Update: Van Halen Tour To Bow In June
Van Halen has confirmed the routing for its summer tour, as well as the return of vocalist Sammy Hagar after an eight-year absence. The group's official Web site features the greeting "Eddie, Alex, Mike & Sammy Hit the Road" as well as a new photo of the foursome. The trek will play North American arenas beginning June 11 in Greensboro, N.C., and wrapping Aug. 19 in Los Angeles.
Van Halen -- guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony -- has not toured since 1998 and is currently without a record deal after splitting from longtime home Warner Bros. in 2002. However, June will see the release of a greatest hits album via Warner Strategic Marketing, featuring at least one new Hagar-voiced track, "It's About Time."
A tour spokesperson says the upcoming shows will offer such David Lee Roth-era classics as "Panama" and "Jump" plus Hagar-associated tracks like "Why Can't This Be Love," "Right Now," "Dreams," "Top of the World" and "Best of Both Worlds."
Tickets for some shows begin going on sale April 3 via Ticketmaster. Van Halen's site will also be offering premium ticket packages for some shows, with details to be announced Tuesday (March 30).
Here are Van Halen's tour dates:
June 11: Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum)
June 13: Hershey, Pa. (Hershey Park Stadium)
June 16: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
June 19: Worcester, Mass. (Centrum)
June 22: East Rutherford, N.J. (Continental Airlines Arena)
June 25: Hartford, Conn. (Civic Center)
June 26: Albany, N.Y. (Pepsi Center)
June 28: Washington, D.C. (MCI Center)
July 1: Pittsburgh (Mellon Arena)
July 2: Cleveland (Gund Arena)
July 3: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
July 6: Columbus (Schottenstein Center)
July 7: Indianapolis (Conseco Fieldhouse)
July 10: Detroit (Joe Louis Arena)
July 11: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
July 19: Chicago (venue TBA)
July 22: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center)
July 26: Kansas City, Mo. (Kemper Arena)
July 28: St. Louis (Savvis Center)
July 31: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)
Aug. 1: Denver (Pepsi Coliseum)
Aug. 5: Phoenix (America West Arena)
Aug. 7: Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay)
Aug. 10: San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavilion)
Aug. 11: Sacramento, Calif. (Arco Arena)
Aug. 13: Oakland, Calif. (Oakland Arena)
Aug. 14: Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
Aug. 19: Los Angeles (Staples Center)
Weekend Movies: 'Jersey Girl' and 3 Others Too
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's major movie studios roll out four new films in theaters on Friday including kids comedy "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" to challenge last week's box office champ, zombie flick "Dawn of the Dead."
Also looking to grab a share of ticket sales is art house romance, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," starring Jim Carrey, which opened last week to No. 6 in U.S. and Canada but earned a healthy $6,042 per theater at 1,353 sites.
"Dawn of the Dead" debuted at more than twice the number of theaters, 2,745, giving it a far better shot at the coveted No. 1 spot last week, where it landed with a $27 million haul.
This weekend, the numbers add up for Warner Bros. "Scooby-Doo 2" playing in more than 3,300 theaters against a dearth of kids movies. Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc.
The movie follows 2002 hit "Scooby-Doo" about a group of four teen ghost hunters and their dog, Scooby, who bumble their way through mysteries but always catch their crook.
The first "Scooby" opened in the summer to a $54 million weekend and went on to take in $153 million at domestic box offices. "Scooby-Doo 2" features the same cast, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini, as well as the computer animated mutt, Scooby.
In this version, they are asked to unmask a villain who is scaring the town of Coolsville with a machine that conjures up the gang's old foes like The Black Knight Ghost. It is rated PG for some scary action, rude humor and language.
Among the other three new entries, all are opening in far few theaters and face stiff competition from current movies.
Comedy "The Ladykillers," starring Tom Hanks and distributed by Walt Disney's. Buena Vista Pictures, debuts in about 1,600 theaters. From directors Joel and Ethan Coen ("Fargo"), it is based on a 1955 movie of the same name.
Hanks portrays a scholarly southern gentleman with penchant for crime who is leading a band of hapless crooks in a scheme to tunnel into a vault that holds cash from a riverboat casino. But he and his men run into trouble when devout Christian, Mrs. Munson (Irma P. Hall), from whose basement he and his men are hatching their plan, discovers their scheme.
Given an R-rating for language and sexual references, the sophisticated storytelling of the Coens' movies and Hanks in the lead role, "Ladykillers" will likely appeal to adults.
"Jersey Girl," from director Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, aims for younger adults with a story about Ollie Trinke (Affleck) whose life as a single father is changed after he strikes up an affair with a woman (Liv Tyler).
It is rated PG-13 for language, sexual content and frank dialogue, and is being distributed by Disney unit Miramax Films. It debuts in just over 1500 theaters.
Finally, aimed at black audiences is crime drama "Never Die Alone," from Twentieth Century Fox specialty film unit Fox Searchlight. Fox is a unit of News Corp. Ltd's Fox Entertainment Group .
The movie stars rapper-turned-actor DMX as a street smart criminal named King David who wants to be redeemed from his past crimes but finds himself the target of revenge.
It is based on the novel of the same name by Donald Goines and is rated R for strong violence, drug use, sexuality and language. It debuts in about 1,200 theaters.
'Law & Order' Losing Veteran Jerry Orbach - Sources
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Is it time for the "Law & Order" troops to throw a goodbye party for Briscoe?
Sources say "Law & Order" veteran Jerry Orbach will depart Dick Wolf's long-running crime drama at the end of the season after 12 years on the beat as wise-cracking Detective Lennie Briscoe. However, Orbach may still remain in business with Wolf with a role on the upcoming fourth installment of the franchise: "Law & Order: Trial by Jury."
As for the flagship series, there is no word yet about a replacement for Orbach, but one scenario involves his character's partner, Detective Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin), being promoted.
"'Law & Order' has a 15-year track record of Dick Wolf never commenting on casting changes during the season," a spokesman for the show said Thursday. Indeed, "Law & Order" has famously weathered many cast changes since it bowed in 1990. At present, Orbach is the longest-serving member of the current "Law & Order" cast members, having signed on during the show's third season in 1992.
Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz Split
LOS ANGELES - Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz have ended their three-year relationship. The couple, who spent long periods apart while filming, "broke up at the end of January and it's amicable," said Lee Anne DeVette, Cruise's sister and publicist.
Robert Garlock, Cruz's spokesman, told People magazine that neither star is dating anyone else and the two "remain good friends."
Cruise, 41, starred in last year's "The Last Samurai" and appears alongside Jamie Foxx in the upcoming Michael Mann-directed thriller "Collateral."
Cruz, 29, appeared in last year's "Gothika" and the recently released Italian film "Non ti Muovere (Don't Move)." She is to star alongside Charlize Theron in the upcoming "Head in the Clouds."
Garlock said Cruz had not become a Scientologist like Cruise "but she has taken (church) courses and she's found them beneficial." He said Cruise's religion was not involved in the split.
Cruise and Cruz met on the set of the 2001 film "Vanilla Sky."