only radical alteration involves alternate opening and ending sequences.

While the quartet comes only in the boxed set for now, two-disc singles of each film will be issued separately in January.

Gary Larson revisits The Far Side with anthology of over 4,000 cartoons

SEATTLE (AP) - Crafty cows, restless chickens, talking insects and dorky scientists are invading bookstores across the continent. This can mean only one thing: Gary Larson is back.
 
The Far Side creator broke the hearts of twisted-humour fans everywhere when he retired at the height of his popularity in 1994 to pursue his love of jazz guitar.

But Larson has returned to the monster-filled closet of his past to release a massive anthology, two volumes containing more than 4,000 cartoons that tell the complete story of The Far Side.

In person, the 53-year-old Larson looks as normal as his cartoon creations are weird. Soft-spoken, with white hair curling just past his ears, wearing black-rimmed glasses and sneakers, he could be everyone's favourite college professor - laid-back yet geekily passionate about his interests, modest yet smart enough that his punch lines sometimes prompt trips to the dictionary.

He never relished the role of celebrity cartoonist, preferring instead to live quietly in Seattle with his wife of 15 years, Toni, and their bull mastiff, Vivian. He agreed to only a few interviews as his nine-kilogram anthology landed in bookstores with a thud.

A perfectionist who could spend hours drawing one pair of eyeballs to achieve the precise goofy effect, Larson retired from cartooning in 1994, in order to go before his quality started slipping.

"You have to retain a little dose of fear with it, to keep your edge, to feel like every day is show time," he says. "You can just start coasting a little bit. I didn't want that to happen. I wanted to bring it to an elegant conclusion."

Fear is a recurring motif in Larson's work. He is, after all, the inventor of the Monster Snorkel. One of his cartoons depicts a device that allows children to breathe in a monster-infested room while remaining securely under the covers.

In the essays included in the anthology, Larson explores the twisted roots of his fertile imagination. Special credit goes to older brother Dan, a maestro at manipulating Larson's fear of closet monsters.

Even Larson's current passion, jazz guitar, leads him back to the importance of fear.

"It has some parallels to cartooning, because it's improvisational - you never know exactly how something is going to turn out," Larson says. "Taking a solo on a tune is always a little bit scary. Yet it has structure, there are certain rules to follow and you try to create something within those rules."

Larson's penchant for improvisation blossomed as a child, when he first started drawing on the scraps of paper his mother brought home from work.

He grew up in Tacoma, and spent many happy moments of his childhood mucking through swamps in search of snakes and bugs to collect. Dinosaurs, whales and other beasts dominated his early drawings.

But while his passion for collecting critters continued into adulthood, he stopped drawing.

"Actually," he said about his simple style, "you can kind of see it hasn't evolved since grade school."

He studied biology and majored in communications at Washington State University. After graduating in 1972, he formed a jazz duo with a friend, with himself on guitar and banjo. When musical fame and fortune eluded him, Larson worked in a music store and later as an investigator for the Seattle Humane Society - and he decided to try drawing again.

A single-panel cartoon called Nature's Way published in a Seattle-based magazine evolved into The Far Side, which was eventually syndicated and published in more than 1,900 newspapers worldwide.
 
It's easy to forget how new and strange The Far Side was when it debuted in 1980. Those who got it, loved it. Many readers didn't. They saw danger in Larson's work, and not just the danger of laughing so hard that whatever beverage you're drinking shoots out of your nose.

The Complete Far Side includes letters from readers, ranging from puzzled to hostile:

- "The Minneapolis Tribune should drop The Far Side until Gary Larson completes psychotherapy to overcome his problem."

- "Why don't you get rid of that garbage? We don't need it on the family funny page, and I want to keep my subscription. Whatever happened to Annie?"

The complaints took Larson by surprise.

"You start off thinking that everyone in the world has the same sense of humour as your six friends," he says. "I was surprised at just how upset some people could be."

Besides the hate mail, he also got many fan letters. Scientists named two species after him - a butterfly and a biting louse. Larson still sounds touched by the honour: "It was just extremely, extremely flattering."

Even the louse?

"Oh, yeah." He laughs. "Maybe especially the louse."

Larson's new anthology published by Andrews McMeel is the first collection of all his Far Side cartoons. The Complete Far Side has a list price of $135 US, though it was recently selling for $94.50 on Amazon.com.

Larson still designs a yearly Christmas card as part of the still profitable empire of Far Side merchandise. He recently drew a cover for The New Yorker magazine, a prestigious offer he said he couldn't refuse. But mostly, he has moved on.

Still, fan letters continue to arrive at his Seattle home. People say how they miss The Far Side, and how much they loved their glimpses into the bizarre world of Larson's imagination.

"That was very wonderful to hear - that for some people, it actually had some meaning," Larson says. He pauses as if savouring one last, sweet jazz note lingering in the air.

Then he smiles and shakes his head. "But I'm outta here!"

Last of 'Lord of the Rings' Trilogy Set to Cast Spell

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - "It's quite good. Nah it's fantastic! It's amazing, it's definitely the best," chirped Pippin Took.

Being a hobbit, you would expect Took, otherwise known as actor Billy Boyd, to enthuse wildly about the last of the Lord of The Rings trilogy -- "The Return of the King," which premieres in the New Zealand capital, Wellington, on December 1.

But the few whispers that have escaped from the sneak previews seem unanimous that director Peter Jackson has saved the best until last.

The "Return of the King" is Jackson's favorite of the three, and features more action-packed battle scenes per foot of celluloid than the others.

Based on the novels by Oxford scholar J.R.R. Tolkien, they have become some of the highest grossing movies in box office history.

The first two movies have raked in a combined $1.8 billion, neck and neck with that other fantasy phenomenon of the big screen, the young wizard Harry Potter.

Jackson, another bespectacled, shorts-wearing character, has spent seven obsessive years on the project.

The "Return of the King" concludes the journey of hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) to destroy the magical "one ring" on which rests the future of all in Middle Earth, helped and hindered by the grotesque Gollum (Andy Serkis) wanting to retrieve his "precious" (the ring).

The second film brought the two innocents abroad toward the sulphurous Mount Doom in the evil empire, Mordor, into which they intend to throw the ring, thus preventing evil wizard Sauron from gaining total power and ruling over all.

HOMETOWN HERO

It seems only fitting that the world premiere of the final part of Jackson's $300 million epic should be held in his native New Zealand, where he is a genuine hero loved for his shambling, dishevelled looks and down-to-earth approach.

The story of good and evil is a universal one, but New Zealand, better known for its 45 million sheep and All Blacks rugby team, has happily adopted the alter ego of the "home of Middle Earth."

Jackson, a former printer who cut his film-making teeth on low-budget splatter movies such as "Brain Dead," has turned Wellington, where much of the film was shot and post-production done, into "Wellywood."

Most of the film's main actors, including Liv Tyler, Ian McKellen, Mortensen and Wood, have returned for the glamorous red carpet to join 2,500 invited guests.

Perched atop Wellington's art deco Embassy Theater, the venue for the premiere, is a 72-foot-long winged Fell Beast and Nazgul rider.

Jackson, who had to persuade New Line Cinema to back the audacious project then fought to have it made in New Zealand, has received wide acclaim for the first two movies which won a total of six Oscars.

He is tipped to be rewarded with the elusive best director award for the third.

His use of spectacular New Zealand scenery, the world-beating special effects, and the ability to co-ordinate a cast of thousands in separate locations for more than 15 months turned the spotlight on Jackson's suburban studios, which were converted from a disused factory.

Having wrapped the Lord of the Rings -- the first time all parts of a trilogy have been filmed simultaneously -- Jackson is already working on his next project, a remake of the classic movie "King Kong" which it has long been his dream to direct.

The New Zealand government has been quick to capitalize on the tourism and film-making potential of the blockbuster, even giving the film its own cabinet minister, the un-hobbitlike Pete Hodgson.

Several of the national airline's jets have been painted with Rings characters, stamps feature the sage and kindly wizard, Gandalf, and a range of commemorative coins are being issued.

"Had it not been for the brilliance of Jackson, it wouldn't have come here. Jackson is a genius masquerading as a human being..." Hodgson said.

On and off screen, Lord of the Rings has been a long journey.

Dilbert, The Critic headed to DVD

Columbia Tristar has announced DVD box sets of Dilbert and The Critic (both of which currently air on Comedy Central). Each set will contain every episode of their respective series, plus a few extras (like commentaries for The Critic and clip compilations for Dilbert). Both sets are due to arrive January 27 2004, with a MSRP of $49.95.

Willy Wonka Found

The script is still in the early stage but Johnny Depp has agreed to star as Willy Wonka in Tim Burtons remake of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. This won’t be the first time Depp and Burton have teamed up. They previously worked on SLEEPY HOLLOW, ED WOOD and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.

Weekend Movies: a Feast for the American Holiday

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tired of turkey? Too much football turning your stomach?

Hollywood's major studios are presenting a feast of films over the long Thanksgiving holiday in the United States with four new movies debuting nationwide, including Disney family comedy, "The Haunted Mansion," starring Eddie Murphy, and action adventure "Timeline" for teens. They are joined by western drama "The Missing" and dark comedy "Bad Santa" for adults.

The idea for "Haunted Mansion" stems from the Disneyland ride in which people take a trip through a haunted house. As Disney did with summer hit "The Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl," the moviemakers use a few elements from the ride around which to develop the story.

Screenwriter David Berenbaum told Reuters he plumbed the depths of documents from Disney's Imagineers who first dreamed up the ride to inspire him, but the story is brand new.

"Disney had an entire library we went into, and we talked to people about building the ride," Berenbaum said. "Some people wanted it to be funny; some wanted it scary."

Murphy portrays a workaholic Louisiana real estate broker who vows to spend an entire weekend with his family -- after seeing just one more house that is up for sale.

But this last home is haunted by a ghost who thinks Murphy's wife is his reincarnated lover, and the ghost is out to reclaim his lost love at the expense of Murphy's family. "Haunted Mansion" is rated PG for frightening images, thematic elements and language.

BATTLES AND BAD SANTAS

Time travel story "Timeline" is based on a novel by Michael Crichton and stars Paul Walker ("2 Fast, 2 Furious") as a member of a team of student archeologists who, while excavating the site of an epic 14th Century battle in France, find the eyeglasses of their professor in a sealed chamber.

The young scientists think their discovery is impossible until they learn their professor has traveled back in time via a machine. When they learn his life is in jeopardy, they too venture back to The Hundred Years War and land amid a battle of knights and infantry of the French and English armies.

Beyond the action and adventure, "'Timeline' educates you about the Middle Ages, the Hundred Years' War, the possibility of time travel," said producer Lauren Shuler Donner ("X-Men" and "X-2: X-Men United"). It is rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences and brief language.

Adult drama "The Missing" has its eyes set squarely on the Oscar race in Hollywood this year, primarily for Cate Blanchett as best actress for playing a single mother and prairie doctor living in New Mexico in the 19th Century.

When her teenage daughter is kidnapped to be sold as a slave in Mexico, Blanchett's character, Maggie Gilkensen, sets out to find her aided by an estranged father who has returned to make amends for abandoning Maggie and her mother years ago.

Eventually, the pair find the kidnappers and must fight to win the return of Maggie's daughter. The movie comes from "A Beautiful Mind" director Ron Howard, and tells of life on the bleak western frontier. "Missing" is rated R for violence.

Finally, comedy "Bad Santa" has Billy Bob Thornton playing a drinking, smoking, skirt-chasing Santa who poses in shopping malls as Kris Kringle, so he can steal from stores. He is aided by his partner "elf," portrayed by Tony Cox.

The movie is executive produced by Joel and Ethan Coen ("Intolerable Cruelty" and "Fargo") and directed by Terry Zwigoff ("Ghost World" and "Crumb") and has been winning strong reviews from critics for its wicked look at the holidays. It is rated R for pervasive language, strong sexual content and some violence.

Britney Rules the Pop Charts, But Where's Michael?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop princess Britney Spears, aided by a publicity blitzkrieg, steamrollered to number one on the music charts on Wednesday, while a new album by scandal-plagued Michael Jackson failed to make the Top 10, the Nielsen Soundscan sales tracking service said.

The release of Spears' new album, "In the Zone," has been carefully aided by a publicity barrage which helped foster Spears' fourth consecutive No. 1 debut. But the album's sales fell short of the pop star's previous efforts, continuing her downward sales trajectory in recent years.

To promote the album, the 21-year-old Spears has seemed omnipresent recently, posing scantily clad for magazine covers, appearing in several television interviews and causing a major stir by kissing Madonna during the MTV Video Music Awards.

For the week ended Nov 23, "In the Zone," released by Jive, a unit of Bertelsmann AG's BMG, sold an estimated 609,000 units, the fourth highest opening in 2003, behind efforts by rapper 50 Cent, Linkin Park and Clay Aiken.

It fell below earlier CDs like "Britney," which debuted in 2001 with 746,000 units, and "Oops!...I Did It Again," which sold 1.3 million units in its opening week in 2000.

Nevertheless, retailers said they expected the star to have staying power in coming weeks, helped by holiday shopping.

"Everybody's buying Britney. Certainly the TV blitz helped to get greater exposure and I think Britney will sustain the sales pace in her second week," said Sue Bryan, general manager for J&R Music Store in lower Manhattan.

Meanwhile, publicity of a different nature haunted Jackson. His "Number Ones" album was rolled out to stores last Tuesday as police combed the pop star's Neverland Ranch in response to child sexual molestation charges.

The album ranked at No. 13 on the sales charts, selling nearly 122,000 units, a far cry from Jackson's superstardom days, but better than the 100,000 units that was forecast.

Jackson flew from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara, California last Thursday just long enough to be arrested on suspicion of molesting a young boy, before posting $3 million bail and leaving town again.

When the scandal broke, Jackson claimed the allegations were timed just as his album was being released.

Retailers this week said the publicity may have helped stir interest in the album.

Coming in at No. 2 on the top album charts this past week was G-Unit's "Beg For Mercy," which sold 327,000 units, while another big-selling new release was Blink 182's "Blink 182," ranking No. 3, selling 313,000 units.

Rapper Jay-Z's "Black Album," fell to fourth from No. 1, selling 288,000 units, while The Beatles' newly released and reworked "Let It Be...Naked," ranked No. 5 with 280,000 units, Nielsen Soundscan said.

Total album sales were 16.6 million, compared with 15.1 million a year ago. A spokeswoman for Nielsen Soundscan said that 10 out of the last 11 weeks have shown sales gains.

The uptick has prompted analysts and industry insiders to conclude CD sales will top last year's fourth quarter sales of 221 million units, which is welcome news for an industry that has been driven to cost-cutting and consolidation after suffering three years of slumping sales.

'Rings' cast upset over bonus pay

Despite the tremendous success of the "Lord of the Rings" films, 18 cast members are claiming film studio New Line is tight-fisted when it comes to bonus payments.

According to Newsweek, the unnamed actors are complaining that bonus payments for the second film were smaller than payments from the first, despite the sequel's greater box office sales.

The actors first noticed the discrepancy when they discovered that some cast members had been excluded from payments, usually received for promotional work and premieres.

In an effort to address the problem, one actor has apparently struck a deal with the studio, creating a "bonus pool" for the third film that will allow any extra payments to be shared among the cast.

The third and final film in the series, "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," opens worldwide Dec. 17.

IN THE BATCAVE

Michael Caine signing on to play Alfred the Butler opposite Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne in director Christopher Nolan's update of Batman for Warner Bros. The film starts shooting next year and hits theaters in 2005.

'Survivor's' Elisabeth Joins 'The View'

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Elisabeth Hasselbeck, a contestant on CBS' "Survivor: The Australian Outback," has been named a co-host on ABC's "The View" after the daytime show held lengthy on-air tryouts to fill the vacancy left by Lisa Ling last December

"View" executive producer Barbara Walters made the announcement on air Monday with the rest of the co-hosts. Hasselbeck will begin her duties Tuesday. She was host of the Style Channel's "The Look for Less," which helps viewers find designer looks at bargain prices.

The Couch Potato Report

This week in the Couch Potato Report a comedy god plays the actual God and The X-Men - and women - Unite.

After showing that he had enough talent to act in dramatic films THE TRUMAN SHOW and MAN ON THE MOON slapstick comedian Jim Carrey then displayed that he couldn't do drama in THE MAJESTIC.

Now the Canadian who gave us DUMB AND DUMBER, ACE VENTURA, LIAR LIAR and THE CABLE GUY is back doing comedy again in this week's first film BRUCE ALMIGHTY.

Jim Carrey plays a frustrated Buffalo TV reporter who's stuck doing puff-pieces while a lesser colleague gets the anchor job he covets.

Out of anger Bruce demands an explanation from God, who then pays him a visit and lets Bruce take over while he takes a brief vacation.

Carrey is actually much more entertaining and BRUCE ALMIGHTY is a better film before he becomes God, but bestowing Jim Carrey with godlike powers was a tremendous idea for a comedy. BRUCE ALMIGHTY won't make you laugh non-stop, but you will laugh. It delivers the laughs that Carrey's fans prefer over his dramatic work.

But watch carefully. you will actually see Carrey's dramatic skills on display in a few scenes in BRUCE ALMIGHTY.

You'll also see dramatic acting in X2: X-MEN UNITED, courtesy of Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen and Brian Cox. But it's not the acting that made this one of the best films of 2003, its the film itself.

X2 does a fine job of picking up where the first X-MEN movie left off. It also does something else that very few sequels do these days, it's actually better than the original.

Returning director Bryan Singer also ups the ante on Professor Xavier and the superhero mutants from the first film by pitting them against a mutant-hating scientist who's determined to wipe out the mutant race by tricking Xavier into abusing his telepathic powers.

And if all of that sounds more like something from a comic book than a movie, well it is. In case you didn't know, the X-MEN films are based on the comic book series of the same name.

But these films are more than comic book movies, or movies based on comic books, if you will. They are thoroughly enjoyable action films that give us characters with depth and personality.

So if that is the kind of film you like, then I hope you enjoy X2: X-MEN UNITED as much as I did. And I did!

I also enjoyed DIXIE CHICKS: TOP OF THE WORLD LIVE, just not as much as I could have. The trend these days with concert videos and DVD's is to give us behind the scenes documentaries and only a selection of the songs sung live.

Last week I told you about the BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND LIVE IN BARCELONA release where an entire 2 1/2 hour concert was featured. No cuts, no edits, no selections. Just the entire show that we would have seen had we been there.

With DIXIE CHICKS: TOP OF THE WORLD LIVE what you will see are the Chicks from Dixie on their world taming tour. What you won't see is an entire show. In fact, even though it is called TOP OF THE WORLD LIVE, their song TOP OF THE WORLD isn't even on the DVD. And neither is the footage of them badmouthing George W. Bush.

But let me be clear: I liked DIXIE CHICKS: TOP OF THE WORLD LIVE, and if you are a fan you'll be happy with it too. It's just that I wanted to see an entire concert, not selected songs.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY, X2: X-MEN UNITED and DIXIE CHICKS: TOP OF THE WORLD LIVE are available in stores right now.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Who would have guessed that a movie based on one of the theme-park rides at Disneyland would become one of the biggest films of the year. Not I, me mateys, but THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL was one such dichotomy.

Also next week ALIAS: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON, THE ALIEN QUADRILOGY and my favourite TV Show of all time finally debuts on DVD.

I'll tell you about THE BEN STILLER SHOW, and those other movies I just mentioned next week.

Seriously, its my favourite TV Series of all-time!!

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you on the couch!

KING OF SWEEPS

CBS airing a one-hour sweeps special on the career of Michael Jackson; the November 26 show will include a new video for Jackson's latest single, "One More Chance."

HMV asks Competition Bureau to review Rolling Stones deal with Best Buy

TORONTO (CP) - The fight over rights to sell a new four-disc Rolling Stones DVD has been sent to the Competition Bureau of Canada.
 
Retailer HMV Canada made a formal application to the independent body asking it to review the Four Flicks DVD retail exclusivity deal the Stones made with Best Buy and its Future Shop subsidiary. The company took the step after trying to convince TGA Entertainment, the Stones' management company, to make the DVD available, said Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV Canada Inc. TGA never responded to the formal request, he said.

"There's the risk that this could become a common practice and make the playing field unlevel," Kadaner said. "At the end of the day all we're asking is for artists, especially major artists, to make their product available to everybody, not just HMV, and let the consumer decide."

The application, filed Wednesday, claims the exclusivity deal breaches Competition Act regulations over denial of access to supply of product as well as a reduction in competition at the retail level. It also argues that exclusive deals are objectionable to other retailers and most harmful to music speciality retailers.

The Ottawa-based Competition Bureau evaluates every application received to see if any laws have been violated, said Madeleine Dussault, assistant deputy commissioner. If the bureau suspect a law's been broken, the case will be brought to a tribunal. The process can take about a year.

"Any industry representative can come to the bureau and raise concerns with us," she said. "There's a provision that says that under certain conditions exclusivity could be the subject of review . . . but just the fact that it's an exclusive agreement may or may not be anti-competitive."

The Competition Act is over 100 years old. The exclusivity provisions have been around since 1978.

HMV, Music World and Sunrise Records pulled everything by the Rolling Stones from stores shelves on Oct. 28. The Stones responded saying the deal was made with Best Buy because that chain offered the cheapest sale price for the set. It retails for $39.99 at the 16 Best Buy and 107 Future Shop stores across Canada.

"We have always believed in having the widest range of products available to our customers," said Kadaner. "When we saw this exclusive deal we vehemently objected to it and hence pulled all the product from the stores to reinforce how strongly we felt about this."

Kadaner said the company has yet to hear any fallout about pulling all the Stones' material.

"The feedback at store level has been outstanding," he said. "Canadian consumers don't like to be told where to buy their product."

The Four Flicks DVD is a unique collection of concert footage and backstage antics.

One disc is a documentary which takes viewers from the very beginning stages of organizing the world tour to opening night in Boston. Canadian fans will particularly enjoy the footage from Toronto rehearsals and from the surprise gig the band performed at Palais Royale. There's also intimate footage of the band members with their children and spouses as well as a glimpse of Mick Jagger's workout schedule and dance rehearsals.

The 2002-03 Licks tour played three types of shows: stadiums, arenas and theatres. Each type is showcased on a separate DVD - from New York City's Madison Square Gardens, London's Twickenham Stadium and Paris's Olympia Theatre - providing fans with a wide range of songs from the band's career. There's also a five minute mini-documentary of the Toronto Rocks concert which the Stones' headlined to help the city shed its SARS-tarnished image.

Hollywood Eyes Smooth Seas for Year-End Box Office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's film studios enter the second week of holiday moviegoing with seafaring adventure "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" leading an armada of films that are expected to produce a strong season, box office watchers said on Thursday.

Next to the summer, the holiday period that begins in early November and runs through year-end marks the second biggest season for theater owners and accounts for more than 20 percent of total annual ticket sales.

Major releases include "Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat" on Nov. 21 and the long Thanksgiving weekend's "The Haunted Mansion," "Bad Santa" and Oscar hopeful "The Missing." December big guns include Tom Cruise adventure "The Last Samurai" and the final chapter in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"

Despite a flat box office based on higher ticket prices and lower admissions through October, industry experts believe the slew of major flicks will have box office registers ringing up sales ahead of the New Year.

"We think the strength of the holiday season films should help 2003 domestic box office meet or exceed the $9.4 billion record set in 2002," said veteran entertainment analyst Jeff Logsdon of investment firm Harris Nesbitt Gerard.

That is good news for theater chains like No. 1 U.S. operator Regal Entertainment Group, No. 2 chain AMC Entertainment Inc., and Carmike Cinemas Inc.

The enthusiasm contrasts to the start of 2003 when box office watchers forecast flat to lower ticket sales after 2002's 13 percent increase in the United States and Canada.

Through October, the domestic box office was off around 2 percent, but last week's Christmas film "Elf" from Time Warner Inc. unit New Line Cinema turned in a strong $32 million and Walt Disney Co.'s family movie "Brother Bear" proved a solid draw in its second week.

Combined with a $50 million domestic debut for "The Matrix Revolutions" the third film in a trilogy from Time Warner's Warner Bros., ticket sales now stand off only 0.3 percent year-to-date at $7.77 billion versus $7.79 billion last year, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Inc.

This week, the gap could widen as "Master and Commander" compares against 2002 mega-hit "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," which spurred a weekend box office of $173 million for the third highest-grossing weekend of 2002, Logsdon said.

The holiday news is not all cheery, either. Higher box office figures have been built on a 4 percent rise in average ticket prices to $6.03 and a 4 percent drop in admissions to 1.28 billion, according to Exhibitor Relations.

'Kids' McCulloch signs on for NBC show

"Kids In The Hall" vet Bruce McCulloch is returning to television with a new show, Variety reports.

McCulloch will write and executive produce a half-hour comedy for NBC, most likely for the network's 2004/05 season.

The show will centre on a recent college grad trying to survive life trapped in a corporate office cubicle of a coffee store chain, reminiscent of the 1999 movie "Office Space."

"It's all about these entry-level 'cubies," says McCulloch. "They're still trying to make it. They're not bored yet."

The untitled sitcom will be McCulloch's first attempt at U.S. network television.

Since the end of the CBC-TV show "Kids in the Hall" almost a decade ago, he has directed the feature film comedies "Stealing Harvard" and the Saturday Night Live-inspired "Superstar." He also wrote and directed and appeared in the 1998 indie film "Dog Park," starring Janeane Garofalo and Luke Wilson.

'Goonies 2' may be a go

The Goonies gang may be planning a return to the big screen in a proposed sequel to the 1985 classic, MTV.com reports.

Original director Richard Donner and Steven Spielberg, who executive produced and co-wrote the first movie with Chris Columbus, have purchased a sequel script and are trying to convince rightsowner Warner Bros. to greenlight the film.

The original movie based on the adventures of a group of kids searching for the hidden treasure of pirate "One-Eyed" Willie.

The sequel would reunite original cast members Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin and others with a new gang of kids, the Groonies.

Astin next stars as loyal hobbit Sam in "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the final installment in the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy. It opens Dec. 17.

'The Cat in the Hat' Ready to Come Back

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - With the first film yet to be released, a sequel to "The Cat in the Hat" starring Mike Myers is already in the works.

The first installment doesn't open until next Friday (Nov. 21), but producer Brian Grazer (not to be mistaken for Thing One or Thing Two) has reportedly received a draft of the "Cat in the Hat Comes Back," and plans to shoot the sequel as soon as the people from the first film are out the theaters.

Original stars Myers, Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston and Dakota Fanning are expected to reprise their roles.

Damon: 'Bourne' To Be Wild

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Get ready for more cliffhangers. Universal Pictures has announced the start of principal photography on the espionage thriller "The Bourne Supremacy," the second installment of best-selling author Robert Ludlum's "Bourne" series with Matt Damon returning as trained assassin Jason Bourne.

Damon heads an all-star cast that includes Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban and Franka Potente. The film is being directed by Paul Greengrass (writer/director of "Bloody Sunday") from a screenplay by Tony Gilroy ("The Bourne Identity"), based on Ludlum's book.

"The Bourne Supremacy" re-enters the shadowy world of expert assassin Bourne (Damon), who continues to find himself plagued by splintered nightmares from his former life.

"The Bourne Supremacy," which is shooting on location in Germany, Russia and India, is scheduled for release by Universal Pictures in 2004.

Cromwell Acts Presidential on 'The West Wing'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - James Cromwell will bring his considerable presence to the 100th episode of "The West Wing."

The Oscar and three-time Emmy nominee has signed on to appear in the 100th episode of NBC's White House drama, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He'll play a former president, the last Democrat to hold the office before Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen).

The role will be at least the third time the 6-foot-4 Cromwell has played a president, following turns as Lyndon Johnson in FX's movie "RFK" and the fictional President Fowler in the feature "The Sum of All Fears." He also played a recently ousted U.S. senator in the short-lived CBS drama "Citizen Baines," which was executive produced by "West Wing" head man John Wells.

Wells and Cromwell also worked together on "ER," where Cromwell earned one of his Emmy nominations for a guest-starring arc in 2001. The others came for guest work on HBO's "Six Feet Under" and for his portrayal of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in the 1999 HBO movie "RKO 281."

Cromwell's other credits include "Babe" -- for which he earned his Oscar nod -- "L.A. Confidential" and "The Green Mile." He'll be seen in coming months in HBO's "Angels in America" and the TNT adaptation of Stephen King's "Salem's Lot."

The 100th episode of "The West Wing" will air later this season. A date hasn't been set.

X-3 Then Wolvie

Well everyone’s been wondering for ages and now the confirmation has come out of the horse's mouth. Lauren Shuler Donner, the producer of the previous outings, told the Sydney Morning Herald that X-MEN 3 is definitely coming and then straight afterwards would be a WOLVERINE solo film.

CODA

Drummer Tony Thompson, who played with David Bowie and Chic among others, died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer. He was 49.

Classic Stones Albums Getting Vinyl Treatment

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - ABKCO Records will on Nov. 25 release 11 Rolling Stones titles in vinyl, following reissues last year of the albums in hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) format.

The ABKCO series will comprise the Stones' initial recordings from 1963 through the 1970 live set "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!," as well as several compilations.

All albums will be released in "extremely limited" quantities, according to a spokesperson. They will be pressed in 180-gram virgin vinyl and struck from the same digital masters as the hybrid SACDs. The 10 single LPs will retail for $19.98, and the one double-LP, "Hot Rocks," will carry a list of $24.98.

'Honeymooners' Actor Art Carney Dies

HARTFORD, Conn. - Art Carney, who played Jackie Gleason's sewer worker pal Ed Norton in the TV classic "The Honeymooners" and went on to win the 1974 Oscar for best actor in "Harry and Tonto," has died at 85.

Carney died in Chester, Conn., on Sunday. He had been ill for some time.

The comic actor would be forever identified as Norton, Ralph Kramden's bowling buddy and not-too-bright upstairs neighbor on "The Honeymooners." The sitcom appeared in various forms from 1951 to 1956 and was revived briefly in 1971. The shows can still be seen on cable.

With his turned-up porkpie hat and unbuttoned vest over a white T-shirt, Carney's Ed Norton with his dopily exuberant "Hey, Ralphie boy!" became an ideal foil for Gleason's blustery, bullying Kramden. Carney won three Emmys for his role and his first taste of fame.

"The first time I saw the guy act," Gleason once said, "I knew I would have to work twice as hard for my laughs. He was funny as hell."

In one episode, he and Ralph learn to golf from an instruction book. Told to "address the ball," Norton gives a wave of the hand and says, "Hellooooo, ball!" In another episode, Norton inadvertently wins the award for best costume at a Raccoon Lodge party by showing up in his sewer worker's gear.

He told a Saturday Evening Post interviewer in 1961 that strangers were always asking him how he liked it down in the sewer. "I have seasonal answers," he said. "In the summer: `I like it down there because it's cool.' In the winter: `I like it down there because it's warm.' Then I've got one that isn't seasonal: `Go to hell.'"

After "The Honeymooners," Carney battled a drinking problem for several years. His behavior became erratic while co-starring with Walter Matthau in the Broadway run of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple." He dropped out of the show and spent nearly half a year in a sanitarium.

His career resumed, and in 1974 he was cast in Paul Mazurksy's "Harry and Tonto" as a 72-year-old widower who travels from New York to Chicago with his pet cat. He stopped drinking during the making of the film.

When it won him his Oscar, Carney cracked to reporters: "You're looking at an actor whose price has just doubled."

"Art was, and is one of the most endearing men I have ever met," the late actress Audrey Meadows (the caustic Alice Kramden on "The Honeymooners") wrote in her 1994 memoir "Love, Alice." She called him a "witty and delightful companion who went out of his way to help each new actor find his niche in the often bewildering world of `The Jackie Gleason Show.'"

Carney was born into an Irish-Catholic family in Mount Vernon, N.Y., on Nov. 4, 1918, and baptized Arthur William Matthew Carney. His father was a newspaperman and publicist.

After appearing in amateur theatricals and imitating radio personalities, Carney won a job in 1937 traveling with Horace Heidt's dance band, doing his impressions and singing novelty songs.

"There I was, an 18-year-old mimic rooming with a blind whistler," he told People magazine in 1974. "He would order gin and grapefruit juice for us in the morning, and it was great. ... No responsibilities, no remorse. I was an alcoholic, even then."

He left Heidt and tried playing standup comedy in nightclubs. He failed. But he won a job at $225 a week imitating Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and other world leaders on a radio show, "Report to the Nation."

He was drafted into the Army in 1944 and took part in the D-Day landing at Normandy. A piece of shrapnel shattered his right leg. He was left with a leg three-quarters of an inch shorter than the other and a lifelong limp.

Carney returned to radio as second banana on comedy shows, then ventured into television on "The Morey Amsterdam Show" in 1947. That brought him to the attention of Gleason.
 
Among his movie credits: "W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings," "The Late Show," "House Calls," "Movie Movie," "Sunburn," "Going in Style," "Roadie," "Firestarter," "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and "Last Action Hero."

Carney married his high school sweetheart, Jean Myers, in 1940. After the marriage broke up, Carney married Barbara Isaac in 1966. They divorced 10 years later, and in 1980 he and his first wife remarried.

"We always kept in touch because of our three children," he said in a 1980 AP interview. "After our second divorces, it was sort of like the puppy coming home: `Oh, it's you, come on in.' We decided to give it a go again."

Canadians will get grace period in switch to digital television: CTRC

QUEBEC (CP) - Millions of Canadians who still watch television on older equipment will have time to catch up to a coming wave of digital technology.
 
The federal broadcast regulator unveiled a road map Tuesday for eventually moving all Canadian television to digital signals that would allow on-demand viewing, a wide screen and clearer picture of high definition TV.

The CRTC's plan includes a grace period for the millions of Canadians who still get their television from older sets and don't have the equipment to receive digital TV.

"Our aim is to get the digital signals out there so that Canadians can get them," Charles Dalfen, chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, told a meeting of broadcasters.

"I think it will move along. But we don't to force people to go out and get new sets," he told the annual convention of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. "We need to get everybody with the program."

Under the plan, broadcasters will be required to offer both analog and digital signals until 85 per cent of viewers have switched to digital-ready equipment.

The CRTC has yet to propose a specific timeline for the switch, but Dalfen predicted it could take five or six years.

About a quarter of Canadian households still get their television from old-fashioned airwaves, while the rest rely on satellite or cable where digital service is often available.

However, even with cable the switch to digital service has been slow.

Of the 7.3 million Canadian households with cable television in 2002, the cable industry says about 1.3 million people were using digital signals.

Blue Jays' Halladay Wins Cy Young Award

NEW YORK - Toronto's Roy Halladay won the American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday, easily beating Chicago's Esteban Loaiza.

Halladay, who won a major league-high 22 games, received 26 first-place votes and two seconds for 136 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Loaiza, who went to spring training with a minor league contract, got two firsts, 16 seconds and five thirds for 63 points.

Boston's Pedro Martinez was third with 20 points, followed by Oakland's Tim Hudson (15), Seattle's Jamie Moyer (12), the Yankees' Andy Pettitte (four) and Oakland's Keith Foulke and Minnesota's Johann Santana (one each).

Halladay, a 26-year-old right-hander, had never won more than eight games in a season before he went 19-7 in 2002.

He finished 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA this year, winning 15 consecutive decisions from May 1 to July 27 and tying for the AL lead with nine complete games.

His 1-0, 10-inning win over Detroit on Sept. 7 was the first extra-inning shutout in the major leagues since Jack Morris led Minnesota over Atlanta in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

Loaiza went 21-9 with a 2.90 ERA and a league-high 207 strikeouts. Martinez, a three-time Cy Young winner, was 14-4 with a major league-leading 2.22 ERA.

Toronto pitchers have won the award in four of the last eight seasons, with Halladay following Pat Hentgen (1996) and Roger Clemens (1997 and 1998).

Halladay gets a $100,000 bonus for winning, Loaiza gets $90,000 for finishing second and Martinez $50,000 for finishing third.

He's Back, And Let's Hope She Comes Back Again Too!

This week in The Couch Potato Report the Terminator is back, but he's missing his Canadian, and Three's Company finally comes home.

Any discussion of the greatest science fiction films of all time has to include at least one of the first two TERMINATOR movies. Created by Canadian James Cameron the gist of the story is that a cyborg is sent back in time to the present day to stop the future from existing.

The original TERMINATOR was released in 1984 and was a tremendous success. It was also the first big movie role for a former Austrian bodybuilder.

Everyone can pronounce his name these days, especially in California where he's the governor elect, but in 1984 the name Arnold Schwarzenegger was mangled by film fans and journalists alike.

By the time TERMINATOR 2 - JUDGEMENT DAY came out in 1991 everyone knew the bodybuilder simply as Arnold and James Cameron had also established himself as a filmmaker to be reckoned with.

But no one could have guessed that "T2" was going to change the way we watched movies forever. Compared to the special effects in films these days T2 could be considered tame, but in 1991 the computer effects were groundbreaking! I can personally remember walking out of the the theatre is awe and wondering "How did they do that?!?!"

But that was 12 years ago. In the intervening years movies like THE MATRIX and JURASSIC PARK, and James Cameron's own Oscar winning film TITANIC, have upped the ante in what moviegoers have come to expect and demand.

So when it was announced that there would be a TERMINATOR 3 fans of the series rejoiced. When that announcement was followed up with the news that James Cameron wasn't going to be involved, the rejoicing turned to skepticism.

"How could they do a TERMINATOR film without the person who created it being involved?!?!"

Well they did, and at the end of the day TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES isn't as bad as it could have been. It isn't groundbreaking like the first two but it does start out with a very quick pace and never really lets up.

Regarding the story, well that is where you have to be willing to forget some of the story points presented in TERMINATOR 2.

Y'see, it turns out that the apocalyptic "Judgment Day" of T2 was never prevented, only postponed. So if you can get past that, T3 is not bad.

The hero of the series, John Connor, is now 22 and he's being pursued yet again. This time by the advanced T-X, a sleek female "Terminatrix" programmed to stop Connor from becoming the savior of humankind in the future.

Schwarzenegger's disadvantaged T-101 cyborg once again arrives from the future to join Connor and attempt to thwart the T-X's relentless pursuit.

Linda Hamilton, who was such an integral part of the first two TERMINATOR films is sorely missed in this sequel. But she's not missed half as much as James Cameron.

If you can imagine what would happen if someone else decided to make decisions for your babies after you've guided them for almost twenty years, then you would have some concept of what is going on in TERMINATOR 3.

Johnathan Mostow has taken over for Cameron. His resume includes BREAKDOWN and U-571, both good popcorn movies, but the TERMINATOR films have always set the standard for action in films, not just followed what everyone else is doing.

Mostow fully deserves credit for not attempting to simply follow Cameron's footprints in the snow and create a carbon copy of the first two movies. But in the end that is also why T3 will never be considered a classic film that can stand on its own. It's merely the latest film in the TERMINATOR series, a series that looks like it will continue, with or without Schwarzenegger - or James Cameron for that matter - having anything to do with it.

Yes, T3 is a fun, exciting popcorn thriller, that is just as humorous in parts as its predecessors. And yes it is great watching Schwarzenegger return to his signature role after years of making basically unwatchable movies, but TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES is a TERMINATOR film in name alone. Its good, just not as good.

So now there are three TERMINATOR films, and three's company.

There's also THREE'S COMPANY: SEASON ONE.

Originally planned for release in 2004 the release date was moved up when fans began clamouring for episodes of the series after the untimely death of John Ritter on September 11th.

Normally I would have a problem with the fact that this release was moved up to "capitalize" on Ritter's passing, but in this instance I'm just glad I have these shows to watch, laugh at and remember John Ritter by.

Originally broadcast in 1977 THREE'S COMPANY: SEASON ONE contains all of the six full-length, unedited episodes from the first season of one of the greatest TV series of all time.

Ritter, Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt aren't quite firing on all cylinders in these first six episodes, but you'll be surprised at how funny they still are, even though they've been seen hundreds of times.

One movie I know people have seen at least that many times is DUMB AND DUMBER, starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

Well, before the adult years that took place in DUMB AND DUMBERER there was high school.

In DUMB AND DUMBERER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD we're shown how the two friends for first met.

I lamented a few minutes ago that James Cameron, the creator of the TERMINATOR, was no longer involved in the series. But at least T3 has the original star!

Not only are Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels no where to be seen in DUMB AND DUMBERER but the Farrelly Brothers, who co-wrote and directed the original, are also missing in action. Be forewarned, this movie has no pedigree to the first movie, except for the names of the characters.

That said, there are at least two HUGE laughs in this otherwise pointless prequel, so if you just want to laugh at utter stupidity then give DUMB AND DUMBERER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD a try.

But if you want to laugh at well written, completely enjoyable comedy, then pick up KING OF THE HILL: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON. This new box set of the Sunday night TV staple has a wide array of laughs and special features.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Bruce Springsteen: Live In Barcelona -A recording of Bruce Springsteen and his E Street band performing in Spain on October 16, 2002.

The Santa Clause 2 - Santa must find a bride before Christmas. (Tim Allen, Molly Shannon, Elizabeth Mitchell)

Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life - Angelina Jolie returns as the video game heroine in this sequel no one wanted.

Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas - The adventures of Sinbad, the swashbuckling hero. (Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joseph Fiennes)

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you on the couch!

Cronenberg Operates on 'Alias'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - After Sunday (Nov. 9) night's "Alias" opened with a gory dream sequence in which Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) extracted miles of bloody tubing from a scar in her stomach, many viewers may have felt like they accidentally wandered into a David Cronenberg movie. Those feelings will be amplified on Sunday, Nov. 30 when the Canadian director makes a rare television acting appearance on the ABC spy drama.

Cronenberg will play Dr. Brezzel, an eccentric doctor enlisted to help Sydney recover the missing memories from the two years she lost during last season's finale. The procedure is invasive and potentially dangerous and Sydney's mind proves highly resistant.

Fans of Cronenberg's films know that the director is a big fan of representations of invasive procedures -- surgical, sexual and psychological. The director's love of putting orifices where they don't necessarily belong has been on display in films as diversely disturbing as "Crash," "eXistenZ," "The Fly," "Dead Ringers" and "Rabid."

Cronenberg has won five Genies (Canada's equivalent of the Oscars) for outstanding director. In what can only be described as one of the strangest ties in awards history, he shared the 1984 prize (earned for "Videodrome") with Bob Clark for "A Christmas Story."

In front of the camera, Cronenberg's record has been a bit spottier. His acting credits include "The Stupids," "Jason X" and the NBC telefilm "The Judge."

Hornsby Goes To 'Town' With Hits Set, DVD

BMG Heritage has set a Jan. 13 release for two sets celebrating the career of pianist Bruce Hornsby. The CD "Greatest Radio Hits" is Hornsby's first greatest-hits package. His first DVD release, the 1990 concert film "A Night on the Town," will also hit stores that day.

"Greatest Radio Hits" sports Hornsby's best-known tracks, including "Mandolin Rain," "Look Out Any Window," "The Valley Road" and his breakthrough hit, "The Way It Is." The set also features live versions of "The End of the Innocence" and "Jacob's Ladder," the former a collaboration with Don Henley that Henley made famous, and the latter a Hornsby compilation that proved a hit for Huey Lewis.

Additionally, the album boasts "Go Back to Your Woods," a new and previously unreleased collaboration with Robbie Robertson.

As for "A Night on the Town," it was filmed in 1990 in Los Angeles and features a host of guest artists, including Shawn Colvin, Bela Fleck and Jerry Garcia. Hornsby and his band the Range whip through a bevy of hits and rarities, including a cover of Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine."

Here is the track list for the "Greatest Radio Hits" CD:

"The Way It Is"
"Mandolin Rain"
"Every Little Kiss"
"The Valley Road"
"Look Out Any Window"
"Jacob's Ladder" (live)
"The End of the Innocence" (live)
"Across the River"
"Lost Soul"
"Set Me in Motion"
"Fields of Gray"
"Walk in the Sun"
"See the Same Way"
"The Good Life"
"Go Back to Your Woods"

Here is the track list for the "A Night on the Town" DVD:

"A Night on the Town"
"Fire on the Cross"
"Barren Ground"
"Across the River"
"Stranded on Easy Street"
"The End of the Innocence"
"Lost Soul"
"The Valley Road"
"The Way It Is"
"Another Day"
"These Arms of Mine"

Oops, I'm A Week Behind!

Okay, I have to come clean. As I am sitting here writing this I am listening to the new Sarah McLachlan CD. Called AFTERGLOW it was released last week. Once I am done with Sarah (Oh, to dream!), I will then listen to the new CD from Maritime Fiddle uber-babe Natalie MacMaster. That one is entitled BLUEPRINT and it too came out last week.

So while there are some great newer discs on my desk that I need to listen to, including several that are on the list below, I am here listening to last week's releases. But if its any consolation, these ones are pretty good!

I only hope the discs I'm listeing to next week, which are being released this week, are as good as the ones that came out last week.

If they are, then we are in for more great music!

Either way, here are the new CD releases for Tuesday, November 11, 2003:

* 2 PAC Resurrection (Universal)
* COLDPLAY Live 2003 (DVD) (EMI)
* DREAM THEATRE Train Of Thought (Elektra)
* FEFE DOBSON Fefe Dobson (Island)
* JOSH GROBAN Closer (Warner)
* KID ROCK Kid Rock (Atlantic)
* NO DOUBT The Singles Collection (Interscope)
* PINK Try This (BMG)
* RANDY TRAVIS Worship & Faith (Warner)
* RUBEN STUDDARD Soulful (J Records)
* SHANIA TWAIN (Shania Twain DVD) (Universal)
* STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Thank You (Atlantic)
* TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY Wildcard (Sananda)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Big Shiny Tunes 8 (Warner)

Fraser considered for 'Superman' role

Brendan Fraser is being considered for the title role in the latest Superman movie, according to Zap2it.com.

"Yeah, I've been approached, and I'm interested," Fraser told Zap2it.com. "It's a possibility."

Fraser would be the latest in a long line of actors to portray the Man of Steel, based on the popular superhero created more than 60 years ago by Canadian cartoonist Joe Shuster.

Having previously embodied animated characters in "George of the Jungle" and "Dudley Do-Right," Fraser said the role is something he would have to consider carefully.

"Whoever it is who plays that role is historically forever known as that character," he said. "He's a superhero with no mask."

Tentatively titled "Kal-El: Genesis of Superman," the movie is currently in pre-production. "Charlie's Angels" director McG is attached to direct.

Fraser can next be seen co-starring with Jenna Elfman and Bugs Bunny in "Looney Tunes: Back in Action," in theatres Friday.

Mayberry, USA: 'Simpler time, sweeter place'

Maybe you can go home again.

Tonight's The Andy Griffith Show Reunion: Back to Mayberry will take viewers back to the sleepy North Carolina town at the center of the 1960s comedy. "It's a place people want to return to," says Griffith, who played Sheriff Andy Taylor for eight years.

"The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry represented this kind of idealized view of what America was. It contains such a heart, such a sense of community."

The people

Characters, not jokes, made it such a good series, Griffith says in the special. There was the father-son relationship of Andy and Opie (Ron Howard), deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts) playing off straight-man Andy and the personification of Southern hospitality, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier).

The town was rounded out by Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors); barber Floyd Lawson (Howard McNear); town drunk Otis Campbell (Hal Smith); Andy's girlfriend, Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut); Barney's girlfriend, Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn); Goober Pyle (George Lindsey); straight-arrow Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson); and fix-it man Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman).

At Griffith's request, the special features only clips from the episodes of the first five years. Executive producer John Watkin says that reflects Griffith's respect for Knotts, who left the show after five seasons.

"He left a hole in the show that could not be filled," Griffith says.

The places

Mayberry in some ways is a mythic place, imagined by Griffith, producers Sheldon Leonard and Aaron Ruben and the show's writers. But the town also has strong ties to Griffith's boyhood hometown, Mount Airy, N.C., with mentions of real people, such as Earlie Gilley, and real places, such as Snappy Lunch.

"The people in Mount Airy got to saying, 'Well, it was based on Mount Airy,' and that's gone on so long that I guess it just was based on Mount Airy," Griffith says.

TV make-believe conjured other landmarks. Griffith and Howard retrace their steps from the show's opening at the watering hole, which is actually in Los Angeles' Franklin Canyon. "It was a little more overgrown, but it's pretty much the same place," says Watkin, who co-produced with Eamon Harrington.

Watkin was hesitant about asking Howard, an Oscar-winning director, to toss a rock into the water, as young Opie had. "Sure enough, he looked at me with a little twinkle in his eye and said, 'So, I guess you want me to throw the rock,'" Watkin remembers.

The courthouse was re-created just "an Opie rock throw" from where exteriors were filmed in the '60s.

The period

The Andy Griffith Show premiered in October 1960 and switched to color in 1965. Watkin says Mayberry seems more in tune with the 1950s. Jim Clark, who co-wrote Mayberry Memories, says the community, the values and even the props, such as the old-style telephone, reflect earlier times.

In any case, the series seemed far removed from much of the tumult of the '60s, Watkin says.

"It was at a point where America was really in turmoil," he says. "The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry represented in some sense this kind of idealized view of what America was. It contains such a heart, such a sense of community."

In the special, Howard says the show had a strong message of accepting people, such as Otis the drunk, despite their frailties. Speaking of Otis, shifting sensibilities make it unlikely a show would feature a town drunk these days. In a 1980s Mayberry movie, Otis was sober. That was less a sop to political correctness than an acknowledgment that "you couldn't have him be drunk all those years," says Clark, who has written Griffith books and cookbooks with Ken Beck.

Another element that stands out is the absence of black characters in the Southern town. Griffith says he regrets the lack of representation: "We tried in every way to get that to happen, but we were unable to do it."

The popularity

The Andy Griffith Show still sparkles in the TV firmament. Paramount syndicates it in 97 U.S. TV markets, and the show is a viewer favorite on cable's TV Land.

Each month, an average of 27 million people tune into one of TV Land's Griffith shows. The "Lawman Barney" episode, broadcast on March 25, 2000, remains the cable network's most-watched telecast ever among viewers 25 to 54, drawing 1.65 million.

Devotion is apparent off-screen, too. Last week, fans gathered for the unveiling of a statue of Andy and Opie in Raleigh, N.C. Mayberry Days is an annual event in Mount Airy. Episodes are used in Sunday school. And The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club has 1,250 chapters and 20,000 members, Clark says.

Griffith remains busy. He has a new album, The Christmas Guest, and says there's a possibility he and Dick Van Dyke might make a TV movie mystery.

Griffith says the Raleigh statue's plaque encapsulates the appeal: "A simpler time, a sweeter place, a lesson, a laugh, a father and a son."

Bullets, Blood and Barney (Miller)

Just in from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment is their January 20th lineup of day-and-date and catalog releases, led by the box office smash Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The third and final chapter in Robert Rodriquez's "El Mariarchi" trilogy, this feature-packed set includes a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 Dolby surround track, an audio commentary by Rodriquez, the "Ten-Minute Film School," "Inside Troublemaker Studios," "The Anti-Hero's Journey," "Film is Dead" and "The Good, the Bad and the Bloody" featurettes, deleted scenes, and ROM-exclusive shooting gallery and lotteria interactive activities. Retail is $26.95.

And the latest TV on DVD classic finally seeing release is Barney Miller: The Complete First Season. This two-disc set is presented in 4:3 full screen and mono, with no extras save for episode synopses. Retail is $29.95.

Star Wars on DVD?

The rumors have been flying fast and furious ever since the debut of The Adventures of Indiana Jones box set: the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD in 2004? Finally, some genuine hints have come out by way of Lucasfilm themselves. At the company's big Star Wars meet 'n' greet at San Francisco's The Presidio last week, news there was that the original trilogy will finally arrive on DVD next holiday season. No official word has come from Lucasfilm, nor have there been any press releases or public statements. But stay tuned...

And adding fuel to the fire? On December 31st, Fox Home Entertainment will put both Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones on indefinite moratorium. Get 'em while you can...or what for another opportunity next year?

Rolling Stones Discuss DVD Box Set Release

By MARGIE SZAROLETA, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - Rest assured, before you go see the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger is loving you truly.

And Keith Richards is hating it.

That was some of the backstage action revealed as the Stones talked to The Associated Press about Tuesday's release of their new DVD box set, "Four Flicks," which documents the band's 2002-03 "Live Licks" tour.

Jagger sailed into the hotel interview suite wearing a purple leather jacket, orange socks and a black shirt with blue edging. Punctuating his comments with a whiskey laugh, Jagger and Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood spoke about warming up, winding down and everything in between:

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AP: Before the club show, there's a bit of you singing, "I love you truly." What's going on there?

Jagger: I have vocal warm-ups to do. You can't just walk on stage and sing. Well, some people do and they're able to do it, but I'm not. You have to warm up first, like any other muscle, you have to warm yourself up. I have to do like 40 minutes of warm-up and `I love you truly' is part of my warm-ups — and other silly noises.

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AP: There's a point on the DVD where you complain because Mick is doing scales in another room. Is this a recurring problem?

Richards: (Laughs.) Well, yeah. You can call it that. I put it in the contract, actually just for fun, after the last tour. Mick's next door and the rest of the band is in the other room and we're listening to scales. There's some people that need this. Actually, it became a joke. `He cannot do this within my earshot.' We fool around with each other. In a way, I suppose it's the difference between my way of approaching things and Mick's way, which is serious preparation and mine is just get there and do it.

AP: Do you need a certain set of circumstances to be able to write a song?

Richards: I feel like I'm an antenna. You sit down, you pick up a guitar, you sit down at the piano, just tinkle away. Now and again, a lucky accident or just something comes in, and suddenly there's a little idea, and that's called incoming. If you grab that moment and idea, you give it a little help, a little grease, and stroke it a bit and you know (kisses) `I love you!' With a bit of luck, that'll turn into a song, and then you transmit it. I feel like the go-between in this thing. I don't feel like creation. You know, `I created this, I wrote this, this is mine, and blah.' I just think I was lucky to receive it and even luckier that I could pass it on.

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AP: If I had been given the choice of seeing you on the first show of the tour or on the last show, which would have been the better one?

Watts: Usually the last one, you know what you're doing.

Wood: But also the first one, in Toronto, the little club, where we first started up again ... we were so nervous! Well, I was.

Wood: When you don't do it for two years, and we can't do anything half. It has to be manic.

AP: They show a shot of you right before that Toronto show where you're all looking nervous — but you're the Rolling Stones. What could you possibly be nervous about?

Wood: Caring for our audiences.

Watts: Yeah, if you didn't, you could just toss it off. I get nervous playing a pub, let alone going on stage. I get nervous playing with other people. It's adrenaline. I think if you weren't like that, you wouldn't care.

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AP: Have you ever had stage fright?

Jagger: Not in the accepted sense. ... You feel a bit nervous, but I'm not really nervous.

AP: There's a point on the DVD where you look like you're hiding under the stage.

Jagger: Yeah, that's the first show of the whole tour, you know, and everyone's scared. There's a lot of tension from everyone, because I'm not the only one. There are 30 people backstage, and their tension is palpable. You never know what's going to happen. That's one of the interesting things about it. Once you get out there, the first five minutes, that's all gone.

AP: For some people, that would be their worst nightmare: standing up in front of a crowd of people. Why do you do it?

Jagger: It is frightening. It's not frightening for me.

---

AP: You've been on tour for so long. What are the first few days like when you finally get home?

Watts: Usually, (the feeling is) still carried on.

Wood: I was going to say the same thing. Every night at nine o'clock, where's the gig?

Watts: But his wife is on the road with him. Mine is at home. So when I get home, mentally I'm still on the road, but I'm actually straight back into being there, with people who have been there for two years and I've been there twice in two years. That's a very strange thing.

Wood: (To Watts) What? To see your wife again? It's not strange to me!

Tony Danza Readies Daytime TV Talk Show

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tony Danza, the gruff-voiced onetime boxer who became a star of TV sitcom hits such as "Taxi" and "Who's the Boss?" has a new gig -- daytime talk show host.

Walt Disney Co.'s Buena Vista Television on Monday said it was developing a new talk show aimed at female audiences watching daytime TV with Danza at the helm.

The program does not yet have an air date. Buena Vista said it will sell the show in the syndication market, which means it would be broadcast at varying times on local TV stations and cable networks that pay a licensing fee to show it.

"For the last eight years, I have been touring the country with my live act, and it seems as I have been in training for this," Danza said in a statement, referring to his musical review which has played to sold-out audiences in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere.

If this new show, which has yet to be named, makes it to TV, he'll join a long list of former TV stars, comedians and others who have attempted TV talk shows, including most recently Ellen DeGeneres.

Danza got his first big break on TV in the hit 1970s sitcom "Taxi," and became a major star with "Who's the Boss?" which ran from 1984 to 1992.

Sony Music Sings New Copy-Protection Tune

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Music, home to such artists as Beyonce Knowles and Bruce Springsteen, on Monday said it plans to introduce new CD technology in Germany that prevents users from copying songs to file-sharing sites, but allows them to make copies for their personal use.

The record industry blames its recent sales slump on file-sharing services like KaZaa, which it says are havens for piracy. Last year, major labels issued "copy-protected" CDs that prevent them from being played on computers.

The copy-protected discs faced a backlash from customers and music fans, and several lawsuits emerged from some customers that complained these CDs caused their computers and other devices to malfunction.

But Sony thinks it has an appealing approach: Give customers added incentives to buy copy-protected CDs.

On Monday, Sony will release rhythm & blues group Naturally Seven's new CD in Germany with a so-called "second session." The disc can be played on almost any device conventionally, said Sony Music Chief Technology Officer Phil Wiser.

It also contains a compressed digital copy of the music that can be quickly copied onto any computer. From the computer, users can copy that music onto Sony portable digital music players.

The CD's also allow users to connect to Web sites with exclusive features such as bonus songs and concert tickets. The features are only available if you have the original CD.

Such features are already available with Sony artists like Tori Amos and AC/DC. But the new discs combine the "second session" copy protection with the bonus features, which Sony has dubbed "ConnecteD."

Sony will evaluate customers' reaction to the new technology before introducing it in other countries. Wiser declined to specify a timetable for which the technology will be available in the United States.

"We believe we can deliver more value by delivering more immediate content, an interactive experience, a better experience. Even if you could go to a (file-sharing) site and download a single song, you won't get the kind of content that we can deliver."

A label on the disc will say it includes the new copy protection software features.

There are several limitations. The digital files will only play on Sony-licensed digital music players. Wiser said Sony is working on "plug-in's" that will allow the files to be played on more popular players like Microsoft's Windows Media. He expects the plug-ins to be available early next year.

To copy the music to the Sony portable player, the technology requires an extra step to copy the files to a separate program to transfer the music to the portable player.

At this point, music can be transferred only to Sony portable players, although Sony executives note that Apple Computer's popular iTunes service works the same way with the Apple-branded iPod.

Earlier this year, BMG introduced similar technology with its hip-hop performer Anthony Hamilton.

BMG, which announced plans to merge with Sony Music last week, is using software from SunnComm Technologies to restrict the amount of copies that could be made of Hamilton's music. The software, however, did not work on some operating systems and was quickly hacked.

"All copy-protections can be hacked," Wiser said. "But if give people what they are asking for in terms of value, they won't go out and steal it. It's called trusting the consumer."

Whining while they work

By Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY

It's not like they're digging ditches or slogging away in salt mines. But that hasn't stopped some of Hollywood's best-known and, in some cases, highest-paid actors from whining about their work, an antic that rankled the late, great Katharine Hepburn. In Kate Remembered by A. Scott Berg, she lashed out at "actors who complain in interviews about 12-hour days."

Let's take a look at who in Hollywood hates their gigs the most.

Complainer: Hugh Grant

His grievance: Britain's foppish romantic-comedy king moaned in the May 2003 issue of Vanity Fair that acting is just torture, baby. "I kind of hate it. In fact, I hate it quite a lot — all acting, but especially movie acting," said Grant. "I'm rich and my life's luxurious. But, above all, I feel a nervous exhaustion."

Current status: Grant hasn't switched careers quite yet. His latest amorous outing, Love Actually, opens in select markets today. Plus, he's now shooting Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in London with Renee Zellweger — after telling the BBC last April that he's not "particularly keen" about starring in the sequel.

Complainer: Denzel Washington

His grievance: The two-time Oscar winner says that acting isn't quite lighting his fire anymore. "I'm getting bored," he told the Calgary Sun in January. "I've done more than 25 films. I've been blessed to do a lot of good stuff, and I've got my nominations and awards, but I was starting to get stale." Plus, he told Extra last November at the premiere of his directorial debut, Antwone Fisher, "I really enjoyed the directing. I enjoy it more than acting. I've been bored with acting for a while."

Current status: Jaded thespian Washington just played yet another cop in the thriller Out of Time and portrays a bitter ex-Marine in the thriller Man on Fire, out next spring.

Complainer: Sean Penn

His grievance: The fiercely outspoken star of Mystic River told The New York Times Magazine back in December 1998 that he was done with acting for good. Seriously. "This is it. I'm not going to act in movies again." In May 2001, he told Britain's Observer that he disliked acting because "it doesn't fill any kind of need to work; it certainly hasn't filled my bank account."

Current status: Judging from the delirious reviews he earned in River, Penn's dramatic days aren't numbered yet. He plays a math professor in 21 Grams, opening in New York and L.A. on Nov. 21, but would rather work behind the camera again. "I don't know a sane man who's directed and acted who will tell you he doesn't just want to be directing," Penn said last month.

Kournikova refuses to quit

PATTAYA, Thailand (AFP) - Anna Kournikova said she was refusing to write off her career despite a chronic back injury which has blighted her recent performances.

The glamour girl of tennis, still only 22, claimed just one victory on the WTA Tour during the 2003 season, beating Slovakia's Henrieta Nagyova in the first round of the Australian Open in January.

She then played one match on home ground in Miami, lost in the first round in Sarasota and retired during her first round match at Amelia Island the following week.

Even stepping down to an ITF Challenger event in May in the search for an elusive victory proved unsuccessful, as she eventually retired during her semi-final. That was the last official match she played.

"I still love tennis and want to play, but I have a chronic back condition which makes it impossible to play more than week at a time," said Kournikova Sunday after competing in an exhibition match against Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn in Pattaya.

"As an athlete you must expect injuries and you have to learn how to deal with it, but it is very frustrating. But I really enjoyed playing against Tammy."

Kournikova still keeps in shape and showed plenty of the skills that once earned her victories over Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis, and took her to the Wimbledon semi-finals. And she is so keen to play regularly again that she is even considering surgery.

"That is one of the options I'm looking at," she revealed. "I hate needles, but I have to look at everything."

And she discounts the constant reports that she is much more interested in an acting career than returning to the tennis arena.

"When there is no information about me there will always be rumours," she said. "I should hold up a sign. My number one priority is tennis. That's what I want to do, far above anything else."

'Matrix Revolutions' Wins at Box Office

LOS ANGELES - The sci-fi Matrix saga lost some of its spin at the U.S. box office, with "The Matrix Revolutions" pulling in $50.16 million in its opening weekend — off 45 percent from the previous chapter's weekend debut.

"Revolutions," pummeled by critics as harshly as "The Matrix Reloaded" was last May, has grossed $85.5 million domestically since debuting Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday. While the numbers are high, they are still down from "Reloaded," which had a $91.8 million weekend debut and took in $134.2 million over its first four days.

Distributor Warner Bros. preferred to focus on the worldwide results for "Revolutions." Warner opened the movie simultaneously in a record 109 countries, where it racked up a worldwide total of $204.1 million in five days, beating the previous global high of about $200 million for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

Will Ferrell's Christmas comedy "Elf," about a human raised among the little people at the North Pole, opened strongly in second place with $32.1 million domestically. In narrower release, the romantic comedy "Love Actually" had a healthy debut with $6.6 million, coming in at No. 6.

Despite the domestic debut for the final "Matrix" chapter, the "Matrix" franchise this year already is pushing the $1 billion mark.

"Anytime you have a billion dollars in box office, that's pretty impressive," Joel Silver, producer of "The Matrix" franchise, said Sunday. "I don't know how you point a finger and say there's anything wrong there."

Still, interest clearly has waned in the franchise, which began in 1999 with the Wachowski brothers' "The Matrix," starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss. The movie's sleek black fashion sense and slow-motion visual effects have become one of the most copied looks in movie history.

Many fans of the original were disappointed by "Matrix Reloaded," finding it a lackluster followup that emphasized style over substance.

"Reloaded's" opening weekend — the second-best ever after "Spider-Man's" $114.8 million — was greatly due to pent-up demand since the original movie. "Revolutions" lacked that buildup.

"I don't know what film could do $90 million and then repeat that with its next sequel just six months later," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Playing in 3,502 theaters domestically, "Matrix Revolutions" averaged $14,322 a cinema from Friday to Sunday, down from a $25,472 average for "Matrix Reloaded." "Love Actually," with an ensemble cast including Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, averaged $11,458 in 576 cinemas, while "Elf" averaged $9,619 in 3,337 theaters.

Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution for Warner, said "Matrix Revolutions" may hold up better in subsequent weeks than did "Matrix Reloaded," whose grosses nose-dived in its second weekend. Films tend to have longer shelf life over the holidays than they do in summer-blockbuster season, he said.

"The story really isn't over yet," Fellman said. "We might not have had the same impact in the opening weekend, but you need to play this out for the next few weeks and see if we play a little catchup."

"Elf" and "Love Actually" were scheduled against "Matrix Revolutions" as alternatives to the sci-fi franchise, whose core audience is younger males. Families and children accounted for most of the crowds at "Elf," while "Love Actually" played mainly to women and older adults.

"We assumed we would be swamped, and essentially, we did get swamped" by "Matrix Revolutions," said Russell Schwartz, head of domestic marketing for "Elf" distributor New Line. "We were not trying to be No. 1."

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

1. "The Matrix Revolutions," $50.16 million.
2. "Elf," $32.1 million.
3. "Brother Bear," $18.6 million.
4. "Scary Movie 3," $11.1 million.
5. "Radio," $7.4 million.
6. "Love Actually," $6.6 million.
7. "Mystic River," $4.83 million.
8 (tie). "Runaway Jury," $4.8 million.
8 (tie). "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," $4.8 million.
10. "The School of Rock," $3.15 million.

Duran Duran Carefully Plots Comeback

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Despite touring with all its original members for the first time in 18 years, Duran Duran is playing just 17 theater dates on its 2003 road trip, which kicks off Nov. 8.

The band is not crazy, organizers insist. It is grossly underplaying the market on purpose.

They say a truncated tour -- for which each date has sold out almost immediately -- will create enough buzz that Duran Duran avoids being labeled "a nostalgia act."

Before this tour, the original five members of the band played a few one-off warm-up shows during the summer in Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. Those sell-outs, combined with November's projections, led keyboardist Nick Rhodes to believe that "the chemistry is intact."

"Everyone is excited about playing the shows, and the audiences have been electric," he observes. "Never, ever in our career have we played to audiences like this. I have to say that it's been a real shock."

Drummer Roger Taylor left the group in 1986 for personal reasons. Guitarist Andy Taylor exited at the same time to work solo. Bassist John Taylor split in 1996 and also embarked on a solo project. But all three Taylors (who are not related) have reteamed with Rhodes and vocalist Simon LeBon, who have continued to perform as Duran Duran. And 2003 also marks the 25th anniversary of the band's formation in 1978.

On Nov. 4, EMI rolled out the DVD anthology "Greatest." It contains the group's classic videos, including previously unreleased versions.

Rhodes says that the band's past required it to lay down new material before setting out on a full-fledged tour.

"That was the first priority," Rhodes says of the new album, targeted for release in early 2004. (Management currently is negotiating a label deal.) "That's really the center of it all to us. We had to make sure we could get that right. We didn't just want to get together and play the old songs."

He continues, "This year has been very much about reintroducing Duran Duran as this lineup and trying to let people know that 'Yep, we're back."'

To accomplish that, Laister and Rhodes say the number of dates and the venue sizes had to be limited. Both promise that Duran Duran will launch a 2004 world tour that will stop at arenas and amphitheaters. It will intersperse new material with old favorites.

The band's glory days were during the 1980s, with such albums as "Rio" (1982). Its last major success came a decade ago with "Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)," which sold 1.5 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"We kind of hoped that there would be an audience out there who would want to come and see us -- but you never really know," says Rhodes, who's taken aback by the quick sell-outs of the shows.

By carefully mapping out its comeback, Rhodes believes Duran Duran has a strong shot at a lasting reunion.

"If we're going to do it, let's do it properly," he says, noting that the group's new songs feel as satisfying as anything it has written before.

What is interesting about playing together after so long, Rhodes, observes, "is that we've become a little more graceful with each other, allowing the space for each person to do what they are best at."

He describes the new material as a mix of edgy rock and dark, electronic synth pop. Others, he says, have described the sound as "Duran Duran, but what should sound like now."

Weekend Movies: Holiday Cheer Starts Early

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Looking past the hype, "The Matrix Revolutions" is not the only film in theaters nationwide on Friday as Hollywood's studios pull two holiday tales out of this season's gift bag, comedies "Elf" and "Love Actually."

"Elf," with former "Saturday Night Live" star Will Ferrell as a human who believes he is one of Santa's elves, offers a family film to counter the battle-filled "Revolutions."

"Love Actually," with a cast including Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson, brings the sort of British humor found in films "Notting Hill" to a tale of Christmas romance in merrie olde London.

Despite the massive news coverage of the "Revolutions" Wednesday debut, "Elf" screenwriter David Berenbaum isn't worried about box office competition given his film's fuzzy tale and PG rating for some mild rude humor and language.

"'Matrix' is rated 'R,' and we are the family film out there," he told Reuters. "'Elf' will do just fine."

Ferrell plays Buddy, a human placed for adoption when just a baby. By happenstance, Buddy crawls into Santa's toy bag on Christmas Eve and is unknowingly scooped up and carted off to the North Pole and raised by lovable Papa Elf (Bob Newhart).

Even though he is 3-feet taller than the standard elf and can't make a toy to save himself, Buddy really, truly believes he is an elf. He is that naive, that sweet and that honest.

Buddy's life is shattered, however, when Papa Elf tells him the truth. Buddy is human and his Dad is a big city businessman with little time for family -- just like old Ebenezer Scrooge.

In an attempt to reconnect with dad (James Caan), Buddy heads to New York City where he learns, much to Santa's chagrin, that almost everyone has lost the Christmas spirit. It's up to Buddy, the human elf, to save the holiday.

LOVE AND "MATRIX" WAR

"Love Actually" is another feel good film, but because the romantic comedy carries an R rating for sexuality, nudity and language, it is aimed at adults.

The story features a large ensemble cast in which Grant portrays the British Prime Minister who fancies a young woman on his staff. Thompson is his sister, whose husband, played byAlan Rickman, is infatuated with a younger woman.

Kiera Knightley is a newlywed whose marriage is challenged by her husband's best friend. Liam Neeson is a widowed father to a pre-teen son who has fallen for an American gal. Those are less than half of the intertwining stories in the movie.

In one way or another, all the characters are looking for love and companionship in the days leading up to Christmas, and each navigates a maze of human complications to find it -- and that includes two porn movie stand-ins, who have a sub-plot all their own in the film.

The movie was written and directed by Richard Curtis, who penned popular hits "Notting Hill" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and shared credit on "Bridget Jones's Diary," which should give fans a hint of the quirkiness in "Love Actually."

Finally, "The Matrix Revolutions" is the third film in the series of sci-fi tales about humans battling against machines who want to rule Earth.

In this final chapter, the humans, led by Neo, or the One (Keanu Reeves), make their final stand against the machines to defend their city of Zion built deep within Earth.
 
The film has been panned by critics, but fans turned out in legions to give "Revolutions" a $43 million worldwide box office in its first day in theaters.

There is no doubt "Revolutions" will be among the box office hits this holiday season. But for a little family cheer or adult romance, movie fans can easily look past it.

O'Brien in talks to bring show to T.O.

Discussions are under way to bring NBC's Late Night With Conan O'Brien to Toronto for a week in February, The Toronto Sun has learned.

The nightly talk show, which recently celebrated 10 years on the air, would tape its four shows that week from a venue yet to be determined.

Late Night executive producer Jeff Ross, reached by phone yesterday at his New York office, wouldn't say the Toronto gig was a done deal, but did say that they were "trying to figure out" a way to bring the show across the border.

"We'd like to do it," Ross said.

The show is produced by NBC Enterprises and Broadway Video, the company owned by Saturday Night Live boss and Toronto native Lorne Michaels. Ross has a Toronto connection himself, having lived here when he was executive producer of The Kids In the Hall in the 1990s.

O'Brien representatives may be in Toronto next week to scout venues.

O'Brien tapes his show in Manhattan at Rockefeller Centre in the same studio used by David Letterman for 11-plus years. The Canadian shows likely would include O'Brien's house band, the Max Weinberg Seven, plus Robert Smigel, the voice behind those phony celebrity interviews, as well as Triumph the insult comic dog.

This would be the first time a U.S. late-night talk show broadcasts from a Canadian city. David Letterman took his CBS Late Show to London in summer 1995. Both Letterman and O'Brien have taken their shows on the road to Los Angeles and other U.S. venues.

O'Brien frequently refers to the Great White North on Late Night, joking during the Iraq war that "the prime minister of Canada said he'd like to help, but he's pretty sure that last time he checked, Canada had no army."

The 40-year-old talk show host and his wife, advertising copywriter Liza Powell, had their first child in October.

More Ring In Watts' Future

Naomi Watts, star of 2002 horror flick THE RING, has confirmed that she will be reprising her role of Rachel Keller in the sequel……..THE RING 2. The first film was based on classic Japanese horror film RINGU, which has since spawned a mass of sequels. The DreamWorks sequel won’t be an adaptation of one of the Japanese sequels though; it is going to be completely different (reportedly). Filming should start sometime next year.

'Matrix Revolutions' Gets $24.3M in a Day

LOS ANGELES - Which way do you spin "The Matrix Revolutions"? The third movie in the cyberpunk trilogy earned $24.3 million at the domestic box office in its first day of release, Warner Bros. said Thursday.

That's a great one-day total for any other movie, but it comes in far below what "The Matrix Reloaded" collected in its nationwide debut last spring.

In May, "Reloaded" opened with a few late-night screenings on Wednesday evening and earned about $5 million. Then it expanded to 3,600 theaters on Thursday and earned about $37.5 million, according to Brandon Gray, proprietor of BoxOfficeMojo.com.

At the time, Warner Bros. lumped the Wednesday totals in with the Thursday figures and announced a total debut of $42.5 million for "Reloaded."

Gray said there may have been less anticipation for "Revolutions" simply because of the rapid-fire release timing.

"With the last one ('Reloaded') there was four years of pent-up demand and 'Revolutions' comes out after only six months," he said. "It's not quite the same event as the one that came out after a long drought."

Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. head of U.S. distribution, dismissed the notion that some viewers may be less enthusiastic about the franchise after "Reloaded," which scored poorly with critics and many fans.

"These are staggering numbers," Fellman said. "If you talk to any large theater operator they're totally out of their minds with joy."

"Revolutions" also collected $18.8 million internationally after staging the widest simultaneous release for a single film by opening in an unprecedented 18,000 screens around the world at the same hour (9 a.m. ET), according to Variety. Part of the studio's worldwide effort was to combat piracy.

"Revolutions" also ranked as the third best Wednesday debut for a movie, behind $28.5 million for 1999's "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" and $26.1 million for last year's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

Although hampered by critics who lambasted "Revolutions" as a glorified videogame, the Keanu Reeves sci-fi adventure could still come close to topping $100 million domestically by the end of the weekend.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co., said he would wait until the weekend to judge how "Revolutions" compares to "Reloaded."

The critically acclaimed first film, "The Matrix," earned $33.7 million in its first weekend in April 1999 and went on to rake in $171.5 million.

"Reloaded" earned a total of $281.6 million and became the year's third highest-grossing movie of the year, behind "Finding Nemo" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," respectively.

Singer Bobby Hatfield of Righteous Brothers Dead

DETROIT (Reuters) - Bobby Hatfield, the tenor half of The Righteous Brothers singing duo who made "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" a worldwide hit, was found dead in a western Michigan hotel, police said on Thursday.

Hatfield, 63, was found about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday by hotel workers in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after he did not respond to a wake-up call before a show. Kalamazoo police said there were no signs of foul play and that, while an autopsy would be conducted, Hatfield apparently died of natural causes.

Hatfield and his singing partner, Bill Medley, got together in 1961 in Southern California. They were performing in a local bar as part of a five-piece group called the Paramours when a Marine shouted "That's righteous, brothers," leading to the name.

With producer Phil Spector providing his "wall of sound," The Righteous Brothers produced a string of hits in the 1960s, including "Unchained Melody" and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration." But "Lovin' Feeling," released in 1964, was their biggest hit, and industry experts rank it as the most-played radio song of all time.

The two split for a time in the late 1960s, but reunited and had a few hits in the mid-1970s. Their star rose again in 1990, when "Unchained Melody" was used in the film "Ghost."

Medley and Hatfield had continued to tour and perform a few months a year in Las Vegas. The two were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Hatfield is survived by his wife and four children.

Poll: 'Titanic' worst film ever

"Titanic," the 1997 romantic epic that rang up $2.4 billion at global box offices and won 11 Oscars including Best Picture, has been voted the worst film ever by viewers of BBC One's Film 2003, the BBC reports.

The blockbuster beat out "AI: Artificial Intelligence" and "Pearl Harbor" to win the unfavourable distinction.

Film 2003 conducted the survey to coincide with the British release of the Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck bomb "Gigli," considered by many critics to be one of the worst films of the year. Surprisingly, it didn't even make the show's list.

Other top 10 offenders were Tom Cruise starrers "Vanilla Sky" and "Eyes Wide Shut," John Travolta's personal project "Battlefield Earth," 1999 indie hit "The Blair Witch Project" and superhero flops "Batman and Robin" and "The Avengers."

Ironically, just last month "Titanic" topped a different poll of the greatest film endings.

Here's the full Film 2003 list:

1. Titanic
2. AI: Artificial Intelligence
3. Pearl Harbor
4. Vanilla Sky
5. The Blair Witch Project
6. Batman and Robin
7. The Avengers
8. Battlefield Earth
9. Eyes Wide Shut
10. Highlander 2: The Quickening.

Plan 9

After months of delays, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has announced a new street date and full specs for the eagerly-awaited Ed Wood. This Tim Burton biopic and instant cult favorite will now be released on February 3rd, complete with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, audio commentary with Burton, Oscar winner Martin Landau, screenwriters Scott Alexander & Larry Karazewski, costume designer Colleen Atwood, and cinematographer Stefan Czapsky, deleted scenes, the "Let's Shoot This F#*%@r!" documentary, additional "The Theremin," "Making Bela," "Pie Plates Over Hollywood" and "When Carol Met Larry" featurettes, an original music video and the original theatrical trailer. Retail for this two-disc set will be $29.95.

U2 singer Bono to attend next week's Liberal leadership convention

TORONTO (AFP) - U2 singer Bono will voice his views on helping Third World nations with generic drugs and debt relief next week at the Liberal Party convention, where a new leader -- virtually certain to be Paul Martin -- will be elected.
 
"Paul Martin asked Bono whether he would come to speak at the convention about these issues (access for poorer nations to generic drugs for AIDS and debt relief) and he agreed to do that," a senior Martin advisor, Richard Mahoney, told CBC Newsworld Wednesday.

"It will hopefully provide some interesting discussions," he added, noting that they spoke a couple of weeks ago about attending the Toronto event.

In 2000, the Grammy award-winning singer praised Martin's efforts to ease the burden of debt of poorer nations.

Former finance minister Martin, who has nearly crushed all challengers except one longshot, will take over as Liberal leader at the party convention November 14.

Speculation is mounting that Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who will relinquish the Liberal Party title to Martin, could bring forward his announced retirement in February as prime minister.

Mahoney said Bono's speech would help "set the tone for the convention that evening.

"Mr. Martin will be speaking later on in the evening to focus the convention ... on some of the kind of issues M. Martin would like to focus on, including his own view of restoring Canada's place in terms of debate in the world," the advisor said.

Asked if Bono will sing at the convention, Mahoney said he's likely only to speak, but hinted "I'm sure we'll try to throw a spare CD on" for theme music.

'Nemo' DVD, Video Sales Top Record, Shortages Seen

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - If early sales hold up, DVDs and videos of the animated underwater adventure "Finding Nemo" may be as hard to find as the elusive baby fish.

The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday said it had sold a record 8 million DVDs and videos of the smash hit movie in its first day on retail shelves with demand so high it raised the possibility of shortages.

Disney, in partnership with Pixar Animation Studios Inc., produced the film about the lost fish "Nemo" and his father's adventure to find him. The previous single-day record for an animated movie was 5 million DVD and video sales for their previous collaboration, "Monsters, Inc."

Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Entertainment sold 7 million DVDs and videos of its "Spider-Man" movie when it first hit retail shelves in November last year.

The movie, "Nemo," which was released in May, has been 2003's biggest box office hit with just under $340 million in movie ticket sales in the United States and Canada.

"You can't have great DVD without great film, and people know what great entertainment 'Finding Nemo' is," said the DVD's producer, Bill Kinder, of Pixar.

Bob Chapek, head of Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment group that markets videos and DVDs, said the company shipped 25 million units to retailers, but underestimated demand. He said Disney is working with manufacturers to get more copies made for retailers who will likely see shortages this week.

"Some of our customers have told us they sold three times what they projected on day one," he said. "We're aggressively making as many (copies) as possible, but it is likely that some of our major accounts may go out of stock," he said.

Chapek said the mix of sales was roughly 80 percent DVDs to 20 percent videos, with DVDs being offered at a suggested retail price of $19.99 and videos at $17.99. Many retailers, however, put steep discounts on DVDs to help drive sales of other goods, so actual retail revenues are hard to pinpoint.

Still, if the DVDs and videos were sold at suggested retail prices, "Nemo's" one-day sales figure would total $156 million, which would be a massive weekend box office debut for a movie. That underscores the fact that amid the booming DVD market, the home entertainment groups of Hollywood's major studios are pumping up profits.

Kinder said the "Nemo" DVD has several special features that have appealed to fans including a short film by explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau about the underwater environment off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Disney shares rose after the news release to end trading on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) up 27 cents, or 1.19 percent, at $23.02. Pixar shares gained 48 cents to end at 69.96 on the Nasdaq.

'Matrix' Dodges Critical Bullets, Debuts Strongly

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Dodging critical fire faster than Neo evades bullets, "The Matrix Revolutions" debuted to sold-out theaters on Wednesday in a global opening that had fans lining up for blocks to be first to see the film.

"We've had tremendous crowds, and early (box office) numbers are very strong," said Dick Westerling, spokesman for the No. 1 U.S. theater chain Regal Entertainment Group.

Dan Fellman, film distribution chief for Warner Bros. studio, the unit of Time Warner Inc. that makes and markets the "Matrix" movies, said a first-day box office estimate would not be ready until Thursday.

Fellman added, however, that his phone had been ringing off the hook since the curtain rose on "Revolutions" at 9 a.m. EST with tales of sold-out crowds. He said several theaters reported selling $40,000 worth of tickets before noon.

"That is a staggering number for a Saturday before noon, let alone a Wednesday," Fellman said.

A spokesman for No. 2 U.S. theater chain AMC Entertainment Inc. reported similarly crowded theaters in the morning and said many of Wednesday night's screenings were sold out in advance.

Movies normally debut on Friday and see their biggest crowds Saturday, but the futuristic "Matrix" movies, about a group of bullet-dodging humans battling for Earth against software-controlled machines, have been such huge hits that Warner Bros. has released them early to meet initial demand.

UNFLATTERING REVIEWS

The first "Matrix" in 1999 hauled in $456 million in global ticket sales and this past May's "The Matrix Reloaded" eclipsed that figure with $735 million at worldwide box offices.

Demand may be strong and the fan base large, but major reviews lacked any sort of luster. The Los Angeles Times said "Revolutions" landed in theaters "with a thud" and asks "how did something so cool, get so dorky?"

The New York Times said "'Reloaded' was certainly a lumpy, gaseous treatise of a movie, but viewers of 'Revolutions' may find themselves looking back on it fondly."

Fortunately for Warner Bros. and for theaters, die-hard fans as a general rule don't care about critical reviews and to please the series' fans -- as well as combat piracy -- Warner Bros. undertook the most wide-scale debut ever of a film.

It raised the curtain for "Revolutions" on over 10,000 movie screens in 107 markets simultaneously in the United States and Canada, and in China, Russia, throughout Southeast Asia and Europe.

A normal release for a major Hollywood movie would see it opening in the United States and Canada first on 2,000 to 3,000 screens, then playing in various countries over the subsequent months.

As happened with "Reloaded," so-called "pirates" who copy films for resale on black markets or place them on the Internet for free file-swapping have made movies available the same day -- or even before -- a movie's debut in theaters.

"Revolutions" also debuted on giant Imax Corp. movie screens, and Westerling and Fellman said those showings were seeing strong crowds, too.

Johnny Cash Wins Country Music Top Honors

NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Johnny Cash made history on Wednesday at the Country Music Association awards show, winning three top honors in a nationally televised extravaganza which also paid a touching tribute the late "man in black."

Cash won "Album of the Year," "Single of the Year," and "Music Video of the Year" -- a year described by his son, John Carter Cash, as one of pain in which his mother, June Carter Cash, also died.

In a honky-tonk driven show, the "Entertainer of the Year" honor went to Alan Jackson, who had won it last year.

Surprisingly, Toby Keith, who earned seven nominations, was shut out completely.

Cash who died on Sept. 12 at the age of 71, had been nominated for four awards.

The Top 10 film series

With The Matrix coming to its inevitable conclusion, it is time to rank the all-time best movie series. You need at least a trilogy to qualify. You won't find stuff like the original Planet Of The Apes, Batman or Superman here because these series turned so bad after decent starts:

1 The Godfather (a trilogy: 1972-90): The paired originals in Francis Ford Coppola's sweeping saga are classics. He loses points for the sad III.

2. The Lord Of The Rings (a trilogy: 2001-3): The initial two are brilliant fantasy films. If Return Of The King pans out, then this trilogy could vault to #1.

3. Star Wars (six films, 1977-2005): The original trilogy is terrific, but every time George Lucas returns with a dull prequel, he diminishes the series.

4. James Bond (20 "official" entries so far: 1962-????) Sean Connery is still the definitive British spy. The entire series, while waxing and waning, still adds up.

5. Indiana Jones (a trilogy, 1981-89, another on the way): Steven Spielberg's original, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, is still fab fun, as is The Last Crusade. Temple Of Doom dragged its butt.

6. The Matrix (a trilogy, 1999-2003): The series ends without any new breakthrough in story or technology but fans should now enjoy a sense of completion.

7. The Thin Man (6 films, 1934-47): The initial verve faded in the series yet wisecracking sleuths William Powell and Myra Loy have enduring appeal.

8. Back To The Future (3 films, 1985-90): Michael J. Fox's underrated skill at reaction comedy helped make these movies genuinely entertaining.

9. Alien (four films: 1979-97): Aside from scaring the bejesus out of us, the series also significantly established a woman, Sigourney Weaver, as action hero.

10. Scream (a trilogy: 1996-2000): While parodies such as this and Scary Movie inevitably hit the wall, there is something sassy about sending up sacred cinematic cows.

DeVito Makes 'Friends' for February Sweeps

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Danny DeVito will return to his former sitcom stomping ground in February with a guest appearance on "Friends."

DeVito, who won an Emmy in 1981 for his work on "Taxi" and was nominated two other times, will play a past-his-prime male stripper at Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) bachelorette party. As the show airs at 8 p.m. ET, it's unlikely DeVito will show much skin.

In a separate story in the episode, Donny Osmond will play himself when Joey (Matt LeBlanc) does a stint as a celebrity guest on the game show "Pyramid," which Osmond hosts.

An air date hasn't been set, but the episode is targeted for the February sweeps period.

DeVito, who began his career in the early 1970s, has done little sitcom work since "Taxi" ended its run in 1983. He's lent his voice to "The Simpsons" a few times and appeared on the pilot of CBS' ill-fated "Bette" in 2000. More recently, he's done guest shots on NBC's "Ed" and ABC's "Karen Sisco," where he's also an executive producer.

He directed the Ben Stiller-Drew Barrymore comedy "Duplex" and is a producer of the upcoming feature "Be Cool," a sequel to "Get Shorty."

Tarantino's Airplane and Sexploitation Dreams

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Quentin Tarantino would love to stick the casts of his films "Pulp Fiction," "Jackie Brown" and "Reservoir Dogs" on a plane together.

The filmmaker has been reportedly kicking around the idea of revisiting the classic airplane disaster movies of the 1970s. He admits, however, that the concept remains a joke between him and his "Pulp Fiction" star Samuel L. Jackson for now, according to the website Channel4.com.

"[John] Travolta could be the pilot, Pam Grier the stewardess, Robert Forster, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Bridget Fonda," he says, "It'd be 'Airport 2005.'"

Although the idea seems a little far-fetched, it wouldn't be the first time that the director's idle musings with an actor led to a fully realized film.

On the set of "Pulp Fiction," Tarantino and actress Uma Thurman conceived the idea for an assassin-revenge flick. Fast forward to almost a decade later, and "Kill Bill Vol. 1" has graduated from notes on a cocktail napkin to blood-soaked glory on the big screen.

Known for extreme, cartoonish violence in his films, the director nevertheless yearns to try his hand at another genre of films.

"I'd really like to do a kicka** sexploitation flick," he says. "But if I were to write a real sex film, the actresses would have to be down with it. Like those great trampy actresses from Italy and Germany in the '70s who were just like, 'Roll the camera, motherf**ker, here we go.'"

Until that dream is realized, fans will have to content themselves with "Kill Bill," which has earned over $56 million to date.

Still Lost At Sea

It was the voyage that was only supposed to last a weekend...and ended up running for five years.

On February 3rd, Warner Home video will unleash Gilligan's Island: The Complete First Season. This three-disc set all of the first season episodes including the rarely-seen pilot, each presented in 4:3 full screen and Dolby Digital mono, plus extras: an audio commentary by creator Sherwood Schwartz, the "Before The Three-Hour Tour" featurette, "Tropical Tidbits" trivia challenge, and the "Gilligan's Island Survival Guide."

Retail will be $39.95.

McLachlan Thinks Twice About Resurfacing in Music

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After nearly a four year break, Canadian singer and songwriter Sarah McLachlan said she had to think twice about returning to the world of recording and touring to back up her new album, "Afterglow," released on Tuesday.

"Knowing what it is like to go out and promote a record, especially now that I have a daughter, my priorities have changed -- every decision I make is going to affect her -- thus the trepidation," McLachlan told Reuters in an interview.

Not that McLachlan hasn't been busy since the release of the 1999 record "Mirrorball" and spearheading the popular Lilith Fair tour. Her last album of original material was 1997's "Surfacing."

She had a daughter last year with her husband, the drummer in her band, and started a free music school for kids in her adopted home town of Vancouver, Canada.

"As far as so much time in between records, it just sort of happened that way. I toured for three years after my last record with Lilith Fair and my own shows, and I decided to take a break and spend some time at home being normal."

McLachlan said she will tour in support of "Afterglow," likely next summer.

Sony Details Gaming-Music Player, iPod Rival

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corporation on Tuesday detailed plans for a much-anticipated all-in-one handheld gaming device that includes a digital music and video player and could even act as mobile telephone.
 
Officials of the world's largest consumer electronics maker also said Sony would launch a rival to Apple Computer Inc's iPod digital music player next year for as little as $60.

Sony described a prototype for its PSP gaming device -- due out before the end of 2004 -- during a presentation to U.S. investors that reiterated plans to restore profitability at the company.

"PSP will be the Walkman of the future," declared Ken Kutaragi, Sony's executive deputy president and head of its gaming business, comparing a PSP prototype to Sony's highly successful earlier generation of music players.

PSP is designed to rival Nintendo Co. Ltd's Game Boy handheld game player, mobile phone maker Nokia Oyj's N-Gage wireless gaming device and Apple's iPod and iTunes music download service.

Sony plans to eventually add telecommunication features, Kutaragi told a news conference afterward, lending credence to speculation PSP devices would also serve as mobile phones.

Sony currently envisions a device that looks somewhat similar to Nokia's recently introduced N-Gage gaming phone, but with a bigger display that makes it looks more like a handheld television.

The "concept model" showed off by Kutaragi was a one-piece device designed to be grasped in two hands, with a bright, color screen roughly 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) in diameter, he told Reuters.

"PSP will not be one kind of product," Kutaragi said. Rather, it is a platform of related devices with the capacity to add or subtract features, he said, while stressing that final design details are not expected to be revealed until later.

While crediting Apple and its chief executive, Steve Jobs, for the success of the iPod, Sony officials said the PSP would allow consumers to watch music videos as well as listen to digital tunes.

"We are taking on iPod with our new device," another Sony official said. "We are coming at him (Steve Jobs) on that front."

Sony executives said that next year it will introduce versions of a rival music player to the iPod for as little as $60, a price only one-quarter or less than the $200 to $400 Apple charges for various versions of its sleek product.

Apple's lead in innovating in the portable music sector practically invented by Sony has been highlighted as typical of the problems at the Japanese company, which last month reported a 25 percent drop in quarterly profits.

Talk-Show Host David Letterman Is Father at 56

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Late-night talk-show host DavidLetterman told his studio audience on Tuesday that he has become a father at the age of 56.

Letterman said during taping of the CBS "Late Show with David Letterman" that his longtime girlfriend, Regina Lasko, had given birth to a boy, Harry Joseph Letterman, just before midnight on Monday.

"First thing I took him home and dangled him over the balcony," Letterman said, in joking reference to a stunt last year by Michael Jackson, who horrified German fans by holding his baby son out of a hotel window in Berlin.

The Emmy-award winning talk-show host said his 9-pound, 11-ounce baby boy had been named after his own father, who died at the age of 57, adding: "God bless dad and God bless Harry."

The comedian also worked the birth of his son into one of his trademark routines, the nightly Top Ten List, by marking off the top ten "Reasons I'm Excited to be a Father."

Those reasons included "There is now tangible evidence I have sex" and "Two words: Swedish nanny."

Today's New Releases

Well, after making us wait far too damn long for a new disc the incomparable Sarah McLachlan is back in stores with new music today. I can't wait to hear it!

Here is the complete list of new CD and music DVD releases for Tuesday, November 4, 2003:

* ANDREW HILL Passing Ships
* GREAT BIG SEA Great Big DVD (DVD) (Warner)
* IGGY POP Skull Ring (Virgin)
* JA RULE Blood In My Eye (Universal)
* JOHN LENNON Lennon Legend (DVD) (Capitol)
* PETER GABRIEL Growing Up Tour (DVD) (Geffen)
* RAISING THE FAWN The Warmth Of Your Flame (EP) (Sonic Unyon)
* SARAH MCLACHLAN Afterglow (Nettwerk)
* SHERYL CROW Greatest Hits (A&M)
* STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Thank You (Atlantic)
* TOBY KEITH Shock'n Y'All (DreamWorks/Universal)
* TONI BRAXTON Ultimate Toni Braxton (Arista)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS MuchDance 2004 (Universal)

The Couch Potato Report - Today's New Releases

This week in The Couch Potato Report the little fish that could and a sequel that shouldn't have.

FINDING NEMO is the latest film from the Pixar Animation Studio. Pixar also gave us the classic TOY STORY films, plus A BUG'S LIFE and MONSTERS INC. They make movies that are animated, or cartoons if you will, but these movies shouldn't just be thought of as cartoons. They are films that everyone, no matter how old or young you are, can enjoy.

And you will enjoy FINDING NEMO. Everyone else who's seen it has, and plenty of folks have seen it as it is the number one movie of 2003 with almost $340 million in box office receipts. That dolar figure also makes it the number one animated film of all time.

But I beg you, please don't just think of FINDING NEMO as an animated film. Yes, it is a cartoon, but the story is universal. A father and son become separated and Dad tries to find his son in an ocean of almost 4 trillion.

Comedian Albert Brooks, from PRIVATE BENJAMIN and DEFENDING YOUR LIFE, provides the voice for the Dad character, who is named Marlin. Brooks gives the character just enough fear and nervous twitches. One iota mor would have been too much and he was a superb casting choice.

The true gem in FINDING NEMO is the work of Ellen DeGeneres as Dory. Dory is Marlin's partner in the search to find Nemo and she is the heart of the picture. In the past Ellen DeGeneres has had a tendancy to get on my nerves as, in her work, she has a tendancy to yammer on. As Dory she is touching and hilarious. It is a unique combination for a unique movie character.

FINDING NEMO is a wonderful film for everyone. I implore you to not just think of it as a cartoon and skip it. Its moving, charming and worth investing your time in.

Go ahead, dive in and sea it!

The 2001 film LEGALLY BLONDE was also moving, charing and worth seeing. The sequel, LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE is dreadful. In the original the intoxicating Reese Witherspoon played a character who was a superficial, wealthy, blonde woman who dressed in pink. Rich, blonde, pink...she has to be dumb, right?!? Well she wasn't. She had smarts, but more importantly she was someone who believed in herself and more importantly she liked herself. And we liked her for those reasons and more.

Sure, it wasn't Dostoyetsky, but it was charming and fun. And man was Reese Witherspoon cute!

In this shabby sequel Witherspoon's Elle Woods heads to Washington to initiate legislation against testing cosmetics on animals. A nobel concept to be sure, but they have taken away her self-awareness. She no longer seems to like herself, just because everyone else starts to doubt her.

I guess the bottom line here is that I don't want to waste your time talking about this movie any longer. I'll suffice to say that the original LEGALLY BLONDE movie was a fun, stupid little movie that was worth seeing and owning. LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE is just worth skipping and avoiding.

Almost everyone avoided ADAM SANDLER'S EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS when it played in theatres last Chritmas. Including me. In the film, which is animated by the way, a coach and marketing guy join forces to coach a team of misfits. Maybe I'll rent it and check it out.

FRIENDS: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON features the complete fifth season of the TV series Friends. If you've been off earth for the past decade I'll tell you that it stars Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc and Courteney Cox-Arquette.

COMING NEXT WEEK

TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES - John Connor is hunted by female Terminator from future. (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken)

DUMB AND DUMBERER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD - Before Dumb and Dumber, there was high school. (Eric Christian Olsen, Derek Richardson, Luis Guzman)

KING OF THE HILL: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON - The complete second season of the series King Of The Hill. (Mike Judge, Brittany Murphy, Kathy Najimy)

THREE'S COMPANY: SEASON ONE - Contains 6 full-length episodes from the first season. (John Ritter, Suzanne Somers, Joyce DeWitt)

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you on the couch!

Redefining the Blockbuster?

by Josh Grossberg

The Matrix Revolutions, opening tomorrow (!), will almost certainly gross $100 million. In its first week.

The safe odds are that, between The Matrix and Christmas, at least a half-dozen films, from Elf (November 7) to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (December 17), will join Neo and crew in the vaunted nine figures.

The question is: Is $100 million alone still vaunted territory? Is it still the definition of a blockbuster?

"I still think it's a valid benchmark," says Paul Dergarabedian of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, "but it's not the rarefied air that it used to be."

Indeed. Twenty years ago, just two films grossed at least $100 million. Ten years ago, eight films made the grade. Five years ago, 18 films crossed over.

So far this year, 21 films have joined what no longer seems an elite or exclusive club. By the time Dick Clark anoints 2004, nearly 30 films, more than ever, likely will have hit the baseball equivalent of 60 home runs.

Not that hitting 60 home runs in baseball is a Ruthian feat these days. Which is precisely the point.

Just as expansion and poor pitching have inflated batting statistics, multiplexes and healthy ticket prices have inflated box-office grosses.

"It's much easier today to get to $100 million because tickets cost more and movies are released in more theaters," Dergarabedian says.

Box-office expert Brandon Gray, of the Website Box Office Mojo, says that, all things considered, perhaps $200 million should be considered the new blockbuster benchmark.

The numbers bear out the argument. A $200 million-grossing movie today would have been a $107 million movie in 1983, per Lee's Movie Info.

Back in 1983, a $50 million take (roughly today's equivalent of a $100 million grosser) was the sign of a hit (14 films made at least that much), whereas $100 million was the sign of a line-around-the-block blockbuster (only Return of the Jedi and Terms of Endearment made at least that much).

That math seems to hold today, where How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is among a throng of good-sized performers (with $105.8 million), but only Finding Nemo ($338.7 million), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ($301.2 million) and a handful of others packed 'em in week after week after week.

The obvious culprit in box-office inflation is ticket inflation. Since 1994, ticket prices have moved in only one direction: Up. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average ticket in 2002 was $5.80, which will come as a surprise to every New Yorker or Angeleno who's paid nearly twice that for the pleasure of seeing Scary Movie 3. In 1994, tickets could be had, on average, for $4.08. That's an increase of more than 40 percent in less than 10 years.

Despite all this, $100 million remains important because the people who make the movies believe it is.

"For psychological reasons, it's still a benchmark to see those nine digits," Gray says. "It's why The Italian Job was relaunched. It's why Charlie's Angels was relaunched."

Both The Italian Job and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle received late-summer pushes, in the form of additional theaters and increased advertising, in order to break the $100 million barrier. In the case of the low-key and moderately budgeted heist film The Italian Job, it was a matter of capping off a surprisingly strong run. In the case of the big-budget and bigger disappointment Charlie's Angels, it was a matter of saving face.

Still, with rising budgets and rising costs, Dergarbedian foresees an era when a $150 million or $200 million gross will become the new standard of success. The new $100 million.

"Maybe in 10 to 20 years, if the average ticket price is $20," he says.

Can't hardly wait.

Here's a look at 2003's $100 million (or more) club, through last weekend, according to Box Office Mojo:

1. Finding Nemo, $338.7 million
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, $301.2 million
3. The Matrix Reloaded, $281.5 million
4. Bruce Almighty, $242.7 million
5. X2: X-Men United, $214.9 million
6. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, $150.4 million
7. Bad Boys II, $138.5 million
8. Anger Management, $135.6 million
9. Bringing Down the House, $132.7 million
10. The Hulk, $132.2 million
11. 2 Fast 2 Furious, $127.1 million
12. Seabiscuit, $119.4 million
13. S.W.A.T., $116.5 million
14. Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, $111 million
15. Freaky Friday, $108.6 million
16. The Italian Job, $106.1 million
17. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, $105.8 million
18. American Wedding, $104.4 million
19. Daddy Day Care, $104.1 million
20. Daredevil, $102.5 million
21. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, $100.8 million

"ALIEN Quadrilogy" finally arrives

Fox Home Entertainment has officially unveiled the full specs for The ALIEN Quadrilogy, a nine-disc box set that promises to be one of the most extensive in history.

Street date is December 4th and this is what the set will contain:

The seminal classic ALIEN brings you:

* The original 1979 theatrical version and the 2003 Director's cut
* An introduction by Director Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt and more
* Brand new commentary by Ridley Scott and the technical crew
* Nine brand new documentaries: "Star Beast," "The Visualists," "Truckers In Space," "Fear Of The Unknown," "The Darkest Reaches," "The Eight Passenger," "Future Tense," "Outward Bound" and "A Nightmare Fulfilled"
* A Multi-Angle Scene Study on the Chestburster sequence with optional commentary
* Sigourney Weaver's original screen test with optional commentary
* Seven deleted scenes with index
* The first draft of the screenplay by O'Bannon
* Ridleygrams - Original thumbnails and sketches
* Storyboard Archives
* "Art of Alien" including a cast portrait gallery, production gallery,
the sets of Alien, H.R. Giger's Workshop, continuity polaroids and VFX gallery
* Original theatrical posters and stills from the premiere

The first sequel ALIENS:

* The original theatrical version - available for the first time ever on DVD
- and the special edition
* An introduction by Director James Cameron
* Brand new commentary by Cameron, Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn, Terry Henn, Lance Henriksen, Gale Anne Hurd, Pat McClung, Bill Paxton, Dennis Skotak, Robert Skotak and Stan Winston
* James Cameron original treatment
* Nine brand new featurettes: "57 Years Later," "Building Better Worlds," "Preparing For Battle," "This Time It's War," "The Risk Always Lives," "Bug Hunt," "Beauty And The Bitch," "Two Orphans" and "Aliens Unleashed"
* The Art of Aliens including conceptual art portfolio, cast portraits,
production gallery, continuity polaroids, Stan Winston's workshop, VFX gallery and premiere stills
* Deleted footage marker and deleted scene index
* Multi-angle videomatics with optional commentary
* An Easter Egg

The much-maligned ALIEN 3:

* The original theatrical version and a restored pre-release version with
more than 30 minutes of never-before-seen footage
* Brand new commentary by cinematographer Alex Thompson, Editor Terry Rawlings, VFX designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr., effects producer Richard Edlund, and actors Paul McGann and Lance Henriksen
* 11 new featurettes: "Development," "Tales Of The Wooden Planet," "Pre-Production III," "Xeno-Erotic," "Production: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three," "Adaptive Organism," "Optical Fury," "Music, Editing And Sound" and "Post-Mortem"
* E.E.V. Bio-Scan - A multi-angle vignette with optional commentary by Gillis
* The Art of Alien 3 including conceptual art portfolio, production gallery, and visual effects
* Furnace construction time lapse
* Storyboard archives

ALIEN Resurrection starring Winona Ryder:

* The original theatrical version and an extended cut with alternate opening and ending sequences
* An introduction by director Jean Pierre Jeunet
* Brand new commentary by Jeunet, Herve Schneid, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Pitof, Sylvain Despretz, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser
* First draft of the screenplay by Joss Whedon
* 11 new featurettes: "From The Ashes," "French Twist," "Under The Skin," "Death From Below," "In The Zone," "Unnatural Mutation," "Genetic Mutation," "Genetic Composition," "Virtual Alien," "A Matter Of Scale" and "Critical Junction"
* Multi-angel rehearsal footage
* A Mike Carro photo gallery, a conceptual art gallery, VFX gallery, a
promotional photo archive and continuity polaroids
* Storyboard archives
* An Easter Egg

And the Bonus Disc:

* A brand new Q&A with Ridley Scott
* "Experience in Terror" - A promotional featurette from 1979
* "Alien Evolution" - Channel 4 U.K. exclusive documentary on Alien
* A complete laser disc archive of Alien and Aliens
* Original theatrical trailers and TV spots from all four films
* "Aliens In The Basement" - Inside the Bob Burns ALIEN Collection
* Dark Horse cover gallery - Anthology of 11 issues of the ALIEN comics
* DVD-ROM feature - Script to screen comparisons

'Revolutions' Promises an End to 'Matrix' Saga

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Finally, after a six-month month intermission and $735 million of global ticket sales, fans of the "Matrix" movies get what they have been waiting for: The End.

When last May "The Matrix Reloaded" unspooled in theaters, Joel Silver, one of Hollywood's top producers and a master of media spin, was careful to tell reporters the movie was only one-half of the total sequel to 1999's smash hit "The Matrix."

The second half, Silver said, comes later, as in this Wednesday, when "The Matrix Revolutions" debuts simultaneously in 107 markets worldwide, including China and India, with about 10,000 film prints being distributed in the largest global film release ever.

But if "Matrix" fans think Hollywood will come up with another two-part, effects-filled thriller costing $300 million, about humans being nearly annihilated by machines before a savior named Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, escapes his software simulated world to lead an uprising, they should think again.

"This is the end of the story," Silver told Reuters in a recent interview. "The story of this 'Matrix' saga is over."

Fans can take some solace in the fact that "Revolutions" is a BIG movie: faster-paced, more action-packed and with greater battles and grander special effects than they have seen.

"Revolutions" is a little lighter on all the "Matrix" philosophy, although to give one little hint at what's to come, the yin and yang of life do merge in the software simulated world of the matrix just as they do here on Earth.

JUST SAY, "BATTLE"

In "Reloaded," Neo grappled internally with being the savior of the human race. In "Revolutions," he kicks a lot more machine butt, as do Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) in a final battle to save the last human city of Zion.

As real world computer users saw with this summer's Sobig.F virus, "Matrix" bug Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) can exist in many variants -- so many, in fact, he is unstoppable.

"Revolutions" picks up exactly where "Reloaded" left off. The machines are tunneling toward Zion in a final effort to destroy the human race and claim Earth as their own.

Two human ships with the central characters aboard have been dispatched in a last-ditch effort to shatter the machine-created matrix and, thus, thwart their adversaries.

But before they can, in "Revolutions" Neo becomes lost in a purgatory (which looks a lot like a Manhattan subway station) between the real world and the software-created matrix.

Meanwhile, the machines have reached the outer regions of Zion, where the humans put up a defiant, yet ultimately unwinnable battle. As the real world saying goes, however, the battle may be lost, but the war's not over.

Neo, along with Trinity, voyage to the heart of the Machine City, where the final, yes FINAL, truth is revealed. But is that enough to save Zion? Not if Agent Smith has his way.

"I've always felt that "Revolutions" would be a much more satisfying and entertaining experience," Silver said, because it is the final chapter. He likened it to the third act of a three-act play, where all is resolved.

There will be no more "Matrix" movies, he swears, yet the characters -- some of them -- will carry on with their search for truth and meaning to live in an Internet game, in video games, in a book of "Matrix" comics and in DVDs, he added.

"Everything that has a beginning, has an end," goes the "Revolutions" ad campaign slogan, which only prompts the notion that every end is also a beginning. That is the way of life -- the yin and yang. It is that way in Hollywood, and it is that way with "The Matrix" movies.

The Winter/Holiday Movie Preview

Curious about why there have been so many high-profile releases recently? And why there are so many more big flicks headed our way in the coming weeks?

Well, deck the halls and spike the eggnog, because 'tis not only the holiday movie season, but also prime Oscar time. And because the coveted golden statuettes are being tossed out about three weeks earlier than usual -- the big day is Feb. 29 -- movie studios have crammed their prestige pictures into a packed release schedule so as to best capitalize on Oscar voters' notoriously short attention spans.

Still, not every upcoming release is meant to be an Oscar darling -- and thank God for that. That means you'll still be able to have a bit of mindless fun at the movies without having to ponder the profundities of The Human Stain or take a cathartic dip in the Mystic River.

Here, then, is a look at 10 of the top movies coming out this season -- and their worthiness as Oscar-bait:

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
OPENS DEC. 17

STARRING: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen

THE SCOOP: The third and final part of director-writer Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, ROTK promises even more spectacle than the previous two films. Can Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mt. Doom? Or will Gollum's treachery prove to be their undoing? And can Aragorn (Mortensen) assume his rightful position as a king of men and stave off the monstrous forces of the Dark Lord Sauron? Millions of geeks already know the answers, but the joy is in seeing Jackson realize it all so impeccably on the big screen.

Oscar-bait (5 out of 5)

There's a general feeling Jackson is due for his Oscar. We're not entirely sure this will come to pass, but ROTK should be able to improve on its predecessors' hauls.

Cold Mountain

OPENS DEC. 25

STARRING: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger

THE SCOOP: Pity poor Inman (Law). Not only is he a wounded Confederate soldier, he's also a deserter. And while he makes the dangerous journey back to his mountain home, he's also pursued by ticked-off southerners. Meanwhile, back home, his sweetheart Ada (Kidman) is struggling to survive on her father's farm -- with the help of a young drifter (Zellweger). Thank goodness for young drifters.

Oscar-bait (5 out of 5)

This is more Oscar's style: A sprawling, romantic epic set against the backdrop of the Civil War -- and not featuring hobbits and magic rings.

The Last Samurai

OPENS DEC. 5

STARRING: Tom Cruise, Timothy Spall, Ken Watanabe

THE SCOOP: It's 1870, and respected American officer Capt. Nate Algren (Cruise) is enlisted to sell weapons to the Japanese military in their quest to wipe out the samurai. But when our ugly American gets captured by said samurai, he learns to respect their code of honour and way of life -- so much so he's willing to fight with them.

Oscar-bait (4 out of 5)

The Academy digs this stuff with a shovel -- although Cruise's own quest to be considered a "Serious Ak-tor" is constantly ignored by the voters. Still, director Edward Zwick scored big time with his last period epic, Glory.

Master & Commander: The Far Side Of The World

OPENS NOV. 14

STARRING: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd

THE SCOOP: Stroppy Kiwi Crowe stars as "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, the captain of the HMS Surprise. But the surprise is on his crew, which includes surgeon Stephen Maturin (Bettany), when Aubrey chases after a more powerful and well-armed privateer. Excitingly set during the Napoleonic Wars.

Oscar-bait (3 out of 5)

Action flick has the right pedigree -- Crowe and director Peter Weir -- to make some noise come Oscar time.

Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat

OPENS NOV. 21

STARRING: Mike Myers, Dakota Fanning, Alec Baldwin

THE SCOOP: Dr. Seuss' beloved pussycat in a stovepipe hat wreaks havoc on the big screen -- with chameleon-like funnyman Myers taking on the titular role. But if this is as good as 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas was, we'll be sure not to see it.

Oscar-bait (2 out of 5)

This could be a contender for art direction and other production awards, but then again, you have to count Lord Of The Rings as the heavy favourite in those categories.

Gothika

OPENS NOV. 21

STARRING: Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr.

THE SCOOP: When successful psychiatrist Dr. Miranda Grey (Berry) wakes up incarcerated in her own mental institution for apparently killing her husband, she has to find out whether she really is nuts -- or whether there's some sinister secret behind it all. With a rumoured nude shower scene, we'd like to echo Conan O'Brien's movement to have the title changed to "The Greatest Movie Ever."

Oscar-bait (1 out of 5)

We're not saying this will suck -- with that shower scene, how could it, really? -- but Oscar generally disapproves of genre fare like this.

Mona Lisa Smile

OPENS DEC. 19

STARRING: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles

THE SCOOP: She's been a hooker, a runaway bride and a floozy fighting for the little guy -- now Roberts stars in the biggest stretch of her career: An art history professor. Set in the oppressive 1950s, the film follows Roberts to a prestigious girls school, where she tries to teach her young charges about being the best they can be.

Oscar-bait (3 out of 5)

It's got Oscar winners Roberts and Marcia Gay Harden in the cast, so you can't discount this flick. And with a dearth of films with strong female characters, this could fill the void.

The Matrix Revolutions

OPENS WEDNESDAY

STARRING: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne
THE SCOOP: The final part of that other geek trilogy sees Neo (Reeves), Trinity (Moss) and Morpheus (Fishburne) fighting in the final battle between humanity and the Machines. Can Neo finally fulfil his destiny as the saviour of mankind or will the Machines, with the nefarious Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), crush Zion once and for all?

Oscar-bait (2 out of 5)

The, ahem, revolutionary effects work could be recognized by the Oscar voters. Even more revolutionary? If Reeves -- who has the dramatic range of a sponge -- gets a best actor nod. Then we'd really know we're living inside the Matrix.

Elf

OPENS FRIDAY

STARRING: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel

THE SCOOP: A human baby is raised as an elf in the North Pole. When he grows up into man-child Buddy (Ferrell), he decides to return to the human world to search for his dad (Caan), a high-powered scrooge who lives in New York. Can Buddy save Christmas and make everybody into one happy family again?

Oscar-bait (0 out of 5)

While this goofy comedy has generated some good buzz and we'd watch Ferrell in pretty much anything, you can be reasonably sure Elf will get scrooged at the Oscars.

Cheaper By The Dozen

OPENS DEC. 25

STARRING: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hillary Duff

THE SCOOP: This remake of the 1950 comedy classic features Tom and Mary Baker (Martin and Hunt) trying to raise their 12 kids -- which include Piper Perabo, tween superstar Duff and Smallville's Tom Welling -- with wacky results.

Oscar-bait (0 out of 5)

A movie families can watch together: Yes. Oscar-worthy: No. A chance to catch up on your sleep in a darkened theatre: Oh yes.

RELEASE DATES (All of them are subject to change)

NOV. 7
* The Matrix Revolutions (Nov. 5)
* Love Actually
* Madame Sata
* Elephant
* Elf
* The Singing Detective
* Bus 174

NOV. 14
* Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
* Tupac: Resurrection
* Looney Tunes: Back In Action
* Falling Angels
* Magnifico
* Love That Boy

NOV. 21
* The Missing (Nov. 19)
* Gothika
* Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat
* The Cooler
* Shake It All About
* The Barbarian Invasions
* The Eye

NOV. 26
* The Haunted Mansion
* Timeline
* In America

NOV. 28
* The Housekeeper

DEC. 5
* The Last Samurai
* Honey
* Blizzard
* LOTR: The Fellowship Of The Ring* ONE-WEEK RE-RELEASE

DEC. 12
* Stuck On You
* Love Don't Cost A Thing
* Something's Gotta Give
* Girl With A Pearl Earring
* LOTR: The Two Towers* ONE-WEEK RE-RELEASE

DEC. 17
* The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

DEC. 19
* Mona Lisa Smile
* Calendar Girls

DEC. 25
* Peter Pan
* Paycheck
* Cold Mountain
* Cheaper By The Dozen

Uncoupled

NBC's much buzzed-about comedy bomb "Coupling" has been canceled.

The network shut down production Friday on the sex- charged sitcom, informing the show's producers that additional episodes will not be ordered, according to Variety.

After debuting to modest ratings in late September, the comedy - a U.S. replica of a popular British version - was no match against CBS's white hot Thursday night schedule, especially the high-tech detective drama "CSI."

The writing on the wall for "Coupling" became clear late last month when NBC pulled the show from its schedule for the November sweeps.

NBC execs had high hopes for "Coupling," believing it to be a possible replacement for "Friends," which is ending its decade-long run this spring.

"Coupling," a racy comedy about a group of city-dwelling twentysomethings, had generated major media buzz last spring and over the summer due to its hot and heavy discussion of sexual matters and the popularity of the original British version.

But when the Americanized edition, critics panned it.

PAUL'S BABY GIRL

They love her, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Proud parents Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills are showing off their baby girl, Beatrice Milly, for the first time. The newest McCartney was born Tuesday in London, and mom, 35, and dad, 61, decided a public viewing was in order.

While many guests have visited the couple at the hospital, there's been at least one notable absence, according to newspaper reports.

According to London's Sun, McCartney's fashion-designer daughter, Stella, who's reportedly not on the best of terms with her stepmother, hasn't seen the latest addition to the family. Now Stella - who Australia's Sunday Telegraph says is honeymooning in Mexico - can.

The net proceeds from the black-and-white photo are going to Adopt A Minefield, a landmine-clearing charity championed by Paul and Heather.

'Average Joe:' This is What it Sounds Like When Men Cry

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Behold what "Free To Be ... You and Me" hath wrought. Marlo Thomas' 1972 variety show reassured men and women alike that it's alright to cry, explaining that "It's alright to feel things, though the feelings may be strange." Though it has taken more than 30 years, the sensitive man has finally taken reality television by storm.

The gentlemen of NBC's "Average Joe" aren't just normal looking, everyday guys competing for the heart of one beautiful former NFL cheerleader. They're also unafraid to show their softer sides.

"I think what really surprised me the most was how emotional this was for the guys, how raw this was for them, how very real this was," says Stuart Krasnow ("Dog Eat Dog"), the show's executive producer. "I think they went through a tremendous emotional roller coaster and I just thought the guys would sortta laugh the whole things through. They took a lot of things to heart. They even cried."

The casting call for "Average Joe" requested men who were "the life of the party" and then, Krasnow says, producers were able to look for entertaining people who didn't fit the "male model" profile established by countless previous relationship reality shows. These guys, at least one of whom had been rejected multiple times by other unscripted programs, were then thrown together in a house in Palm Springs to woo the lovely Melana.

"What happened is when we put them in a house together, that's the first time they realized that the rest of the cast maybe didn't look like the way they thought the rest of the cast would look," Krasnow recalls "I think there were some very sad private moments for some of them looking around thinking 'Why am I grouped with this bunch?'"

The men quickly bonded in an experience the producer compares to the "fraternity they never had." While most of their time was occupied with dating Melana, getting sunburnt by the pool and trading fantasy football anecdotes, eviction night became an emotional experience for many of the guys.

"There are moments where it almost felt like some of the contestants were reliving high school," Krasnow says. "It almost becomes that cheerleader who didn't give you the time of day. But I think on this show, actually the cheerleader does end up giving you the time of day. I think it's a reversal of past horrors."

This depth of feeling was unexpected for the show's producers and led to a minor alteration of the show's intended tone. Kathy Griffin, who was hired to bring her acerbic sarcasm to the proceedings, is noticeably gentle and PG-rated.

"It's straighter than I would like, but you know what, the thing is the show's not about me," Griffin says. "Just know that when I'm watching it, I'm saying hilarious things in my head or you can just call me on Monday night and I'll tell you. Of course you know I'm just thinking completely vicious one-liners in my head constantly."

Krasnow hopes that the Average Joes will gain popularity with viewers because they represent a necessarily dose of realism in the reality world.

"I think sometimes you see these guys on TV and they're completely unattainable to the average viewer at home." He says. "I think that... most women are not going to get the gorgeous models and for them to see a guy who's actually really approachable I think the web sites we set up for these guys are going to get an unbelievable amount of hits from women who really want to meet them."

While the show's producers shot two consecutive installments of "Average Joe" back-to-back, there are no immediate plans to reverse the formula. The male stud muffin choosing from amongst a dozen Average Janes may be a concept whose time is yet to come.

"Are you kidding?" Griffin asks. "Guys would freak out having 15 overweight women with real bodies and stuff. They'd flip the heck out. Yeah, they can't handle it."

"Average Joe" premieres tonight at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.

'Glow' Girl

Six years is a long time between studio albums -- but sometimes life gets in the way. Canadian pop powerhouse Sarah McLachlan actually spent about 21/2 years working on her latest Arista disc, "Afterglow," the follow-up to her 1997 breakthrough album, "Surfacing." But its release was sidetracked while the artist dealt with the death of her mother and gave birth to her first child.

Despite this interval, McLachlan's ethereal voice and haunting lyrics have already been warmly ushered onto the airwaves. First single "Fallen" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart and is No. 10 on the Adult Top 40 tally this week.

"A lot of different kinds of music have dominated the airwaves for so long that hopefully now there is a place for me," McLachlan says. Indeed, the set contains numerous single-worthy tracks and remarkable musical and lyrical moments.

"Answer" is about finding the love of your life. "Push" delves into the give-and-take in a relationship and features a melodic, calming accompaniment. Airy background vocals form the backdrop to "Time," a track about the confusion of love. Another standout track is "World On Fire," about living in today's confusing world.

"My guideline for success -- and this is really, truthfully honest -- is whether I am really proud of this record. If I am proud of the record, which I am, then I let it go," she says. "If other people like it, then that's a big old bonus for me." McLachlan will tour in support of the album next year, first going to Europe, Australia and Japan and then focusing on North America in the summer.

'Scary Movie 3' Continues Fiendish Pace

LOS ANGELES - Audiences were in a laughing mood for Halloween as the horror spoof "Scary Movie 3" took in $21.1 million to remain the top film for a second straight weekend.

In its wide-release debut, Disney's animated tale "Brother Bear" opened in second place with $18.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The haul for "Brother Bear" was only for Saturday and Sunday. After the movie premiered in two theaters the previous weekend, Disney chose to expand it into wide release on Saturday rather than the usual Friday, which was Halloween, typically a slow night at theaters.

"Halloween has grown and become such a family experience that we chose not to compete with that on Friday," said Disney head of distribution Chuck Viane.

Studios overall reported a big slump in ticket sales Friday because of Halloween, with only horror flicks such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" holding up well that night.

"Halloween night has become like Christmas Eve," said Tom Sherak, a partner in Revolution Studios, whose feel-good drama "Radio" was No. 4 with $10.2 million.

The top 12 movies took in $91.9 million, down 9 percent from the same weekend last year.

The quiet weekend was the calm before the storm as theaters prepare for Wednesday's debut of "The Matrix Revolutions," the final installment of the Wachowski brothers' sci-fi saga.

The franchise's middle chapter, "The Matrix Reloaded," had an opening weekend of $91.8 million last May, the best debut ever for an R-rated movie.

"Scary Movie 3" pushed its 10-day total to $78.6 million, surpassing the $71.3 million gross of "Scary Movie 2" over its entire run. The original "Scary Movie" topped out at $157 million.

Playing in 3,505 theaters, "Scary Movie 3" averaged $6,020 from Friday to Sunday. For its two-day weekend in wide-release, "Brother Bear" averaged $6,119 in 3,030 theaters.

Meg Ryan's murder thriller "In the Cut," directed by Jane Campion, expanded to wider release after a limited debut the previous weekend. "In the Cut" came in at No. 10 with $2.3 million, averaging $2,788 in 825 theaters.

"The Human Stain," starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman in an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel, opened in 160 theaters and took in a solid $1.1 million for an average of $7,025 a cinema.

"Alien: The Director's Cut," Ridley Scott's new version of his 1979 sci-fi horror flick, debuted with $1.04 million, averaging $2,997 in 347 theaters.

"Shattered Glass" — starring Hayden Christensen as Stephen Glass, The New Republic journalist fired for fabricating stories — debuted well with $80,000 in eight theaters.

As it did last year with "The Santa Clause 2," Disney slipped "Brother Bear" into theaters to beat the rush of family films that arrive for the holidays. Next weekend brings the Christmas comedy "Elf," while "Dr. Seuss' the Cat in the Hat," "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" and "The Haunted Mansion" debut later in November.

"`Brother Bear' totally capitalized on a marketplace devoid of family films," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "There's always an opportunity where there's a scarcity of product for a particular segment of the audience."
 
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. "Scary Movie 3," $21.1 million.
2. "Brother Bear," $18.5 million.
3. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," $10.9 million.
4. "Radio," $10.2 million.
5. "Runaway Jury," $6.9 million.
6. "Mystic River," $6.3 million.
7. "Kill Bill — Vol. 1," $4.7 million.
8. "The School of Rock," $4.4 million.
9. "Intolerable Cruelty," $2.7 million.
10. "In the Cut," $2.3 million.

Digital Singles Close to Eclipsing Hard Copies

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Digital tracks are outselling physical singles by a growing margin, a sign that consumers increasingly are embracing the brave new world of Internet downloading.

Digital download sales outpaced physical singles 857,000 to 170,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures for the week ending Oct. 26. That's slightly more than a 5-to-1 ratio.

Sean Ryan, VP of music services at RealNetworks, says that the rise of digital track sales carries a "symbolic significance," illustrating the music industry's shift to online delivery options.

He also says it indicates a real opportunity for the music business: "Selling individual songs as an offline strategy wasn't working all that well, but online it can be a huge hit."

Nielsen SoundScan data indicates that the trend has been evident since mid-August.

In fact, from the last week of June -- when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital downloads -- through the current week, digital tracks have outsold physical singles 7.7 million units to 4 million.

(The former figure could have been higher, but the digital track figures do not include the first two weeks of sales from iTunes for Mac. Apple reported sales of 1.5 million tracks in its first two weeks on the Mac platform.)

Still, the biggest-selling physical single continues to outsell the top digital track. This week's top commercial single, "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe (INO/Curb), sold 6,900 units. Online leader "Hey Ya!" by OutKast (Arista) rang up sales of 4,700.

What all this means for the music business -- and whether it signals the start of a comeback for single sales -- is open to debate.

EMI Music Marketing executive VP Phil Quartararo says he isn't reading the tea leaves just yet -- echoing a sentiment expressed by many label executives, who say they are not ready to rush to judgment. Quartararo says he is just happy that consumers are seeing a value in music.

"Any way we can drive a consumer to purchase music as opposed to taking music is a win for the industry," he notes.

But many sales and distribution executives at the majors contend that contrasting digital track sales and physical singles sales isn't a straight comparison.

SHIFTING MARKET?

The singles market, much to the dismay of physical retailers, has been in a state of pronounced decline for many years. Because major labels have concerns regarding singles' potential to cannibalize album sales, only a limited number of those titles are available for sale.

Meanwhile, online consumers have access to a universe of more than 500,000 tracks at 99 cents each.

At the very least, some analysts see digital consumption trends as an indicator of growing market acceptance of the nascent online music services.

But a broader view suggests that the trend marks the start of a commercial shift to a market where individual song purchases and digital distribution will play a much bigger role in the industry's profitability equation.
 
Regardless of the perspective, label and technology executives say the growth of track sales online shows that the industry is starting to fulfill a consumer demand that previously was being met only by unlicensed, free peer-to-peer networks.

Recent growth in the digital tracks market can be attributed to the rise of PC download sales -- particularly from Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store.

After the debut of iTunes on the PC, which came in the middle of the Nielsen SoundScan reporting period that ended Oct. 19, digital track sales jumped 70% to 685,000 from 406,000 in the previous week.

The gap between physical and digital on individual songs has been narrowing as weekly sales for the most popular digital tracks continue to grow.

On the Billboard Hot Digital Tracks chart this week, each of the 25 tracks ranked were purchased more than 1,000 times -- a first. (In all, 32 songs were sold more than 1,000 times last week.)

In another first, two songs on the Hot Digital Tracks chart this week posted sales of more than 4,000 -- the aforementioned "Hey Ya!" and "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne, which sold just shy of 4,100 copies.