Quebec films dominate Genie noms
TORONTO -- Two Quebec films have received a total of 20 Genie nominations in categories including best picture, best actor and best director.
The Genie Awards, Canada's equivalent to the Oscars, will be handed out at a gala ceremony May 1, to be televised this year not by the CBC but by CHUM Television.
Leading the pack with 11 nods is La Grande seduction, Jean-Francois Pouliot's gentle comedy starring Raymond Bouchard about a small, financially strapped Quebec fishing village that hatches a plot to lure a resident doctor. It was a box office smash in Quebec and was nominated for 13 Jutra Awards but lost out to Deny Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares) which scooped up all the major categories.
Arcand's film is tied with Charles Martin Smith's The Snow Walker, also a best-picture contender, for nine Genie nominations. The Barbarian Invasions, about a group of aging Quebec intellectuals reminiscing about their hedonistic youth, has already won a heap of international awards, including the Oscar for best foreign film, and was a major winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival as well as the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Snow Walker, starring Vancouver actor Barry Pepper, is based on a Farley Mowat story about a cocky bush pilot who crashes in the remote Arctic in the 1950s and whose survival is aided by his passenger, an ailing young Inuit woman.
Other leading nominees from Quebec include Seraphin: Un homme et son peche, with six, and La Face cachee de la lune, with four, including best picture. Falling Angels has six as well while Guy Maddin's The Saddest Music in the World has three.
Also in the nominations race are The Gospel of John, Marion Bridge, Norman Jewison's The Statement and the family holiday movie Blizzard, with Christopher Plummer getting a supporting-actor nod as Santa Claus. Other nominated actors include Pepper, Barbarian Invasions star Remy Girard, Molly Parker, Sarah Polley, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Roy Dupuis, Marie-Josee Croze, Olympic Dukakis and Inuit newcomer Annabella Piugattuk.
Traditionally the Genie Awards gala is telecast in prime time by the CBC where it has earned miserable ratings. This year, however, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, which also oversees TV's Gemini Awards, has a new co-producer in CHUM, which plans to air the event on Citytv, Star, Access and ASN, under the motto "Our stars, our stories, our screens."
The Genie nominees are being unveiled this year after some major changes were made to the system that chooses them.
The Academy says under its revisions, the previous double jury has been replaced by a single jury that reviews all entries. In addition, the secret ballot has been replaced by a process of open discussion and consensus. The Academy is also planning to reinstate the best foreign actor and actress categories to better reflect the growing number of Canadian-international co-productions.
The changes come after director David Cronenberg complained bitterly last year that the jury system was flawed and that foreign actors were discriminated against.
Nominees in key categories for the 24th annual Genie Awards, honouring the best in Canadian cinema:
Best motion picture:
--La Face cachee de la lune
--La Grande seduction
--Les Invasions barbares
--Owning Mahowny
--The Snow Walker
Best actor:
--Raymond Bouchard (La Grande seduction)
--Remy Girard (Les Invasions barbares)
--Philip Seymour Hoffman (Owning Mahowny)
--Robert Lepage (La Face cachee de la lune)
--Barry Pepper (The Snow Walker)
Best actress:
--Rebecca Jenkins (Marion Bridge)
--Micheline Lanctot (Comment ma mere accoucha de moi durant sa menopause)
--Molly Parker (Marion Bridge)
--Sarah Polley (My Life Without Me)
--Karine Vanasse (Seraphin: Un homme et son peche)
Best supporting actor:
--Benoit Briere (La Grande seduction)
--Roy Dupuis (Seraphin: Un homme et son peche)
--David Hayman (The Wild Dogs)
--Christopher Plummer (Blizzard)
--Stephane Rousseau (Les Invasions barbares)
Best supporting actress:
--Marie-Josee Croze (Les Invasions barbares)
--Olympia Dukakis (The Event)
--Emily Hampshire (A Problem With Fear)
--Meredith McGeachie (Punch)
--Annabella Piugattuk (The Snow Walker)
Best director:
--Denys Arcand (Les Invasions barbares)
--Robert Lepage (La Face cachee de la lune)
--Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World)
--Jean-Francois Pouliot (La Grande seduction)
--Charles Martin Smith (The Snow Walker)
Wakka, Wakka, Wizard?
Word is that ABC is developing a new version of THE WIZARD OF OZ using the Muppets.
The only human character will likely be that of Dorothy, while the rest of the Muppets take the other key roles. The telepic will be based on L. Frank Baum's original novel and not the 1939 musical.
Whitney Houston into drug rehab
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Grammy-winning pop singer Whitney Houston has entered a drug rehabilitation facility, her publicist said.
Houston "thanks everyone for their support and prayers," publicist Nancy Seltzer said in a statement Monday. She declined to offer any further details.
Houston, 40, admitted in a December 2002 television that she had abused drugs in the past, but told interviewer Diane Sawyer on ABC's Primetime that she had managed to get beyond that time through prayer.
Houston's husband, R&B singer Bobby Brown, was sentenced to 60 days in jail in late February for violating probation. One of the violations included a December misdemeanour battery charge for allegedly striking Houston, leaving her with a bruised cheek and a cut inside her lip.
In January 2000, Houston left behind a bag at Keahole Kona International Airport in Hawaii that allegedly held roughly 15 grams of marijuana and three partially smoked marijuana cigarettes.
In 2001, a petty misdemeanour drug charge relating to the incident was dismissed against Houston after a drug counsellor filed an assessment with prosecutors stating that Houston did not require treatment for substance abuse.
Brown and Houston have been married since 1992 and have a 10-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.
This Is THE COUCH POTATO REPORT!
In the Couch Potato Report This Week there's two films based on the lives of
real people, 21 grams and a complete failure.
Movies based on real people are always interesting. If it has the words
"Based On A True Story" on the video box or DVD sleeve it is usually going
to be worth your time.
That's definitely true about this week's first new release.
VERONICA GUERIN is the "Based On A True Story" cinematic telling of the life
and work of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin.
Guerin was a well-known reporter who was murdered in 1996 by the drug
dealers she was attempting to expose. The fact that many of us in North
America don't know her, or her story, makes this an interesting movie. I
suspect that anyone who knows Guerin's work and life story might be a bit
disappointed.
VERONICA GUERIN is a movie that's worth your time as Cate Blanchett does her
usual tremendous job as the leading character. Unfortunately the movie lets
her down.
We get to see Guerin at work, but there is no explanation given whatsoever
to regarding why she risks her life, and the lives of her family, for the
stories she's working on.
At the end of VERONICA GUERIN I was entertained but not satisfied. I wanted
to know more about her.
If the point of the picture was to leave me wanting more, it succeeded. If
it wanted me to know all about Veronica Guerin - the person - then it
failed.
So think of VERONICA GUERIN as a unsatisfactory "Based On A True Story"
film, but a great introduction to the person who was Veronica Guerin.
For the complete Veronica Guerin experience do a Google-search on her after
you've seen the film and you'll get some of the answers you crave.
No type of internet search engine will get you quick answers to some of the
questions posed in the film 21 GRAMS.
The first half of 21 GRAMS is a bit confusing, quite disorientating and even
irritating. The movie takes it's sweet old time weaving together the stories
of the three main characters in a chronologically random fashion.
If you like your movies to unfold in front of you from start to finish then
stay away from 21 GRAMS.
Eventually we find out that a horrific car accident has brought the lives of
three strangers together.
Oscar winner Sean Penn stars along with Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro,
who were both nominated for their work in this picture. All three actors
give, very honest, bold performances and if the movie just told the story in
a straight line then perhaps it would have been very powerful.
MEMENTO and PULP FICTION told their stories out of order and were
captivating from start to finish. Once you've realized what's happening in
21 GRAMS there just isn't enough to recommend.
21 GRAMS is a pretty good film with some great acting, but it just falls a
bit short of what it could have been.
It's not a failure, but it isn't truly successful either.
On the other hand, the 80 minute film version of Dr. Seuss' classic 72 page
book THE CAT IN THE HAT is a complete failure.
Starring the exceptionally talented Mike Myers this live-action version of
the famous Dr. Seuss story is padded out with special effects and a few
risqué moments that were not in the original book.
The movie version of THE CAT IN THE HAT is an insult to one of the most
beloved characters in children's literature, and a bigger insult to Dr.
Seuss.
Should you find yourself in in the mood to be entertained by a talking cat
who will help to break up the boredom of a rainy day just pick up the book
Another movie based on a good book has been getting a lot of attention these
days.
So with Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST ringing up box-office bucks
across North America to the tune of over $250 million, it's never been a
better time to re-visit MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN.
This classic film takes on the story of the Messiah in a hysterical,
satirical way.
The story follows the misadventures of Brian, who was born just down the
street in Bethlehem on the same night as another famous baby.
LIFE OF BRIAN culminates with the the classic finale song, "Always Look on
the Bright Side of Life."
Originally released in 1979 LIFE OF BRIAN remains one of Monty Python's
funniest achievements.
Its not for everyone, but then again neither is Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF
THE CHRIST.
VERONICA GUERIN, 21 GRAMS, DR. SUESS' THE CAT IN THE HAT and MONTY PYTHON'S
LIFE OF BRIAN are available right now at your favourite local video store.
COMING NEXT WEEK IN THE COUCH POTATO REPORT
There's a whole bunch of failed box office releases.
GOTHIKA is about a criminal psychologist who wakes up in mental hospital.
Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr. topline the cast.
A bounty hunter and a fugitive team up to find treasure in THE RUNDOWN.
Wrestler The Rock and AMERICAN PIE'S Seann William Scott star along with the
luscious Rosario Dawson.
In HONEY a dancer must choose to dance or not to dance after being
blackmailed by her mentor. I don't have to see this to know that this HONEY
has more to do with Poo than Pooh. DARK ANGEL'S Jessica Alba leads a cast
that also includes Mekhi Phifer and rapper Lil' Romeo.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!
New CD Releases
Here are the new discs coming out on Tuesday, March 16, 2004:
* ALECIA NUGENT Alecia Nugent (Rounder)
* BIG BOI OutKast Presents - Big Boi's Boom Boom Room (DVD) (Arista)
* BUSTED A Present for Everyone (Island)
* DAVID BYRNE Grown Backwards (Nonesuch/Warner)
* FLESHCRAWL Made of Flesh (Metal Blade)
* GODSMACK The Other Side (Universal)
* JACKSON BROWNE The Very Best of Jackson Browne (Rhino)
* JHENE My Name is Jhene (Epic)
* JOE JACKSON Afterlife (Outside Music)
* MADONNA Love Profusion (Maxi Single) (Warner)
* NEIL YOUNG Greendale (DVD AUDIO) (Warner)
* R.E.M. Perfect Square (DVD) (Warner)
* SLAID CLEAVES Wishbones (Rounder)
* SNAP The Cult of Snap! 1990-2003 (Popular)
* SUGABABES Three (Island)
* SUGARHILL GANG The Best of Sugarhill Gang (DVD) (Rhino)
* THE WALKMEN Bows & Arrows (Warner)
* TIFFANY VILLAREAL Tiffany Villareal (Universal)
* USHER Yeah (Arista)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS The Mayor of Sunset Strip - Soundtrack (Shout! Factory)
* WIL Both Hands (EMI)
* ZERO 7 When It Falls (Palm/Quango)
DIAPER DUTY
Charlie Sheen and actress-wife Denise Richards welcoming baby girl Sam Sheen on Tuesday night, March 9th in Los Angeles. The tyke, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, is the couple's first child.
CARTOON COVERGIRL
Marge Simpson will be featured on a special limited-edition Maxim magazine covers for the April issue. The cartoon mom will be featured on one-third of the limited-edition covers; Paris Hilton will grace the remaining two-thirds.
The Simpsons gets season four on DVD
The Simpsons may take over a decade to release the entire series on DVD, but another step will be made this summer when The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season comes from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
All 22 episodes of the 1992-1993 season including the perennial favorite Marge vs. the Monorail (written by Conan O’Brien). Each episode will be presented in its original fullscreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound as well as audio commentary on each episode. Additional extras include a an introduction by Matt Groening, a voiceover featurette with James L. Brooks, an Animation Showcase, a multi-angle feature, animatics, commercials and deleted scenes.
The set will arrive on June 15th!
Trainspotting gets super-sized
The brilliant film Trainspotting has been doomed to the curse being released early in the format’s life and therefore not quite up to snuff. Miramax will correct this in the summer with a new two-disc special edition.
Presented in anamorphic widescreen with audio in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, the disc will feature an audio commentary, deleted scenes, two featurettes, interviews from Cannes, a still gallery and theatrical trailers.
The DVD arrives on June 1st.
Teenage New Zealand Oscar-nominee set to star in "Star Wars" sequel
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - New Zealand schoolgirl Keisha Castle-Hughes, who this year became the youngest ever best actress Oscar nominee, will star in the next episode of the blockbuster "Star Wars" movies, reports said.
The 13-year-old actress, who made her Oscar nominated screen debut last year in "Whale Rider," has found herself a heavyweight Hollywood agent and a role as the Queen of Naboo in filmmaker George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode III."
Castle-Hughes has signed on with top Tinseltown talent managers Creative Artists Agency for her Hollywood roles but will remain represented in New Zealand by Auckland Actors, according to reports in the Daily Variety and Hollywood Reporter.
In her acting debut in "Whale Rider," Castle-Hughes, who lost the Oscar to South African Charlize Theron, took on the role of a feisty Maori girl battling tradition and her grandfather to take over the leadership of her tribe.
The sixth chapter in the 27-year-old sci-fi classic "Star War" series, which has developed a major cult following, is due for release in May 2005.
Apple Sells 50 Million Songs Over Internet
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. said on Monday it has sold 50 million songs over the Internet in the 11 months since it launched its iTunes Music Store, putting it at least halfway toward its goal for the year.
Apple, which charges 99 cents a song, said it is currently selling 2.5 million songs per week, which would translate into 130 million songs per year, or about $130 million in annual revenue.
It's still not clear if Apple will meet its goal of 100 million songs downloaded during the first year of the new service. At the current rate, Apple will likely sell about 18 million more songs before the April 28 deadline, putting it at the 68 million mark.
But the Cupertino, California-based company said that the 50 million songs excluded an undisclosed number of songs redeemed through a PepsiCo. Inc. promotion to give away 100 million free songs. Not all of the songs given away are expected to actually be downloaded, or redeemed.
Rob Schoeben, vice president of applications marketing at Apple, declined to predict how many songs iTunes customers will have downloaded for its one-year anniversary in April but said that it has continued to steadily increase. For instance, the download rate was about 1.5 million songs per week in December.
"We're not predicting where we'll be on April 28 but the numbers are very strong," Schoeben said.
ALL EYES ON IPODS
While the sale of songs is a positive for the company and the industry, analysts noted it is actually the music store's effect on Apple's iPod digital music player, more than the service itself, that has helped the company's revenues and earnings.
The company sold 730,000 iPods in the December quarter and in February said it had 100,000 orders for its new iPod mini.
Apple, known for its Macintosh computers, launched its iTunes music store for Mac users in April 2003. It expanded the service to personal computer users running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system -- a pool vastly larger than users running Apple's own operating system -- in October 2003.
Downloads of iTunes songs do not translate directly to the bottom line because of the costs of paying royalties to musicians and music companies, analysts have said. In 2003, Apple had revenues of $6.21 billion and earned 20 cents per share.
First Albany Corp. analyst Joel Wagonfeld said in a recent research note that he does not expect the store to be profitable for 12 to 18 months.
The primary financial benefit of the music store for Apple is its ability to drive sales of the iPod digital music player, said Tim Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, a high-tech research consulting company.
In the fourth quarter, the iPod digital music player accounted for about 13 percent of overall sales.
"It's a razor-razorblade scenario," Bajarin said, in which the songs are the low-cost razors and the iPods represent the lucrative blades. "In Apple's case, the blades drive the selling of the razors."
That's important because the iPods are highly profitable for the company and sell for $249 to $500. "Running the store at break-even or even at a minimal loss, is a no-brainer," he said.
Apple shares fell $1.17, or nearly 4.3 percent, to $26.39 Monday on the Nasdaq.
Geffen Records Prevails Over Axl Rose Lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday cleared the way for Geffen Records to release a greatest-hits album next week from the rock band Guns N' Roses over the objection of its lead singer, Axl Rose.
Rose sued Geffen, a unit of Universal Music Group under Vivendi Universal, seeking to prevent the best-of collection from being released, claiming he was not consulted on the choice or remixing of material for the album.
He was joined as a plaintiff in the suit, filed last Friday, by two band members from the original lineup -- guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan -- even though their rights to the Guns N' Roses name was signed over to Rose years ago when they left the group.
But U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer denied their request for a temporary restraining order, allowing Geffen to issue the album as planned next Tuesday. A hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction was set for next month.
"Their lawsuit is meritless," Universal Music spokesman Peter LoFrumento said. "Fortunately, since the court has denied their application for a temporary restraining order, the album will be released as scheduled on March 23."
According to the lawsuit, Rose objected to the selection of songs for the compilation album, the timing of its release, the album's artwork and the re-mastering of the original tapes.
The album features 14 tracks in all and eight of Guns N' Roses' hit singles, including "Welcome to the Jungle, "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O' Mine" from the mega-selling 1987 album "Appetite for Destruction."
The group's last studio album, "The Spaghetti Incident?," was issued in 1993. A 2002 MTV appearance by a reconstituted Guns N' Roses, with Rose as the lone member from the band's heyday, helped spark interest in the group's new lineup, but a subsequent U.S. tour was cut short.
The suit, which accuses Geffen of trademark infringement and breach of contract, says the label is barred under its contract with Guns N' Roses from altering its master recordings without the band's permission.
A statement from Rose's manager added that the greatest-hits set "will hinder the release of the band's long-awaited new studio album, 'Chinese Democracy."'
Geffen officials had no further comment on the dispute. But a source familiar with the situation said the label has been waiting seven years for Rose to deliver "Chinese Democracy" and has poured $13 million into production of that album after repeated promises that he was about to finish the project.
"Every year there's been a new reason why Axl is not done with the record," the source told Reuters, adding that Geffen went ahead with the greatest-hits package only because Rose failed to come through with "Chinese Democracy." "Had he delivered this record like he promised seven years ago, this would not be happening right now."
A representative for Rose was not immediately available for comment.
Prince Joins Rock Royalty at Hall of Fame Induction
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prince was crowned as musical royalty on Monday as he joined the late George Harrison among eight inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Also honored at the 19th annual induction were Texas boogie-woogie blues group ZZ Top, singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, English rock-jazz fusion band Traffic, rocker Bob Seger, R & B vocal group The Dells and Jann Wenner, co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine.
Prince kicked off the star-studded festivities with an electrifying performance of "Let's Go Crazy," "Sign 'O' The Times," and "Kiss," that brought the formally dressed audience in the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to its feet.
He was introduced by Alicia Keys and OutKast.
"There are many kings. King Henry the 8th, King Solomon, King Tut, King James, King Kong," said Grammy Award-winner Keys. "But there is only one Prince."
"When I first started out in this music industry I was most concerned with freedom," said Prince, whose 1984 "Purple Rain" sold 17 million copies. "I wish you all the best on this fascinating journey. It ain't over."
Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001 and was already enshrined as a member of the Beatles, became the third of the Fab Four to be inducted as a solo artist, following John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
After the break-up of the Beatles, Harrison showed his solo prowess with triple album "All Things Must Pass," and demonstrated his humanitarian interests and talent as a producer by organizing the 1971 "Concert for Bangladesh."
He was to be presented by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, who were bandmates of his in the Traveling Wilburys, a super-group he helped form late in his career.
Traffic, comprised of Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason and the late Chris Wood, a great jam band known for songs like "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "Feelin' Alright," were presented by Dave Matthews.
Bruce Springsteen was to introduce Jackson Browne, whose hits included "Running on Empty," "Doctor My Eyes," and "Take It Easy," co-written with Glenn Frey of the Eagles.
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was presenting ZZ Top -- Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, the one beardless member of the rollicking Texas trio whose fame was boosted by the hot rockin' videos such as "Legs," and "Sharp Dressed Man," they turned out for MTV.
Seger, whose hard-driving hits include "Old Time Rock and Roll," the soulful "Night Moves" and "Hollywood Nights," was to be presented by fellow Detroit rocker, Kid Rock.
The Dells, who formed in a Chicago suburb in the 1950s, had their first hit, "Oh, What a Night," in 1956 and have had at least one single make the pop charts in every decade since the 1950s -- a feat matched only by the Isley Brothers.
Wenner, who rules Rolling Stone as its executive editor and publisher, was to be presented by the musical Stones' famous frontman, Mick Jagger.