And The Winners Are!

BEST PICTURE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
LOST IN TRANSLATION
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
MYSTIC RIVER
SEABISCUIT

Dan's Pick - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
Why? - The trilogy was such a success that they have to reward it with the Oscar. They HAVE to!

BEST DIRECTOR
Fernando Meirelles, CITY OF GOD
Peter Jackson, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
Sophia Coppola, LOST IN TRANSLATION
Peter Weir, MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
Clint Eastwood, MYSTIC RIVER

Dan's Pick - Peter Jackson, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
Why? - See above. They just HAVE to!

BEST ACTRESS
Keisha Castle-Hughes - WHALE RIDER
Diane Keaton - SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Samantha Morton - IN AMERICA
Charlize Theron - MONSTER
Naomi Watts - 21 GRAMS

Dan's Pick - Charlize Theron - MONSTER
Why? - No one else in this category has even been mentioned.

BEST ACTOR

Johnny Depp - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Ben Kingsley - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Jude Law - COLD MOUNTAIN
Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION
Sean Penn - MYSTIC RIVER

Dan's Pick - Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION (Dan thinks Penn will win but he just can't vote against Bill Murray)
Why? - I just can't vote against Bill. He was the best thing in a movie in 2003.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Shohreh Aghdashloo - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Patricia Clarkson - PIECES OF APRIL
Marcia Gay Harden - MYSTIC RIVER
Holly Hunter - THIRTEEN
Renée Zellweger - COLD MOUNTAIN

Dan's Pick - Renée Zellweger - COLD MOUNTAIN
Why? - She didn't win in 2003 for "Chicago" and since people like her and "Cold Mountain" has to win something, this is what it, and Renee, will win.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alec Baldwin - THE COOLER
Benicio Del Toro - 21 GRAMS
Djimon Hounsou - IN AMERICA
Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER
Ken Watanabe - THE LAST SAMURAI

Dan's Pick - Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER
Why? - Like Charlize Theron, no one else in the category has been talked about.

Good luck to Bill and enjoy the Oscars!

Deuce Deuce

Sony Pictures has bought the rights to the sequel to DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO from Disney, because the Mouse thought the film was too racy. Sony and Happy Madison plan to begin production on DEUCE BIGALOW: EUROPEAN GIGOLO later this year. The sequel sees Deuce invited to vacation in Amsterdam by his pimp, only to find out he's being man-whored again.

BIG GET

Barbara Walters snagging an exclusive interview with Shrek. The green ogre will appear on Walters' Oscar special Sunday night.

TIGERSHACK

Tiger Woods to spoof the movie Caddyshack in an upcoming American Express commercial. The ad will feature Woods battling the movie's gopher, and finally using his American Express card to hire an exterminator.

Oscars Look Like 'Rings' Coronation Day

LOS ANGELES - Last year, the musical returned to Academy Awards grace with best-picture winner "Chicago." Now, the long-overlooked fantasy genre is positioned for Oscar favor.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is shaping up as the dominant picture at the 76th annual awards Sunday. With clear front-runners in most major categories, the show could end up anticlimactic, though a surprise or two is possible.

A look at the nominees in the top categories:

Best picture:

Give those hairy little hobbits their Oscar and be done with it. "The Return of the King" is steamrolling its way to the top prize with momentum not seen since 1997's "Titanic."

The culmination of Peter Jackson's prodigious adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, "Return of the King" is the darling of critics and audiences and has cleaned up at previous Hollywood honors, including the Golden Globes and awards from the guilds representing directors, actors and producers.

Few otherworldly films have ever been nominated, and no fantasy flick has won the top Oscar. But no other filmmaker ever took the genre as seriously as Jackson.

The previous two chapters, 2001's "The Fellowship of the Ring" and 2002's "The Two Towers," were nominated for best picture but lost. The sense from the start was that the good people of Middle-earth had their best Oscar shot with Part 3, as their epic battle against evil — and Jackson's herculean labors to craft a nearly 10-hour saga — reached a climax.

Fan adoration and ticket sales bear out that theory, with "Return of the King" the top-grossing of the three, becoming the No. 2 all-time box-office draw worldwide behind "Titanic." Reviews were reverential, and "Return of the King" was a rare populist choice for movie of the year by the typically hoity-toity New York Film Critics Circle.

The only potential chink in the film's armor is that it was shut out in the four acting categories. Actors, who make up about one-fourth of the 5,803 Oscar voters, sometimes are reluctant to embrace big special-effects films, feeling the visuals diminish their own craft.

Ian McKellen as the hoary wizard Gandalf scored the trilogy's only performing nomination, as supporting actor for "Fellowship of the Ring."

The Screen Actors Guild, though, did honor "Return of the King" with its award for best ensemble performance.

And Hollywood at large has great admiration for the humanity the players invested in the franchise's fanciful characters, including Elijah Wood and Sean Astin as pint-sized hobbits, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean and Miranda Otto as human warriors, Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies as mismatched elf-dwarf buddies, and McKellen.

"I think one of our problems is we have such strong performances within an ensemble cast that it's difficult for any particular performance to rise above the others and become the dominant one," Jackson said. "And maybe the fantasy image does impact the actors a little. Do you take the performances as seriously if you're a wizard or a hobbit?"

Partly on the strength of acting nominations for Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Marcia Gay Harden, the somber vengeance drama "Mystic River" may be the strongest best-picture rival to "Return of the King."

But it's a distant second at best. With Penn and Robbins considered front-runners for lead and supporting actor, Oscar voters may feel they have done right by "Mystic River" in casting ballots for the performers, leaving the best-picture field to "Return of the King."

The other nominees — the misfit friendship tale "Lost in Translation," the naval adventure "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" and the horse-racing drama "Seabiscuit" — look like happy-to-be-nominated also-rans.
 
"Master and Commander" and "Seabiscuit" have historic depth that could have made them contenders in a year without a "Lord of the Rings"-style behemoth. "Lost in Translation" has a devoted following but probably is too quirky and intimate a story to go home with the top prize.

Best actor:

The Oscar is Sean Penn's to lose, but the surly actor who has been disparaging about awards in the past has put on an obliging front this time.

Penn's absence at last month's Golden Globes, where he was named best-dramatic actor as a vengeful father in "Mystic River," could have weakened his prospects, sending a signal to his peers that he simply does not care about Hollywood honors.

Since then, Penn has turned up at other awards functions and plans to attend the Oscars after skipping the ceremony for previous best-actor nominations for "Dead Man Walking," "Sweet and Lowdown" and "I Am Sam."

Penn's apparent message to Hollywood now: I will run if nominated, I will serve if elected.

"I am honored to be acknowledged," Penn graciously said the day nominations were announced.

His reputation as a dramatic heavyweight overdue for an Oscar helps Penn's prospects, and his supple performance in "Mystic River" — ranging from unreasoning grief to seething rage to cold-blooded amorality — is a worthy vehicle to bring Penn his Oscar.

Possibly sealing the deal is another terrific performance last fall as a dying heart patient in "21 Grams" — which could well have earned Penn a second nomination if Oscar rules did not prohibit dual honors in the same acting category.

Penn's main competition is another standoffish actor, Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation," playing a has-been movie star shooting a commercial in Tokyo. Murray won the Golden Globe for comedy actor and has enormous good will in Hollywood as a jester who has elevated comic roles to higher art.

Academy respect was a long time coming for Murray, the ex-"Saturday Night Live" ham who had great success in the 1980s with broad comedies such as "Stripes" and "Ghostbusters" but was disregarded on early dramatic efforts like "The Razor's Edge."

"Groundhog Day," with Murray delivering one of the finest modern comedy performances, showcased his subtle timing. A terrific performance in "Rushmore" failed to earn Murray an Oscar nomination, but that role and such films as "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Ed Wood" helped pave the way for an Oscar acceptance with "Lost in Translation."

Johnny Depp, nominated as the twitchy buccaneer of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," was a surprise winner over Penn and Murray at the SAG Awards.

Depp's march to the Oscars was the opposite of Murray's. A career of daring dramatic roles in smaller films failed to earn Depp a single nomination, but he finally joined the Oscar club in a blockbuster action comedy.

The SAG win may have given Depp some extra Oscar votes as last-minute ballots trickled in, but academy members tend toward weighty drama such as "Mystic River" over broad comedy like "Pirates."

While Hollywood would love to give Depp an Oscar, it more likely will come for a meatier role down the road.

Ben Kingsley, in the running for "House of Sand and Fog," is a best-actor winner for "Gandhi" and had supporting-actor nominations for "Bugsy" and "Sexy Beast." Kingsley is a longshot this time as an Iranian immigrant battling for possession of a home. While a fine role, Kingsley's part is not the sort of slam-dunk performance that brings a second Oscar.

Likewise, Jude Law as a Civil War deserter in "Cold Mountain" is a longshot. Law, previously nominated as supporting actor for "The Talented Mr. Ripley," has been a distant runner-up in earlier film honors.

Best actress:

Oscar voters love physical transformations (Robert De Niro packing on the pounds for "Raging Bull," Daniel Day-Lewis feigning cerebral palsy in "My Left Foot," Nicole Kidman and her fake nose in "The Hours").

As serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster," Charlize Theron obliterates her cover-girl beauty. She gained 30 pounds, wore dark contact lenses and was unrecognizable behind false teeth, stringy hair and splotchy makeup.

A fright wig and flabby flesh do not win Oscars, though. Theron's animated, anguished performance — subtly allowing viewers to empathize with the character even as they find her actions repugnant — has made her the favorite to win with her first nomination.

Before "Monster," Theron generally was dismissed as a pretty face with adequate acting chops at best. "The Cider House Rules" gave Theron her most notable serious role, but her other credits were heavy on so-so parts in mediocre movies.

Theron has triumphed in many earlier film honors, including the Golden Globes and SAG awards.

Diane Keaton, the Globe winner for comedy actress for "Something's Gotta Give," presents Theron's chief obstacle. Keaton, a best-actress winner for 1977's "Annie Hall" who also had nominations for "Reds" and "Marvin's Room," scored a huge commercial and critical comeback as a romantic cynic at the center of a love triangle.

Keaton's playful performance reminded viewers of an Annie Hall gracefully aged, and the film's $100 million gross put youth-minded Hollywood on notice that movies with older casts can click with audiences.

"Our generation of women has been discounted as a demographic that does not go to the movies, when in fact, we will," the 58-year-old Keaton said. "Give us a chance. We may not hit opening weekend like the younger generation does, but we'll be there. Movies with older people do have an audience. We'll go, and you can expect a profit."

As a champion for longevity in a business where actors and even filmmakers have a limited shelf life, Keaton could pull in enough votes for a second Oscar.

At the other end of the spectrum is 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes, the youngest best-actress nominee ever. Castle-Hughes made a remarkable film debut as a Maori girl who bucks tradition and fights for leadership of her tribe in "Whale Rider."

But Castle-Hughes is a longshot, as is Samantha Morton, nominated for "In America," in which she plays an Irishwoman rebounding from tragedy and building a new life in New York City with her family. Morton previously was nominated as supporting actress for "Sweet and Lowdown."

First-time nominee Naomi Watts has an outside chance at a dark-horse win for "21 Grams," in which she plays a grieving wife and mother bent on revenge. It's a showy performance that takes Watts from quiet introspection to gut-wrenching sorrow to ferocious anger, and in a less competitive year, could have made Watts the front-runner.

Supporting actor:

Tim Robbins, who received the Golden Globe and SAG prize, is the likely winner for "Mystic River," in which he plays a man tormented by childhood trauma. Like co-star Penn, Robbins has a body of work that has earned him great respect among his peers, and "Mystic River" is his finest performance yet.

It was the first acting nomination for Robbins, who was nominated for best director on "Dead Man Walking."

Benicio Del Toro, a supporting-actor winner for "Traffic," is the only performer in the category with a previous Oscar nomination. Del Toro was honored for "21 Grams," in which he plays an ex-con whose efforts to go straight end in tragedy.

The other first-time nominees are Alec Baldwin as a slimy casino owner in "The Cooler," Djimon Hounsou as an artist dying of AIDS in "In America" and Ken Watanabe as a noble rebel warrior in "The Last Samurai."

Supporting actress:

With Renee Zellweger's third-straight nomination, this could be her year. Nominated previously as best actress for "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Chicago," Zellweger enlivened "Cold Mountain" with heart and humor as an indefatigable handywoman.

The Golden Globe and SAG winner, Zellweger looks to be the favorite at the Oscars, as well.

Two first-time nominees pose her main competition. Shohreh Aghdashloo has caught terrific Oscar buzz for her role as a compassionate Iranian woman in "House of Sand and Fog." And Patricia Clarkson, an overlooked Hollywood stalwart who has emerged with a string of notable roles, delivers an acerbically funny performance as a breast-cancer victim in "Pieces of April."

The other nominees have won Oscars, Marcia Gay Harden (supporting-actress recipient for "Pollock") and Holly Hunter (best-actress winner for "The Piano").

Harden was nominated this time as Robbins' rankled, suspicious wife in "Mystic River." Hunter, also a past nominee as best actress for "Broadcast News" and supporting actress for "The Firm," was cited again for "thirteen," in which she plays a single mom with a rebellious daughter.

Both Harden and Hunter are considered longshots.

Best director:

After seven years of work and three straight blockbusters, Peter Jackson should finally have an Oscar of his own to call "my precious."

With "Return of the King," Jackson won the top filmmaking prize at the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild of America awards. If Jackson fails to win the Oscar, it would be one of the biggest directing upsets in Hollywood history.

Jackson was nominated two years ago for "The Fellowship of the Ring," but he was snubbed by the Oscars last year for "The Two Towers." As with the best-picture race, the feeling has been that academy voters would hold off and give Jackson the Oscar for the final installment as an acknowledgment of the overall trilogy.

The other nominees include Clint Eastwood ("Mystic River"), who won the directing Oscar for "Unforgiven," which also earned him a best-actor nomination.

Peter Weir earned his fourth nomination for "Master and Commander." He previously was cited for "Witness," "Dead Poets Society" and "The Truman Show."

Sofia Coppola, the daughter of Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola, earned her first directing nomination for "Lost in Translation." While an unlikely directing winner, Coppola could walk away with the original-screenplay Oscar.

The fifth nominee was a surprise pick, Fernando Meirelles for the Brazilian drug-crime drama "City of God."

Dueling X-Men?

Cinescape scoped out the latest issue of WIZARD magazine early and found a few interesting bits about X-MEN 3 and 4. Singer apparently plans to film the 3 and 4 simultaneously and apparently Singer plans for the film to deal with what would happen if humans and mutants went up against evolution itself.

STAY-AT-HOME PAMMY

Pamela Anderson telling E! News Live that she has retired from acting to spend more time with her kids. "I don't want to be an actress. I never did want to be an actress," Anderson said. "And actually it's been very fun and silly and the fact that I've done as much as I have is just fun. I have retired."

Download it here!

Jay-Z-Beatles Album an Unauthorized Hit

NEW YORK - When DJ Dangermouse decided to combine raps from Jay-Z's "The Black Album" with music from the Beatles' legendary "White Album" to create "The Grey Album," he didn't have permission from either side to do it — and he didn't care.

"I intended for it to be for friends and for people who knew my stuff. I figured it would get passed around, and it would be this little underground thing, but it kind of took off on its own," said the music producer, born Brian Burton.

That's an understatement. Although he only pressed up a few thousand copies on CD, it has become a hotly traded album on the Web, sparking the consternation of the Beatles' parent label and an Internet protest in support of Dangermouse.

"This was not my intent to break copyright laws. It was my intent to make an art project," the Los Angeles-based producer told The Associated Press.

The ingenious album reconfigures the trippy Beatles rock to jibe with the Jay-Z's rough acapella raps. It's just the latest of countless unauthorized DJ mixes that have multiplied thanks to the power of the Internet.

"It's a complete deconstruction and reconstruction," says Dangermouse, who says he spent two weeks on the project.

Although Dangermouse says he created the "Grey Album" only for fans and friends, he did sell some copies to record stores and promote it on his Web site, www.djdangermouse.com.

Jay-Z's label, Roc-a-fella Records, didn't take any action against Dangermouse. While Damon Dash, head of Roc-a-fella, told The Associated Press that proper permission should have been obtained, he said, "I think it hot. It's the Beatles. It's two great legends together."

But EMI, which owns the Beatles recordings, sent Burton a cease-and-desist order. "The DJ did not ask permission at any time — never approached us," said Jeanne Meyer, senior vice president of corporate communications for EMI.

Not that Dangermouse could remove all the copies from the Internet, even if he wanted to.

The album's profile may have gotten even bigger Tuesday, when the music activism site downhillbattle.org urged fans to post the music on Web sites for a day to protest EMI's cease-and-desist order. Nicholas Reville, a co-founder of the site, says more than 150 sites have participated.

"What's going on is that EMI is censoring a work of art," he said. "Not only are they telling musicians the kind of music they can or cannot create, they're trying to tell the public what we can and cannot listen to. We think EMI's attempts to censor it and prevent the public from hearing it are a huge problem and we shouldn't allow that kind of corporate censorship."

However, Meyer said the issue was not about censorship, but copyright protection. She says EMI routine approves samples and remixed works (usually for a price).

"We're not against sampling, We're not against remixes, we've been really progressive in it," she said. "The work is unauthorized, and people who are hosting it or are streaming it are being advised to stop."

Burton, who has produced tracks for artists like the rapper Cee-Lo and released the album "Ghetto Pop Life" last year with artist Jemini on Lex Records, was not getting involved with the Internet protest. He says the real intent of creating the "Grey Album" wasn't to protest copyright laws, but to create a musical dialogue between fans.

"I'm getting people like high school teachers using it as a lecture," he says, adding that Beatles fans have become more appreciative of Jay-Z's work, and vice versa.

"Their kids are asking for Beatles records now. I wanted to kind of have that be passed on to other people, that such radical things can really work."

Japan Abuzz With 'Translation' Reviews

TOKYO - To some, it's a superficial look at Japan that pokes fun at the natives. To others, the quirky side of Tokyo adds comic relief to the plight of Americans adrift in a foreign land.

"Lost In Translation" is still months away from opening in Japanese theaters, but Sofia Coppola's U.S. box-office hit is already causing a stir, generating a mix of admiration and exasperation in Japan.

Despite its critical acclaim, including three Golden Globes and four Academy Award nominations, the tale of two jet-lagged and lonely Americans stuck in this high-tech metropolis could be a tough sell in Japan.

"It's a comedy. But some Japanese might misunderstand that," said Fumihiro Hayashi, a friend of Coppola's who has a bit part in the movie. "I can see how those people will think it promotes stereotypes about Japan."

In the film, Bill Murray plays a washed-up actor shooting a whiskey commercial in Japan. Suffering from insomnia and culture shock, he finds unexpected kinship with a bored young wife, played by Scarlett Johansson. Together, they explore Tokyo's bizarre nightlife and pop culture.

Since the movie's U.S. premiere in September, Japanese abroad and a few at home have weighed in their opinions on Internet message boards and Web journals. For a small-budget, art-house production, it's getting plenty of attention.

Among the reviewers' biggest concerns: how the movie shapes the way the world sees Japan.

"There are stereotypical portrayals of Japan and discriminatory jokes," wrote Mirai Konishi, a movie columnist for eiga.com. "But I wasn't that offended. For an American movie about Japan, it's a frank, if somewhat exaggerated, snapshot."

Some reviews laud Coppola's deft directing and Murray's tragicomic confusion. Others complain the director too often shows Murray puzzled by Japanese people speaking broken English.

In one typical scene, Murray is stumped when a call girl unexpectedly arrives at his hotel room, hikes up her skirt and demands, "Lip my stocking!" — mispronouncing the word "rip."

Everywhere Murray and Johansson go, they are struck by the bizarre and unfamiliar. At a hospital, nobody translates as a receptionist and doctor prattle in Japanese. In the street, a political candidate in a suit hollers slogans and runs alongside a campaign van. At a videogame arcade, a teenager with spiky hair and a dangling cigarette strums an air-guitar game.

When Murray or Johansson flicks on the TV, it's almost invariably weird: an aerobics instructor leading a troupe of women dressed in police outfits with plastic miniskirts; an effeminate talk show host who guffaws and prances around in a pink and blue patterned suit.

Murray can't even figure out the hotel gym equipment, which drones on in Japanese and only seems to run on hyperspeed.

For some Japanese, the weirdness of Japan was sadly exaggerated.

"I was depressed by how the movie seemed to state as fact, 'From an American's perspective, Japanese are strange and we can't communicate with them,'" a reviewer nicknamed Asian Muskrat wrote earlier this month on eigaseikatsu.com, an online movie information and chat site.

A few of the critiques sting. "I just pray that those who get interested in Japan after seeing this won't have a warped view," wrote a reviewer, Taa-chan, on a movie fan's personal chat room.

The vast majority of Japanese will have to wait until the film's opening in May to form their own opinions.
 
Japanese distributor Tohokushinsha Co. said "Lost In Translation" is opening so late because it's not typical Hollywood fare. Big-budget films tend to debut in Japan within weeks of their U.S. premiere at major cineplexes, while smaller ones stay at obscure theaters.

Even with all the publicity, Tohokushinsha is playing it safe. The movie will open at one Tokyo theater with seating for about 300, and so far the only advertisement is a Web site with a trailer and a brief plot introduction, company spokesman Yosuke Watanabe said.

Depending on ticket sales in the first two weeks, other theaters may show it for about a month, Watanabe said.

"We expect it to go to other theaters, in Osaka and other cities nationwide," he said. "But if it doesn't do well in Tokyo, its run could end there."

Oscars May Hold a Couple of Surprises

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Will the Oscars this Sunday be a ho-hum affair or will a dark horse named Seabiscuit come bounding out of the gate to beat hundreds of glory hungry Hobbits by a nose?

Frankly, the bookmakers are saying don't waste your money by betting on the nag because the odds are hugely against this happening.

But film experts think a couple of surprises are possible at the 76th annual Oscars even if "The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King," is almost certain to race off with the major prize of the night, best picture, leaving 'Seabiscuit" and three other films biting the dust.

The biggest chance of an upset is expected in the best actor category which Tom O'Neil, the host of the online awards site GoldDerby.com., calls a "cliff-hanger in which three bad boy actors -- Sean Penn, Bill Murray and Johnny Depp -- are racing neck-and-neck and in which one of them will probably win by a nose."

Going into the home-stretch of the Oscars race, Penn was the favorite for his performance as ex-con anguished by the murder of his teenage daughter in Clint Eastwood's powerful crime thriller "Mystic River."

But O'Neil said Penn made a huge tactical error when he failed to attend the Golden Globe awards in January and gave Hollywood the impression that he wasn't interested in competing for filmdom's top prize, the Oscar.

Meanwhile, the British film industry's equivalent of the Oscars honored Murray for his performance as a lonely middle-aged actor adrift in Tokyo in "Lost in Translation" and the U.S. Screen Actors Guild unexpectedly gave its top award to Depp, who plays a flamboyant buccaneer in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl."

Robert Osborne, author of "75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards," says that "when the Oscars seem pat, that's when the surprises come" and his choice of this year's upset is, like O'Neil, the best actor's race.

"There is so much talk about Johnny Depp right now. Bill Murray gave a comedy performance which Oscar voters often don't go for and Penn is disliked in part because ... people get upset over his politics -- he did go to Iraq," Osborne said.

DEPP CHARGE

Time magazine film critic Richard Schickel also thinks that Depp has a strong shot at the award which last year went to Adrian Brody for 'The Pianist" in an upset victory.

"Bill Murray put in more of an appearance than a performance. He is not a lock. Sean Penn has a shot as does Depp .... who is not an underrated actor any more but one of the two or three best actors working."

The experts think that there is also a chance for an upset in one other acting category -- best supporting actress in which Renee Zellweger has been the favorite for her role in "Cold Mountain."

Although she won the Screen Actors Guild award for best supporting actress on Sunday, many critics think she could lose to either Shohreh Aghdashloo for her work as the wife of an Iranian colonel in "House of Sand and Fog" or to popular independent film star Patricia Clarkson, the mother in 'Pieces of April."

South African-born Charlize Theron is expected to win the best actress award for her performance as a prostitute serial killer in "Monster," with her strongest competition expected to come from Diane Keaton who plays a woman in her 50s finding love in 'Something's Gotta Give."

But Schickel think Theron has the edge: "She's going to win the Hilary Swank Memorial Oscar," referring to the Academy Award that the then unknown Swank won for an equally bold performance in "Boys Don't Cry."

"(Theron's) performance is very good even if the movie is not a bowl of Jello," Schickel said.

Gibson's 'Passion' Opens Amid Controversy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mel Gibson's controversial movie "The Passion of the Christ" opened in cinemas across the United States on Wednesday as Jewish groups decried it as anti-Semitic and New York's Roman Catholic cardinal stressed Jews did not kill Jesus.

Manhattan cinemas opened doors early and did brisk business all day among people eager to see a film harshly criticized by some prominent film reviewers before its release in 3,006 theaters nationwide -- an opening normally reserved for blockbusters like Gibson's "Lethal Weapon" series.

"People are being too sensitive about it," said Elsie Figueroa after a morning showing on the Upper East Side. "The Romans are the ones who nailed him to the cross and the Jews helped. It was everyone."

Jewish and other religious groups held small, scattered protests later in the day. A couple dozen Jewish protesters wore concentration camp uniforms outside one Upper West Side theater as they sought to link the film's portrayal of Jews to the sort of hate that led to the Nazi Holocaust.

Carrying signs saying "Mel Gibson's 'Passion' is cruci-fiction," they were outnumbered by a media throng.

In Wichita, Kansas, one middle-aged woman died of an apparent heart attack while watching the film's climactic crucifixion scene, a local television station reported.

New York Cardinal Edward Egan wrote to parishes to stress Jews were not responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus.

"He gave His Life for us," Egan wrote in a column to appear in next month's issue of Catholic New York. "No one took it from Him. This is, and has always been, Catholic doctrine."

Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman said he was troubled by Gibson's claim of historical accuracy.

"He made his choice," Foxman told a news conference after viewing the film. "And it's to blame the Jews."

He said he was concerned about reaction to the film outside the United States, particularly in the Middle East.

PROVOKING DEBATE

The film produced spirited debate outside one East Side theater as the audience left.

"Give us a chance to see the movie," Exodus Nicholas shouted at a Jewish woman who was complaining about the film.

"Jews should give us a chance to know who Jesus was, to know our history. If we really believe in Jesus and what he stood for, we come out of this movie loving people," she said.

Rabbi Avi Weiss, president of Jewish group Amcha, saw the same screening. "I care deeply about Jewish-Christian relations," he said. "This is a tremendous, tremendous setback. It is this lie, the lie that Jews were responsible for the murder of Jesus, which planted the seeds of the Holocaust."

Thousands in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas, flocked through the predawn darkness for a free screening at a Cineplex showing it on 20 screens throughout the day.
 
In recent days, the movie's producers have manufactured a buzz around the opening by arranging advance screenings in U.S. cities for church groups. The official opening was orchestrated for Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent -- the Christian season of penance before Easter.

BREAKFAST VIEWING

While moviegoers enjoyed their breakfast-time viewing of the blood-soaked movie -- many of them with their foreheads dabbed with ash from earlier church services -- many critics complained Gibson had lost the plot.

The New York Times said the film was half "horror movie" and half "slasher film" and likened its cruelty, brutality and violence to that of Quentin Tarantino, best known for directing "Pulp Fiction" and the more recent "Kill Bill."

The newspaper played down accusations of anti-Semitism leveled at Gibson's directorial work, saying the villainous portrayal of Jews in the film "does not seem to exceed what can be found in the source material."

"To condemn 'The Passion of the Christ' for its supposed bigotry is to miss its point and to misstate its problems," A.O. Scott wrote in the Times.

"'The Passion of the Christ' never provides a clear sense of what all the bloodshed was for, an inconclusiveness that is Mr. Gibson's most serious artistic flaw," he added.

Not all critics panned the film. Some praised it, including Roger Ebert who called it "a very great film."

Janet Jackson axed from Horne bio

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Janet Jackson has been left out in the rain after "Stormy Weather" singer Lena Horne balked at having the younger star play her in a planned television movie.

The 86-year-old Horne reportedly is angry about Jackson's breast-baring stunt at Super Bowl and pressured ABC to drop Jackson from the project, the trade newspaper Variety reported Tuesday.

Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who also produced the TV bios "The Three Stooges," "Martin and Lewis" and the controversial "The Reagans," also quit the project in solidarity with Jackson, Variety added.

ABC executives resisted Horne's demand, but Jackson representatives told the trade newspaper that she left willingly after Horne and her daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley, asked that she not take part.

The network wouldn't comment on the film Tuesday.

In addition to her work as a pop musician, Jackson also has acted in the films "Poetic Justice" and "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps." She was recently photographed in makeup designed to mimic Horne in a Vanity Fair photo spread.

New Who Songs Tipped For Best-Of Set

The Who's first new songs since the 1982 album "It's Hard" will be included on an upcoming best-of collection, Billboard.com has learned. Due March 30 via Geffen, "Then and Now! 1964-2004" will feature the new tracks "Real Good Looking Boy" and "Old Red Wine," alongside 18 of the legendary British rock act's familiar hits.

In November, guitarist Pete Townshend wrote on his official Web site that he and vocalist Roger Daltrey recorded "Real Good Looking Boy" with assistance from drummer Zak Starkey, keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, bassist Greg Lake and Townshend's brother Simon. No details are known about "Old Red Wine."

Now the group's lone surviving original members, Townshend and Daltrey have been working in earnest on new material since the summer 2002 death of bassist John Entwistle.

"Then and Now" will originally intended to be issued the same day as a DVD-Audio edition of the group's 1969 rock opera "Tommy," but that album has been pushed back to April 27. As previously reported, the Who will play "Tommy" live March 29 at London's Royal Albert Hall, as part of a benefit concert series for the Teenage Cancer Trust. The group is also confirmed to play March 22 and 24-25 at the London Forum and to co-headline the U.K.'s Isle of Wight Festival in June.

In related news, the Who's "I Can't Explain," "My Generation" and "I Can See for Miles" are featured on the boxed set "The British Invasion (1963-1967)," due Tuesday (March 2) from Hip-O/Universal Music Enterprises. The triple-disc package also sports classic tracks from Dusty Springfield, Manfred Mann, the Kinks, the Zombies, Tom Jones, the Small Faces, the Moody Blues and the Spencer Davis Group.

Here is the track list for "Then and Now!":

"I Can't Explain"
"My Generation"
"The Kids Are Alright"
"Substitute"
"I'm a Boy"
"Happy Jack"
"I Can See for Miles"
"Magic Bus"
"Pinball Wizard"
"See Me, Feel Me"
"Summertime Blues" (live)
"Behind Blue Eyes"
"Won't Get Fooled Again"
"5:15"
"Love, Reign O'er Me"
"Squeeze Box"
"Who You Are"
"You Better You Bet"
"Real Good Looking Boy"
"Old Red Wine"

Singer Alanis Morissette to host this year's Juno Awards in Edmonton

EDMONTON (CP) - Alanis Morissette has been pegged to host this year's Juno Awards, securing efforts by organizers for another star-studded evening.

The Ottawa native will be the face of a two-hour broadcast on April 4 when the country will honour the year's favourite musicians. Several years ago the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences got its act together and turned the once-stodgy show into a stellar night featuring high profile acts, starting with the Barenaked Ladies in 2002. The effort paid off in huge TV ratings.

And it hopes to beat previous records, such as the 2.2 million viewers entertained last year when Shania Twain wore various hockey-themed outfits. Juno producers are trying to squeeze in more performances, having already confirmed Avril Lavigne, Barenaked Ladies, Michael Buble, Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan and Nickelback.

Morissette, a Juno nominee in the music DVD category, has won 12 Junos and seven Grammys and she has been a presenter at both shows.

"Having been engaged in the music industry in Canada and beheld the evolution of the Junos over the last two decades, I feel so honoured to be hosting the show," Morissette, 29, said in a statement.

"I see this as the least I can do in the way of gratitude for a show and a country that has supported and propelled me over the last few years."

For Morissette the timing couldn't be better. The singer/songwriter/producer will release an album, So Called Chaos, on May 18. The CD's first single, Everything, will hit radio next month.

This year will also mark Morissette's return to the big screen. She will play an actress in a musical film based on the life of American songwriter Cole Porter. Called Just One of Those Things, the film stars Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd.

Furtado, McLachlan and Nickelback lead this year's Juno nominations with five nods each. Celine Dion follows with four and Billy Talent, Our Lady Peace and Sam Roberts are tied with three apiece.

Tickets for the show, to be held at Rexall Place, are nearly sold out.

AP Oscar Predictions: Rings, Penn, Theron

You can never count out surprises at the Academy Awards, but this season is shaping up as fairly predictable. Associated Press movie reviewers David Germain and Christy Lemire, much to their chagrin, agree on many predictions for the top Oscar categories:

BEST PICTURE

Nominees: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Lost in Translation," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Mystic River," "Seabiscuit."

LEMIRE: The hobbits and elves will finally rule Oscar night. "Rings" is a sure thing — not because it's the best picture, which it's not, but because of the vastness of the entire trilogy. Without "Rings," the powerfully tragic "Mystic River" would win, though "Master and Commander" is the kind of classic epic that old-school Oscar voters love. "Seabiscuit" was inspiring and beautifully shot, but it's almost too feel-good. "Lost in Translation" is a small wonder — too small to take the night's biggest prize.

GERMAIN: I could say "Ditto" and be done with it, but what's the fun of coming to work if you can't nag colleagues? "Return of the King" is a virtual lock, and if any other film wins, all of Hollywood will demand a re-count. Yet there's the slimmest of chances a performance piece such as "Mystic River" could win over enough actors, who account for one-fourth of the 5,803 Oscar voters, to steal the precious trophy from J.R.R. Tolkien's gang of hobbits.

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees: Fernando Meirelles, "City of God"; Peter Jackson, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"; Sofia Coppola, "Lost in Translation"; Peter Weir, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"; Clint Eastwood, "Mystic River."

GERMAIN: Let's see, a cast and crew of thousands, a trio of three-hour epics in a two-year span, nearly $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Peter Jackson has elevated the fantasy genre to mainstream high art, and the Oscar is bound to be his. Any other year, Weir would have a great shot for his ambitious high-seas adventure. Eastwood and Coppola deliver admirably, but their films' true strength lies in the writing and acting. Meirelles' "City of God" is raw and brilliant, but against Jackson, he hasn't a prayer.

LEMIRE: The "Rings" trilogy is as impressive as it is because of Jackson's sweeping scope. Any other year, Eastwood would have a great shot with his best film since his Oscar-winning "Unforgiven." But I was also wowed by Weir's ability to tell a huge story that's also quiet and intimate. And I'm just glad to see Coppola and Meirelles — two extremely observant directors whose films couldn't be more different — receive the recognition they deserve.

BEST ACTOR

Nominees: Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"; Ben Kingsley, "House of Sand and Fog"; Jude Law, "Cold Mountain"; Bill Murray, "Lost in Translation"; Sean Penn, "Mystic River."

LEMIRE: As a father grieving for his murdered daughter, Penn has the showiest role in a film full of showy roles. After three earlier nominations, he should finally get his Oscar. Though I'd like to see Murray win — he brings such nuance to a complex part. Kingsley was startling, but he's already won for "Gandhi." Law wasn't even the best thing in "Cold Mountain." And Depp was a blast to watch, but he won't walk away with the pirate's booty this time.

GERMAIN: Another ditto on Depp, Kingsley and Law. Penn has softened his awards apathy, turning up at Hollywood events and promising to attend the Oscars after skipping the show for his previous three nominations. Good timing, since "Mystic River" should finally bring him his award. Penn's other top-notch role in last fall's "21 Grams" is fresh in people's minds, giving him an extra boost. Murray, one of the finest modern comic actors, does have a shot for a performance brimming with world-weary charm.

BEST ACTRESS

Nominees: Keisha Castle-Hughes, "Whale Rider"; Diane Keaton, "Something's Gotta Give"; Samantha Morton, "In America"; Charlize Theron, "Monster"; Naomi Watts, "21 Grams."

GERMAIN: Naysayers whine that people are suckered in by physical transformations, but Theron's sublime performance makes her the front-runner, not the pounds and makeup she put on to play serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Theron is frighteningly authentic, redefining herself as a daring actress. Keaton could be a sentimental spoiler for her comic comeback role, while Watts' showy performance gives her an outside shot. Morton and 13-year-old Castle-Hughes are terrific but just along for the ride.

LEMIRE: Theron gives THE female performance of the year — she's an easy choice, even in a small, relentlessly bleak film. And you're right, Dave — it's what's going on inside that truly astounds, the who-knew-she-had-that-in-her? factor. Watts is such an intense, instinctive actress, she'll get her Oscar one day. Keaton was lovely, but she's already been to the Oscar podium.
 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nominees: Alec Baldwin, "The Cooler"; Benicio Del Toro, "21 Grams"; Djimon Hounsou, "In America"; Tim Robbins, "Mystic River"; Ken Watanabe, "The Last Samurai."

LEMIRE: This one's hard. Baldwin was fabulously sleazy as a Vegas casino owner, and I'd love to see him win. Del Toro was heartbreaking in one of the year's most emotional films. Hounsou and Watanabe each brought quiet strength — and an intimidating presence — to their roles. But Robbins is the heart of "Mystic River," and like his co-star Penn, should finally win his much-deserved Oscar.

GERMAIN: Actually, this one's not hard at all. Robbins has never been better, masterfully embodying an emotional wreck of a man with a few surprises left. Hollywood loves the guy and is just looking for a reason to give him the big prize. The other nominees are brilliant, but Del Toro already won for "Traffic," Baldwin did the slimeball thing better in "Glengarry Glen Ross," and neither Hounsou's nor Watanabe's roles have quite the flash to lift comparative unknowns above an established player like Robbins.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees: Shohreh Aghdashloo, "House of Sand and Fog"; Patricia Clarkson, "Pieces of April"; Marcia Gay Harden, "Mystic River"; Holly Hunter, "thirteen"; Renee Zellweger, "Cold Mountain."

GERMAIN: Harden would get my vote if she had not won for "Pollock," putting her in the "already-got-one" category. Hunter, an Oscar winner for "The Piano," is a long shot for the same reason. With her third consecutive nomination, Zellweger should win for her role as a plucky Confederate survivor. Aghdashloo runs a close second, bringing tragic grace to her part as a motherly Iranian immigrant. And Clarkson cannot be counted out, a veteran finally getting her Oscar due with a caustically funny role as a breast-cancer victim.

LEMIRE: OK, here comes my maverick pick. The day Oscar nominations were announced, I said, "Renee, Renee, Renee." She's due, and who else could possibly win? But as time has passed, I've come to think Aghdashloo will take it. She gives such a subtle performance, it's as if she isn't even acting. (Plus, this is the category that often provides surprise winners — just look at Harden.) Zellweger will get her Oscar in time, but not for "Cold Mountain," in which her performance is a bit shticky, even though it provides much-needed comic relief.

Prince Will Play Classics on Arena Tour

LOS ANGELES - Prince will return to arena stages for the first time in six years with a national tour featuring classic hits such as "When Doves Cry" and "Little Red Corvette."

"It's older music, but it's going to be played in a newer way," the typically reclusive performer said Tuesday in announcing the tour that begins March 29 in Los Angeles and will hit at least 38 cities.

Prince followed his announcement with a half-hour concert backed by his eight-piece group, the New Power Generation Band. He performed the title song from his upcoming new CD "Musicology" before answering questions from 200 fans and reporters.

The 45-year-old musician is in negotiations with various record labels to release his new disc. Since he parted with Warner Bros. in 1996 after a bitter feud, he has either released his albums on the Internet or through other labels or distribution deals.

His upcoming tour shows the singer is ready to move back into pop music mainstream he dropped out of in the '90s. He kicked off this month's Grammy telecast with Beyonce joining him on his hit "Purple Rain"; this marks the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking album and movie.

The Triplets of Belleville make their way to digital

An animated film threatening to topple Disney and Pixar for the Academy Award this year is no small feat. The Triplets of Belleville is making its way to DVD for those who missed in on the big screen.

Adopted by his grandmother, Madame Souza, Champion is a lonely little boy. Noticing that this lad is never happier than on a bicycle, Madame Souza puts him through a rigorous training process. Years go by and Champion becomes worthy of his name. Now he is ready to enter the world-famous cycling race, the Tour de France. However, during this cycling contest two mysterious, square-shouldered henchmen kidnap Champion.

The disc will contain five featurettes, a music video and a theatrical trailer.
Arriving on May 4th, the DVD has a suggested retail price of $24.96.

Cusack, Bellucci, Thornton Reap 'Harvest'

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - John Cusack, Monica Bellucci and Billy Bob Thornton will star in "Ice Harvest," a comedic thriller to be directed by Harold Ramis.

Set in a snowbound town on Christmas Eve, the Focus Features project centers on a not-so-bright lawyer (Cusack) who is about to embezzle money from his mob superiors. Bellucci plays an owner of a strip bar who is in cahoots with Thornton's character, who is using the lawyer to swindle the mob and plans to double-cross him.

The production, which sources put in the $10 million range, is due to begin filming in Cusack's Chicago hometown in April.

Cusack most recently starred in "Runaway Jury" and "Identity." Other credits include "High Fidelity" and "Being John Malkovich."

Italian actress Bellucci next appears in Mel Gibson's Wednesday release "The Passion of the Christ," in which she plays Mary Magdalene. Thornton most recently starred in "Bad Santa," for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.

Ramis' recent directing credits include the hit 1999 comedy "Analyze This" and its less successful 2002 sequel "Analyze That." In between, he directed 2000's "Bedazzled."

The Couch Is Back In Full Form!

This week in The Couch Potato Report we've got a jury, a child star, some spy kids, two matchstick men and a good director who's gone missing.

Up first, the latest film adaptation of a John Grisham book. But forget the fact that RUNAWAY JURY comes from the same man who wrote THE FIRM, A TIME TO KILL, THE PELICAN BRIEF and THE CLIENT. This is a film that finally puts screen veterans Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman together. Even as impressive as the casting is, the pair is magnificent on screen.

Those two top line a cast that also includes John Cusack and Rachel Weisz.

Set in New Orleans, this is the story of a mysterious man who gets himself not only on the jury of a landmark case against a gun manufacturer, but voted in as the foreman.

The case involves the widow of a man killed in an office shooting suing the gun manufacturer of the weapon that was used, under the claim that they knew the store that sold it was not obeying the laws about firearm sales.

Hackman and Hoffman, who have played unforgettable screen characters in other films, bring credibility to virtually any role they play. They have an exceptional scene of hostile confrontation in RUNAWAY JURY that makes the film worth recommending all on its own.

And I am recommending RUNAWAY JURY even though - with one exception - you will be able to know precisely where it's headed at all times. It's not the best film you'll see this week, month or year, but its a good rental.

So is SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER.

This is reported to be the final installment in the "James Bond for kids" spy series from director Robert Rodriguez.

As SPY KIDS 3-D opens, pint-sized secret agent Juni has left the spy agency and launched a career as a private detective. When he finds out that his sister has disappeared into a computer game, he agrees to go in after her.

What Juni finds is a topsy-turvy world of battling robots, souped-up motorcycle races, frogs on pogo sticks, surfing on hot lava, and much, much more. It is a lot more fun for those watching the film as our sister isn't trapped.

SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER isn't as good as the original SPY KIDS film, but I liked it a whole lot better than SPY KIDS 2. And I'm not even a kid! Well, maybe at heart I am.

At the heart of MATCHSTICK MEN - another one of this week's new releases - is how a con artist's swindle is disrupted by the arrival of his teenage daughter.

MATCHSTICK MEN is a well made con film that's also a family drama and a comedy. That comes from the picture's intelligent script and Ridley Scott's direction.

But the greatest thing you'll find in MATCHSTICK MEN is Alison Lohman's delightful acting. She plays a 14-year-old girl quite convincingly, even though she is really 23. In a film about deception this is a nice bit of deceiving, too.

Even if you enjoy being deceived, you should stay away from this week's final film. It is called THE MISSING and stars Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett. Director Ron Howard made THE MISSING after winning an Oscar for A BEAUTIFUL MIND.

One has to wonder what he was missing when he agreed to make this movie.

The story is about a daughter and father who team up to find a missing girl.

Perhaps that isn't the happiest premise for a film but with such a top notch cast, and an Academy Award winning director, the film seems to fall apart after the daughter goes missing.

The script simply failed to come up with any interesting twist,

Without sounding to cliché, if you never see it, you won't be missing THE MISSING.

RUNAWAY JURY, SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER, MATCHSTICK MEN and THE MISSING are all available now at a store near you.

COMING NEXT WEEK IN THE COUCH POTATO REPORT

A fired musician creates a band out of 4th grade class in SCHOOL OF ROCK. This family film with Jack Black - who'd ever guessed those words would be next to each other - is a true delight from the moment it starts.

In COLD CREEK MANOR a family discovers that their new home harbors secrets, conceals a horrific past, and may not be free of the former inhabitants completely just as they begin to renovate. Its sort of TRADING SPACES, just without the babes, the carpenters and a logical plot.

LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION combines the classic cartoon characters with a script and live action cast that will never be considered classic. Well, except for Steve Martin as the President of the ACME Corporation, that is.

DUPLEX, the story of new homeowners who are forced to deal with the little old lady who lives upstairs, was the worst film of 2003. Even though it stars Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore it is absolute garbage!

Enjoy the movies and I'll meet you back here next week on The Couch!

New Music Releases

Here are the new CD's you'll find at a store near you on Tuesday, February 24, 2004:

* 10,000 MANIACS Campfire Songs (Rhino)
* BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO Anything Goes (Warner)
* BUCK 65 463 (SINGLE) (Warner)
* DAMIEN RICE O (CD+DVD) (Warner)
* DEVO Devo Live (DVD) (Warner)
* DISTURBED Music As a Weapon 2 (Warner)
* DISTURBED & VARIOUS ARTISTS Disturbed's Music As A Weapon 2 (CD+DVD) Combo (Warner)
* DUKE ELLINGTON Masterpieces by Ellington (Legacy)
* DUKE ELLINGTON Ellington Uptown (Legacy)
* DUKE ELLINGTON Festival Sessions (Legacy)
* EAMON I Don't Want You Back (Zomba)
* EMMYLOU HARRIS Pieces of the Sky (Expanded) (Rhino)
* EMMYLOU HARRIS Elite Hotel (Expanded) (Rhino)
* EMMYLOU HARRIS Luxury Liner (Expanded) (Rhino)
* EMMYLOU HARRIS Blue Kentuck Girl (Expanded) (Rhino)
* EMMYLOU HARRIS Quarter Moon In a Ten Cent Town (Expanded) (Rhino)
* G3 Live In Denver (Epic)
* GREAT BIG SEA Something Beautiful (Warner)
* JC CHASEZ Schizophrenic (Zomba)
* JIM CROCE Classic Hits of (Jim Croce) (Rhino)
* JOHN FRUSCIANTE Shadows Collide with People (Warner)
* KEB' MO Keep it Simple (Epic)
* KIDZ BOP KIDS Kidz Bop (Razor & Tie)
* MIKE OLDFIELD Tubular Bells 2003 (DVD) (Rhino)
* NELLIE MCKAY Get Away From Me (Columbia)
* OPETH Lamentations: Live At The Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003 (DVD) (Koch)
* OUMOU SANGARE Oumou (Nonesuch/Warner)
* PETER, PAUL & MARY In These Times (Rhino)
* RAISING THE FAWN The North Sea (Sonic Unyon)
* ROGER WHITTAKER Now and Then - Greatest Hits (Ariola)
* SIMPLE PLAN Perfect (CD SINGLE) (Atlantic)
* T. REX Electric Warrior (DVD Audio) (Rhino)
* TANTRIC After We Go (Warner)
* TANTRIC After We Go (Enhanced) (Warner)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Girls Night Out 3 (BMG)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Soothe (Warner Strategic Marketing)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS The Best of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In 2 (DVD Set) (Warner)
* YES Tomato (expanded) (Rhino)
* YES Drama (expanded) (Rhino)
* YES 90125 (expanded) (Rhino)

'Analyze This' Actor Joe Viterelli Dies

LOS ANGELES - Joe Viterelli, a stocky actor whose pug-face helped him land a series of roles as lovable mugs in mob flicks that included "Analyze This" and its sequel, has died. He was 66.

Viterelli, of Los Angeles, died of complications from heart surgery at Valley Hospital in Las Vegas on Jan. 29, his son, film composer Joseph Vitarelli, who spells his last name differently than his father, told The Associated Press Monday.

A jack-of-all-trades before embarking on an acting career in his 50s, Viterelli said in interviews that he once operated a string of music schools started by his family in Queens. He later ran bars, drove a truck, owned a cleaning service and had a job drilling bowling-ball holes, he said.

A New York City native, Viterelli moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. He became friends with director Leo Penn, who thought Viterelli's tough-guy features would play well in movies and television.

Viterelli declined, but years later, the director's son, Sean Penn, called about his 1990 gangster tale "State of Grace."

"He said, 'Joe, we're looking for a character that's from your neighborhood," Viterelli recalled in an interview. "We've seen about 50 to 60 people, and nobody's right.' He said the key words, 'Would you do me a favor?'"

Viterelli accepted the role and established himself as a dependable character actor, appearing in several dozen movies, including "Bullets Over Broadway," "Mobsters" and "Shallow Hal."

He originated his best-known role as Robert De Niro's ominously likable henchman Jelly in 1999's "Analyze This," reprising the part in the 2002 follow-up "Analyze That."

Viterelli is survived by his wife, Catherine, and their five children.

Richard Marx Signs With EMI

Hot on the heels of his song of the year Grammy win earlier this month for the Luther Vandross-sung "Dance With My Father," singer/songwriter Richard Marx has signed with EMI/Manhattan Records.

Marx, famed for late '80s hits such as "Hold on to the Nights" and "Right Here Waiting," is putting the finishing touches on an album slated for a summer release. Over the past few years, he has been writing songs and producing records for such top acts as 'N Sync and Josh Groban.

This marks a reunion for Marx and EMI Jaxx & Classics president/CEO Bruce Lundvall, who first signed Marx to Capitol Records in 1987.

"I asked him if he wanted to make a record, and his first response was, 'For whom?"' Lundvall said. "There is no question that Richard is a first-rate songwriter and performer with an inimitable voice."

Marx, who in the course of his career has sold about 30 million albums, landed on the music scene in 1987 with his self-titled debut. He released his most recent studio album, "Days in Avalon," independently in 2000.

Grohl Looks Ahead To Next Foos Album

With the long-festering self-titled debut from his metal-worshipping Probot project finally out in stores, Dave Grohl is looking ahead to the next Foo Fighters album. "We've got a couple of songs," he tells Billboard. "The thing is, we always get excited to make a new record, because it means we'll go back out on the road and have a good time for a year-and-a-half."

Unlike past albums that have been recorded in Grohl's Virginia basement, he says the upcoming RCA set will be captured in more upscale accommodations. "We're going to make the best balls-out record we've ever made, and we're going to make it in a studio. We're not used to studios, only basements."

The album will be the follow-up to 2002's "One by One," which debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 1.05 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. It was named best rock album earlier this month at the 46th Grammy Awards.

"It doesn't really even matter that you win," Grohl told Billboard in January. "It's just the fact that you've been nominated. I've got enough of these things. Spread the love. Winning is great, but it's just being there. I fly my family in, we go to the parties afterward. It's really about being recognized that we worked hard on this thing."

For now, two members of the group are focusing on other projects. Bassist Nate Mendel is touring with two ex-Sunny Day Real Estate mates in the Fire Theft through April 17 in Los Angeles, while guitarist Chris Shifflet is on the road with Jackson United through March 8 in Anaheim, Calif.

'First Dates' Scores Again at Box Office

LOS ANGELES - Movie-goers have not forgotten "50 First Dates." The Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore romance about a man wooing a memory-challenged woman took in $21 million to remain the top movie for a second weekend, easily fending off a rush of new flicks, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Lindsay Lohan's girl-power comedy "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" led the weak batch of newcomers, grossing $9.2 million for the No. 2 spot.

Kurt Russell's hockey holdover "Miracle," the second-place movie the previous two weekends, slipped to No. 3 with $8 million.

Three other new wide releases debuted poorly. Gene Hackman and Ray Romano's political farce "Welcome to Mooseport," about an ex-president running for small-town mayor against a plumber, was No. 4 with $7 million.

The teen-raunch comedy "Eurotrip," about a high school graduate's quest to find his dream girl in Germany, opened in fifth place with $6.6 million.

Meg Ryan's "Against the Ropes," in which she plays female boxing manager Jackie Kallen, premiered a distant No. 8 with $3 million.

All of the new movies received generally harsh reviews.

The overall box office tumbled, with the top 12 movies grossing $75.1 million, down 21 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when "Daredevil" and "Old School" led the pack.

February typically is a quiet month for movies, but the slump this week was bigger than usual.

"The level of audience disinterest is pretty stunning. They're just kind of checked out right now," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "You had four brand-new attractions, and they really could not make a dent. If not for '50 First Dates,' this would be an abysmal weekend."

Playing in 3,612 theaters, "50 First Dates" averaged $5,814 a cinema, a strong number for a movie in its second weekend and by far the best average among the top 10 films. The movie pushed its 10-day gross to $72.3 million.

The box office should get a boost next weekend with the Ash Wednesday debut of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," opening in about 3,000 theaters, a huge release for a religious-themed movie. Gibson orchestrated a grass-roots marketing campaign to promote the film, with Christian leaders spreading the word and church groups buying out theaters.

The movie, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus, bloodily re-enacts Christ's final hours. It has drawn a storm of criticism from some Jewish and Christian leaders who say it could revive the notion that Jews collectively were responsible for the death of Christ.

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. "50 First Dates," $21 million.
2. "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," $9.2 million.
3. "Miracle," $8 million.
4. "Welcome to Mooseport," $7 million.
5. "Eurotrip," $6.6 million.
6. "Barbershop 2: Back in Business," $6.3 million.
7. "Mystic River," $3.1 million.
8. "Against the Ropes," $3 million.
9. "The Butterfly Effect," $2.9 million.
10. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," $2.8 million.

Carrie Ends Up With Big in 'Sex' Finale

NEW YORK - It took them six years to realize it, but Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big were meant for each other.

Many fans knew that all along, of course, despite numerous other men Carrie dated during the romantic, raunchy run of "Sex and the City."

So Sunday's finale was an answered prayer for viewers who, as the big day approached, had rooted for Carrie to choose Big over Aleksandr, the self-involved artist who enticed her to leave her beloved New York and move with him to Paris.

After almost 100 installments, this top-secret, much-hyped conclusion made good on its pledge to resolve the love life of New York sex columnist Carrie. Played by series star Sarah Jessica Parker, she returned to Manhattan with Big (Chris Noth), the on-again/off-again businessman beau with whom she first struck sparks on the HBO series' premiere.

With "Sex" the first of three long-running comedies (along with "Friends" and "Frasier" on NBC) coming to an end to this season, its finale set a standard theirs will be hardpressed to attain.

Meanwhile, it nicely tied up some loose ends concerning Carrie's three gal pals:

- Miranda, the hard-nosed realist played by Cynthia Nixon, remained a happy mother and the wife of bartender Steve, living in Brooklyn (where she opened her heart, and home, to Steve's ailing mother, inviting her to come live with them).

- Charlotte, the idealist (Kristin Davis) and her husband, Harry (formerly her divorce lawyer), got their wish after many disappointments: They'll be adopting a baby girl from China.

- And hot-blooded Samantha (Kim Cattrall) was solid with her boy-toy hunk, Smith, despite the loss of her sex drive from her successful treatment for breast cancer. In a tender exchange, he declared his love for her and she tearfully replied, "You've meant more to me than any man I've ever known."

Voila! A few scenes later, Samantha was her lusty self, nude in the sack astride Smith. Her final line on "Sex and the City" was a protracted howl of pleasure.

But first, Carrie had to confront her mistake in abandoning her city, her friends and her sense of herself to be with Aleksandr (played by Mikhail Baryshnikov).

"I am someone who's looking for love, real love ... can't-live-without-each-other love," Carrie told him, "and I don't think that love is here."

Moments later, Big, who had come to his senses and raced across the ocean to bring her home, found her alone in her Paris hotel lobby.

"It took me a really long time to get here," said Big, "but I'm here: Carrie, you're the one."

Once back in New York, Carrie surprised her friends at the coffee shop where they've exchanged so many confidences with one another over the years.

Then, as a special scoop at the fade-out, Big, the man known only by his Carrie-bestowed moniker, phoned her and, at long last, viewers learned his real name. There it was, displayed as the cell phone's caller ID: John.

Glorifying Manhattan, shopping and relationships, the series, which premiered in June 1998, was based on real-life sex columnist Candace Bushnell and created by Darren Star, then best known for concocting the Fox soap "Melrose Place."  

It became a cultural phenomenon, defining a new breed of modern woman who wasn't afraid to talk about men — and her desire for them — with raw honesty, even as she gave top priority to her friendships with other women. (The show's four leading ladies graced a Time magazine cover that asked the question "Who Needs a Husband?")

But as Sunday's end neared, accompanied by eulogies for the series that soon would be over, a contradictory message was gaining strength: Maybe this isn't the end, after all.

Turns out the series' top executive, Michael Patrick King, and the show's cast are in discussions with HBO about a movie that would continue the saga, a network spokeswoman confirmed.

But in addressing the question two weeks ago, co-producer Parker waffled like a politician on the stump.

"I haven't made any decisions about how we might revisit this show and in what medium," she said, citing several projects that might keep her busy for the immediate future.

"It's very important to me that we are dignified and graceful in our exit from the (current) series," she added. "After that, if we hear a cry from the public, I think we have to respond to that, if we can do right by them."

So maybe more "Sex and the City" lies ahead. But until then, at least, the ladies are living happily ever after.

'Lost' Finds Top Writers Guild Award

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sofia Coppola's Oscar momentum got a big boost Saturday when the Writers Guild of America awarded "Lost in Translation" its top honor for original screenplay.

Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman earned the laurel for adapted screenplay for bringing comic book cult hero Harvey Pekar's life to the screen in "American Splendor," which also is an underdog favorite for adapted screenplay in Sunday's awards season grand finale, the Academy Awards.

The guild embraced the auteur at the 56th annual WGA Awards, held at the Century Plaza Hotel, as both "Lost" and "Splendor" were also directed by their screenwriters.

In accepting her award, Coppola thanked her brother Roman and other friends she called for encouragement "when I was stuck" while writing "Lost," a story of loneliness and longing between strangers in a strange land.

Coppola's win makes her one of a handful of women to take the guild's top film honor. It also came 33 years after her father, Francis Ford Coppola, won his first WGA award, for 1970's "Patton" (which also earned the elder Coppola his first Oscar).

Coppola told reporters after the ceremony that she has been humbled by all the accolades showered on "Lost," but she allowed that the thumbs up from her fellow scribes might just give her "a little extra strut to my step" at Sunday's Oscar ceremony.

On the television side, Evan Katz won the drama series laurel for the "7 p.m.-8 p.m." episode of Fox's "24." Bob Daily won his second consecutive WGA trophy for NBC's "Frasier," this time for the episode "No Sex, Please, We're Skittish."

Katz quipped he was happy to be recognized by the WGA because he knew that winning "the Humanitas was a long shot" with an episode that involved "24's" Jack Bauer torturing a man and pretending to murder his children. (The Humanitas Awards honor writers for works that, among other things, "help liberate, enrich and unify human society.")

Larry Gelbart was not there to accept his award for original longform screenplay for HBO's "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself." But Gelbart did send along prepared remarks, which duly noted his "chutzpah" at writing an acceptance speech "on spec."

Anne Meredith won adapted longform honors for Showtime's "Out of the Ashes," about a female doctor forced to work at Auschwitz.

Matt Selman of Fox's "The Simpsons" took the animation prize for "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" episode.

George Stevens Jr., Sara Lukinson and David Leaf won comedy/variety special for CBS' "Kennedy Center Honors" telecast.

Agnes Nixon and her team on ABC's "All My Children" earned their fifth WGA laurel for daytime serial. Paul Cooper was recognized in the children's script category for Showtime's "The Maldonado Miracle."

The current events documentary laurel went to Martin Smith for the "Truth, War and Consequences" installment of PBS' "Frontline." PBS' "American Experience" won the noncurrent events docu award for Marcia Smith's "The Murder of Emmett Till."

CBS News' John Craig Wilson prevailed in the TV news category for the "Showdown with Saddam" report. Michael Winship and Bill Moyers won in the news -- analysis/feature/commentary award for the "Wall Street" segment of Moyers' PBS series "Now With Bill Moyers."

In accepting the guild's Paddy Chayefsky lifetime achievement honor, veteran TV scribe Loring Mandel urged the crowd to think about the influence TV writers have as teachers in a culture where kids and teenagers often spend more time in a day watching TV than they do in school. Mandel's long list of credits stretches from "Studio One" and "Playhouse 90" to HBO's 2001 Emmy winner "Conspiracy."

"We can do better by holding ourselves to a higher standard," Mandel said.
 
The Screen Laurel achievement award went to John Michael Hayes, whose feature career was distinguished by collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock on "Rear Window," "To Catch a Thief," "The Trouble With Harry" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much."

Accepting the Paul Selvin Award for work that celebrates constitutional freedoms, Jason Horwitch, who penned the FX telefilm "The Pentagon Papers," quoted from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black's famed 1971 decision on the New York Times' right to publish classified Vietnam war documents.

"Paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people," Horwitch recited, adding that in his own view, "the relevance of these words unfortunately echoes today."

'Rings,' Depp, Theron Win Top Actors Guild Awards

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A cast of Hollywood hobbits and a "Monster" killer played by Charlize Theron won top honors at the Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday, but a fishy pirate portrayed by Johnny Depp stole the show in an upset best actor victory.

The award for best film actress solidified Theron's position as a front-runner for an Oscar, the U.S. film industry's top honors to be given out on Feb. 29. It also cemented the bid for the best movie Oscar from the hobbits of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

But Depp's victory added an element of suspense to next week's Oscars by giving him an award no one expected over favorites Bill Murray and Sean Penn.

The actors of "Rings" were named best cast, and last year's winner in the same group, "Chicago," earned the Oscar.

The SAG awards often provide strong clues to potential Oscar winners because actors make up the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars. It has some 1,300 members, of the 5,800 voters for the Academy Awards.

Onstage, Theron thanked "my angel and my date tonight, my mom, who put me on a plane with a one-way ticket to Hollywood when I was 19 years old. Thank you for being so brave and for letting me go to make my dreams come true."

30 POUNDS & SAG AWARD

In the low-budget film "Monster," South African-born Theron plays serial killer and former prostitute Aileen Wuornos, who was executed for murdering men who picked her up.

Theron gained 30 pounds for the part, and her makeup and posturing masked her true beauty.

"I knew we were working on something very special. It felt different than anything I have ever done before," Theron told reporters backstage.

Speaking for "Rings," John Rhys-Davies, Gimli in the movie, said, "At the risk of sounding immodest, we deserved this award. This is the most enormous undertaking in film history."

Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation" and Sean Penn in "Mystic River" were believed to have had a lock on the favorite's position for best actor after earning Golden Globe awards for acting in January.

Depp, who played the wild-eyed and fanciful Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," was not on hand, but backstage Al Pacino, who won the actor award for his role in cable TV mini-series "Angels in America," amplified the shock of everybody in the crowd.

He lifted an eyebrow and declared himself "really surprised" and "really thrilled."

"He's done so many interesting parts over the years that he got a reputation for being quirky, but he really wasn't. He's a fine actor," Pacino said.

Tim Robbins won best supporting actor for crime thriller "Mystic River" and Renee Zellweger won supporting actress in Civil War drama "Cold Mountain." It was her second straight SAG award after winning best actress for "Chicago."

SAG also gives out trophies for television and HBO's shows earned five awards including "Sex and the City," which won the best ensemble cast in a TV comedy on the very night it was airing its last episode.

"We will all miss you so much," said "Sex" star Kristin Davis. Davis, who plays Charlotte on the series about the love lives of four single women in New York, also thanked HBO for being so daring in letting the sexually frank show on the air.

HBO drama "Six Feet Under" earned the award for best cast in a drama for the second consecutive year.

Meryl Streep was named best actress in a TV movie or mini-series for cable TV network HBO's "Angels in America," about the AIDS epidemic in New York in the early 1980s.

Tony Shalhoub won the SAG trophy for best actor in a TV comedy, and Megan Mullally earned the honor of best actress in a comedy. Kiefer Sutherland earned the SAG award for best actor in a TV drama for "24," and Frances Conroy was named best actress in a drama for HBO's "Six Feet Under."

Coupling Times Three

Coming out on June 1st is Coupling: The Complete Third Season.

This two-disc set features seven episodes (of the UK series, not the dismal US update) in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby 2.0 surround, plus audio commentaries on each episode, outtakes and a still gallery.

Retail will list for $34.95.

The Couch Potato Report – Special Edition for Hockey Day In Canada

This week in a Special Edition of The Couch Potato Report – since it is Hockey Day In Canada - I’ll take a look at some movies that include hockey.

Sports movies are a dime a dozen. Good sports movies are a bit harder to find. A good movie about hockey is literally one in a million.

Unlike baseball, football, and many other North American sports, Hollywood has virtually ignored the great game of hockey. When they have bothered to make a hockey movie, they haven’t really scored. In fact, with the exception of two movies, we hockey fans have been shut out at the movies.

Instead of spending this time talking about the many bad films that have been made about hockey, I’m going to cover some films that aren’t about hockey, but have hockey in them.

For all of you Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves fans I am sorry to report that I won’t be speaking about YOUNGBLOOD, even though this 1986 flick is mildly entertaining.

You also won’t hear me utter a word about THE MIGHTY DUCKS. One, two or three. Yes, Disney did score a major box office hit with this sad-sack team of hockey playing kids, but hockey was just the backdrop. It could have been any sport, like baseball.

No, wait, they already made a baseball film about that very same subject. It was released in 1976 and was called THE BAD NEWS BEARS.

So with two exceptions, which I’ll get to in a minute, let me reference two movies that aren’t about hockey, but have hockey in them.

I’ll start with WAYNE’S WORLD.

In this 1992 gem film Mike Myers and Dana Carvey are Wayne and Garth – two teens who live at home and have their own low-rent cable-access show in which they celebrate their favorite female movie stars and heavy-metal bands.

While it was based in a suburb of Chicago, it was actually based on Myers personal experiences growing up in a suburb of Toronto.

A suburb where they played road hockey. I ask you: What’s more Canadian that playing road hockey and having to stop for a car?

No WAYNE’S WORLD isn’t about hockey, but it’s a better movie because it includes it.

Another great film that includes hockey is actually my favourite film of all time. The picture is called STRANGE BREW and it is the one and only cinematic adventure of SCTV’s BOB & DOUG McKENZIE – two of the most iconic Canadians of all time.

In a nutshell STRANGE BREW is actually a well-sustained parody of Shakepeare’s HAMLET, with a little hockey thrown in on the side.

Since it isn’t a real game of hockey, but merely an attempt to control the world through beer, I guess including STRANGE BREW is a bit of a stretch, but as it ponders on the video and DVD package for the film: What matters most in life, eh? Hockey, donuts and beer.

Aren’t those things synonymous with Canadians? And isn’t it hockey day in Canada?

Okay, before I get too far off topic, let’s drop the puck on this edition of The Couch Potato Report and let me tell you about two movies that not only have hockey in them, but are actually hockey movies.

MYSTERY, ALSAKA stars a pre-superstar Russell Crowe who is a small-town Sherriff and a player during the weekly game. The people in mystery love hockey. Their lives revolve around it. As a publicity stunt the NHL’s New York Rangers propose to visit Mystery for a game.

If you haven’t seen MYSTERY, ALASKA I don’t want to say anything else as you should experience this wonderful little film without knowing too much about it. Especially the ending and the Don Cherry type commentator who appears in the middle of the film.

MYSTERY, ALASKA is a great hockey movie, but any conversation about the best hockey movie of all time has to begin and end with a slap shot.

It’s not even close, the definitive hockey film is SLAP SHOT.

Paul Newman and his Butch Cassidy director, George Roy Hill, made a very original comedy in this 1977 story of an over-the-hill player/coach for a lousy hockey team who gets results when he teaches his players to get dirty.

SLAP SHOT itself is dirty. It might be one of the most hilariously profane movies ever to come out of Hollywood.

It certainly is one of the most hilarious films that Hollywood has ever made.

WAYNE’S WORLD, STRANGE BREW, MYSTERY, ALASKA and SLAP SHOT are available on DVD at a store near you.

COMING NEXT WEEK

SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER - This is the third (and reported final) installment in the very entertaining series.

MATCHSTICK MEN - Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell star in this picture about con men.

THE MISSING - Ron Howard followed up his Oscar winning turn in A BEAUTIFUL MIND with this forgettable pseudo western. In it a daughter and father team up to find a missing girl. (Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Simon Baker)

PIECES OF APRIL - A young woman tries to bring her family together for Thanksgiving. (Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt).

Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here next week on The Couch.

Television Academy Shakes Up Emmy Rules

LOS ANGELES - The television academy is shaking up Emmy rules to try to freshen a competition that sees the same shows winning trophies year after year.
 
As part of changes approved this week by the academy's Board of Governors, members will have the opportunity to choose up to 10 nominees per category — double the current five.

The top five vote-getters will end up as the nominees in each category, keeping the number of contenders the same as it has been traditionally.

But the mix should be more representative of the growing bounty of programming on cable and newer broadcast channels, academy spokeswoman Pam Ruben Golum said Friday.

"This gives the approximately 12,000 academy members a chance to expand the field of nominees," she said.

Unlike the Academy Awards, which recognize a new crop of films each year, the Emmys fall into rerun territory because shows are eligible as long as they air original episodes in the Emmy calendar year.

The result has been winning streaks like that of NBC's White House drama "The West Wing," named best drama series for the last three consecutive ceremonies.

It makes for impressive records but predictable shows. Observers have also complained that less mainstream fare, such as UPN's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," are routinely shut out of major awards.

The modification, one of several approved by the board Wednesday, comes under new Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Chairman Dick Askin.

"Our awards rules and procedures have remained virtually unchanged over the last ten years," Askin said, adding that the approach will be "more representative of television as it is today."

Among other changes, the board also altered how many episodes must be submitted in the drama and comedy series categories. More episodes, six rather than three, must be included as an original submission seeking nomination; for the final round of judging to determine winners, voters will consider six rather than the previous eight episodes.

The new rules will be in effect when academy members vote on the 2004 prime-time Emmy, to be held Sept. 19 and air on ABC. Nominations will be announced July 15.

Weekend Movies: Four Films to Split Box Office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's major studios released four films nationwide on Friday, hoping to grab a slice of the box office pie ahead of next week's widely anticipated release, "The Passion of the Christ."

The movies vary widely from mainstream fare in "Welcome to Mooseport," featuring TV star Ray Romano, to college-age comedy "Eurotrip," teen flick "Confessions of a Drama Queen" and boxing drama "Against the Ropes" with Meg Ryan.

Because they are aimed at different audiences, the four will likely splinter the box office take from moviegoers looking for new films. As a result, the four will find it hard to compete with reigning box office champ, "50 First Dates," because even if its sales drop an acceptable 40 to 50 percent from last week's three-day total of $40 million, "Dates" would ring up $20 million or more -- a hefty weekend sum in February.

Still, it is the business of movie studios have to crank out new films, and none in this weekend's mix are budget-busters with big time special effects, elaborate settings or a cast that is full of expensive stars.

Twentieth Century Fox's "Welcome to Mooseport" is the widest new release in just under 2900 theaters, and seeks to take advantage of election year politics with a story of a former U.S. president (Gene Hackman) who runs for mayor of the small town of Mooseport, Maine.

His campaign heats up when local handyman and all-around good guy, Handy Harrison (Romano), runs against him. The race get even stickier when Handy's girlfriend (Maura Tierney) fakes a crush on the ex-president to coax Handy into proposing. The movie is rated PG-13 for brief sexual comments and nudity.

LONG, STRANGE TRIPS

DreamWorks SKG rolls out "Eurotrip" and Walt Disney Pictures ushers in "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," both in around 2500 theaters.

"Eurotrip" comes from the same producing team as 2000's "Road Trip" and 2003's "Old School," both hits with college kids thinking about sex, drinking, sex, and more drinking.

The main cast is relatively unknown except for Michelle Trachtenberg, star of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." She plays one-half of a pair of twins on a trek to Berlin with two guy friends led by Scotty.

After a long e-mail relationship with a German girl named Mieke, Scotty thinks he may be in love and must find out for sure. He and his friends head for Berlin, taking audiences for a romp through London, Paris and Amsterdam. "Eurotrip" is rated R for sexuality, nudity, language, drug and alcohol content.

"Drama Queen" features 17-year-old Lindsay Lohan, who has starred in two previous Disney movies, 1998's "The Parent Trap" and last year's surprise summer hit "Freaky Friday."

In "Drama Queen," Lohan plays 15-year-old Lola whose mom uproots her from their fashionable Manhattan apartment and moves them to the stodgy suburbs of New Jersey.

Lola clashes with the most popular girl in high school, Carla, which is a big problem because Carla's dad is the lawyer for the rock band Sidarthur.

Lola and her best friend Ella idolize Sidarthur, and the movie follows their antics as they rival Carla to see who can get into the after-party for a Sidarthur concert. The movie is rated PG for mild thematic elements and brief language.

Paramount Pictures' "Against the Ropes" debuts in 1600 theaters, and is based on the true story of Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan), who overcomes sexism in professional boxing to become a successful manager of fighters. It is rated PG-13 for crude language, violence, brief sensuality and some drug material.

THE REBEL VS. THE CLOWN

Everybody loves a clown but Oscar voters.

That longtime truism is getting a high-profile workout in the nail-biting Best Actor Oscar race between Bill Murray and Sean Penn.

There's no shortage of horse races at this year's Oscars - even if "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" seems a shoo-in for Best Picture, there are down-to-the-wire competitions for Best Actress (pitting Charlize Theron against Diane Keaton) and Best Supporting Actress (Renée Zellweger vs. Iranian newcomer Shoreh Aghdashloo).

But the most intense interest is focused on Best Actor, where funnyman Bill Murray in the serious comedy "Lost in Translation" is rated even with Sean Penn - universally acclaimed as one of Hollywood's greatest actors in a very dark drama.

Oscar history strongly favors Penn. The winners in the Best Actor category overwhelmingly star in dramas, even if they are basically comic actors like Roberto Begnini, who won in '98 for "Life Is Beautiful."

The last Best Actor winner to actually star in a comedy was Richard Dreyfuss for "The Goodbye Girl" way back in 1977, and before that Lee Marvin in "Cat Ballou" ('65).

But the Murray-Penn race is so incredibly tight that some experts say that Johnny Depp could even conceivably sneak in as Best Actor for his rollicking turn in "Pirates of the Caribbean."

The anti-comedy trend is less inhibiting on the Best Actress side, where sentimental favorite Diane Keaton (as a love-struck playwright in "Something's Gotta Give") is poised for a possible upset over Charlize Theron (as a lesbian serial killer in "Monster").

Theron seemed a lock as recently as a month ago, but she may have peaked too soon.

There is also growing speculation that Academy voters may be weary of giving this prize to glamorous actresses who make themselves look less attractive to play victims - as did the last two winners, Nicole Kidman for "The Hours" and Halle Berry for "Monster's Ball."

And while the Best Actress winners are usually in dramas, there are somewhat more numerous recent precedents for wins in comedies.

In fact, there were three in a row from '96 to '98 - Frances McDormand for "Fargo," Helen Hunt for "As Good as It Gets," and Gwyneth Paltrow for "Shakespeare in Love."

Still, both Murray and Keaton will have to deal with the Hobbit factor.

Some longtime Oscar watchers predict voters - anticipating a sweep by "The Lord of the Rings," which would be the first-ever fantasy to win Best Picture - will try to balance their tickets by rewarding actors in "serious" roles, like Penn and Theron.

We'll find out Feb. 29 on ABC.

Starring Jason Mewes as Kato?

Miramax has tapped Kevin Smith to write and direct a feature film version of the classic tv show THE GREEN HORNET.

The show centered around Britt Reid (Van Williams), that by day is the millionaire publisher of The Daily Sentinel, but by night fights crime as The Green Hornet, alongside his trusty butler Kato (Bruce Lee).

"I dig the fact that he kicked off a run of billionaire playboys who decided to put on a mask and fight crime, and that he was Batman before there was a Batman," said Smith, speaking of the central character, which was created in 1936.

Smith says he never expected to dircect a film about a comicbook character, but he made an exception because the character isn't as well known. "I always said I'd never do one, based on my limited experience writing on SUPERMAN and having to answer to the studio, the producer, the comics company and eventually a director," Smith said. "Then there's a fandom that gets up in arms if you even try to stray from their character. Here, there is simplicity in the character and the situation."

"Equally important, the only person I have to answer to is [Miramax honcho] Harvey [Weinstein], with whom I've made four movies. This is the only circumstance that led me to take on a comicbook movie, and something so big."

"His work demonstrated his continued growth as a filmmaker, and we have no doubt that he will tackle this franchise for us in a compelling and entertaining way," Weinstein said, having recently watched Smith's upcoming JERSEY GIRL.

"Kevin knows more about comic characters, books and the creative process than anyone else I have ever met."

There are no deals in place yet for stars, but Smith says that he is interested in actors that were formerly attached to the project, including George Clooney as the Hornet and Jet Li as Kato.

Beastie Boys' New Album Due in June

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The Beastie Boys' next studio album will be released in early June via Capitol, according to an e-mail sent to members of the band's mailing list.

"We are in the studio finishing it now," the group said. "We're putting the final touches on the mixes right now and it will be out beginning of June."

The as-yet-untitled set is the long-awaited follow-up to 1998's "Hello Nasty," which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 3.8 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The pioneering rap trio has made only a handful of live appearances in recent years.

The assets of the Beasties' defunct Grand Royal label are being sold via a Internet auction site. The imprint shuttered in March 2001.

'Sex and the City' May Get Big-Screen Treatment

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The four women who have spiced up Manhattan's singles scene for six seasons on "Sex and the City" may be headed to the big screen after their upcoming final romp on HBO, the network said on Wednesday.

Executive producer Michael Patrick King is writing a script for what would be a feature film version of "Sex and the City" that would essentially pick up where the series leaves off this coming Sunday, an HBO spokeswoman said.

The premium cable channel, owned by Time Warner Inc. , also is negotiating with the four series co-stars -- Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis -- to reprise their roles for the movie.

King, whose previous TV writing credits include "Cybill" and "Murphy Brown," would make his feature debut as director of the film. No production date has been set, and no distributor is yet on board with the project, the spokeswoman said.

"Sex and the City," one of the signature shows that established HBO as a creative powerhouse and became the first cable series to win an Emmy Award for best comedy, stars Parker as fashion-conscious New York columnist, Carrie Bradshaw, who writes about Manhattan's dating scene.

Cattrall co-stars as the vixen-like public relations executive Samantha Jones; Nixon as corporate lawyer Miranda Hobbes, juggling her career with motherhood; and Davis as Charlotte York, who married her own divorce lawyer after a long search for Mr. Right.

The series was created by Darren Star, who also originated "Beverly Hills, 90210" and was an executive producer on "Melrose Place."

While many TV shows over the years have been either based on movies or made into feature films, it is rare for prime-time shows to make the transition to the big screen with most of their original cast members. Among the few that have done so are "Star Trek," both the original series and "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and "The X-Files."

"Sex and the City" winds up Sunday, Feb. 22, with a 45-minute finale, following an hourlong farewell special featuring interviews and highlights from the series.

Norah Jones Delivers Chart-Topping Valentine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sultry vocalist Norah Jones swept back to the pinnacle of the U.S. pop charts on Wednesday as her second release, "Feels Like Home," became the first album in nearly three years to sell more than 1 million copies its first week in stores.

The follow-up to her Grammy-winning blockbuster debut "Come Away With Me" shot to No. 1 in at least 16 countries in all, including Britain, according to Jones' Blue Note label.

Jones apparently benefited from an across-the-board surge in retail music sales last week reported by Nielsen SoundScan and attributed in part to Valentine's Day business and musical appetites wetted by the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards telecast.

In the United States, "Feels Like Home" sold 1,022,000 copies for the week ended Feb. 15, making it the biggest album launch so far this year and the first to crack the seven-figure mark since 'N Sync's "Celebrity" sold nearly 1.9 million copies its first week in July 2001, SoundScan said.

Jones' new album also gave a big boost to sales of "Come Away With Me," which returned to the U.S. top 20 with sales of nearly 80,000 copies, landing at No. 18 after an astonishing 103 weeks on the Billboard 200.

"This is the kind of achievement that one can only expect from a truly original, extraordinary artist like Norah," said Bruce Lundvall, president and chief executive of jazz and classics for EMI Music, North America.

New York-born, Texas-raised Jones, 24, daughter of Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar and former music promoter Sue Jones, came out of nowhere in 2002 with her breathy-voiced debut album of jazz, country and folk-influenced standards and new songs.

She garnered eight Grammys last year, including the coveted prize of album of the year for "Come Away With Me." That record has sold a total of 8.1 million U.S. copies and 17 million worldwide since its modest debut in March 2002 with first-week sales of just 9,700 units.

Several other artists enjoyed a Grammy sales bounce this past week, including the hip-hop duo OutKast, R&B singerBeyonce Knowles and ailing soul icon Luther Vandross, all of whom were big winners this year.

OutKast's double-CD set "Speakerboxx/The Love Below," named album of the year and best rap album, more than doubled its weekly sales to 275,000 copies, climbing two notches up the chart to No. 4.

Knowles' "Dangerously in Love" likewise jumped 11 spots to No. 12 on post-Grammy sales of 99,000 units. And Vandross' "Dance With My Father" nearly tripled its weekly haul with sales of 58,000 copies, springing to No. 28 from No. 61.

Rapper Kanye West made his debut at No. 2 on the charts with his first album, "The College Dropout," selling 441,000 copies its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The week of Valentine's Day is traditionally one of busiest sales periods for the music industry, and this past week was no exception. Album sales surpassed 17 million units.

GNR's 'Hits' Coming Before New Album

While work continues on Guns N' Roses' endlessly delayed album "Chinese Democracy," Geffen has set a March 23 release date for "Greatest Hits," compiling 14 of the hard rock act's best-known tracks. The album boasts such favorites as "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Patience," "Paradise City" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" from the "Interview With a Vampire" soundtrack.

This is the third archival Guns N' Roses release since last fall, when Geffen issued DVDs of the home videos "Welcome to the Videos" and the two-volume "Use Your Illusion."

However, according to sources, the band did not give its consent for "Greatest Hits" to move forward and may pursue legal action to block its release.

As previously reported, the Axl Rose-led group will return to the live stage May 30 at the Rock in Rio-Lisbon festival in Lisbon, Portugal. It will be GNR's first live appearance since a disastrous 2002 comeback tour, which was canceled with 13 dates remaining.

As for "Chinese Democracy," it is unknown when the album will be released. Bassist Tommy Stinson told Billboard.com last year that finishing touches were being applied to the set before it would be sent off for mixing.

Here is the track list for "Greatest Hits":

"Welcome to the Jungle"
"Sweet Child O' Mine"
"Patience"
"Paradise City"
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
"Civil War"
"You Could Be Mine"
"Don't Cry"
"November Rain"
"Live and Let Die"
"Yesterdays"
"Ain't It Fun"
"Since I Don't Have You"
"Sympathy for the Devil"

Weezer Unveils Reissue, DVD Details

Weezer has nailed down details for an expanded reissue of its self-titled 1994 "Blue Album" and the retrospective DVD "Video Capture Device." Both items will arrive March 23 via Geffen. The CD's first disc will sport the original 10-track album, while a second disc, "Dusty Gems and Raw Nuggets," collects 14 rare cuts.

Among them are the B-sides "Mykel and Carli," "Susanne" and "My Evaline," live versions of "My Name Is Jonas," "Surfwax America," "Jamie" (acoustic) and "No One Else" (acoustic), previously unreleased "kitchen" recordings of "Paperface" and "Only in Dreams," pre-production versions of "Lullaby for Wayne" and "I Swear It's True" and the original album mix of "Say It Ain't So."

The Ric Ocasek-produced "Blue Album" peaked at No. 16 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 2.8 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. It spawned the rock airplay hits "Undone ("The Sweater Song")," "Buddy Holly" and "Say It Ain't So."

"Video Capture Device" is loaded with 13 music videos, including the director's cut of "El Scorcho," a home-made clip for "Pink Triangle" and a self-described "indie-style low budget" clip for "Slob." Also featured are live versions of "Jamie" and "In the Garage," footage from the making of the "Blue Album" and the group's spring 1995 tour and "Say It Ain't So" live from "The Late Show With David Letterman."

Weezer's official Web site reports that the DVD will also boast "a selection of five 'Raw Nuggets' from 1991-2002, generally rougher footage, but still of very cool events, plus a selection of the TV ads crafted over the years to promote the release of the band's albums. There will be optional band commentary on all the music videos and on about half of the 'Documentary' and 'Raw Nuggets' pieces."

As previously reported, Weezer is working on its fifth studio album with producer Rick Rubin.

Brosnan is Still 007

Recent rumors have said that Pierce Brosnan wouldn't return as 007. 

Empire Online hoped to put the matter to rest...at least for a while:

Eager to put the matter to rest once and for all, Empire Online spoke direct to Eon Productions this morning to find out just what was going on. And let us tell you – they're not happy bunnies there at all. 'All these rumours have come from a newspaper who quoted someone at Eon when they haven't spoken to anyone here,' complained Eon's Publicity Manger Catherine McCormack.

'For now, Pierce Brosnan is our James Bond. We haven't made any statement to say he isn't our James Bond.'

'It's so difficult to comment,' she went on to say, 'when we don't have a script or even a start date.' So has Brosnan signed a contract with you, we asked. 'He signed an initial three contract deal with us,' she explained, 'and from then on it's on a film by film basis. So he hasn't signed one yet.'

So there you go. They don't have a script. They don't have a start date. And as of this morning, Eon doesn't even have a signed contract with Pierce Brosnan – but that's apparently completely normal for this stage of film production. Just so you know.

PUTTING OUT THE FIRE

Johnny Cash's family quashing an ad campaign for hemorrhoid-relief products set to the tune of "Ring of Fire."

Disney to Buy Muppets From Henson Co.

LOS ANGELES - Kermit and Miss Piggy are joining Mickey and Minnie, capping a 14-year effort to bring the Muppets into the Walt Disney family.

The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday it will buy the "Muppets" characters, including Kermit, Miss Piggy and others, as well as the "Bear in the Big Blue House," franchise from The Jim Henson Co.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The arrangement, which took about six months to negotiate, represents a coup for Disney chief executive Michael Eisner, who has been attacked in recent months as an entrenched, weak manager unable to lead the entertainment giant effectively.

"Michael Eisner's long-standing passion and respect for the Muppets gives me and my family even more confidence in Disney as a partner," said Brian Henson, who with his sister Lisa, is co-chair and co-chief executive of The Jim Henson Co.

The announcement is also a much-needed boost for Disney, which has been under attack for weeks from ex-board members and is the subject of a takeover bid from cable television giant Comcast Corp.

The deal culminates a lengthy pursuit of the Muppets by Disney, which nearly acquired the characters in 1990. The deal fell apart shortly after the death of company founder Jim Henson.

The company then was bought by German media company EM.TV, which sold it back to the Henson family last year.

The deal does not include the Sesame Street characters, such as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, who were sold earlier by EM.TV to the Sesame Workshop.

The Muppet characters already exist in Disney theme parks in a 3D film, while "Bear in the Big Blue House," is a long-running show on the Disney cable television channel.

Disney plans to make new television shows, video games, movies and other products with the existing characters as well as develop new characters in the coming years.

"We have been very impressed by how the Disney company treats its own characters," said Lisa Henson. "We feel if the Muppets are treated with as much care in the long term as Walt Disney's characters are, we will have properly served the legacy."

The agreement includes a four-year consulting arrangement with The Jim Henson Co. to provide strategic advice on the use of the characters and a three-year production deal to develop movies, television shows and other projects using the characters.

The Jim Henson Co. will retain its "Creature Shop," which builds the puppet characters and provides special effects for other studios, as well as the rights to its film and television library, including "Fraggle Rock" and "Farscape," among others.

Munich-based EM.TV bought The Jim Henson Co. in February 2000 for $680 million in cash and stock. The company sold it back to the Henson family last July for $78 million in cash.

Polaroid Warns Film Users Not to 'Shake It'

LONDON (Reuters) - Outkast fans like to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," but the instant camera maker is warning consumers that taking the advice of the hip-hop stars could ruin your snapshots.

Outkast's number one hit "Hey Ya" includes the "shake it" line as a reference to the motion that amateur photographers use to help along the self-developing film.

But in the "answers" section on the Polaroid Web site, the company says that shaking photos, which once helped them to dry, is not necessary since the modern version of Polaroid film dries behind a clear plastic window.

The image "never touches air, so shaking or waving has no effect," the company said on its Web site.

"In fact, shaking or waving can actually damage the image. Rapid movement during development can cause portions of the film to separate prematurely, or can cause 'blobs' in the picture."

A Polaroid spokesman added: "Almost everybody does it, thinking that shaking accelerates the development process, but if you shake it too vigorously you could distort the image. A casual shake typically doesn't affect it."

Polaroid said its film should be laid on a flat surface and shielded from the wind, and that users should avoid bending or twisting their pictures.

Of course, "lay it on a flat surface like a Polaroid picture," doesn't sound nearly as cool.

Dido to Begin North American Tour in May

TORONTO (Billboard) - English pop singer Dido has confirmed details of a North American tour in support of her new Arista album, "Life for Rent." The trek will begin May 17 in Vancouver and has dates booked through June 18 in Boston.

"Life for Rent" debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 last October and has sold nearly 1.5 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album has been an international smash, having spent 18 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the European Top 100 Albums chart.

Dido will also tour Europe this summer, beginning July 5 in Athens, Greece.

Here are Dido's tour dates:

May 17: Vancouver (Queen Elizabeth Theater)
May 19: Seattle (Paramount Theater)
May 20: Portland (Schnitzer Theater)
May 22: San Francisco (Berkeley Community Theater)
May 25: Los Angeles (Wiltern Theater)
May 29: San Diego (OAT)
May 30: Las Vegas (The Joint)
June 4: Minneapolis (Northrop Theater)
June 5: Chicago (Chicago Theater)
June 6: Detroit (Fox Theater)
June 8: Toronto (Hummingbird Center)
June 11: Philadelphia (Tower Theater)
June 12: Washington (Constitution Hall)
June 13: New York (Beacon Theater)
June 18: Boston (Pavilon Theater)
July 5: Athens, Greece (Lykabettus Theater)
July 7: Madrid (Conde Duque)
July 8: Barcelona (Pueblo Espanyol)
July 10: Locarno, Switzerland (Piazza Grande)
July 11: Frankfurt, Germany (Old Opera Square)
July 13: Nimes, France (Arena)
July 14: Turin, Italy (Parco Della Pellerini)
July 16: Montreux, Switzerland (Stravinski Hall)
July 17: Munich (Konigsplatz)
July 18: Vienna (Castle Schonbrunn)
July 25: Hamburg (Stadtpark)
July 26: Berlin (Museumsinsel)
July 27: Cologne (Tanzbrunnen)

NBC's Conan O'Brien Issues 'Apology' to Quebec

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Late-night comedian Conan O'Brien sought to defuse a flap over a recent segment poking fun at the French-Canadian province of Quebec by issuing a self-deprecating "apology" on Tuesday in French.

"People of Quebec, I'm sorry," the host of NBC's "Late Night" show said in English, as a translator recited in French, with English subtitles, "People of Quebec, I'm an albino jackass."

"We meant no harm with our comedy piece the other night," O'Brien continued, "translated" into French as: "The other night, I wet the bed like a little girl."

"I was a stranger in a strange land and I was very insensitive," he went on, with the subtitle: "I have a small penis."

The tongue-in-cheek mea culpa was delivered by O'Brien after his usual monologue during the taping of Tuesday night's show in New York.

O'Brien sparked a burst of outrage from the Canadian government last Thursday with a segment in which a rubber hand-puppet known as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a recurring character on the show, said to a Quebecer: "You're French, you're obnoxious and you no speekay English." The ribald puppet told another: "I can smell your crotch from here."

The controversial segment came during O'Brien's highly publicized road trip last week for a series of shows taped in and around Toronto to help boost that city's profile in the wake of last year's deadly SARS outbreak.

But members of the federal government in Ottawa said O'Brien's jokes about Quebec, a province which has had separatist governments for much of the last 20 years and is a delicate political topic in Canada, went too far.

Alexa McDonough, a legislator for the left-leaning New Democratic Party, described the program as "racist filth" and "utterly vile." She demanded the government seek the return of the C$1 million ($760,000) subsidy paid by Ontario, the province of which Toronto is the capital, to General Electric Co.'s NBC network to help bring O'Brien's show to Canada.

Today's New Releases

This is not this week's edition of The Couch Potato Report. There is a SPECIAL EDITION of the CPR coming in a few days as a pre-cursor to Hockey Day In Canada.

For now, here's an overview of what's in stores this week:

RUNAWAY JURY is based on the book by John Grisham. John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz star. The story is about a juror who's offering to rig a jury, for a price. Why he's doing it, and how, is quite interesting.

In DICKIE ROBERTS: FORMER CHILD STAR David Spade is a former child star who hires a family to try and recreate his lost childhood. The movie also features child stars from days of yore, including Screech and some of the Brady Kids. (David Spade, Mary McCormack, Scott Terra)

MAMBO ITALIANO- Two Italian emigrants come to terms with homosexual son. (Luke Kirby, Ginette Reno, Paul Sorvino)

MASKED & ANONYMOUS - A concert is being thrown to united a divided America. (Bob Dylan, John Goodman, Jessica Lange)

COMING NEXT WEEK

SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER - This is the third (and reported final) installment in the very entertaining series.

MATCHSTICK MEN - Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell star in this picture about con men.

THE MISSING - Ron Howard followed up his Oscar winning turn in A BEAUTIFUL MIND with this forgettable pseudo western. In it a daughter and father team up to find a missing girl. (Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Simon Baker)

PIECES OF APRIL - A young woman tries to bring her family together for Thanksgiving. (Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt).

Enjoy the movies and come back here later this week for a look at what's on The Couch (Potato Report).

Here are the new CD Releases for Tuesday, February 17, 2004:

* ALEXANDER KNIAZEV JS Bach - The Cello Suites Nos. 1-6 (Warner)
* BILL & GLORIA GAITHER We Will Stand & Build a Bridge (Gaither Music Group)
* DEATH IN VEGAS Back To Mine (BMG)
* FIVE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA The Best of Five Blind Boys of Alabama (Liquid Records & Entertainment)
* INDIGO GIRLS All That We Let In (Epic)
* JUDY COLLINS Judy Collins 3 & 4 (Navarre)
* LAMBCHOP Aw Cmon (Merge)
* LAMBCHOP No You Cmon (Merge)
* LOSTPROPHETS Start Something (Columbia)
* MAR