Hilton Finally Visits 'The Late Show'
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - With the second season of "The Simple Life" about to kick off, Paris Hilton is at last getting around to chatting with David Letterman.
The hotel heiress and star of the FOX series is scheduled to visit Letterman's "Late Show" Monday (June 14).
"They have a lot in common," "Late Show" an executive producer notes of Hilton and Letterman. "She's the heir to the Hilton Hotel fortune, and he's the heir to the Stadium Motor Lodge fortune."
Hilton was originally scheduled to appear on "The Late Show" in November, prior to "The Simple Life's" first-season premiere. However, that interview -- and most of her pre-show publicity -- fell victim to the minor scandal surrounding the now-infamous sex tape of her and then-boyfriend Rick Salomon.
At the time, Letterman joked on the air that her "crisis management" team was doing the wrong thing by keeping Hilton out of public view.
"All I want to say to Paris is you're being led down the wrong path," he said shortly after the interview was cancelled. "You come on this show, by god, we'll make you a hero."
With the sex-tape escapades pretty much faded from view, Hilton and her handlers have no problem now getting the socialite back in front of the cameras, where she spends much of her time anyway.
Morrissey's alleged Bush remark sparks Internet furor
LONDON (AP) — Morrissey, outspoken lead singer of '80s rockers The Smiths, has sparked an Internet storm with reported comments about President George W. Bush.
The Manchester Evening News said Thursday it had received a record number of hits after reporting on its Web site that Morrissey, 45, had interrupted a Dublin concert Saturday with news of former President Reagan's death, adding that he wished Bush had died instead.
Morrissey's record company, Sanctuary Records, could not confirm the remarks.
"We do not have a recording of the gig, but as far as we can tell, Morrissey was just alerting the audience to the fact that Ronald Reagan had died," the newspaper quoted the company as saying. "He then simply followed that up with his comment about George Bush, which was his own opinion. He is no stranger to controversy."
A newspaper spokeswoman said thousands of people, 90% from the United States, had contacted the site to complain. A few expressed support for the remarks.
Formed in Manchester in the early 1980s, The Smiths had a series of British hits and a large cult following around the world, with songs including Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now and Shoplifters of the World Unite.
A longtime proponent of celibacy and vegetarianism who once wrote a song titled Bigmouth Strikes Again, Morrissey drew criticism in the early 1990s when he appeared to flirt with right-wing British nationalism.
He now lives in Los Angeles and is touring Europe for the first time in a decade to promote his latest solo album, You Are the Quarry.
Fall In Love With Jersey Girl
Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl will hit DVD in September.
Unfortunately the film will be less packed than past Smith releases.
In addition to an anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, the disc will include an audio commentary with Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck, deleted scenes, a featurette and a theatrical trailer.
It all arrives on September 14th.
They're Off to Seize the Wizard
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Three films targeting very different audiences are attempting to dethrone the boy wizard from his box office perch this weekend.
But it's unlikely that the eerily perfect wives of Stepford, the anti-hero Richard Riddick or a lasagna-loving animated cat will cast a spell strong enough to drive Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts from the top of the chart.
Last weekend illustrated the pure power of Potter. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," the third installment of J.K. Rowling's book series, generated a record $93.6 million in its debut weekend, the highest opening-weekend gross of the series. But with Universal Pictures' "The Chronicles of Riddick" targeting young males, Paramount Pictures' "The Stepford Wives" making a bid for older women and 20th Century Fox's "Garfield: The Movie" looking to capitalize on the family audience, the box office will have to expand to accommodate all the new titles.
"Riddick" is the second film built around actor Vin Diesel's character of Richard Riddick, following 2000's "Pitch Black," which did a modest $39.2 million and established Diesel as a star. "Riddick" is a testosterone-filled sci-fi adventure that looks to be generating a lot of heat in its demographic. Judi Dench and Thandie Newton co-star in the PG-13 actioner written and directed by David Twohy, who handled the same duties on "Pitch Black."
Tracking appears to be strong, and with the movie bowing in 2,759 locations, industry insiders put "Riddick's" opening in the $25 million-$30 million range. That should be good news for Diesel, whose most recent project, last year's "A Man Apart," fell flat. Although "Riddick" is not in a position to overthrow "Potter," it could find itself in a contest for the second spot with "Shrek 2," which pulled in $37.9 million last weekend. "Shrek 2," which stands in 13th place on the list of all-time domestic grossers, also is on track to surpass "Finding Nemo," in 10th place with $340 million, as the top-grossing animated film.
"The Stepford Wives," co-financed by DreamWorks and starring Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick as the out-of-town couple who enter the seemingly idyllic community of Stepford, Conn., is the latest adaptation of the Ira Levin novel that was filmed in 1975. Directed by Frank Oz ("The Score," "Bowfinger"), the film co-stars Christopher Walken, Glenn Close, Faith Hill and Bette Midler. Turmoil is said to have plagued the picture since preproduction, with Joan and John Cusack both dropping out and numerous reports of actor-director infighting on set.
But Kidman's star power might be able to buoy the picture. Her most recent film, "Cold Mountain," opened to $14.5 million in December, and "Stepford" is hoping to draw a much broader audience. Tracking on the film seems to have improved during the past few weeks, but mixed reviews, which often scare away the older female demographic, might put the picture in the $15 million category. The PG-13 "Stepford" will open in 3,057 theaters.
Garfield, the popular feline star of cartoons and his own comic strip, finally gets his first feature film. But it is an open question whether the animated cat will spark the interests of kids in today's marketplace. Bowing in 3,094 locations, the PG-rated computer-animated/live-action feature boasts Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield, while Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt co-star as the human leads. The box office appeal of family-geared films can be difficult to predict, but insiders peg "Garfield's" bow in the $12 million-$15 million range.
In limited release, Fox Searchlight will bow "Napoleon Dynamite" in four locations. The PG-rated comedy, acquired at this year's Sundance Film Festival, centers on the nerdy title character and his antics in a small town in Idaho. Written and directed by Jared Hess in his feature debut, the film, which cost a reported $400,000, scored well with Sundance audiences and could turn into a sleeper hit.
United Artists' high-school comedy "Saved!" will make a bid for the top 10 in its third weekend by expanding to about 500 theaters.
ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Show Over Detroit Remarks
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel has apologized for joking that Detroit Pistons fans would burn down the city if their basketball team beats the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
The comment, made by Kimmel in a promotional spot for his ABC show during the network's Tuesday night halftime telecast, riled Detroit fans and executives at ABC's Detroit affiliate, WXYZ-TV.
After getting wind that the comedian planned more jokes at Detroit's expense for his Wednesday night segment of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the station decided to carry a broadcast of "The Wayne Brady Show" in its place.
The Walt Disney Co.-owned network followed suit, running a repeat of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" instead of the segment that had been taped for Wednesday.
"We made the decision that we felt was in the best interest of the show," ABC said in a terse statement. Network officials declined further comment, except to say that Kimmel would return to the airwaves as scheduled on Thursday.
Appearing during the halftime presentation for Game 2 of the NBA finals, which the Lakers won 99-91 in overtime, Kimmel said, "I'm glad the Lakers are winning because besides the fact that I'm a Lakers fan, I realize they're gonna burn the city of Detroit down if the Pistons win, and it's not worth it."
Issuing an apology on Wednesday, Kimmel said, "What I said about Pistons fans during halftime last night was a joke, nothing more. If I offended anyone I am sorry. Clearly over the past 10 years, we in L.A. have taken a commanding lead in post-game riots. If the Lakers win, I hope to overturn my own car."
Four years ago, scores of people rampaged through downtown Los Angeles, overturning cars, setting fires and clashing with police, following the Lakers' 2000 NBA championship.
Detroit, too, has had a history of riotous celebrations following victories by its local sports teams, including the 1984 World Series victory by the Detroit Tigers. Local officials also have fought for years against a tradition of Halloween-eve "Devil's Night" arson fires.
Assuming a somewhat more sober tone on Thursday, Kimmel added: "When you're 2,000 miles away from a city you've never lived in, it's hard to understand the sadness people feel from something that happened in their town -- even if it happened many years ago.
"It was never my intention to cause anyone pain. I was trying to make a joke and I'm sorry it resulted in anything other than laughter."
Music Icon Ray Charles Dies in California at Age 73
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ray Charles, who overcame poverty, blindness and heroin addiction to lay the foundation for soul music and become one of America's most beloved entertainers, died on Thursday at the age of 73 after a long fight with liver disease, his spokesman said.
Charles, hailed as "The Father of Soul" and best known for such hits as "Georgia On My Mind" and "Hit the Road Jack," died at 11:35 a.m. PDT (2:35 p.m. EDT) at his Beverly Hills home, surrounded by family, friends and business associates, according to the singer's longtime publicist Jerry Digney.
"Mr. Charles was conscious and engaged almost to the end, and wanted the world to know that he will miss the chance to entertain his many family and friends, as he had done, up until last summer, for the past 58 years," longtime manager Joe Adams said at a news conference outside the musician's studio.
The legendary entertainer made his last public appearance on April 30, turning up in a motorized wheelchair for a ceremony dedicating his longtime recording studio in Los Angeles as an historic landmark.
Visibly frail, his voice reduced to a whisper, Charles' demeanor then was a far cry from the wildly enthusiastic performer known to millions of fans for more than half a century.
Charles' biographer, David Ritz, said the singer-songwriter had been unable to speak for the past two to three weeks.
Charles was forced to cut short a North American tour last summer due to hip pain, marking the first series of concerts he had missed in more than 50 years. He later underwent hip replacement surgery.
But other ailments were diagnosed, and unspecified complications forced him to scrap plans to resume touring with a performance in New York last month.
Charles triumphed over adversity from a young age. Left blind by glaucoma at the age of 6, he attended a school for the disabled in St. Augustine, Florida, where he learned to read and write music in Braille and play the piano, saxophone, organ, trumpet and clarinet.
In a 2002 interview, Charles credited his mother with pushing him to be independent, despite his blindness.
"She'd make me cut wood, wash clothes and build a fire under the pot. ... People thought that was abusive. My mother had the attitude 'He's got to learn, and just because he's blind doesn't mean he's stupid."'
Quitting school at age 15 after his mother died, Charles moved to Jacksonville, Florida, then on to Seattle to pursue a music career.
Charles came into his own musically in the early 1950s after signing with Atlantic Records, where he recorded the seminal hit "I Got a Woman," popularly credited as the first true soul record ever made.
He went on to collect 13 Grammy Awards during his career, including a lifetime achievement honor in 1987. He played his 10,000th concert last May in Los Angeles and in 2002 celebrated the 40th anniversary of his first hit on the country music charts, "I Can't Stop Loving You."
Charles made his biggest mark in the 1950s by blending the spirituality of gospel music he learned in the black churches of his youth with the sensuality of the blues to pioneer an emotionally raw genre called soul. Soul in turn helped pave the way for such performers as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke and the birth of rock 'n' roll.
"He is one of the most important artists of the last century," Ahmet Ertegun, who signed Charles to his Atlantic Records label 52 years ago, told Reuters. "The only artist that had a greater influence was Louis Armstrong."
Charles released his latest album, "Thanks for Bringing Love Around," in 2002, including a new version of "What'd I Say," a song he originally released in 1959 that became one of his first hits.
Other hits include the ballad "Georgia On My Mind," which became the official state song of Charles' home state, as well as "Hit the Road Jack," "The Right Time," "Yes, Indeed," "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" and "I Can't Stop Loving You."
While best known for his contributions to soul music, Charles achieved success with pop standards, jazz tunes and country music.
As his health was failing in recent months, Charles had been finishing work on an upcoming CD of duets, titled "Genius Loves Company," with such performers as Elton John, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Diana Krall, Johnny Mathis and Willie Nelson.
It is slated for release at the end of summer.