Alias Returns To Old
In a interview with TV Guide.com ABC President Stephen McPherson is saying that next season ALIAS will be back to the old, where Sydney will juggle her dual roles as an international spy and normal twenty-something girl.
"We got so deep in the Rimbaldi and Covenant [mysteries] that we lost sight of some of the stuff we fell in love with [in the beginning]. J.J. is talking about getting back to some of the joy that she used to have in her personal life early on... while still living in this crazy world."
SHOT DOWN
The MPAA ratings board reaffirming its decision to give an R rating to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, despite a last-ditch appeal by distributors hoping for a PG-13. Moore has encouraged teens to do whatever it takes to see the film, even sneak in. The film opens in 800 theaters on Friday.
AFI Says 'Over the Rainbow' Top Movie Tune
LOS ANGELES - There's no song like "Over the Rainbow." Kansas farm girl Dorothy Gale's wistful ditty in "The Wizard of Oz" led the American Film Institute's list of 100 best movie songs Tuesday, followed by "As Time Goes By" from "Casablanca" at No. 2 and the title tune from "Singin' in the Rain" at No. 3.
"Over the Rainbow," sung by Judy Garland in the 1939 musical fantasy, was picked as the top song in U.S. cinema in voting by about 1,500 actors, filmmakers, writers, critics and others in Hollywood.
"That deserves it. It's one of the great, great songs. Judy Garland, the emotion in that song. It gives me chills whenever I hear it," said Burt Bacharach, who was represented on the list for co-writing "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" (No. 23) from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (No. 79) from "Arthur."
In 2001, Garland's "Over the Rainbow" (and Bing Crosby's "White Christmas") also topped the 365 "Songs of the Century" selected by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America.
The rest of the AFI top 10: 4. "Moon River" from "Breakfast at Tiffany's"; 5. "White Christmas" from "Holiday Inn"; 6. "Mrs. Robinson" from "The Graduate"; 7. "When You Wish Upon a Star" from "Pinocchio"; 8. "The Way We Were" from "The Way We Were"; 9. "Stayin' Alive" from "Saturday Night Fever"; 10. "The Sound of Music" from "The Sound of Music."
Two other songs made the list from both "The Sound of Music" ("My Favorite Things" at No. 64 and "Do Re Mi" at No. 88) and "Singin' in the Rain" ("Make 'Em Laugh" at No. 49 and "Good Morning" at No. 72). "West Side Story" also landed three songs: "Somewhere" (No. 20), "America" (No. 35) and "Tonight" (No. 59).
Chosen from 400 nominees, the list was announced in the CBS special "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs," the institute's latest countdown to promote U.S. film history. The show's host was John Travolta, star of "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease," whose "Summer Nights" came in at No. 70.
"A list like this really drives people back to rediscover or discover these movies," said Jean Picker Firstenburg, the institute's director. "It's about older generations revisiting them and younger generations finding them for the first time."
Past specials presented such lists as the best 100 American movies, comedies, screen legends and love stories. AFI leaders had been mulling a list of best movie songs for years.
"It's an idea we've had floating around since the beginning," said Bob Gazzale, who produces the AFI specials. "Movies and music are so obviously linked at the heart, really. Even before sound came to films, there were songs that went with silent pictures, as well."
The earliest song to make the list was "Isn't It Romantic" (No. 73), sung by Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in 1932's "Love Me Tonight." The newest came from 2002 with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger's rendition of "All That Jazz" (No. 98) from "Chicago" and Eminem's "Lose Yourself" (No. 93) from "8 Mile."
Unlike the Academy Awards, which honors songs written specifically for new movies, the AFI list allowed any tune integral to a movie. So songs such as "It Had to Be You" (No. 60) from "When Harry Met Sally..." and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (No. 94) from "The Big Chill" made the cut.
Other tunes ranged from sublime with Paul Robeson's "Ol' Man River (No. 24) from the 1936 version of "Show Boat" and Garland's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (No. 76) from "Meet Me in St. Louis" to the goofy with "Springtime for Hitler" (No. 80) from Mel Brooks' "The Producers" and Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle's wacky rendition of "Puttin' on the Ritz" (No. 89) from Brooks' "Young Frankenstein."
Songs came from blockbusters ("My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic" at No. 14 and "Unchained Melody" from "Ghost" at No. 27) and from counterculture flicks ("Born to Be Wild" from "Easy Rider" at No. 29 and "Aquarius" from "Hair" at No. 33).
"I think this list is about music that has made its way into daily lives, rather than an assessment of what's great," said Jennifer Warnes, who sang two duets that made the list, "Up Where We Belong" (No. 75) from "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (No. 86) from "Dirty Dancing."
"The reason why my songs made it there is that they're used. I still hear `Up Where we Belong' when I'm at the store buying frozen peas, and it makes me happier to be buying frozen peas."
Mary-Kate Olsen Being Treated for Eating Disorder
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teen actress Mary-Kate Olsen, who with her twin sister Ashley has grown into an American pop icon and fashion brand, has entered a program for treatment of an eating disorder reported to be anorexia.
The 18-year-old co-star of last month's film "New York Minute" recently "entered a treatment facility to seek professional help for a health-related issue," publicist Michael Pagnotta said on Tuesday.
"She is thankful for the encouragement and support of her friends and family, who are with her every step of the way," he added.
A person familiar with the situation told Reuters that Olsen was suffering from an eating disorder. Olsen entered a facility during the past week or 10 days and was expected to remain in treatment for about a month, the person said.
Us Weekly magazine, in the cover story of its upcoming issue, identified the disorder as anorexia.
Speculation about Olsen's rail-thin figure has been the subject of tabloids, gossip columns and the Internet for weeks. The actress herself poked fun at the issue during the twins' recent appearance on "Saturday Night Live," shouting to an extra playing herself, "You're too skinny! Eat a sandwich!"
Pagnotta said both sisters, who turned 18 on June 13, were going ahead with plans to attend New York University together in the fall.
But Ashley Olsen will be making a planned trip later this month to Australia and New Zealand without Mary-Kate to launch overseas promotion of "New York Minute" -- the sisters' first theatrical feature, he said.
The twins have been in the public eye since they were 9 months old, starring in the television sitcom "Full House." Since then, they have sold millions of videos, DVDs and books and have launched their own fashion line.
But director-producer Michael Kruzan, who has worked with the twins for years, was quoted in Us Weekly as describing Mary-Kate as the "more competitive" of the two girls.