The Couch Potato Report - October 1st, 2004

In The Couch Potato Report this week there's one of the best films of the year, and the absolute worst.

Please allow me to start with the one that is one of the best.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND is the new film from writer Charlie Kaufman. His previous works include BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ADAPTATION, HUMAN NATURE and CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND.

The one thing that all of those films have in common is that they are all brilliant, odd and not for everyone. Kaufman is a writer who exists on a different plane than most of us, and that makes his vision a bit askew.

In ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND Canadian Jim Carrey is a man who tries to erase his ex-girlfriend from his memory. Be warned, this isn't your typical Jim Carrey movie. And as I've alluded to, this isn't your typical movie.

The luscious Kate Winslet plays the girlfriend and while Carrey is undergoing the procedure to erase her, he changes his mind. He wants to keep the memories, but since this is all going on inside of his head the erasure team cannot hear his request that they stop.

So he, and his memories of his ex-girlfriend are forced to flee around his mind to hide.

I told you it wasn't a typical movie.

But it is the kind of film that I truly love. A movie that keeps you guessing and shows you things you haven't seen before.

At it's core ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND is a love story. A love story that juggles morality, identity, and heartbreak at at once.

I enjoyed it on every conceivable level and highly recommend it, even though I know many people will not like it at all.

Something that many people do like is fast food, especially McDonald's.

If you count youself among that group, then you absolutely have to see the documentary SUPER SIZE ME.

In this very entertaining film Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a steady diet of McDonald's cuisine for 30 days, just to see what will happen.

What happens is he gets fat, his cholesterol sky rockets, his organs take a beating, and he becomes subject to headaches, mood swings, symptoms of addiction, and has a lessened sexual energy.

SUPER SIZE ME is not a perfect film, but it will entertain you.

Surprisingly, it also made me crave McDonald's, and I haven't eaten there in over two years. In the end I went home and made some rice, but I will always remember how much fun eating at McDonalds was when I was a kid.

I will also always remember The Alamo. The actual place, not the film THE ALAMO that is now available on video and DVD.

And as a history buff, I am actually mad that this film is so bad. I didn't expect it to be a documentary, as it is a movie, but I didn't expect it to be as bad as it is either.

The history and battle that took place at the actual Alamo remains a great idea for a movie. This version of THE ALAMO is just a movie with a very bad screenplay, poor direction, and, well, let me just stop at two bad things, but I could go on.

Now, after all that negativity, I suppose I should say something nice about THE ALAMO...well, okay, admittedly Billy Bob Thornton isn't bad as Davy Crockett.

But other than that bad is the word I would use to sum up THE ALAMO. Skip it, ignore it, check out something else.

But whatever you do, don't make that something else ENVY.

Envy is a mortal sin, and the fact that I had to watch this film was a sin too!

And in a million years, I would never have thought that I would say that as ENVY stars two of my favourite actors: Ben Stiller from DODGEBALL and MEET THE PARENTS and Jack Black of SCHOOL OF ROCK and HIGH FIDELITY.

But, and there is no getting around this, ENVY doesn't have one laugh and it is the worst movie I have seen this year.

In ENVY one man's invention tests the bonds of his friendship with his closest friend and neighbour. The friend has the chance to buy in on the idea, but says no thanks. Once the invention becomes a huge success, hilarity should have ensued, but it does not. Not once. Not at all!

If you never have to sit through ENVY, know that I am envious of you, because I had to.

And that is a sin!

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, SUPER SIZE ME, THE ALAMO and ENVY are all available at your favourite local video store.

COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT

FAHRENHEIT 9/11 is Michael Moore's documentary about the events surrounding 9/11. It is the highest grossing documentary of all time and it may also become the first movie to topple a president.

The classic animated Disney film ALADDIN, with Robin Williams as the voice of the genie, will finally make its debut on DVD.

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW is this past summer's ecological disaster film. Up to a certain point it is actually very good.

And in the religious comedy SAVED! two high school groups battle over religion and morals. The great young cast includes Jena Malone, Mandy Moore and Maculay Culkin.

I'm Dan Reynish and I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

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

FBI ordered to release Lennon files

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The FBI must turn over the remaining secret files on Beatle John Lennon to a professor who has waged a more than 20-year legal battle to get the documents, a judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge Robert Takasugi rejected government arguments Tuesday that releasing the last 10 pages would pose a national security risk because a foreign government secretly provided the information. The government was not publicly identified.

Jonathan Wiener, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, sued the U.S. government for the documents in 1983 under the Freedom of Information Act. He received 248 pages in 1997 as part of a settlement.

The previously released files, which were gathered from 1971 to 1972, include memos detailing Lennon's donations to a group planning to demonstrate at the 1972 Republican National Convention. But they contain no allegations Lennon was involved in planning or committing illegal acts.

Wiener, a historian, originally sought the files for his 1984 book, "Come Together: John Lennon in His Time." After the 1997 release, he wrote "Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files."

His battle with the government went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

NBC Gives 'Joey' a Full-Season Pickup

LOS ANGELES - "Joey" is doing OK without all those friends, so NBC gave the "Friends" spinoff a full-season pickup Thursday.

The network ordered at least nine additional episodes of the sitcom starring Matt LeBlanc, who moved over to his own show after "Friends" wrapped its decade-long run. Drea de Matteo ("The Sopranos") co-stars.

NBC trumpeted "Joey" as the season's top-rated new comedy among adults ages 18 to 49 and among total viewers, and the No. 2 comedy overall in the advertiser-favored 18-to-49 demographic, behind NBC's "Will & Grace."

But the series has yet to match the success of "Friends," which had been a bulwark of NBC's Thursday schedule.

CBS' "Survivor" drew more viewers last week in head-to-head competition with "Joey" and "Will & Grace," undermining NBC's longtime domination of Thursday night — a key night for lucrative weekend movie ads.

MGM Pushes Back Bond Film Release Date

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It looks like super-spy James Bond can keep his tuxedo in the closet for at least another year.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., on the verge of being sold to a group of companies led by Sony Corp., has pushed back its target release date from November 2005 until sometime in 2006, a spokesman for the film studio said on Thursday.

He cited the failure so far to line up a director for the movie, which would mark the 21st installment of MGM's venerable film franchise.

MGM, which together with EON Productions owns the Bond movie rights and distributes the films, had insisted as recently as late July that a script was finished and the next film was on track to arrive in theaters in November 2005.

But without a director on board by summer's end, producers were not sure they could begin shooting as planned in January or February in order to make a November deadline for release, the spokesman said.

"We're not going to be the slave to a release date or shoe-horn it in so we can make a date," he said, adding, "We're still in the development process."

One factor in the delay has been MGM executives' preoccupation with negotiations leading to the recent deal for a Sony-led consortium to acquire the studio for about $2.85 billion plus debt, one insider told Reuters.

"We had plenty on our plates in the last few months," the source said. "Moving forward on Bond is always a process of agreement between us and EON, and that requires 50-50 agreement, and that's never a simple thing."

Another question mark is whether Irish-born actor Pierce Brosnan would return to star as the suave secret agent.

Brosnan, 51, who has portrayed agent 007 in four films starting with "GoldenEye" in 1995, told Entertainment Weekly magazine this summer he was through with the Bond franchise.

The MGM spokesman acknowledged that no one has been cast to play Bond and that Brosnan fulfilled his MGM contract with his appearance in the last Bond film, 2002's "Die Another Day," but has not been ruled out for a fifth picture.

All casting decisions will await the signing of a director. Among the filmmakers being discussed for the job are Paul McGuigan, who directed MGM's recent "Wicker Park," and Matthew Vaughn, Guy Ritchie's producing partner for "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

The James Bond series, which began in 1962 with "Dr. No," starring Sean Connery as the fictional British spy first popularized in Ian Fleming's novels, is one of MGM's biggest assets. "Die Another Day" alone generated more than $425 million in worldwide ticket sales.

Expos Era in Montreal Ends With 9-1 Loss

MONTREAL - The Expos era in Montreal ended with a 9-1 loss to Florida on Wednesday night, a game delayed for 10 minutes when players were pulled off the field after a fan threw a golf ball that landed near second base.

Hours after baseball announced that the 36-year-old franchise will be moved next season to Washington, D.C., a crowd of 31,395 showed up at Olympic Stadium for its final chance to say farewell.

It was the largest crowd of the year and about four times the season average. Fans were warned in the third inning that the game would be forfeited if anything else was thrown onto the field.

Three plastic bottles were tossed into left field in the sixth, one near Florida's Miguel Cabrera. But the teams remained on the field and no announcement was made. The game was delayed just a couple minutes as the bottles were retrieved by a ball boy.

With two outs in the ninth, a fan jumped onto the field near Florida's on-deck circle and was quickly escorted off by two security guards.

After Terrmel Sledge popped up for the final out, Marlins coach Perry Hill took the ball from third baseman Mike Mordecai and tossed it across the field to Expos manager Frank Robinson.

Montreal coach Claude Raymond stood alone on the field before he was joined by all the Expos as they waved goodbye to fans.

The crowd began standing when the Marlins came to bat in the top of the ninth. Fans, some with tears in their eyes, waved Canadian flags and held up signs. Some were still lingering in the stands 15 minutes after the game ended.

Peter McStravick, an Ottawa native and lifelong Expos fan now living in Boston, held a sign with pictures of commissioner Bud Selig, former team president Claude Brochu and Florida owner Jeffrey Loria, who sold the franchise to the other 29 teams to purchase the Marlins in 2002.

"Expos Hall of Shame," read the sign, "Merci de Rien (Thanks for Nothing.)"

"It's a funeral," said McStravick, who made a five-hour drive to attend the game.

Former Expo Carl Pavano (18-8) set a Marlins record for wins, and Cabrera hit his 32nd homer.

Sun-woo Kim (4-6) lasted only two-plus innings.

Montreal has three games remaining this season, in New York against the Mets. The Expos also played their first game at Shea Stadium in 1969.

With Florida's Jeff Conine at the plate in the third inning, Robinson came out of the dugout, summoned plate umpire Rick Reed and pointed out the golf ball.

Reed, the crew chief, waved all the players into the dugout as the crowd cheered. Security guards lined up along each baseline.

Drawing decent crowds was the problem for the Expos in recent years, prompting baseball to look for a new home.

The last major league team to move was the Washington Senators, who became the Texas Rangers for the 1972 season.

The Senators' final home game was forfeited on Sept. 30, 1971. Fans rushed onto the field with two outs in the ninth inning, upset over owner Bob Short's decision to move the team to Texas.

The Senators were leading the New York Yankees 7-5 when the game was declared a forfeit.

Fans were still streaming into Olympic Stadium during the second inning Wednesday night. The seldom-used upper deck was already filling with spectators as Kim threw the first pitch to Juan Pierre.

Wednesday night's game was the 2,786th for the last-place Expos in Montreal, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That includes 641 at Jarry Park, where the team started play in 1969, and 2,145 at Olympic Stadium, where the Expos moved in 1977.

The 1994 Expos were honored in a pregame ceremony. That team was 74-40, the best record in baseball, and six games up in the NL East when major league players went on strike, a work stoppage that ultimately resulted in the cancellation of the playoffs and World Series.

Several members of the 1994 team — including current Montreal left-hander Joey Eischen, Florida's Wil Cordero, pitchers Ken Hill, Gil Heredia and Tim Scott — were on hand to sign autographs as fans were allowed to mill about the outfield before the game.

Usherettes Marie-Claude Girard and Dominique Duquette were red-eyed from crying unabashedly as fans filed past them on and off the field.

Many fans brought gloves and played catch on the field, others sat or sprawled on the field's artificial turf. Security was increased, but the crowd cleared the field without any problems when the autograph session ended.

Recorded messages from former Expos Felipe Alou, who managed the team from 1992-01, Cubs slugger Moises Alou and San Francisco's Kirk Rueter and Marquis Grissom, were played on the video scoreboard.

The small group of players were introduced to the crowd before they walked to the outfield wall in left-center field, where they unveiled a banner with the Expos' logo reading, "1994 Meilleure Equipe du Baseball — Best Team in Baseball."

Kim Richardson's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was initially greeted with boos. Applause soon drowned out the jeers.

Montreal's Tony Batista took an extended curtain call after he came out of the game following the fifth inning. Batista, whose 32 home runs set a team record for third basemen, stepped out of the dugout and thrust both arms up high to the delight of the crowd.

The fans also gave ace Livan Hernandez a loud ovation, as well as the team's English and French broadcasters when they were shown on the video scoreboard during the game.

Farrelly Brothers Film at Fenway Park

BOSTON - It's been a long time since the Boston Red Sox had a Hollywood ending — 86 years, to be exact. The team's history has played more like a horror flick, or considering Bill Buckner, perhaps a comedy of errors. Lately, though, Fenway Park has been the location for a different kind of comedy.

Lifelong Sox fans Peter and Bobby Farrelly have spent the past few weeks here shooting "Fever Pitch," about a guy (Jimmy Fallon) who's torn between the woman he loves (Drew Barrymore) and the baseball team he adores.

The Farrellys, directors of movies including "There's Something About Mary" and "Dumb & Dumber" and natives of Cumberland, R.I., received unprecedented access to Fenway for what they call "the ultimate Red Sox movie."

"I feel like I'm in my childhood now, just being here every day. It's been magical, it really has," 46-year-old Bobby said, sitting along the first-base line during batting practice before a recent showdown between the Sox and the hated New York Yankees.

"Just coming to work — we're in a hotel right around the corner — walk over here to the park every morning, it's great. The worst part is, I'm on the ballpark diet," he added. "It's nothing but hot dogs and peanuts every meal."

"Fever Pitch," based on the Nick Hornby book of the same name about a guy who's obsessed with an English soccer team, already was made into a 1997 movie starring Colin Firth. This new version, written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel ("A League of Their Own," "City Slickers"), is due out from 20th Century Fox in summer 2005.

"It was such a beautiful script and a great story and it was about the Red Sox," said Bobby, who usually co-writes the films he and his brother direct. "This one was made for us because we are, like, die-hard Red Sox fans. We wanted to get involved so we lobbied hard."

The strategy worked. Although Fenway is the major league's oldest ballpark — and one of its most fabled — very little has been shot here: a scene from "Field of Dreams," an episode of "The Practice." And with the shooting coinciding with the Sox' late-season charge into the playoffs, the vibe in Fenway is electric even without movie cameras.

Saying yes to the idea was easy, said Chuck Steedman, the Red Sox' senior director of business affairs: "It was the first script that I'd read that was really about us."

The organization had three guidelines for the filmmakers.

"No. 1 is, there's nothing more important to us than the pursuit of the playoffs here. That's paramount," Steedman said. "No. 2 is the integrity of the game — that we can't do anything that's going to screw with the game. And No. 3 is, our playing field is not the best in the world and we can't do anything that's going to tax that."

The Farrellys "were so respectful of that," he added.

"We don't want to interfere with any fans' enjoyment of the game, 'cause people come to watch baseball — they don't come to watch a movie being filmed," Bobby said. "And we didn't want to interfere with any of the players or any of the team or what they're focusing on. And it is a small, confining space, so that was the thing: to try to do it without being noticed."

So when they shot a climactic scene in which Barrymore runs across the outfield and jostles with center fielder Johnny Damon, they waited until after a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

"We'd been making announcements during the game, and as soon as it was over we asked people to stay for 15 minutes — almost everybody did — and then we shot it and it was a ball for everybody," Peter Farrelly said.

"It helped that they'd won that night. They won 11-1 or 11-2 or something," he said. (Actually, they won 11-4.) "And the fans were jacked up, so it worked great."

As for Damon, he was thrilled to be a part of the scene, as well — and the popular outfielder, who resembles Jim Caviezel in "The Passion of the Christ" with his long, dark hair and scruffy beard, hopes this could be the start of a side career in acting.

"I wish I had a bigger part, maybe a kissing part or something, but you know, I'll take it," Damon said. "I think everyone looks at movie stars as the upper echelon as far as what the best job may be. All the guys are studs, all the girls are beautiful. It'd be nice."

Although the Sox are hoping to win their first World Series since 1918, the Farrellys recently shot a scene that takes place on Opening Day.

Under blue skies and blinding sunshine, extras dressed in Manny Ramirez and Pokey Reese T-shirts milled around outside the Cask n' Flagon, the famous sports bar behind the Green Monster, while real fans dressed in Manny Ramirez and Pokey Reese T-shirts looked on. Between takes, trucks loaded with beer and soda for that evening's Yankees game rumbled along narrow Brookline Avenue.

In the middle of it all was Fallon, the former "Saturday Night Live" player, dressed in a navy blue pullover with the words Red Sox across his chest in red letters. The scene called for him to wait anxiously for Barrymore, who shows up straight from work in a gray business suit, carrying a black Prada bag.

Later in the day, Fallon — who's from Saugerties, N.Y., and a Yankees fan — said he had some idea about his character from working with a "Weekend Update" producer on "SNL" who would come to work in a bad mood the day after a Sox loss.

"They're, like, fans taken to the next level. They really are — they're, like, die-hard fans. And when the team loses, they lose. When the team wins, they win," Fallon said, sitting near the Sox dugout as the smell of fresh-cut grass wafted from the outfield and chalk was being laid along the base paths.

"We've been here two weeks now and I came to, like, every game. I've talked to the fans, watched fans, from batting practice on until after the games. I went to the bars. I actually got to see what it's like," he added.

So could the positive energy of "Fever Pitch" break the Curse of the Bambino, which allegedly has suffocated the Sox since they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920?

"I would never, ever presume to break the curse," said Peter, 47. "If the curse is broken this year it's not 'cause of the movie. It's 'cause of the owners — the owners have a good vibe — and the players. There's a good vibe on this team. I would love to be around when they do break the curse. My grandfather didn't live to see it, and my father's 73 and he hasn't seen one."

"I don't think the movie will break the curse," Bobby Farrelly added. "If they were to break the curse, what's next year? How would the fans react? I don't even know what they'd do. They like their plight in life here, believe it or not."

Fallon, however, is far more optimistic. He's not from New England, so he lacks the gene that tells him to expect heartbreak.

"I think this movie will definitely break the curse, either this year or next year," he said. "It'll be the Blessing of the Farrellys."

Fox Orders Pilot Starring Barenaked Ladies

LOS ANGELES - Fox Broadcasting Co. has ordered a pilot for a variety show starring the Barenaked Ladies that will feature the playful rock group performing music and comedy skits along with guest actors.

The Canadian band, known for writing upbeat songs with quirky lyrics and engaging their audiences with onstage banter, will have plenty of leeway to ad-lib on the show, tentatively titled, "The Barenaked Ladies Variety Show."

All of the band members — Steven Page, Jim Creeggan, Ed Robertson, Kevin Hearn and Tyler Stewart — will perform.

"This is a natural expansion to their live experience," said co-executive producer John Ziffren. "We are trying to capture that energy and make it into a TV show."

THE FORCE IS MASSIVE!!

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Star Wars trilogy DVD box set has so far earned $115 million in worldwide sales since its release last Tuesday, however, those figures from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment also factor in sales of the Star Wars Battlefront videogame.

Jerry Seinfeld returns to NBC

According to Variety, the star of the landmark NBC comedy series will host "The Seinfeld Story" this November.

Airing just days after the release of the series onto DVD, the show will feature classic clips as well as new interviews with "Seinfeld" co-stars Jason Alexander, Michael Richards and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Larry David, series co-creator/exec producer and star of the current HBO hit "Curb Your Enthusiasm," will also appear.

"This special will focus on the early days of "Seinfeld" and how it all began," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly told Variety.

"Seinfeld" ran on NBC from 1990 until 1998, garnering 10 Emmy awards and 70 nominations.

The Couch Potato Report - September 21st, 2004

This week in The Couch Potato Report, Star Wars debuts on DVD, but
it's not the Star Wars of old.

Back in May of 1977 a small film was released in theatres called STAR
WARS. It captured the imagination of a small boy named Danny Reynish,
and millions of other small boys and girls around the world.

Here in September of 2004 I'm sure I don't have to recap how that
small movie spawned two just as popular sequels, two less than admired
prequels - with a third on the way - and became a cultural phenomenon.

And now, as the phenomenon continues, the first three films are
available on DVD for the first time.

But notice I didn't say, "The original three films are available on
DVD."

The original STAR WARS movie, along with the original sequels THE
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI, are not available on DVD and
Star Wars creator George Lucas has repeatedly said they never will be.

He didn't like the way they looked and once the technology existed to
change them, he did.

But if you expecting this new 4-disc DVD box set to feature the SPECIAL
EDITIONS of the films - complete with changes - that Lucas released in
1997, well you are out of luck again.

Unfortunately, Lucas continues to be unsatisfied with how his original
Star Wars Trilogy looks, and since technology keep advancing, Lucas has
changed the films once again for this DVD release.

Personally, I wish he would just leave these classic films alone and
give us the original films, as we enjoyed them in the 1970's.
Sixty-one thousand other people have agreed with me and signed the
online petition at www.originaltrilogy.com hoping the original Trilogy
will someday come out on DVD.

In the end, these are George Lucas' films to do with what he will.

The choice to buy the versions that Lucas has just released on DVD is
up to you.

If you choose not to buy this box set, well we are only three years
away from the 30th Anniversary of the release of the original STAR WARS
movie, and I suspect that they will be released again then.

Personally, I want the originals, but I am happy to have whatever
versions Lucas wants to put out on the digital format.

The movies might be different, but my memories are exactly the same. I
remain captivated by the films to this day.

Just as I, and folks like me are captivated by STAR WARS many young
filmgoers in this day and age are captivated with an actress named
Lindsey Lohan.

Over the past year she has been on almost every magazine cover, she's
hosted awards shows, and her film MEAN GIRLS was a hit at the box
office.

MEAN GIRLS is now available on video and DVD and even though it is a
film aimed at teens, this movie is good for us adults too.

That MEAN GIRLS is good for all ages is due to the script by SATURDAY
NIGHT LIVE's head writer TINA FEY. Fey has given us a movie that
contains the perfect amount of wit, pop culture and satire.

MEAN GIRLS is about a formerly home-schooled girl who has to deal with
life, and the students, at an actual school.

Once she befriends some of the most popular, but most hated female
students under a false pretense, she starts to become popular and hated
as well.

Every generation has their good movie about school, CLUELESS, THE
BREAKFAST CLUB, TO SIR WITH LOVE and HEATHERS are just a few
generation's films. MEAN GIRLS belongs to this generation.

The final new release this week is director Jim Jarmush's movie
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES.

It's been said that coffee and cigarettes aren't good for you, and
that is certainly true about this movie.

COFFEE AND CIGARETTES features celebrities, mostly playing themselves,
talking while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop and Cate Blanchett are some of the
celebrities.

If you smoke or drink coffee, like the work of Jim Jarmush, or need to
see everything the actors and musicians who appear in this collection of
black-and-white vignettes do, than you might enjoy some of the eclectic
conversations and the film itself.

But the people who don't like this movie will always be far greater
than the people who do.

Personally, I love Bill Murray and need to see everything he's in,
but I didn't care for COFFEE AND CIGARRETTES. Then again, I also
don't care for coffee or cigarettes either.

THE STAR WARS TRILOGY, MEAN GIRLS and COFFEE AND CIGARETTES are all
available at your favourite local video store. And I mean the movie
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, not the actual items.

COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT

Jim Carrey and the luscious Kate Winslet star in the odd classic
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. Carrey is a man tries to erase
his ex-girlfriend from his memory.

In the documentary SUPER SIZE ME a filmmaker goes on a fast food diet
and shows how that diet affects his life.

The final release to tell you about next week is ENVY. Ben Stiller and
Jack Black star, and they are two of my all-time favourite actors, but
ENVY is the worst movie I have seen this year.

I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

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

Affleck Set to Host `SNL' Season Opener

NEW YORK - He's not former President Bill Clinton, but Ben Affleck will do.

Although Clinton was invited, Affleck will host the 30th season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" with musical guest Nelly on Oct. 2, NBC announced Wednesday.

Clinton had been invited to host the not-ready-for-prime-time show but turned down the offer, NBC said last month. No reason was given for Clinton rejecting the offer.

The former president has since undergone open-heart surgery.

Affleck, 32, recently made headlines when he boisterously appeared throughout the Democratic National Convention in Boston, his hometown. His films include "Jersey Girl" and "Paycheck." The actor's latest movie, the holiday comedy "Surviving Christmas" with James Gandolfini and Christina Applegate, is due in theaters Oct. 21.

Rapper Nelly will perform songs from his new CDs, "Sweat" and "Suit."

The hosting gig marks Affleck's third appearance on the live sketch-comedy show. It's Nelly's second.

Kalan Porter Conquers Canadian Idol Competition

Toronto, Ontario (September 16, 2004) - Kalan Porter has triumphed over 8,977 other competitors to become Canada's next Canadian Idol, it was announced live on CTV Thursday night.

The 18-year-old Medicine Hat, Alberta native bested runner-up Theresa Sokyrka after receiving the majority of 3.6 million votes cast last night following their final performance showdown. Immediately following the broadcast, Porter signed a recording contract with Lisa Zbitnew, President, BMG Canada Inc.

Porter's first single, Awake in a Dream, will begin airplay on radio stations across the country Friday morning. Porter begins preparation next week on an album to be released this fall.

Wednesday's final performance episode was the most-watched Canadian Idol episode ever, with a record audience of 3.3 million viewers. The votes also pushed the final vote tally to over 32 million, an increase of 57 per cent compared to last year.

Porter's win tonight is the culmination of a process that began February 13 in Ottawa and took producers across the country this winter and spring on a nine-city tour in search of Canada's best and brightest young singers. In May, 155 "gold ticket" winners from across the country journeyed to Toronto with the hope of making it to the coveted "Top 32." In June, the Top 32 took to the stage and viewers took to the phones, reducing the 32 semi-finalists to a diverse group of ten competitors. As the show progressed through the summer, these ten, formerly unknown, amateur singers would become household names.

The Top 10 returned to the stage for the final two-hour broadcast. The group performed three times: "Share the Land" by the Guess Who; a brand new medley of Canadian hits; and a brand new medley of rock and British Invasion hits. The Top 8, minus Porter and Sokyrka, performed a "Greatest Moments" medley - a reprise of songs they performed in competition.

In addition, previous winner Ryan Malcolm performed for the first time on the Canadian Idol stage since his win exactly one year ago. The final show also featured an emotionally riveting duet by Porter and Sokyrka, Cyndi Lauper's "True Colours."

Also attending the finale were a handful of political dignitaries including the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Finance; the Honourable Lorne Calvert, Premier of Saskatchewan; Medicine Hat MP Monte Solberg; and Palliser (Saskatchewan) MP Dave Batters.

TV war: 'Idol' vs. 'Survivor'

Tonight, CTV and Global battle for the title -- Canada's top-rated series

Fire up the Tiki torch and pass the Doritos: Survivor returns tonight and faces its biggest challenge yet -- the finale of Canadian Idol.

At stake is the undisputed title of Canada's top-rated TV series.

The showdown of the two TV titans is Canadian broadcasting's battle of the network stars. It's like the Super Bowl going against the Oscars. In one corner, you have Survivor: Vanuatu -- Islands of Fire (8 p.m., Global/CBS), the ninth instalment of Mark Burnett's island adventure reality series. In the other is the summer's hottest ticket, Canadian Idol (8 p.m., CTV), with Alberta's Kalan Porter or Saskatchewan's Theresa Sokyrka finally winning the karaoke crown.

Host Ben Mulroney will read off the TelePrompTer for the umpteenth time that your Canadian Idol is Canada's No. 1 show. But is it? The simple answer is no. By any measure (Nielsen or BBM media services), in total households or in demo most prized by advertisers, the 18-49-year-olds, Survivor wins. It's not even close: Across Canada, Survivor averages almost a million more viewers per episode.

Idol, however, won its second straight summer, holding its popularity nationally from the summer before.

And no wonder: In the past few weeks, the ubiquitous Idol finalists have made Paris Hilton look press shy. There is a noisy reminder about tonight's two-hour finale every eight minutes on CTV.

CTV can smell blood and they see an opening. If tonight's Idol ender can top Global's Survivor opener, they lay claim to the one ratings prize that still eludes them: Canada's No. 1 show.

After importing every hit but The Apprentice the past three or four years, CTV has become Canada's dominant network. They are by far Canada's leader in prime-time, daytime and nighttime viewers. They win six out of seven nights a week - and are poised to go seven for seven with hockey benched Saturdays on CBC.

Still, Global can tell advertisers that they have Canada's top show and are therefore the most watched network. It drives CTV nuts.

CTV could have sidestepped the showdown (Global is locked into a CBS Survivor simulcast) but deliberately chose to go head-to-head. It's the hot new strategy in TV programming: Take out the other guy's big gun.

Fox has taken this to a nasty new level in the U.S., rushing copycat reality shows on the air as soon as they get wind of a rival network's plans. Sometimes it works (the early success of Fox's Trading Spouses has chased ABC's Wife Swap right off the fall schedule). Sometimes it doesn't (Fox's The Next Great Champ is a chump, a distant fourth-place finisher that is either no match for NBC's upcoming The Contender or means reality boxing is a bust).

Will it work tonight? My guess is that both shows will draw at least three million viewers. When big shows do go head to head, as they did last week when Joey and The Apprentice premiered against the second last week of Canadian Idol, they all gained viewers. More people just turn the set on.

Two more predictions: Neither show will draw more than CBC got with Tuesday's World Cup hockey final at 3.83 million (peaking at 4.9 million at 9:30 p.m.).

My other prediction: Both CTV and Global, who use rival ratings services, will produce numbers Friday that will allow each of them to claim victory. Funny how that works.

Why Idol will win:

* Survivor is due for a post-All-Stars slump. The show has already slipped out of the Top-5 in the U.S. How long can it continue to be dominant in Canada?

* Idol's second hour won't have Survivor to contend with. (Although it will go up against Episode 2 of The Apprentice). Idol's numbers always spike in the final 10 minutes when the winner's name is announced.

* Two sweet, talented kids, plus a "special" appearance by Ryan Malcolm.

Why Survivor will win:

* Everyone already knows the curly-haired kid wins Idol. There's not much drama to tonight's anti-climactic finale.

* No big market Canadian kids in the Idol finale. Saskatoon vs. Medicine Hat? Is it a curling playoff?

* Burnett has crafted another entertaining hour, revisiting the guys vs. gals tribal twist.

* Joey got off to a fast start last week and, like Friends before it, will lead in to Global's Survivor coverage.

* Two words: Ben ... Mulroney

National Hockey League Locks Out Players

NEW YORK - No shots, no saves, no goals. The National Hockey League locked out its players Thursday, threatening to keep the sport off the ice for the entire 2004-05 season and perhaps beyond in an effort by management to gain massive economic change.

After the long-expected decision was approved unanimously Wednesday by NHL owners, commissioner Gary Bettman repeatedly belittled the union's bargaining position, talked about the possibility the confrontation could extend into the 2005-06 season and said the conflict has jeopardized the NHL's participation in the 2006 Winter Olympics.

"When we ultimately make the deal that has to be made, we will then see whether or not there is time for a season or some semblance of a season," he said. "If there is, great, and if there isn't, then we'll deal with the next season when it comes along."

Bettman claimed teams had combined to lose more than $1.8 billion over 10 years, and said management will not agree to a labor deal that doesn't include a defined relationship between revenue and salaries.

"Until he gets off the salary-cap issue, there's not a chance for us to get an agreement," union head Bob Goodenow said in Toronto, adding that players "are not prepared to entertain a salary cap in any way, shape, measure or form."

Far apart on both philosophy and finances, the sides haven't bargained since last Thursday and say they are entrenched for the long run, echoing words of baseball players and owners at the start of their disastrous 7 1/2-month labor war of 1994-95.

There is almost no chance the season will start as scheduled on Oct. 13, and Bettman told teams to release their arenas for other events for the next 30 days. Bettman said the season can't extend past June, and the lockout threatens to wipe out the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1919, when the series between Montreal and Seattle was stopped after five games due a Spanish influenza epidemic.

"The union is trying to win a fight, hoping that the owners will give up. That will turn out to be a terrible error in judgment," Bettman said. "They are apparently convinced that come some point in the season, the owners' resolve will waver, and I'm telling you that is wrong, wrong, wrong."

NHL management claims teams combined to lose $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season. Bettman said the union's proposals would do little for owners, and said the six offers rejected by the union would lower the average player salary from $1.8 million to $1.3 million.

Goodenow said players had offered more than $100 million in annual concessions.

"The notion that we don't have competitive balance is absurd," said Vancouver center Trevor Linden, the union's president.

Bettman made clear that declaring an impasse under U.S. labor law and imposing new work rules unilaterally was an option, but said it had not yet been considered.

"I think it's pretty fair to say that we're at an impasse right now, and my guess is that we've probably been at impasse for months, if not a year," he said. "At some point when we're at impasse, we could simply say, `We're going to open, and here are the terms and conditions. Let's go.' It's that simple."

Goodenow said attempting to impose terms would be a "very, very ill-advised strategy" and predicted "the results of it could be catastrophic." Bettman said the use of replacement players is not contemplated.

The 30 teams — 24 in the United States and six in Canada — had been set to start opening training camps on Thursday, the day after the expiration of the current labor contract. The deal was first agreed to in 1995 and extended two years later through Sept. 15, 2004. Bettman termed the extension "a mistake, in hindsight."

"It of kind stinks, packing up and moving out of here," Philadelphia right wing Tony Amonte said at his team's practice rink. "I can't say they weren't preparing us for it."

Some players are expected to sign with European leagues, and others could join a six-team, four-on-four circuit called the Original Stars Hockey League, which is set to start play Friday in Barrie, Ontario. Others could go to a revived World Hockey Association, which plans to open Oct. 29 with eight teams playing 76 games apiece.

Bettman said more than 100 employees from the NHL's central staff of about 225 will be terminated, most on Monday.

The stoppage is the first for a North American major league since the 1998-99 NBA lockout canceled 464 games, cutting each club's regular-season schedule from 82 games to 50.

It is the third stoppage for the NHL following a 10-day strike in 1992 that caused the postponement of 30 games and a 103-day lockout in 1994-95 that eliminated 468 games, cutting each team's regular-season schedule from 84 games to 48. That lockout ended on Jan. 11, five days before the deadline set by Bettman to scuttle the season.

John Fogerty Making Good on Vow to Himself

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Guitarist John Fogerty first realized he was a failure about a decade ago.

Sure, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 for his work as the singer/songwriter with Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of the great American bands to emerge in the late 1960s.

But when Creedence fell apart in 1972 after a string of top 10 hits like "Proud Mary" and "Born on the Bayou," he spent his time putting out albums he hopes people have forgotten, feuding with his former bandmates (including late brother Tom) and in endless litigation with the boss of his old label.

Disappointing fans and critics was one thing, disappointing himself was something else. It was about 10 years ago when he recalled a vow he had made to himself as a youngster.

"I (had) promised myself I was going to be one of the greats, one of the really good guitar players, like Chet Atkins, when I was a kid," he recalled in a recent interview.

"When I was about 48 years old, I realized I wasn't ... The revelation to myself was, 'John, you were supposed to be really good, and you're not.' That was a shock to actually face it down and admit it."

Slightly angry with himself for wasting so many years, he got busy. The latest step in the rehabilitation process is "Deja Vu (All Over Again)" (Geffen Records), which comes out in the United States on Sept. 21. It is a belated follow-up to 1997's "Blue Moon Swamp," for which he won his first Grammy Award.

Now happily remarried with four children and building a new house in suburban Los Angeles, Fogerty, 59, still doesn't feel totally satisfied professionally. But he believes he's getting there through dedication and practice.

CATCHING UP WITH HEROES

"It's a very high level, and it's taken a long, long time, and I'm just about getting into the same room -- I'm not sitting in the chair yet -- but I'm getting into the same room with some of the people I really admire. And it's taken over 10 years. It's mind-boggling how long that takes," Fogerty said about his guitar-playing skills.

Some of those "other people," in addition to Nashville icon Atkins, include former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler, who appears on the new album, dobro player Jerry Douglas and bluegrass picker Ricky Skaggs.

He had also dreamed as a youngster of being a businessman like Gene Autry, the singing cowboy who also owned radio stations and a baseball team. But, after signing away his Creedence copyrights as part of an onerous deal with Fantasy Records, he realized business was not his strong suit.

Ensuing litigation with Fantasy boss Saul Zaentz lasted for decades. Zaentz used his label profits to make even more money as the producer of best-picture Oscar-winners "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Amadeus" and "The English Patient."

Fogerty once immortalized Zaentz in a song called "Zanz Kant Danz," while Zaentz countered with a plagiarism lawsuit, claiming that Fogerty's solo song "The Old Man Down the Road" ripped off the Creedence hit "Run Through the Jungle." The litigation went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Fogerty says he is now at peace and even enjoyed one of the recent "Lord of the Rings" films despite the fact that Zaentz owns the movie rights to the underlying J.R.R. Tolkien books.

"Years and years ago, there was a really bad Lord of the Rings (cartoon), and I remember thinking, 'Yeah, I paid for that!'

"But the one thing that is way more precious than money in our world is time, and I probably have a lot more time than he does," Fogerty said of the 83-year-old Zaentz.

CELL PHONE FOE

On his new album, which took about 2-1/2 years to write and record, Fogerty deals with more pressing issues, such as the 2001 birth of daughter Kelsy ("I Will Walk With You"), and crazy women ("She's Got Baggage").

Two songs touch on socio-political themes: the anti-war title track "Deja Vu (All Over Again), and "Nobody's Here Anymore," which sounds like a Dire Straits song in part because Knopfler is playing on it. The latter tune deals with the disconnect in society. Fogerty partly blames it on his pet peeve, cell phones, but managed to restrain himself when both his wife's and the interviewer's phones rang during the interview.

That the man who wrote the searing 1969 anti-war anthem and Creedence hit "Fortunate Son" should have something to say about current hostilities in Iraq and elsewhere is not surprising. What seems odd is the restraint and resignation throughout "Deja Vu," which focuses on the devastation that war brings to families.

"I can get political and be all angry. That's fine," he said. "I thought that talking about the war and the emotion about what war does to people was enough in this case. That's my protest."

Fogerty will take a break from driving his kids to school when he hits the road in October with Bruce Springsteen for a handful of dates on the anti-President Bush "Vote for Change" tour, though he hopes the music will take precedence over politics. He suffered, he said, through enough politically themed concerts during the Vietnam era to be wary of a deja vu feeling.

Ramones Guitarist Dies at 55 in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Johnny Ramone, the lead guitarist with the influential U.S. punk rock band the Ramones, died on Wednesday after a five-year battle with prostate cancer, a long-time associate told Reuters.

Ramone, 55, who was born John Cummings, died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday afternoon, said Arturo Vega, the Ramones' creative director.

The Ramones, famed for playing their high-energy, unpolished songs at breakneck speed, rose to fame in New York City in the 1970s, paving the way for such British punk rock icons as the Sex Pistols and the Clash.

But unlike most punks, Ramone was an outspoken Republican who once declared Ronald Reagan the best U.S. president of his lifetime.

Ramone becomes the third member of the band to die in recent years. Singer Joey Ramone, born Jeffrey Hyman, died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer. Bassist Dee Dee Ramone, born Douglas Colvin, died from a drug overdose the following year.

At Johnny Ramone's bedside were his wife, Linda, as well as rock stars such as Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and hard-rocker Rob Zombie, Vega said.

Ramone will be cremated in a private ceremony on Thursday, and plans are being made for a public memorial, including the unveiling of a statue, at some stage, Vega said.

BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The band has recently crept back into the spotlight. Vedder, Zombie, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed at a tribute concert in Los Angeles on Sept. 12 marking the Ramones' 30th anniversary. Ramone, too sick to attend, spoke to the fans by telephone.

A documentary, "End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones," has just been released in theaters, and former Ramones drummer Marky Ramone has overseen the recent release of a DVD called "Ramones Raw."

The band made its mark with nihilistic tunes like "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Teenage Lobotomy," "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," but never achieved the commercial success of groups that followed in its wake.

The Ramones officially broke up in 1996, after releasing 21 studio and live albums.

Johnny Ramone and his future bandmates were raised in the largely middle-class New York neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens. They knew each other as youngsters, and shared an interest in pioneering punk bands like the New York Dolls.

After attending a military academy -- an experience that would make him the group's task master and most-focused member -- Johnny Ramone started playing guitar at 22.

The Ramones, rounded out by drummer/producer Tommy Ramone (born Tommy Erdelyi) performed publicly for the first time in March 1974 and recorded a self-titled debut album in 1976.

Their songs, famously brief and counted in with a frenzied "one-two-three-four!" introduction, mixed their daily frustrations with a dark sense of humor.

"We couldn't write about love or cars, so we sang about this stuff, like glue-sniffing. We thought it was funny. We thought we could get away with anything," Johnny Ramone once said.

Canada wins World Cup of Hockey

TORONTO (CP) - Shane Doan scored in the third period as Canada defeated Finland 3-2 on Tuesday night to add the World Cup of Hockey to its string of recent international triumphs.

Doan's goal 34 seconds into the third period stood up behind superb goaltending from Martin Brodeur as Canada ended the eight-team tournament with a perfect 6-0 record.

"That was pretty special, it's something I'm never going to forget," said Doan. "It was incredible, this whole experience has been incredible. It's a dream to score that goal."

Canada, which only a few years ago feared it had slipped a notch in the hockey world, now holds the 2002 Olympic gold medal, two consecutive IIHF world championship gold medals and the World Cup.

"This was an amazing group of players," Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky said.

Vincent Lecavalier, one of the young players who led Canada in this World Cup, was named tournament MVP.

"With all the young players, we have a great future here in Canada," Joe Sakic told CBC. "It's nice to win some tournaments. ...

"It's just awesome to be a part of this."

Sakic and Riku Hahl traded goals in the opening period and Scott Niedermayer put Canada ahead 3:13 into the second.

A spectacular goal by Tuomo Ruutu with one minute left in the second period sent the teams into the final frame at 2-2, but Doan broke the deadlock on the first shift of the final period when he banged a pass from Joe Thornton past Miikka Kiprusoff.

"Kipper didn't play his best game, our defence didn't help either," said Finnish coach Raimo Summanen. "I'm proud of the spirit and the attitude on our team."

It may have been the last top-level hockey available for a long time, as the NHL was set to lock out its players at midnight Wednesday unless a last-minute agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.

The checking line of Doan, Thornton and Kris Draper had a huge night, producing two goals and tying up Finland's big line of Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne and Jere Lehtinen.

"It was a total team effort and I'm so proud of the guys," said Thornton. "It was four great weeks of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

The Finns played a strong forechecking game and several times had Canada boxed in its zone, but the home side responded with a robust checking game of its own.

The difference may have been in goal.

A chanting, sellout crowd of 19,370 saw Brodeur shine in his return to the net after missing a game with a wrist injury. He had the edge on Kiprusoff as Canada outshot Finland 33-29.

"I felt great, my wrist didn't bother me at all," said Brodeur.

It looked like Canada may have an easy night when Sakic scored only 52 seconds into the game, taking a feed in the slot from Mario Lemieux and scoring on the first shot on goal.

But a tenacious Finland forecheck had Canada running around in its zone when Hahl tipped Toni Lydman's point shot past Brodeur to tie the game at 6:34.

Niedermayer put Canada ahead on a routine shot during a rush down the left side that dribbled through Kiprusoff's pads.

But at the 19:00 mark, Ruutu chipped the puck free in the neutral zone, sidestepped a hit by Simon Gagne and blew past Niedermayer to beat Brodeur with a shot just inside the post.

It was the first time in the tournament Brodeur allowed more than one goal in a game.

Spirited checking helped Canada open the third period by keeping the puck in the Finland zone and Thornton flipped a pass out in front for Doan to score his first of the tournament.

Finland was seeking its first ever hockey win in a best-on-best tournament. Its last major title was at the 1995 IIHF world championships.

The winning team got $1 million, to be split equally between Hockey Canada and the players, who are to donate the money to a charity of their choice.

Canada also continued the Lucky Loonie tradition, this time with a twist. Instead of burying a loonie in the ice at centre or under a crossbar, six of the coins were taped under the Canadian bench, one for each of the team's wins at the World Cup.

Saskatoon and Medicine Hat, Alta., cheer on their hometown Idol hopefuls

(CP) - If the pre-show circus is any indication, telephones across Saskatchewan and Alberta should get a pretty good workout on Wednesday night.

With a soulful songstress named Theresa Sokyrka from Saskatoon and Kalan Porter, an angelic-looking teenager from Medicine Hat, set to duke it out in the final of Canadian Idol, more than a few eyes will be glued to the television on the Prairies as the series wraps up. The winner will be announced Thursday night.

"I'm so looking forward to it," said Betty Stephenson, an 82-year-old Porter fanatic from Medicine Hat.

Stephenson watches each show from the comfort of her recliner then heads straight to the phone and logs as many votes as she can before midnight, when the polls close.

"I had a bridge party planned for that night, but I cancelled it," she said. "I said I can't have bridge when I am so interested in Kalan."

In Medicine Hat last weekend, fans waited in line overnight for tickets to watch the airing of the final episode live at the local arena.

People drive around the city with Vote 4 Kalan signs plastered to their cars and the daily paper, the Medicine Hat News, plans to print two special souvenir editions to commemorate the final show.

The News held a search for the ultimate Idol fan and some of the responses were downright bizarre.

One fan claimed to witness her friend kissing a picture of Kalan so many times that she faded the ink from his lips.

Another fan admitted making a five-hour trip to British Columbia where there were more free phone lines so she could vote for her Kalan.

In Saskatoon, the city has officially dubbed August and September as Theresa Sokyrka Months.

When the Saskatoon StarPhoenix ran a story under the headline Theresa's Bubble May Soon Burst, it prompted a letter from at least one angry fan.

"I was dismayed to say the least," the woman wrote. "Theresa is a phenomenal talent and we are fortunate to call her our own."

Nick Hartle runs the Odeon Event Centre, a renovated theatre that has been showing the Idol episodes to more than 500 people each night they are broadcast.

Hartle said the crowd has enjoyed following the ups and downs of Sokyrka's run at the title. He is expecting a full house Wednesday night.

"It's mass hysteria," Hartle said. "It's been quite a ride, a lot of fun."

Even Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert is rooting for Saskatoon's favourite singer and plans to attend the taping of the final show in Toronto.

"She has served as an ambassador for this province for many months now," Calvert said. "I would just love to be there."

The hype has stretched resources in both communities.

After one of the more recent episodes, Saskatchewan's telephone company, SaskTel, reported logging a million calls. There are fewer than a million people in the province.

In Alberta, Telus reported logging about 90,000 calls from Medicine Hat after the quarter-finals. The population of Medicine Hat is only 45,000.

All the support has not been lost on the Idol hopefuls.

"I feel such warmth coming from home," Sokyrka said.

"It's really hard to know what is going on in Saskatoon, but my parents and my friends let me know all the time. It's pretty incredible to receive that much support from your hometown."

Porter, 18, said it has been strange going from being a small-town kid to teenage heartthrob, but he has enjoyed it.

"It's really cool to have that support and I am really flattered by it," he said. "All the girls have just been so great and I really appreciate it."

The Hip reveal Canadian tour plans

The Tragically Hip have announced tentative dates for their upcoming Canadian fall tour.

In an email message to fans, the group revealed they will play 15 dates in November and December on a tour that is moving from west to east this time around.

"The wait is over," the band says in their email to fans. The day after our wonderful hometown benefit show we wanted to give you a sneak peak at how our Canadian tour is shaping up. While these dates are not 100% confirmed, we wanted to give you advance notice on how it's shaping up."

Ticket on-sale dates will be announced soon.

The tour is in support of the band's latest album, "In Between Evolution."

Here are the tentative dates:

Nov 14 - Vancouver, GM Place
Nov 15 - Kelowna, Prospera Place
Nov 17 - Edmonton, Rexall Place
Nov 19 - Calgary, Pengrowth Saddledome
Nov 20 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Place
Nov 22 - Brandon, Brandon Arena
Nov 23 - Winnipeg, MTS
Nov 26 - Toronto, ACC
Nov 27 - London, John Labatt Center
Nov 28 - Hamilton, Copps Coliseum
Nov 30 - Ottawa, Civic Centre
Dec 1 - Montreal, Bell Centre
Dec 3 - Saint John, Harbour Station
Dec 4 - Sydney, Centre 200
Dec 5 - Halifax, Metro Centre

The Couch Potato Report - September 14th, 2004

This week in The Couch Potato Report, there are two films that are, plain and simply, awful!

People say to me all the time, "You're so lucky! You get to watch movies as a part of your job."

I'll usually just politely agree, but sometimes, just sometimes, I'll them how for every good movie I get to see there are two bad ones.

This week, that average holds true as there is one good movie and two films that are so bad, so idiotic and so unwatchable that I am forced to decree that they are, and I'll say it again, simply awful!

SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASED is so bad I'm not sure how I even sat through all of it.

Granted, I didn't think the first one was LA DOLCE VITA either, but at least the first one had its moments.

All this film has is the time I gave it while I sat there and watched it.

In SCOOBY DOO 2 the live-action detective team with the computer animated pooch open a museum exhibit of costumes of their old foes.

And wouldn't you know it, a new masked foe appears and steals everything and all the costumes come to life.

Will Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby Doo prevail in the end?

Well I'm not going to be the one to tell you. If you want to know you'll have to sit through the movie like I did.

But trust me, you don't want to doo that! That's "doo" with two o's, by the way.

Denzel Washington's latest film MAN ON FIRE is also doo with two o's,

In MAN ON FIRE Washington is a man who seeks vengeance on kidnappers in Mexico who have taken the little girl he was hired to protect.

There's not much I can actually say about this film without giving away the totally idiotic, unbelievable and stunningly ludicrous ending.

As bad as that ending, and this movie is, I don't want to give anything away if you are actually going to watch it.

And I could see why you would want to watch it. MAN ON FIRE reunites Washington with his CRIMSON TIDE director Tony Scott, and since that movie was pretty good, my thoughts going in was that the film would be pretty good.

Trust me - its not good at all!

The film is so chopped up by edits and other screen tricks that the interesting premise and talents of Denzel Washington are completely wasted.

It is truly a movie where style trumps substance.

If that interests you, then go ahead and watch it. If you ask me if you should watch it, I have three words for you. No. No. No!

Okay, so lets overcome this week's bad with a movie that's good.

HOME ON THE RANGE is the new hand drawn animated film from Walt Disney.

I mention that it is hand drawn because hand drawn animation on new films looks outdated to some.

With computer animation allowing films like FINDING NEMO and SHREK to overwhelm us with how they look, a film like HOME ON THE RANGE suffers a bit by comparison.

This is not a bad movie, I actually liked it a lot and I think kids will too, but it will be forever cursed with being in the shadows of all the computer animated, and Disney greats that came before it.

A trio of cows voiced by Roseanne, Dame Judi Dench and Jennifer Tilly, hit the high prairie, with the aid of a horse that has heroic ambitions, to track down a cattle rustler in hopes that the reward money will save their farm.

The songs in the film are all pleasant to listen and sing along to, and they were composed by Alan Menken - whose pedigree includes writing the music for the animated classics THE LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

HOME ON THE RANGE isn't bad, but it isn't the best animated film you'll see this year. I think kids will really enjoy it, and in the end isn't that who animated films are for anyway?

The good HOME ON THE RANGE and the bad SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED and MAN ON FIRE are all available now on video and DVD at your local video store.

COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT

The hit teen film MEAN GIRLS stars Lindsay Lohan as a home-schooled teen who has to deal with students at her new school. Yes, it is a film for teens, but it is good for us adults too!

It's been said that coffee and cigarettes aren't good for you, but if you are curious about what they look like on film COFFEE AND CIGARRETTES might just be a picture for you.

The final new title next week is the DVD release of THE STAR WARS TRILOGY.

Man, I can hardly wait for that one!

I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

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

...Britney Fans, You Can Stop Speculating Now — Official Hits LP Track List Revealed

Various track lists for the forthcoming greatest-hits album from Britney Spears have been circulating on the Internet, causing fans to worry that the singer wouldn't be including some of their favorite songs, such as "I'm a Slave 4 U."

Those worries turned out to be premature, as the official track list, made available on Monday, reveals that not only are the promised two new songs included in the collection, but so is a lesser-heard track that recently became a hit online.

Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, which is slated to come out on November 9, will include the singer's cover of the Bobby Brown hit "My Prerogative," as well as a new song called "Do Somethin' " and the dance cut "(I've Just Begun) Having My Fun." The latter song is from the "In the Zone" sessions and was originally found as a bonus track on the European version of Spears' "In the Zone" DVD.

Other songs on the 17-track compilation include "Toxic," "I'm A Slave 4 U," "Everytime," "... Baby One More Time," "Stronger" and "Oops! ... I Did It Again."

Spears' single "My Prerogative" hits radio on Wednesday, while the video will premiere on MTV on Thursday.

Britney Spears' Greatest Hits: My Prerogative track list, according to Jive Records:

"My Prerogative"                          
"Toxic"         
"I'm a Slave 4 U"                
"Oops! ... I Did It Again"
"Me Against the Music"
"Stronger" 
"Everytime"
"... Baby One More Time"
"(You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix!)"
"Boys"
"Sometimes" 
"Overprotected (The Darkchild Remix)"      
"Lucky" 
"Outrageous"                                   
"I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet a Woman"           
"(I've Just Begun) Having My Fun"
"Do Somethin' "

NERDS ARE BACK

According to Variety Fox Searchlight is giving the go-ahead for a remake of 1984's hit comedy, Revenge of the Nerds.

The update will likely feature cameos of original cast members as well.

Albertan Carolyn Dawn Johnson steals show at Canadian Country Music Awards

EDMONTON (CP) - Alberta songstress Carolyn Dawn Johnson stole the show Monday night at the Canadian Country Music Awards.

Nominated in almost every category she was eligible for, the 34-year-old from Deadwood, Alta., won four awards on the strength of her second album Dress Rehearsal, released in 2004. "What a great way to start the night," cheered a happily tearful Johnson after she was presented with her first award of the evening, single of the year.

Alberta's Olympic gold medallists Lori-Ann Muenzer and Kyle Shewfelt presented Johnson with album of the year.

She also took home SOCAN song of the year, CMT video of the year and, along with co-producer Dann Huff, producer of the year in Sunday night's industry awards.

"OK, you're making me feel really special," said Johnson, who didn't have time to sit down as she accepted the first four awards in the two-hour show at Rexall Place.

Though Johnson took home the most awards Monday night, it was spunky fan favourite Terri Clark who brought some sizzle to the sold-out show that was broadcast by CBC Television and CMT in the U.S.

Throwing her hands in the air and mouthing, "I love you" to the camera, Clark bounded to the stage to accept her fifth fan's choice award - one more than the previous record set by k.d. lang.

"I'm just a kid from Medicine Hat who wanted to be Reba McEntire," said the 36-year-old Albertan, who also took home the award for female vocalist of the year.

"I'll play for you for the rest of my life if you keep listening," she promised her fans, many of whom stayed after the show to chant her name as she made her way to a waiting limo.

Before presenting the award for male artist of the year, Clark compared music to sex, saying, "You can't live without 'em and you just can't get enough of 'em," of the nominees.

When Jason McCoy's name was called, he ran to the stage and hugged Clark, burying his face in her chest.

"All that talk of sex," joked the 34-year-old from Minesing, Ont. "I got all worked up."

Manitoba band Doc Walker grabbed their first group of the year award and George Canyon was chosen as the rising star of the year.

"I can't believe I have this," said Canyon, tipping his black cowboy hat.

The 34-year-old singer from Pictou County, N.S., recently placed second in the USA Network's Nashville Star talent search. He's since been signed to Universal South.

"It's been 14 years, but if you want to call me an overnight success, I'll take it," he said after the show.

Edmonton's Corb Lund Band - chosen as the roots artist of the year - joined nominees Sean Hogan and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings for a special performance saluting the Good Brothers and their induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.

"This is a great compliment here in our home town," said Lund, former front man of indie rock band the Smalls, who thanked "all the people who like their country a little bit scruffy."

Five-time host Paul Brandt kicked off the night with a splashy production of C.W. McCall's 1976 hit Convoy, flanked by Aaron Lines, award winners McCoy and Canyon and marching members of the Canadian military from CFB Wainwright in northern Alberta.

Other performances included Doc Walker, Emerson Drive and a videotaped performance of Keith and Clark in Hartford, Conn.

Clad in tight blue jeans and a large silver belt buckle, self-described "Redneck Woman" Gretchen Wilson from Nashville, Tenn., performed her hit Here for the Party to the crowd of 7,500.

Next year, the Canadian Country Music Awards will be held in Calgary.

Here were the winners at the 2004 Canadian Country Music Awards:

Fans' Choice: Terri Clark.

Single of the Year: Simple Life - Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

Album of the Year: Dress Rehearsal - Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

Song of the Year: Die Of A Broken Heart (written by Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Shaye Smith, recorded by Carolyn Dawn Johnson).

Video of the Year: Simple Life - Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

Top Selling Album: Alan Jackson's Greatest Hits - Alan Jackson.

Female Artist of the Year: Terri Clark.

Male Artist of the Year: Jason McCoy.

Group or Duo of the Year: Doc Walker.

Roots Artist or Group of the Year: The Corb Lund Band.

Rising Star Award: George Canyon.

Sony Closer to Content/Gadget Vision with MGM Deal

TOKYO (Reuters) - With its acquisition of Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony Corp is one step closer to its vision of linking hardware and content, and to winning the key battle for the next generation DVD.

Sony's acquisition of MGM will create the world's largest film library of about 7,600 titles and would appear to fit nicely into Sony's overall strategy of creating synergies between its consumer electronics and movies, music and games.

A group headed by Sony Corp of America has agreed to buy MGM, the 80-year-old studio that owns the James Bond, Pink Panther and Rocky movies, in a deal worth about $4.85 billion including the assumption of about $2 billion of debt.

Analysts and investors are worried about the potential damage to Sony's balance sheet and have doubts about when and how the synergies between movies and electronics will be achieved. But they say the reasoning behind the acquisition was sound.

"The MGM library is a rich source of content and potential profits for Sony," said Kiyoshi Yamanaka, a fund manager at T&D Asset Management.

Sony also announced on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with U.S. cable TV operator Comcast Corp. to offer Sony and MGM movies over Comcast's video-on-demand systems and on new cable channels that it would form with the Sony group.

This means Sony will also be able to generate cash flow by selling the Sony and MGM library of films on cable TV, in addition to the revenues produced by retail sales of DVDs.

Sony does not provide a breakdown of its DVD sales, but the company's music division recorded an operating profit of 35 billion yen ($318 million) in the previous business year to March 31, on sales of 756 billion yen, or about 10 percent of the group's total.

DVD FORMAT BATTLE

Sony acquired Columbia Pictures in 1989 for $3.4 billion, which at the time was the largest ever acquisition by a Japanese firm. That deal caused numerous headaches for Sony due to losses from large budgets and box office duds.

The MGM purchase could help stabilize earnings in its movie division, and may also advance Sony's cause in the battle to establish a format called Blu-ray as the industry standard for the next generation of DVDs.

"One of the important aspects of this deal with MGM is that it may help Sony prevail in the DVD format war," T&D Asset's Yamanaka said.

Sony knows how important formats are, having lost out to Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. (JVC) in the famous fight over videotape formats more than two decades ago, with JVC's VHS system becoming mainstream at the expense of Sony's Betamax.

Sony's consortium is up against a format called HD DVD, which is endorsed by Japan's NEC Corp. and others.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray technologies use blue laser light, which, with a shorter wavelength than red light used in conventional DVD recorders, can read and store data at much higher densities needed for high-definition recordings.

Sony would also look to use its larger library to capitalize on the spread of broadband Internet access worldwide, UFJ Tsubasa Securities analyst Kazuya Yamamoto said

"Delivering movie content to the home online could become a lucrative business in the future as broadband access expands. Holding movie contents will become more valuable in that light," Yamamoto said.

U2 to Release 'Atomic Bomb' Album in November

LONDON (Reuters) - Irish rock band U2 Tuesday disclosed the title and set the release date for its next album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," which will hit record shops on Nov. 23.

The album, recorded in Dublin and the south of France, hit the headlines after recordings from it disappeared in July. The disappearance of rough versions of some tracks from a Nice, France, recording studio prompted fears they would turn up on the Internet before their official release.

"Vertigo" will be the first single from the new album, which is a follow-up to the 2000 success "All That You Can't Leave Behind." The song will arrive on radio Sept. 24, according to U2's label Interscope.

U2, whose first album "Boy" came out 24 years ago, was also nominated for membership to the U.S. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Tuesday, along with Grandmaster Flash, Randy Newman and other music stars.

Simpson Puts Up Her 'Dukes' for First Feature Role

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Pop star Jessica Simpson has been cast as Daisy Duke in the big-screen remake of "The Dukes of Hazzard," a project that essentially marks her feature film debut.

Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville already had been cast as Bo and Luke Duke, respectively, in the Warner Bros. project. Jay Chandrasekhar is directing. A start date has not yet been set.

The series, which ran on CBS from 1979 to 1985, followed the weekly adventures of southern cousins Bo and Luke -- "just two good ol' boys, never meaning no harm," according to the Waylon Jennings theme song -- who raised hell driving their souped-up Dodge Charger, the General Lee, in fictional Hazzard County. They, along with their cousin Daisy and Uncle Jesse, staged running battles with the corrupt authorities, Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane.

Pop star Simpson shot to fame when her marital misadventures with fellow singer and husband, Nick Lachey, aired on MTV's "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica." She has played herself in countless TV appearances and had a guest starring run on "That '70s Show." On the big screen, she played herself in the 2002 feature "The Master of Disguise."

Dougray Scott To Play Bond?

British actor Dougray Scott has reportedly beaten off competition from actors, Eric Bana, Ioan Gruffud and Clive Owen to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.

The To Kill A King hunk, 38, clinched the role after discussions with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and will be the seventh actor to appear as the sexy British agent.

He will make his first appearance in the 23rd Bond movie after Eon Productions decided they wanted to return to a more brooding Bond in the mould of fellow Scot Sean Connery, reports British newspaper the Sunday Mirror.

A movie insider says, "Producers have been eager to take Bond back to the broody and sexy figure that Sean was so brilliant at. Obviously it's not possible for Sean to return at his age, so they have been looking for a younger actor with similar characteristics. Since then Barbara and Dougray have been in talks - and she believes he will be the perfect new 007 for the 21st Century."

Brosnan announced two months ago that he would not be starring as Bond again, saying, "That's it. I've said all I've got to say on the world of James Bond."

Director says he never intended to make nine-episode series.

Don't expect any more "Star Wars" flicks after "Revenge of the Sith" — George Lucas says he's done.

"This was never planned as a nine-episode work," Lucas said. "The media [pounced when] I made an offhand comment, 'It might be fun to come back when everyone's 80 and do another one of these.' But I never had any intention of doing that."

Lucas said he only decided to do the back-story trilogy — which "Sith," due next May, will cap — because he realized he had already written it in order to tell the story in the first "Star Wars" films. "The original 'Star Wars' was only three films, and that was what it was meant to be," he said. "After a lot of pondering and thought, I went back to do the back story, but that pretty much tells the story. Episode six is the end. There isn't any more to it."

"Sith" may mark the end on an emotional level, too. "All the good guys die," he said, laughing. "And you know, it's pretty dark. It's pretty intense. I'm not sure this one is going to end up a PG like the others were."

That apparently doesn't have so much to do with actual violence — like previous "Star Wars" films, this one will have lots of battles and space action — as with what happens to Padme and the children borne from her union with Anakin Skywalker following their escape and separation. "It's a happy story," Lucas joked.

Despite the special-effects advances made since "Star Wars" premiered in 1977, Lucas doesn't feel threatened by films such as the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, nor does he feel the need to up the ante. Because of its legacy and consistent quality, his company Industrial Light and Magic really has no special-effects competition — not even Peter Jackson's WETA Digital.

"My company, we sort of pioneered special effects," Lucas said. "We're responsible for the rebirth of special effects in the film business. It disappeared back in the late '50s and early '60s, so we put together a group of kids, started it all over again, and eventually moved into digital. We've been pushing digital techniques and that sort of thing ever since, and we helped populate the special-effects industry as it is today. A lot of supervisors at all the other special-effects companies are from my lab. We even helped set up WETA in New Zealand, and have supported them with advice and that sort of thing."

Having accomplished so much on a blockbuster scale, Lucas said that after "Revenge of the Sith" and his upcoming fourth "Indiana Jones" installment (which he hopes to start shooting within a year), he'd like to return to indie-style movies like his 1971 debut, "THX 1138," which returns to theaters Friday (September 10) with a new director's cut.

"I think I've earned the right to fail," he said.

IMAGINE

Capitol Records releasing two John Lennon discs on Nov. 2: the new 17-track Acoustic, which includes seven never-before-released versions of his classic tunes; and a revamped version of the 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll, which will include four bonus tracks.

'Chicago,' 'Cabaret' Lyricist Ebb Dies

NEW YORK - Fred Ebb, who wrote the lyrics for such hit Broadway musicals as "Chicago" and "Cabaret" as well as the big-city anthem "New York, New York," has died of a heart attack.

Ebb died Saturday at his home, said David McKeown, an assistant to composer John Kander, Ebb's longtime collaborator. The lyricist was believed to be 76, although Ebb always was "sweetly vague" about his age, said director Scott Ellis, who worked with him on several shows.

With Kander, Ebb wrote the scores for 11 Broadway musicals, many of them for such leading ladies as Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera, Liza Minnelli and Lauren Bacall. Minnelli was a particular favorite of the songwriting team, and over the years, the duo created special material for the performer's solo appearances on Broadway and on television specials.

Among the other musicals Kander and Ebb wrote during their four decades of collaboration were "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1993), "The Rink" (1984), "Woman of the Year" (1981) and "Zorba" (1968).

"New York, New York" was written for the 1977 Martin Scorsese film of the same name, which starred Minnelli and Robert De Niro. The song became a standard, particularly after it was recorded by Frank Sinatra.

Together, the songwriting team won Tony Awards for their scores of "Cabaret," "Woman of the Year" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman." In addition, the 2002 film version of "Chicago," directed by Rob Marshall, won the Academy Award for best picture.

Born in New York, Ebb went to school at both New York University and Columbia, where he received a master's degree in English literature. The lyricist got his start in the theater writing for revues, one of which, "From A to Z," had a short run on Broadway in 1960.

Ebb was brought together with Kander in the 1960s by music publisher Tommy Valando and one of their first collaborations, the song "My Coloring Book," was recorded by Barbra Streisand.

The team was hired by producer Harold Prince and veteran director George Abbott to write the score for "Flora, the Red Menace," starring a 19-year-old Minnelli. The show, which opened on Broadway in 1965, was not a success, but Kander and Ebb were signed to do Prince's next musical, a show based on Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories" and the play "I Am a Camera."

Called "Cabaret," it opened in November 1966 and ran for 1,165 performances, immediately establishing Kander and Ebb as musical-theater songwriters to watch. The production, set in pre-World War II Germany, featured a huge mirror which reflected back into the audience and featured a sexually provocative master of ceremonies, played by Joel Grey, who taunted and teased the audience in song.

"Cabaret" has been revived twice on Broadway — in 1987 with Grey repeating his role as the lascivious master of ceremonies and again in 1998 by the Roundabout Theatre Company in an environmentally staged production which ran until early this year.

The revival of "Chicago," which opened on Broadway in 1996, also has outlasted the original. The first production, starring Verdon and Rivera and directed by Bob Fosse, opened on Broadway in 1975 and, despite a two-year run, was overshadowed by another hit show of that year, "A Chorus Line."

But "Chicago," a sardonic, cynical take on murder and mayhem in the 1920s, came into its own with the 1996 revival, which featured Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth. It is still running at the Ambassador Theatre, having recently passed performance number 3,250.

The team's last Broadway collaboration, an original musical called "Steel Pier" had a short run in 1997. They also did a musical version of "The Visit," starring Chita Rivera, at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in 2001, but a New York engagement never materialized.

At the time of Ebb's death, the team was working on several projects including revising "Over and Over," a musical version of Thornton Wilder's classic "The Skin of Our Teeth," and a murder-mystery musical called "Curtains."

Funeral services will be Tuesday.

There were no immediate survivors.

'Resident Evil' Sequel Tops Box Office

LOS ANGELES - The undead came alive once more over the weekend as "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" debuted at No. 1 at the box office, bringing in $23.7 million.

The sequel to 2002's "Resident Evil," based on a video game series about shooting apart shuffling, bio-poisoned zombie attackers, follows hits like last year's remake of "Dawn of the Dead" and the zombie art-house thriller "28 Days Later," which reinvigorated the genre.

Overall, however, it was a slow week for new releases as most kids headed back to school and the big-budget blockbusters of summer evaporated in favor of B-movie-style thrillers and monster movies.

The suspense drama "Cellular," with Kim Basinger as a kidnapping victim who makes a random phone call to a cell phone and pleads with a stranger to find her, opened at No. 2 with $10.6 million.

"'Cellular' did OK, but every other movie was just treading water behind 'Resident Evil,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co.

"Resident Evil: Apocalypse" stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, a bath-towel wearing, butt-kicking security chief who tries to help a group of survivors escape a zombified metropolis before the city of ghouls is annihilated by a nuclear strike.

With its miniskirted heroines and gooey guts-a-plenty, "Apocalypse" appealed mainly to guys under the age of 25.

"Certainly this is an adaptation from a game, so it has its own audience," said Rory Bruer, distribution chief for Sony, which released the film. "The zombies aspect of it is just fun."

Bruer also credited the marketing campaign, which featured early teaser trailers that had little to do with the action-horror theme. One trailer appeared to be an ad for a genetically engineered moisturizing lotion that promises to regenerate dead skin cells — the product that causes the mayhem in the films.

"These movies come out of nowhere and do big business and everybody is caught off guard, but we really shouldn't be," said Dergarabedian. "These horror thrillers always make a killing at the box office. ... They're not trying to woo the critics with this move. It's about commerce."

The rest of the top 10 were holdovers from previous weeks. "Napoleon Dynamite," a weird little independent comedy about a weird little guy and his friends, was notable for hanging in at No. 9 after 14 weeks in theaters. Most movies drop out after about three weeks.

The top 12 movies grossed $64.7 million, about 11 percent lower than the same weekend last year, when "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" led the box office.

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. "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," $23.7 million.
2. "Cellular," $10.6 million.
3. "Without a Paddle," $4.6 million.
4. "Hero," $4.4 million.
5. "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," $2.93 million.
6. "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid," $2.90 million.
7. "Vanity Fair," $2.74 million.
8. "Collateral," $2.70 million.
9. "Napoleon Dynamite," $2.65 million.
10. "Paparazzi," $2.60 million.

John Fogerty Familiar with 'Deja Vu'

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - John Fogerty's new album, appropriately titled "Deja Vu All Over Again," projects an air of familiarity, typified by Fogerty's distinctive voice, guitar and melodic instincts.

But the subject matter, particularly the title cut, which serves as the first single, is firmly placed in the here and now.

Set for a Sept. 21 release on Geffen, "Deja Vu" is the first album in seven years for Fogerty, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer known by many as the driving force behind late-1960s rock stalwarts Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Sporting a melody reminiscent of classic Creedence fare, the "Deja Vu" single's lyrics draw parallels between the war in Iraq and Vietnam. The subject is close to Fogerty's heart.

"Most guys my age made a promise to ourselves as the Vietnam War was winding down that (our country) would never do this again -- at least I did," Fogerty tells Billboard. "I thought the book was closed on that. But about a year ago when everything was heating up to go to Iraq, I thought, 'Uh-oh, this is probably folly."'

"Deja Vu" aside, war and politics are not prevailing themes on the album. "I really wasn't intending to make a controversial or political record," Fogerty says. "I'm a very happy man. I'm not angry."

Indeed, while the record rocks on such cuts as the punkish "She's Got Baggage" and hard rock anthem "In the Garden," the quieter, more lighthearted moments, like the gentle romance of "I Will Walk With You" or the humble domesticity of "Honey Do" and the jaunty "Rhubarb Pie," are some of its most compelling passages.

"I'm a rock'n'roll musician, and at the time I was growing up, the first order of business for rock'n'roll was to have fun," Fogerty says.

Fogerty says he hopes to have a "ball" when he hits the road, backed by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, on a series of anti-Bush Vote for Change dates, which begin Oct. 1.

"I don't know exactly what songs I'm going to do or how many, but this will be the first time Bruce and I have appeared onstage together, outside of privately in a small club or at a benefit."

Following that tour, Fogerty will embark on solo dates.

Despite the long break since his last studio album, 1997's "Blue Moon Swamp" (Reprise), Fogerty maintains he is "always working on music." But life -- including a new baby daughter and a couple of cross-country moves -- got in the way of making a new recording.

And though the new album's 10 songs clock in at just over 34 minutes, Fogerty believes it is a fully realized work.

"I feel like (the record) does have what it needs," he says. "It might not if you're holding a stopwatch. (Hit 1984 album) "Centerfield" was just five seconds short of being 35 minutes. These were just the songs I had ready, and it felt done."

Fogerty doesn't think an artist necessarily has 20 great songs in him for one recording project. "As a songwriter and producer of my own record, I tell myself it's impossible to have 20 good songs," he says. "A record is a presentation, not a reality show."

FEATURE: All Eyes On' Angels' at Emmy Time

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - With a chart-topping 21 Primetime Emmy nominations, HBO's six-hour, $64 million miniseries "Angels in America" is poised to become an Emmy juggernaut for the ages.

Prevailing wisdom has it challenging the miniseries record of nine Emmy wins for the 1977 ABC miniseries "Roots" and possibly even eclipsing the telefilm mark of 11 statuettes set in 1976 by ABC's "Eleanor and Franklin"; that would make "Angels" the most-decorated single-year project in Emmy history.

Of course, it hasn't won anything yet. Winners will be announced in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. But the much-acclaimed project, based on the two-part Pulitzer Prize-winning Tony Kushner play that executive producer Cary Brokaw shepherded over 14 years, appears to be the closest thing to a sure thing that the Emmys have ever offered.

"I didn't dare hope this high," Brokaw admits. "It may sound disingenuous, but I never thought about this number of nominations. I thought we'd get a decent amount, but this is frankly far beyond any expectations I had."

Brokaw says that he's particularly pleased that all eight of the project's principal actors were nominated, putting "Angels" in position to win all four of the miniseries/movie acting categories. To date, no project has ever managed to pull that trick at the Emmys.

"It's just really gratifying to have 'Angels' be so critically embraced -- and then to have it be so honored by our peers in the industry in this way is a great reward after a very long journey," Brokaw says.

While a full-scale coronation for "Angels" on Emmy night is being characterized as more or less a foregone conclusion, Brokaw is careful not to convince himself that it's already in the bag. "You never want to presume anything," he notes. "The fact that all of us involved in the project will be there enjoying the evening together promises to make it special whether anybody wins or not."

Oh, really?

"Well," Brokaw adds, chuckling, "maybe not if nobody wins."

However, that's not expected to be an issue. Certainly, "Angels" is the overwhelming favorite in the outstanding miniseries category, which is not to shortchange a quality field that also includes PBS' "American Family -- Journey of Dreams" and "Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness," A&E's "Horatio Hornblower: Loyalty and Duty" and "Traffic: The Miniseries" from USA Network.

The other contenders seem to have realistic expectations about their chances, while retaining a glimmer of hope.

Observes "Prime Suspect 6" executive producer Rebecca Eaton: "It's too bad we got caught up in the 'Angels in America' flood tide, but that's the way it goes. We could have held our show off until fall, but that wouldn't have been fair to the audience. And remember, there is the story of 'David and Goliath' -- which we've been retelling each other on a daily basis.

"It is still certainly an honor to be in such celebrated company," Eaton concludes. "I do have to say that this really is the best 'Prime Suspect' we've ever done. Helen Mirren is just phenomenal in it. The story line is also so strong and so of the moment."

Ron Hutchinson, executive producer of "Traffic," sees the Emmy nomination as a welcome honor for a project that could well have been doomed to unfavorable comparisons to the extraordinary 1989 British miniseries "Traffik" and the four-time Oscar-winning 2000 feature "Traffic."

"Everybody loved the movie, and the original TV series had the best screenplay ever written for television," Hutchinson says. "So, there was a belief that we were going to fall on our faces -- we were like a garage band kind of show as opposed to a rock concert -- but people responded favorably. The Emmy nomination is a great validation."

Adds Jeff Wachtel, executive vp series and longform at USA: "We were careful to make quality choices at every level of this project; I have to believe that made the difference. Everything was world-class."

This is the third consecutive incarnation of "Horatio Hornblower" to be nominated in the miniseries category for A&E ("Hornblower: The Even Chance" took home the top prize in 1999). Executive producer Delia Fine cites the historical epic's surprising timeliness as a factor in its being cited.

"Besides being very ambitious, 'Hornblower' is all about a subject that's very much on our radar now," Fine believes, "and that is the need for loyalty and courage and the ability to make tough decisions and show moral bravery. Those themes never go out of style. They appeal to us and touch us in these troubled times."

"American Family" has taken a decidedly winding road since premiering in 2002. What had previously been a regular weekly series returned for a second season as a 13-part miniseries after having been off the air for better than a year. The resulting effort, subtitled "Journey of Dreams," dealt with how the war in Iraq impacted the Gonzales family.

"To me, this nomination is indicative of the fact that the TV Academy really is focusing on the quality of shows, regardless of where they happen to air," "American Family" creator/executive producer Gregory Nava says. "We had an extraordinary year of very powerful drama, I feel. Recognition in the miniseries category is a wonderful way to honor everybody's work."

Meanwhile, the top telefilm category this year is a rare instance of Showtime earning as many nominations (two) as did the traditionally-dominant HBO. The Showtime entries in the category are for the controversial "The Reagans" and the faithful remake of "The Lion in Winter," while HBO's nominated telepics are "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself" and "Something the Lord Made." A&E's "Ike: Countdown to D-Day" rounds out the category.

The seven nominations for "Reagans" -- which morphed from a CBS miniseries to a Showtime biopic after the eye network dropped the film amidst pressure last year -- was nothing short of a revelation to the project's executive producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

"Vindication? Oh, my God, absolutely," Meron confirms. "When you're attacked mercilessly for illogical and unpatriotic reasons, to be honored by Emmy voters in this way is just phenomenal."

Adds Zadan: "After being so completely and consistently ripped to shreds, we feel like the controversy finally died down, and we were able to be judged on our own creative merits; that's all we've ever asked -- to have people step outside the hoopla and look at this as simply a piece of filmmaking. Ironically, it seems that Ronald Reagan's death might have generated renewed interest during voting. It's nice to be honored rather than attacked."

"Lion" is a remake of the Oscar-winning 1968 feature -- this one starring Glenn Close (also nominated) and Patrick Stewart. Executive producer Robert Halmi Sr. is particularly proud that not a single line of dialogue was altered from the previous edition.

"To my knowledge, it's the only remake in the history of movies or TV that used exactly the same words as the original," Halmi says. "But you know, it's a remake of a pretty good movie, which is a timeless classic. The words continue to talk to us today. I'm very proud that it was nominated, but I'm not surprised."

Larry Gelbart, who is nominated for both writing and executive producing "Pancho Villa," describes the film as "a beautifully crafted picture that deserves this sort of honor. It's always nice to stand out among the endless array of choices. I credit that to having some really fine people behind the scenes."

"Something the Lord Made" was the result of an eight-year effort by executive producer Robert W. Cort to bring the story to the screen; it had originally been developed as a feature at Paramount.

"This sort of period drama is kind of an endangered species in the feature world," Cort says, "so thank heavens for HBO for standing out as a serious repository for dramatic work. Here is a movie without a lot of the usual trappings. It's a story of social issues, of individual personality issues, of friendship, of betrayal, of heroism and personal sacrifice. It takes a serious look at the human dynamic and real people that's so absent in movies today."

Finally, there's the biopic "Ike," whose writer/executive producer Lionel Chetwynd is pleased that such a sober, historical overview of Dwight D. Eisenhower's leadership skills would be singled out for Emmy honors (six noms in all).

"Here's a film that tries to understand leadership under difficult circumstances but in a cool fashion and without political fervor," Chetwynd says. "It's something that TV doesn't normally do -- it isn't ripped from the headlines; it isn't heated rhetoric. It's a movie that steps back and considers what was going on without prejudice. I have to believe it's that awareness that won our film the nominations."

Actor Bids Fond Farewell to C-3PO

LONDON (Reuters) - Bidding goodbye to the gold robot after almost 30 years, Anthony Daniels shed a nostalgic tear for the mechanical manservant who changed his life.

"Oh yes, it was with moisture. This was very much a fond farewell," Daniels said of his last scene as C-3PO, the android who became an icon in the "Star Wars" movies.

His last scene in the sixth and final film was hardly the heady stuff of magic for Daniels. Digital effects saw to that.

"I finished filming on the last film last week. For the final shot I walked along a blue corridor with a blue background behind me talking to someone who wasn't there." he said.

"Revenge of the Sith" is due out next May and completes a trilogy of pre-quels, which tell the back story of the original movie about a battle between good and evil in a distant galaxy.

Daniels makes no secret about his favorite of the six.

"The first film spoke to everyone on the planet. It still works as a funny, bright movie. It still has legs," he said of the films by U.S. director George Lucas.

When Lucas returned to the pre-quels, Daniels was not so sure.

"George's devotion to digital effects over-balanced the films. Too many digital funky characters become a little bit wearing. The storytelling always gets subsumed."

STRANGE IMMORTALITY

For the 58-year-old Daniels, playing a fastidious robot who sounds like a prissy English butler transformed his career.

"He (C-3PO) gave me that lead into a strange kind of immortality. People are very fond of him. His image has haunted me around the planet," he said.

There was also an undeniable sense of achievement from the self-deprecating British actor as he reflected on the squirming discomfort of clunking around the Tunisian desert in searing heat to make film history.

"He has been a best friend for me. He is going to live forever in the ether," he told Reuters in an interview.

Critics may have admired his on-screen chemistry with fellow robot R2-D2 but Daniels said: "I was talking to myself all the time. It was a very lonely experience. I was locked inside a box and had a friend who didn't speak to me."

The English stage actor was initially reluctant to audition for the part and even risked "losing his voice" to Hollywood star Richard Dreyfuss as Lucas contemplated dubbing him over.

"Now I have the honor of being the only person to have appeared in all of the movies and I have become the principal spokesman for them," he said.

For there is plenty of life left in the "Star Wars" phenomenon with the worldwide DVD launch of the first three movies on Sept. 21.

Just listening to Daniels' schedule is exhausting.

There is the Paris "Star Wars" convention, the "Star Wars" exhibition in Osaka, being inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, joining forces with storm troopers in London to launch the DVD.

Then comes all the razzmatazz of the final pre-quel.

But nothing will erase his treasured memory of the first time he saw a sketch of the android he was to play.

"When I saw the painting by the design artist, the eyes of the character looked deep into my soul. He was a very forlorn figure with an abandoned air. He really did look into my soul. We made this tremendous contact."

Clash's 'London Calling' gets reissued

TORONTO -- London Calling by the Clash has been described as "one of rock's best albums ever," "the greatest album of its time" and "scientifically proven to be the best album of the 70s."

While the scientific method used to determine that last accolade can only be guessed at, London Calling does more than stand the test of time.

The album sounds as relevant today as it did when it was first released in September 1979.

But while London Calling's frantic fusion of rock and politics can still be heard in today's young punks, bassist Paul Simonon says the album's longevity is due to something much simpler.

"What seems to count these days with the album is that there's some really great songs," Simonon says from London. "I think at the end of the day that's what counts -- great songs. Songs that were recorded by four human beings with a passion and not over-produced."

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Clash's third album, Sony will reissue a special edition of London Calling on Sept. 21. When Sony first approached the surviving band members about doing a reissue, Simonon says he, guitarist Mick Jones and drummer Topper Headon offered more than just their support.

"We figured we'd like to get involved and maybe add something to it," Simonon says. "And at the same time, Mick Jones was moving homes and he had a lot of boxes. In one of these boxes he discovered the demo tapes that we'd prepared before we went to make the album that we thought had been lost."

Simonon says the band also found film footage that had been shot during the recording of the album by a friend in New York. That footage has been included as part of a 45-minute documentary DVD along with the two-CD digipack reissue. Disc one contains the original album, while disc two features the Vanilla Tapes demos.

Simonon credits the semi-live sound to unorthodox studio methods by producer Guy Stevens.

"He would, in the middle of recording a song, charge into the room and start throwing chairs around or swinging a ladder around," says Simonon. "It was not the normal producing procedure. So it's what you would call a live injection of enthusiasm and energy."

When the Clash arrived on the music scene in the late 1970s, they fused politics with punk to create songs that combined rock, reggae, soul and funk. Simonon is modest about the band's impact on the history of popular music.

Simonon says London Calling's innovative style came about quite by accident and they "were just four blokes in a rehearsal room or a studio just making our music."

As for the album's political overtones, Simonon said the Clash was not a political band.

"We never thought of it at the time. We were just reacting accordingly to our own environment," he says.

"When you're talking about London Calling or the Clash, generally it was always sort of personal politics really," he continues. "We're four blokes from London with guitars so we're not politicians but we respond as a human being would to an injustice one way or another."

Clash frontman Joe Strummer died of a heart attack at his home in southwest England in December 2002 at the age of 50. In March 2003, the other members of the Clash dedicated the band's long overdue induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to his memory.

Twenty-five years on, Simonon is still impressed when new fans discover the Clash, as he hears from his 12-year-old son.

"He said to me the other day, Dad there's some friend of mine in school, he's just bought your album," says Simonon, now 48. "So there's obviously a new generation of kids that are buying our records and for them it's like a badge of saying, 'Well actually I adhere to this idea, this is where I stand.' "

So how does Simonon feel about today's so-called resurgence of punk: is it the real thing or just a reaction to the prevalence of pop?

"The whole idea of punk is that there are no rules. You just have to follow your own heart and your own mind and make your own course," he says. "Categories are all fine, but truly if you're a creative person, it is to sort of transcend that."

These days, Simonon is more likely to be found painting than playing music. "I went to art college to be a painter and Mick Jones went to art college to get a group together, and we met halfway," he said.

"Mick's still making music because that's his passion. I've jumped ship and I paint pictures and that's my passion."

"We arrived, we turned up, we played what we felt, and we've gone," says Simonon, although he admits the Clash and London Calling will always be an important chapter of his life. "People seem to be affected by it and that's good because if you can move people emotionally one way or the other that is a positive thing."

'Wait' Is Over For Stefani Solo Single

Gwen Stefani will unveil her first solo material early next month in the form of the single "What You Waiting For?" The No Doubt frontwoman's as-yet-untitled album will arrive Nov. 23 via Interscope. The set sports contributions from OutKast's Andre 3000, Linda Perry, Nellee Hooper and No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal, who co-wrote the tracks "Serious" and "Crash."

Stefani is also readying the fall collection in her L.A.M.B. clothing line and will make her big-screen debut in December playing actress Jean Harlow in the Howard Hughes biopic "The Aviator."

The other members of No Doubt are busy with a variety of projects. Kanal is working with new artist Elan Atias on his debut album, due next year via Interscope. Sessions have been undertaken in Jamaica and Miami with such producers as Sly & Robbie and Steven "Lenky" Marsden.

Drummer Adrian Young has lent his talents to Unwritten Law on tracks intended for the group's next Lava studio album, while guitarist Tom Dumont is working "on a environmentally friendly home landscaping project," according to No Doubt's official Web site.

Amid all this activity, Interscope will on Oct. 12 release the DVD "Live in the Tragic Kingdom" and the B-sides/rarities collection "Everything in Time." Both items were previously only available as part last year's "Boom Box" boxed set.

Unreleased Tracks Bolster Jackson Box Set

More than a dozen previously unreleased tracks plus a host of rarities will be found on the career-spanning Michael Jackson box set, "The Ultimate Collection." Due Nov. 16 via Epic and executive-produced by Jackson, the set features 57 audio tracks spread over four discs plus a DVD with a 1992 concert from Bucharest, Romania, that was originally broadcast on HBO.

Making their debut on "The Ultimate Collection" will be demo recordings of the previously unreleased songs "Scared of the Moon," "Cheater" and "Sunset Driver," plus demos of the No. 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," the title track to 1991's "Dangerous" and "Shake a Body," an early version of the Jacksons' 1978 No. 3 R&B smash "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)."

Jackson has also dusted off his solo demo of "We Are the World," a No. 1 hit recorded by the all-star gathering USA For Africa as a benefit for African famine relief. In addition, five previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1994 and 2004 can be found on disc four: "Fall Again," "In the Back," "Beautiful Girl," "The Way You Love Me" and "We've Had Enough."

Other rarities include the Diana Ross duet "Ease on Down the Road" from "The Wiz," a song written for the out-of-print "The E.T. Storybook" titled "Someone in the Dark," "We Are Here To Change the World" from the 1986 IMAX 3-D film "Captain Eo," an edit of the Teddy Riley collaboration "Someone Put Your Hand Out" from a Pepsi-sponsored promo cassette and the soundtrack collaborations "Childhood" (from "Free Willy 2") and "On the Line" (from "Get on the Bus").

Rounding out the box will be Jackson's biggest hits, dating back to such Jackson 5 classics as "I Want You Back" and "I'll Be There" through to solo smashes like "Thriller," "Beat It," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Black or White" and "You Are Not Alone."

Journalist Nelson George has penned liner notes for a 64-page booklet featuring rare photos and a discography.

As for the DVD, it chronicles a Sept. 19, 1992, show as part of the tour in support of that year's "Dangerous" release. Beyond album tracks like "Jam," "Will You Be There" and "Black or White," the performance includes "Man in the Mirror," "Beat It," "Human Nature," "Smooth Criminal" and a medley of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" and "The Love You Save."

Here is the track list for "The Ultimate Collection":

Disc one:

"I Want You Back," Jackson 5
"ABC," Jackson 5
"I'll Be There," Jackson 5
"Got To Be There"
"I Wanna Be Where You Are"
"Ben"
"Dancing Machine," Jackson 5
"Enjoy Yourself," the Jacksons
"Ease on Down the Road" with Diana Ross ("The Wiz" soundtrack)
"You Can't Win" (12" U.K. single, from "The Wiz")
"Shake a Body" (unreleased early demo), the Jacksons
"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)," the Jacksons
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
"Rock With You"
"Off the Wall"
"She's Out of My Life"
"Sunset Driver" (unreleased demo)
"Lovely One," the Jacksons
"This Place Hotel," the Jacksons

Disc two:

"Wanna Be Startin' Something"
"The Girl Is Mine" with Paul McCartney
"Thriller"
"Beat It"
"Billie Jean"
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
"Someone in the Dark" (from "The E.T. Storybook")
"State of Shock," the Jacksons with Mick Jagger
"Scared of the Moon" (unreleased demo)
"We Are the World" (unreleased demo)
"We Are Here To Change the World" (from "Captain Eo")

Disc three:

"Bad"
"The Way You Make Me Feel"
"Man in the Mirror"
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
"Dirty Diana"
"Smooth Criminal"
"Cheater" (unreleased demo)
"Dangerous" (unreleased version)
"Monkey Business" (unreleased track)
"Jam"
"Remember the Time"
"Black or White"
"Who Is It" (ISH mix)
"Someone Put Your Hand Out" (Dangerous tour/Pepsi promo cassette)

Disc four:

"You Are Not Alone"
"Stranger in Moscow"
"Childhood" (from "Free Willy 2")
"On the Line" (from "Get on the Bus")
"Blood on the Dancefloor"
"Fall Again" (unreleased demo)
"In the Black" (unreleased track)
"Unbreakable"
"You Rock My World"
"Butterflies"
"Beautiful Girl" (unreleased demo)
"The Way You Love Me" (unreleased demo)
"We've Had Enough" (unreleased track)

Disc five, "Live in Bucharest":

"Jam"
"Wanna Be Startin' Something"
"Human Nature"
"Smooth Criminal"
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
"She's Out of My Life"
"I Want You Back"/"The Love You Save"
"I'll Be There"
"Thriller"
"Billie Jean"
"Working Day & Night"
"Beat It"
"Will You Be There"
"Black or White"
"Heal the World"
"Man in the Mirror"

HERO'S WELCOME

Miramax announcing it will release its martial arts hit, Hero, starring Jet Li, on DVD November 30.

The ''Happy Days'' Gang Will Reunite!

The entire cast will gather for 30th-anniversary reunion special, including the two actors who played Chuck, Richie's forgotten older brother.

It's one of the enduring mysteries of 1970s TV: What ever happened to Chuck Cunningham? The older brother of Richie and Joanie, he could be seen occasionally during the earliest episodes of Happy Days, usually carrying a basketball. Apparently, the character was such an afterthought that no one noticed when the role was recast, and no one mourned him when he inexplicably vanished from the family after the first season. But now, 30 years later, Chuck Cunningham is finally resurfacing.

Chuck will live again in The Happy Days 30, a two-hour reunion special marking the three-decade anniversary of the debut of the 1974-84 ABC sitcom. Variety reports that the special, to be coproduced by Henry ''The Fonz'' Winkler himself, will reunite the entire cast, including Winkler, Ron Howard (Richie), Erin Moran (Joanie), Tom Bosley (Mr. C), Marion Ross (Mrs. C), Anson Williams (Potsie), Don Most (Ralph), Pat Morita (Arnold), Scott Baio (Chachi), Cathy Silvers (Jenny Piccalo), and the two actors who played Chuck: Gavin O'Herlihy and Randolph Roberts. Even Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, who created the spinoff characters of Laverne and Shirley on Happy Days, will be there.

Production begins this weekend with the revival of an off-camera Happy Days tradition, a cast softball game, which will be filmed for the reunion show. ABC hasn't set an airdate for the special, but it could air as soon as November's ratings sweeps period.

HEAVENLY NUMBERS

Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ selling nearly 9 million combined DVD and VHS copies in its first week in video stores, surpassing the record set by the debut of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The religious flick took in an estimated $9.45 million in rentals.

Jacob eliminated on Canadian Idol; Kalan Porter, Theresa Sokyrka remain

TORONTO (CP) - Jacob Hoggard, one of the most outrageous and entertaining singers to take the stage on Canadian Idol, gave a performance that "rocked" Thursday night before becoming the latest contestant to be eliminated from the program.

Hoggard, 19, an apprentice carpenter from Abbotsford, B.C., was praised for his energetic rendition of I Want You To Want Me, and several of the judges urged him to call as soon as he's ready to start recording.

"I've been doing this for 23 years, and nobody, nobody excites me the way you've been exciting me every single week, and we're really going to miss you," said judge Jake Gold.

"Anytime you want to make a record, you know where to find me, buddy."

Hoggard, who sports a lip ring and has been known to shock and surprise by, for instance, licking loser host Ben Mulroney's ear on the show and wearing unusual outfits, thanked his supporters, adding "don't stop supporting me because the end of the show is the beginning of me."

With Hoggard's departure, the stage is now set for next week's finale, pitting Theresa Sokyrka, 23, the "prairie girl" from Saskatoon, against Kalan Porter, 18, who comes from a ranch near Medicine Hat, Alta.

Altogether, about 3.7 million votes were cast Wednesday night by viewers via telephone and text messaging. Mulroney said the tally broke the Canadian Idol record.

Noah Wyle to Leave 'ER' at Season's End

NEW YORK - Noah Wyle, the last continuous on-air link to the NBC medical drama "ER's" freshman season in 1994, seems headed for the doctor's retirement home.

Wyle, who plays Dr. John Carter, told E! Entertainment Television on Thursday that he plans to leave the show at the end of this season.

"I've just got other stuff going in my life right now," Wyle told "E! News Live.'. "I've got a son, I've got family and friends that said goodbye to me 12 years ago and are wondering when I'm coming back, and this little urge to scratch a different kind of itch in my career, and it's just coming to the end of the character's run."

Wyle was the impressionable young resident among a powerhouse cast that included Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Eriq La Salle and Julianna Margulies. As they all left around him, Wyle became the show's promotional centerpiece.

He may have talked to E! about leaving, but he hasn't told series creator John Wells or the producers, Warner Bros. Television, said Wyle's spokesman, Eddie George.

"He's clear on what he said," George said. "That's where his head is at. That could change. There's a lot of things that could happen between now and the end of the season."

A Warner Bros. spokeswoman said only, "people are going to have to stay tuned to see what's happening."

The five-time Emmy Award nominee's contract expires at the end of this season. This spring he watched as another popular Warner Bros. show that debuted the same season, "Friends," made its goodbye.

"The day the cast filmed their last episode, I saw them in the commissary. It was heavy," he told The Associated Press. "Here they were, closing a defining chapter in each of their lives, and all I could do was think: `The end of that chapter's coming, for me.'"

Earlier in the year he said he thought about leaving several times.

What made him stay?

"The money, probably," he said.

"ER" will outlast him. NBC has locked up the show for another season past this one and, barring an unexpected downturn in the ratings, it will likely continue beyond that.

"It feels like the show is on the edge of reinventing itself," Wyle told E!. "It's time to take it to that next evolutionary place, where names like George and Tony, Eriq, Julianna and Noah are a thing of the past, and names like Shane (West), Linda (Cardellini) and Parminder (Nagra) are a thing of the future."

Famed Disney Animator Frank Thomas Dies at 92

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Legendary Walt Disney Co. animator Frank Thomas, whose work ranged from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to "Pinocchio " and "Bambi," has died at age 92, the studio said on Thursday.

One of Disney's original "nine old men," the key group that helped make Disney an animation powerhouse from the 1930s onward, Thomas died on Wednesday after months of declining health following a brain hemorrhage. He died at his home in Flintridge, California, outside Los Angeles, Disney said.

Thomas joined Disney in 1934 when the studio had only just begun working on "Snow White," its first full-length animated feature film. The costly movie nearly drove Disney into bankruptcy, but became the company's foundation after it turned into a huge hit in theaters.

"Frank helped to invent animation as an art form and took it to incredible new heights," film critic Leonard Maltin said.

He was known for emotional scenes, romance and deeply felt work early in his 43-year career at Disney, but in the late 1940s switched to villains.

Thomas created the spaghetti dinner scene between Lady and Rover in "Lady and the Tramp" and dreamed up Thumper showing Bambi how to ice skate in "Bambi." He helped design Pinocchio and was responsible for the scene in which the marionette gets trapped inside a birdcage by the evil Stromboli.

In 1941, Thomas joined Walt Disney on a trip through South America that resulted in "The Three Caballeros."

In 1949, he created the superstitious Ichabod Crane of Sleepy Hollow fame and one year later dreamed up the wicked stepmother in "Cinderella."

Other films on which he worked were "The Jungle Book," The Aristocats," and "Robin Hood." He retired in 1978.

Thomas was born in Santa Monica, California, and went to college at Stanford University, where he met his lifelong friend and another one of the "nine old men," Ollie Johnston, who is the last of those original animators still alive.

Thomas' son, Theodore, made a documentary based on the lifelong friendship between Thomas and Johnston, titled "Frank and Ollie" and released in 1995.

Thomas is survived by his wife of 58 years, Jeanette, their children and grandchildren.

Knoxville, Scott Hot for 'Hazzard'

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott will play Luke and Bo Duke, respectively, in "The Dukes of Hazzard," a big-screen version of the 1980s television series.

Jessica Simpson has screen-tested for the role of Daisy Duke. Jay Chandrasekhar is directing the Warner Bros. project. A start date has not yet been set.

The series, which ran on CBS from 1979 to 1985, followed the weekly adventures of southern cousins Bo and Luke -- "just two good ol' boys, never meaning no harm," according to the Waylon Jennings theme song -- who raised hell driving their souped-up Dodge Charger, the General Lee, in fictional Hazzard County. They, along with their cousin Daisy and Uncle Jesse, staged running battles with the corrupt authorities, Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane.

Broken Lizard, the comedy troupe that includes Chandrasekhar as well as Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Kevin Heffernan, are writing the feature. The troupe was behind the 2001 cult hit "Super Troopers."

Knoxville, in theaters briefly over the summer with the Gram Parsons movie "Grand Theft Parsons, is filming the skate-punk movie "Lords of Dogtown." Scott last starred in "The Rundown" and is shooting Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales."

MUPPET MADNESS

Muppets Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker named the United Kingdom's favorite screen scientists in an online poll conducted by the BBC.

Kevin Smith's Clerks: icon of indie film still at work after a 10-year shift

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ten years ago, Kevin Smith became the patron saint of the slothful.

The aspiring New Jersey filmmaker proved that if a guy worked hard enough, he could still make his dreams come true while spending a lot of time collecting comic books, debating the merits of peculiar sex, and selling cigarettes and candy to dead-eyed consumers.

Clerks, a $27,000 US black-and-white film he shot mainly with friends in their spare time, became an icon of independent cinema by inspiring a generation of homegrown filmmakers.

"It's the kind of movie where you go, 'If that counts, I can make a movie, too,' " said Smith, who makes self-deprecation a kind of second career. "It's flattering on one level, but it's also a backhanded compliment because it's like, 'Dude, your movie looks so bad, that even a chimp can make a movie at this point.' "

A new three-disc DVD titled Clerks X commemorates the 10-year anniversary, documenting the movie's entire history, from Smith's birth to the audition tapes to the day Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein purchased the film at the Sundance Film Festival.

Working on the DVD inspired Smith to write a sequel, The Passion of the Clerks, which he plans to begin filming in January.

After creating a cult-fanbase with his later films - Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jersey Girl - Smith said he wanted to go back to his super-low-budget roots and revisit his fictional cash-register dwellers.

Smith's original movie centred on two 20-something guys - one from a convenience store, the other from a video store - and their disintegrating morale over the course of a day as they endure customers from hell.

It's no coincidence that the main character's name was Dante.

"I just wanted to make a movie that I thought was representative of me and my friends," Smith said. "A lot of movies I went to see were fun to watch and totally entertaining and escapist. But what - I'm going to identify with John McClane in Die Hard? I would never jump off a building, I would never shoot a terrorist, I would never take my shirt off in public."

He wanted to make a movie about what wanders into the mind of a guy who feels like he's going nowhere: Star Wars, ex-girlfriends, hockey, porn movies.

The humour in Smith's movie was the kind of shameless joking guys do around a poker game, or in the back of a classroom, wherever they think no one else is listening.

Before the gross-out comedy craze of There's Something About Mary, American Pie and MTV's Jackass, Clerks opened the door.

Although it featured no violence, no nudity and no on-screen sex, the coarse dialogue earned it an NC-17 rating and Miramax hired attorney Alan Dershowitz to successfully argue the ratings board down to an R.

Before that, even Brian O'Halloran, a community theatre actor who won the role of Dante, said he never thought the movie would make it to the big screen.

"I thought it was hysterical, but the vulgarity of certain things, the shock value at that time in 1993 . . . I didn't think it would become a feature film," he said. "If anything, it was just something I would have a copy of on VHS to show friends. 'Hey, look what I got cast in once . . .' "

Smith used his environment to craft a story, taking a lesson from Robert Rodriguez, another homegrown director who made his breakthrough in 1992 with the $7,000 shoot-'em-up El Mariachi (later glossily remade as Desperado.)

Here's what Smith had at his disposal: a convenience store, a lascivious stoner friend, and a comic book collection. All he needed were the cameras - so he sold the comic books. That made him a few thousand dollars.

He also ran up dozens of credit cards and collected several thousand in flood relief money after a storm washed over his New Jersey neighbourhood.

Smith's other means of investment: mom and dad, who gave him $3,000.

"It was pretty huge, because my old man at that point was a government employee. He worked at the post office and he didn't make much more than 15 or 20 grand, tops," Smith said. "That was a big chunk for them."

He talked the owner of the convenience store into letting him shoot the movie there after closing time. The solid metal security gate stayed down over the main windows to make it simpler to control interior lighting and enable them to shoot at night when the story was supposed to take place during the day.

Smith adjusted the script to explain the shutters: part of Dante's terrible day involved being unable to open the gate. He paints a sign with shoe polish that reads: "I assure you we're open."

O'Halloran and his co-star Jeff Anderson, who played the rude video store clerk Randal, worked the midnight shift for the movie, and never expected to get paid.

"It was definitely fun, and yet we all had real jobs," said O'Halloran. "And we all got done with our real jobs and then got down to the store around 10:30 at night, and by the time we got into makeup and into costume, and we were ready to shoot after everything was lit, it was 11:30. Then we'd shoot until five in the morning or straight up until six when the store would open. Then we'd help Kevin open the store and move all the film equipment."

Other story points were also dictated by circumstance.

Smith wanted to put his friend Jason Mewes in the movie as Jay, a trash-talking stoner who perpetually ornaments the parking lot. The character was basically Mewes as himself, but he was jittery about playing the part.

"He needed somebody to talk to, but I didn't want anyone to take away from this one-man show," Smith said. Thus was born Silent Bob, and the director played the role himself.

Clerks played no more than 96 theatres and earned only $3.1 million, but it became a hit on video and spawned an animated series, while making cult stars out of Jay and Silent Bob.

The duo will return with Dante and Randal in the Clerks sequel, but Smith said they'll be more realistic than the slapstick buffoons they became in recent years, reflecting Mewes real-life sobriety after battling drug addiction.

No celebrities, no big budget. Just another shift at the shop. Only this time, the film will be partly in colour as well as black and white.

"Just like The Wizard of Oz," Smith cracked, with a snap of his chewing gum.

A year after Johnny Cash's death, Kris Kristofferson still mourns

NASHVILLE (AP) - Kris Kristofferson says he still grieves the loss of his friend Johnny Cash.

"It's hard to believe that it's been a year," Kristofferson said recently from his home in Hawaii. "It's still painful that he's gone. I think about him a lot." Kristofferson contributes to a new Country Music Television special, Controversy: Johnny Cash vs. Music Row, which airs 8 p.m. EDT Saturday and again Sunday afternoon. The show explores the uneasy relationship between the country music establishment and the singer, who died on Sept. 12, 2003.

Cash, one of the genre's biggest stars, had a hard time getting his music on country radio in his later years - despite critical acclaim and Grammy Awards.

After a lull in his career in the 1970s and '80s, he found success with a series of albums he recorded with noted rap/rock producer Rick Rubin. Backed by rock acts such as Tom Petty (news) and the Heartbreakers, Cash reached a new, younger audience drawn by his stark songs and rebellious spirit.

"I'm sure it gave him satisfaction to be out there knocking out a room full of kids," Kristofferson said. "He was always a little bit more experimental than other people in country music. He was doing stuff that wasn't being done back when he was singing, The Ballad of Ira Hayes," in 1964.

After winning a Grammy, Cash and Rubin put together a now infamous full-page music industry trade ad in 1998 that showed Cash flipping off the Nashville music establishment and country radio.

Cash was always a rebel, Kristofferson said.

"He was unlike anybody else," he said. "He was absolutely his own person. He went his own way and spoke his own words."

Bacall Balks After Kidman Called 'Legend'

LONDON - How old is a movie legend? Definitely older than 37-year-old Nicole Kidman, according to screen veteran Lauren Bacall. Bacall became irritated during an interview with Britain's GMTV Wednesday when the younger actress was described as "a legend."

"She's not a legend," Bacall said, cutting off interviewer Jenni Falconer in mid-sentence.

"She's a beginner. What is this 'legend'? She can't be a legend at whatever age she is. She can't be a legend, you have to be older."

The two actresses were in Venice, Italy to promote their new film "Birth," in which 79-year-old Bacall plays Kidman's mother.

At a joint interview, reporters peppered Kidman with questions and, embarrassed, she finally suggested they direct their questions elsewhere.

Bacall, the former wife of Humphrey Bogart and star of such films as "The Big Sleep" and "Key Largo," insisted she and Kidman get along famously.

The two women acted together once before, with Bacall playing a supporting role in Kidman's star vehicle "Dogville" last year.

"I love working with a young actress," Bacall said. "Nicole and I worked together on Dogville and we were friends when we started this. That laid the groundwork for our fabulous relationship on screen and off."

In the film, Kidman plays a woman who believes her dead husband has been reincarnated in the body of a 10-year-old boy.

The assembled stars and the film's director and producer, were asked who they would like to come back as if they could be reincarnated.

The others gamely tried to answer the question but Bacall snapped: "It's not a fascinating question. No offense."

ABC Calls Delay for NFL Kickoff

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - ABC and the NFL aren't taking any chances with this week's kickoff show, the first time football has had an entertainment-style revue since the notorious "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show in February.

There will be a 10-second delay in the telecast of the hourlong "NFL Opening Kickoff," an otherwise live musical event from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., and Jacksonville, Fla. The season's first game has last year's champions, the New England Patriots, playing host to the Indianapolis Colts.

ABC insisted on a five-second delay in the broadcast, according to Charles Coplin, the kickoff show's co-executive producer and vp programing at the NFL. ABC requires all live entertainment programing carried on the network to have a five-second delay, ABC Sports spokesman Mark Mandel said. "That was in effect before the Super Bowl (controversy)," he said.

Added Coplin on his way to Foxboro on Tuesday to oversee the production: "I think it's a precaution. I have no plans on using it. I would be surprised by using it, but there are always things that could go out of control."

Performers include Mary J. Blige, Elton John, Lenny Kravitz and Toby Keith, along with a newly reunited Destiny's Child.

Burned by the experience at the last Super Bowl, when Janet Jackson bared a breast during a performance with Justin Timberlake, the NFL took control over its entertainment destiny. The league now develops the content and works directly with the performers; it has control over song selection, wardrobe and staging, for instance. Coplin said the NFL wants to make sure that everything's appropriate.

"(The performers) understand what's appropriate and what's not appropriate, and that's very much a part of who we chose" to perform, Coplin said.

The NFL, which is always a ratings winner for ABC on Monday night, is going to face some tough competition when it bows Thursday. Leading the competition will be the premieres of "Joey" and "The Apprentice," both on NBC.

But that's not the only storm Thursday's game and show will face. Coplin said it isn't clear whether damage from Hurricane Frances, which hit Jacksonville over the weekend, will alter the plans to have Jessica Simpson sing from there as scheduled. Coplin wasn't sure about that, but he had other weather-related concerns in mind, too. It isn't supposed to stop raining in Massachusetts until Thursday at the earliest.

"We could really use a clear night and clear rehearsals," Coplin said. "I don't think we're going to have any luck."

Linklater Will Coach Thornton in 'Bears' Redo

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "School of Rock" director Richard Linklater has signed on to shoot the remake of "The Bad News Bears," starring Billy Bob Thornton.

The Paramount Pictures project is due to start shooting in November. The original 1976 feature starred Walter Matthau as a beer-chugging manager who transforms a group of Little League misfits into a winning team.

Linklater, a stalwart of the indie scene, scored a solid commercial hit when he directed Paramount's 2003 comedy "School of Rock," which grossed $81 million domestically. He is currently in theaters with "Before Sunset," starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.

He also has been tapped to direct "The Smoker" for Paramount. That project was scheduled to begin production in the fall, but it will likely move back to film after "Bears," with an exact date still to be determined.

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the writers and creative team behind the Thornton hit "Bad Santa," are writing the screenplay for "Bears."

Fans feel the Force

In the most anticipated DVD box set of all time, Greedo fires first.

And as fans and retailers alike can tell you, there are no insignificant details when it comes to George Lucas' beloved Star Wars trilogy, which finally arrives on DVD in a four-disc collection on Sept. 21.

Greedo, as you may recall, was Jabba The Hutt's bug-eyed henchman -- the one who Han Solo (Harrison Ford) fries in that alien bar on Tattooine.

In the original 1977 film, Solo fired first.

By the time Lucas revisited the trilogy for its 1997 theatrical re-release, the director had decided Solo shouldn't be that cold-blooded and gave the scene a digital facelift with Greedo firing first and Solo reacting in self-defense. It was just one change Lucas made to the trilogy -- much to the dismay of purists -- but, as the DVD editions screened by the Sun reveals, it was far from the last.

Most notably, the legendary director has added Canadian Hayden Christensen to the final moments of 1983's Return of the Jedi.

Christensen -- who plays (future Darth Vader) Anakin Skywalker in Episodes 2 and 3 -- turns up as Skywalker's ghostly spectre, alongside Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi master Yoda.

In the original film, it was Sebastian Shaw who appears as Vader's redeemed alter-ego. (Lucas didn't go so far, thankfully, to erase all traces of Shaw -- the actor's death scene as the man behind Vader's mask remains unscathed.)

In the feature-length audio commentary, Lucas vaguely addresses the issue, explaining Anakin learned -- as did Obi-Wan and Yoda -- to retain his "original identity" -- before he was resurrected as the black-masked master of evil (a sequence that will likely cap off next year's Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith.)

Other additions Lucas has made to the trilogy? Replacing the fleeting image of the Emperor seen in The Empire Strikes Back with Ian McDiarmid (who portrayed the dark overseer in Jedi as well as in the prequels), and adding the planet Naboo -- from The Phantom Menace -- to Jedi's finale.

Naturally, the tinkering has fans appalled all over again. On the website Aint-It-Cool-News, head geek Harry Knowles recently griped about the revisions, complaining Lucas has "polished his diamond into dust" by mucking with it so many times.

Perhaps -- but the director isn't listening.

Lucasfilm spokespeople continue to adhere to the official line -- that the director is merely using the digital tools he didn't have in the '70s to make the trilogy more like what he originally envisioned. For his part, Lucas, in his commentary, praises technological advances, referring to the era of rubber aliens and plastic models as "the old days."

In other words, don't expect the original theatrical films on DVD anytime soon -- purists will have to make do with the 1995 video cassette editions if they want to see the trilogy un-doctored. One thing both Lucas and his detractors are likely to agree on is the trilogy has never looked as good as it does on DVD.

Lucas' technicians painstakingly cleaned up the original negatives frame by frame, removing the usual dirt, scratches and scrapes that come with time, along with any still-visible seams in the special effects.

In addition to Lucas' audio commentary, the movies -- collected in three discs -- include commentaries by sound designer Ben Burtt, effects wizard Dennis Muran and Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher.

(Reflecting on the "iron bikini" she wore in Return of the Jedi, Fisher wisecracks she thought it was just Lucas' way of getting her to exercise.)

The fourth disc offers all the extras fans might expect -- more than four hours of footage and featurettes, the centrepiece of which is Empire of Dreams, a 21/2-hour documentary that tracks the saga's origins (Lucas wanted to pay homage to the 1930s adventure serials he had grown up with as a kid) to its iconic status as modern-day mythology. Unfortunately Empire of Dreams also spirals into abject corporate infommercial by the end.

Of course, that a nearly-30-year-old trio of films can still generate this much attention -- and devotion -- goes to show how much a cultural and financial Force this space opera remains. No wonder the release of the films on DVD (with a pricetag of around $60) is considered a seismic event, expected to take its place among the top-selling DVDs of all time. (It has been No. 1 on Amazon.com's best-seller lists in the U.S., Canada, Germany and the U.K. for months.) So with the trilogy on DVD at last and production on Episode 3 set for release in less than a year, is this really it for the saga set in a galaxy far, far away?

Don't count on it -- the Internet, that bastion of wannabe Jedis and bounty hunters, has been rife with rumours for months that the filmmaker and multimedia mogul intends to again revisit the six movies sometime in the future with an "Ultimate Special This-Is-Really-It Edition" -- would you expect any less from the man who released the original films twice on VHS in almost as many years in the mid-1990s?

As well, reports (or perhaps the wishful thinking of a few fans) have been circulating that Lucas is mulling shooting three sequels to the original trilogy -- Episodes 7, 8 and 9.

(This would be in keeping with his original vision of nine films, the last three of which would feature an elderly Luke Skywalker mentoring an apprentice. Even 20 years ago, Mark Hamill was telling interviewers that Lucas had approached him with this concept.)

Naturally, Lucasfilm representatives have shot down any talk of Star Wars sequels -- and you have to wonder, considering how Lucas refers to the films as a "day-to-day struggle," if he'd ever want to make more.

Then again, as with all things Star Wars, only Lucas -- and Yoda -- know for sure.

EXTRA-ORDINARY BONUSES

For many fans, a DVD set isn't about the movies, but the extras. The Star Wars Trilogy boasts more than four hours of bonus features -- enough to satiate even the most fervent of followers:

* Among the numerous trailers and TV spots on the DVD is the Revenge of the Jedi preview that debuted in 1982. (Lucas later decided revenge was something the noble Jedi Knights would never seek and retitled the final chapter Return of the Jedi.)

* Episode III Behind the Scenes Preview: The Return of Darth Vader reveals behind-the-scenes footage of the lightsabre battle between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. No, not the one in A New Hope in which Obi-Wan dies -- but the one that is the cornerstone of next May's Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Actors Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor are shown trading lightsabre blows and choreographing the showdown fans have waited more than 20 years to see. Also included: the creation of Vader's new helmet and the moment in which Christensen dons the famed black garb -- especially tailored for the Canadian actor -- for Episode III's climactic moments.

* Kurt Russell as Han Solo? William Katt (The Greatest American Hero) as Luke Skywalker? Laverne & Shirley's Cindy Williams as Princess Leia? As unlikely as this sounds, it could have happened. Screentests included in the documentary The Characters of Star Wars have the actors reading for the roles that would ultimately go to Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. Before he was even casting actors, though, Lucas was trying to figure out who his characters were. In early scripts, he had a hero named Luke Starkiller (who was also an old general) and a giant green alien named Han Solo.

* Other features include a documentary devoted to the creation of the lightsabre and love-in with Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), James Cameron (Titanic) and Ridley Scott (Alien), who explain how Star Wars shaped their careers.

A long time ago in a Hollywood far away ...

* George Lucas based Chewbacca on his dog Indiana, a malamute that was also the inspiration for Indiana Jones.

* Lucas wrote an original treatment called The Star Wars in 1973.

* The opening crawl for Star Wars says it's Episode IV: A New Hope. But that was not in the original 1977 prints. It was added for the film's theatrical re-release in 1981.

* Every studio in Hollywood turned Lucas down. Fox boss Alan Ladd Jr. finally agreed to make the movie only because he liked Lucas' American Graffiti. During clashes with Fox, Ladd would lose his job. As a result, Lucas took his next project Raiders of the Lost Ark to Paramount.

* When Darth Vader tells Luke that he is his father, actor Mark Hamill didn't know about the plot twist until just before the scene was shot.

* Industrial Light and Magic completed more than 900 F/X shots for Return of the Jedi, nearly three times the number created for the original film.

* Lucas made his fortune because he convinced Fox to agree to give him the merchandising and sequel rights for a nominal fee.

SECRETS OF 'STAR WARS' SPILLED IN 2-HOUR SHOW

'STAR Wars" creator George Lucas says he almost landed Steven Spielberg to direct "Return of the Jedi."

That's one of a number of revelations in a new two-hour A&E special, "Star Wars: Empire of Dreams," set to air Sunday night at 8 — part of the big run up to the DVD release of one of the most popular trilogies of all time.

The A&E special is, in fact, an edited version of the 156 minute documentary on the "Star Wars Trilogy," due out September 21.

Why didn't the marriage of Spielberg and "Star Wars" ever happen? Seems Lucas' famous fights with the Directors Guild and other Hollywood establishments killed it.

Lucas and countless others — including Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill — are included in the program about the travails of making "Star Wars" and its classic sequels, "The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Return of the Jedi."

Among the highlights of the show and the DVD:

* Hayden Christensen is digitally inserted into the celebratory final scene of "Return of the Jedi," alongside a ghost-like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

* Numerous tweaks beyond the "special editions" released in 1997 have been made to clean up the effects, including the first appearance of Jabba the Hutt.

* Fans speculated Lucas was jealous of "The Lord of the Rings" and so rushed his trilogy out on DVD early. But Peter Jackson appears in the extras, praising the films, talking about how they inspired him and comparing Lucas's creation to that of J.R.R. Tolkien.

The TV special is the latest step in a campaign that is sure to turn the "Star Wars Trilogy" boxed set into one of the best-selling DVDs of all time.

Still, fans have flooded websites with their growing despair that Lucas refuses to release the original version of the three films, rather than the doctored '97 special editions that he has made even further changes to for the DVD.

Critics feast on Montreal's flagging film fest

Montreal - Nothing says more about the sad state of Montreal's film festival than the red carpet it rolled out this year. It was stained and frayed, few Hollywood stars deigned to grace it and paparazzi were few and far between.

"As it is now, there is no future for the festival," predicts Odile Tremblay, the respected film critic for Le Devoir. "It is getting weaker with each passing year. It must find a new identity."

After 28 year of existence, Tremblay says Montreal's World Film Festival — officially known as the Festival des Films du Monde — is in a crisis because of aging leadership and its inability to define itself internationally.

It is badly eclipsed by the Venice Film Festival, Tremblay and many others lament. And the Toronto Film Festival, which opens Thursday, just three days after Montreal closed, has become the signature event in Canada, attracting the major Hollywood and Canadian premieres as well as the A-list stars and producers that Montreal no longer gets.

"Fifteen years ago, Montreal attracted many celebrities and great filmmakers," recalled Tremblay. "But now, it's usually the same people coming back, and less and less with each year. The festival is losing audience and worse, it's losing credibility on the international scene."

The only Hollywood star of note to make this year's festival was Penelope Cruz, looking decidedly underwhelmed as she strode across the red carpet laid down on St. Catherine St. She walked into a dowdy theatre, with wads of chewing gum stuck on the lobby floor, wedged between strip joints and discount T-shirt stores.

According to Tremblay, the main problem with the Montreal festival may sit with the man who has run it for almost 30 years: Serge Losique.

He is viewed as too secretive and autocratic by many film insiders. And his relations with the local media and filmmakers have soured over the years. That was evidenced by an unflattering report released in July by Telefilm and Sodec, the federal and Quebec film funding agencies that provide about $1 million of the festival's $5-million budget.

In a clear move to pressure Losique into change, the report questions the festival's attendance figures and criticizes management for "lack of transparency, manifested most clearly in the festival's refusal to take part in this study." The report goes on to say the festival is "overtly criticized by the local film industry" for a lack of openness and generosity.

Losique, who has successfully fought off criticisms in the past, has refused to comment on the report until after the festival wrapped up yesterday evening.

But it's already clear the amount of "buzz" generated at this year's festival was at its nadir. TV cameras repeatedly showed actors and producers walking up a near-empty red carpet surrounded by sparse crowds, a bad image for any film festival.

And relations with many filmmakers weren't helped by an imbroglio at the opening night party. Guests were issued invitations to "dress beautifully," a highly subjective command at a festival trying to mix millionaire industry players with impoverished independent filmmakers.

"As might have been predicted, beauty is a fickle thing," Montreal Gazette film critic John Griffin wrote in a scathing review. "Some people, or rather, some people's costumes, were not considered beautiful enough to guarantee entry, and were turned away. Other people, dressed similarly but with heftier social pedigree, were let through. It was like a lineup at Studio 54 ...

"At a time when the festival is hanging on to its very existence, let alone its reputation, by the cuticle of one fingernail, a social outrage like (that) is not just unfortunate, it's unforgivable ... it's an attitude for extinction."

"The festival is losing speed," actor Pierre Cruz told Montreal weekly Hour, in which he complained the festival neither nurtures the local cinema community nor brings in the best. "It is no longer a festival that attracts big films, as it used to."

To be fair, the Montreal festival is hardly an organizational dud. Attendance figures aren't yet available, but there appeared to be steady traffic at the festival's venues, though few lineups. And while it may lack the glitz of Toronto or Venice, it did screen 439 films in 12 days.

Many of those are small, obscure films, from all corners of the world, movies that film lovers would not likely see anywhere else.

But that very breadth of scope, the concept supported by Losique, might be the festival's downfall.

"When you have 400 films, there are too many weak films," says Tremblay. "They should eradicate the bad ones — have a selection that is smaller and better. The festival is too unfocused."

The only way to change, however, may be to change the man who runs it. Tremblay notes most film festivals rotate their chief organizers, to bring in fresh blood and ideas.

"Losique's got to leave, sooner or later," says Tremblay. "He's too old in his mentality. He wants to control it all. I understand this, it's like his baby. But now, it's not a good thing for Montreal."

Ed Stevens Returns to SCRUBS

Current CIBC pitchman - and former ED star - Tom Cavanaugh has signed on to reprise his role of J.D.'s older brother on SCRUBS this season, while Julia Margulies (ER) has signed on for a two-episode guest appearance.

Cavanaugh will appear in two October episodes where J.D.'s older brother visits him when their father unexpectedly passes away.

Series creator Bill Lawrence said, "Tom and Zach have this amazing rapport with each other and that adds a certain realness to the show. I was thrilled that he agreed to return to this role."

Margulies will guest-star in two November sweeps episodes as a "sultry malpractice attorney" and potential love interest for J.D.

"When I heard that Julianna was a fan of SCRUBS, I jumped at the chance to get her on-board for a couple of episodes," said Lawrence added. "Her character is going to be a giant thorn in everyone's side and will really shake things up with a malpractice suit at the hospital."

'Wars' Stories

Here are five things we know about ''Star Wars: Episode III.''

IN GENERAL The new bad guy, Grievous, is capable of attacking with as many as four lightsabers at once

It took George Lucas 21 years, but he's finally using the word ''revenge'' in a movie title. ''Revenge of the Jedi'' was only an early dummy title for 1983's ''Return of the Jedi,'' but ''Star Wars: Episode III,'' due May 19, 2005, is really and truly named ''Revenge of the Sith.'' (Look for the T-shirt on a geek near you, okay look for one on me as I have one.)

Even as Lucas and untold hundreds of digital animators continue to tweak ''Episode III,'' a surprising number of details have slipped out, thanks largely to Lucasfilm disclosures on Starwars.com, and less official leaks on fansites such as theforce.net. So hold onto your Jar Jar Binks action figure as we recap what's known so far (other than the fact that someone will definitely call Padmé ''m'lady''):

-- Chewbacca's back-a!

Peter Mayhew, who played Han Solo's fuzzy pal in the original trilogy, will be sweating it out in the hairier-than-Robin-Williams costume again in ''Episode III.'' He'll have company -- at least one sequence will be set on Chewie's home planet, Kashyyyk. But don't fear a reprise of the infamously dreadful ''Star Wars Holiday Special,'' which showed scenes of domestic life on Kashyyyk (including, believe it or not, a sexy Wookiee TV show). ''Revenge of the Sith'' will instead depict Wookiees at war, complete with hirsute soldiers commanding battleships. It's far from clear, though, how we'll recognize Chewbacca among thousands of his brethren, especially since Chewie's name roughly translates to ''raaaargh'' in Wookiee-speak.

-- Space Battle

After the traditional opening scroll, ''Episode III'' will plunge directly into a lasers-a-flyin' spaceship battle, the kind that's been largely missing from the prequels. The conflict – between Republic forces (the good guys) and the Separatists (as led by Count Dooku, remember?) -- will apparently mark the end of the storied Clone Wars, which largely took place between ''Episode II'' and ''Episode III'' (and in an ongoing Cartoon Network miniseries). It will go on for 20 minutes, which, the Force willing, means a long stretch where we get to listen to stuff blowing up instead of Lucas-penned dialogue (''I don't like sand.'').

-- The New Bad Guy

Meet General Grievous: half-alien and half-robot who looks like the offspring of Skeletor and one of Will Smith's ''I, Robot'' nemeses, is the Donald Rumsfeld of the Separatist forces. The aptly named, many-limbed Grievous is capable of attacking with as many as four lightsabers at once, all taken off the corpses of fallen Jedi. And unlike the near-mute Darth Maul, the all-CGI Grevious will actually talk. (Lucasfilm wouldn't comment on reports that Gary Oldman is in negotiations to do the honors.)

-- Jedi vs. Jedi

Like the other five ''Star Wars'' movies, ''Revenge of the Sith'' will include a lightsaber fight. But this time, it's Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) throwing down against his former mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) -- and it'll get messy. Stunt coordinator Nick Gillard claimed on Starwars.com that at 12 minutes, the sequence will be ''the longest fight scene in cinematic history.'' And we already know the ending: Anakin loses. According to ''Star Wars'' lore that the new film may or may not follow, the young Jedi-gone-wild will fall into a volcano, which leads to…

-- Vader

Volcano or not, Anakin comes out of his duel with Obi-Wan gravely injured: mutilated, if not actually dead. Saving him will require a fitting for a familiar black suit, mask, and breathing apparatus, which means his journey to the dark side will be complete. It also means James Earl Jones will finally get some voiceover work.

Now, let the hype continue and may the Force be with us all!

Roger Waters Goes to War with Online Tracks

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Former Pink Floyd mainman Roger Waters released two new songs, both inspired by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, via online download outlets Tuesday.

"To Kill The Child" and "Leaving Beirut" have been available for streaming on Waters' official Web site, since Friday. They are now on sale at through iTunes, SonyConnect, Napster, Walmart.com and other digital stores.

Waters said he began work on the tunes "immediately after the invasion of Iraq." In "To Kill the Child," he targets a litany of corporations, while "Leaving Beirut" takes aim at both President Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"It seems apposite to throw them out there on the Net, before the (U.S. presidential) election," Waters said. "Historically, there have always been people within the artistic community who have spoken out about things they believe in and they should continue to do so. I shall certainly continue to do so, whether it has any effect or not, because I feel I have a responsibility to myself to do that."

It has been more than a decade since Waters' last solo album of original material, 1992's Columbia set "Amused To Death." In 2002, he contributed a demo of "Flickering Flame" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" to the internationally released compilation of his post-Floyd career, "Flickering Flame: The Solo Years, Vol. 1."

Reunited Tears for Fears Try New Door

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Reunited British new wave duo Tears for Fears will release its first album in 15 years Sept. 14 on a new label launched by Universal Music Enterprises, the catalog arm of the world's largest record company.

New Door Records was created as a vehicle to cross-promote new material by artists with existing Universal catalog. It also has also lined up Styx, Nanci Griffith and Joe Cocker for releases in the coming months. The Tears for Fears release, "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending," marks its first release.

Tears for Fears founders Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith scored such mid-'80s hits as "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout," but split acrimoniously after the release of 1989's "The Seeds of Love." Orzabel subsequently toured and recorded under the Tears for Fears moniker.

After a decade of silence, they rekindled their friendship, and started tentative work on new music in September 2001.

Tears for Fears is receiving airplay at triple-A and adult top 40 radio for its first single, "Call Me Mellow." The band will perform various promotional radio dates through September before embarking on its official U.S. tour Oct. 21 (the itinerary has not yet been announced).

The group is also scheduled for TV appearances including "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" (Sept 14), "Today" (Sept. 25), "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (Sept. 21) and "The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn" (Sept. 27).

Orzabal and Smith said that having their catalog as New Door's major source of income relieves a lot of the pressure found at traditional labels.

"It definitely makes more sense to be working with the people who are working our catalog," Smith said. "Major labels are always considering quarterly results and budget restraints. You don't have that here, and it makes our lives considerably easier."

Universal Music Enterprises head Bruce Resnikoff, who will oversee New Door, said the imprint is employing many of the marketing strategies of a traditional label, but also will create a direct-response TV marketing campaign.

"By the band getting back together and us getting involved in this new record, we have an opportunity to not only take a great record to the marketplace, but it's the first opportunity we've had to aggressively market and promote their entire music catalog while the band is working," he says.

The Couch Potato Report - September 7th, 2004

This week in The Couch Potato Report, there are three mediocre movies and the third season of a popular TV show.

Up first this week is the Coen Brother's remake of THE LADYKILLERS.

If you've never enjoyed Alec Guinness in the classic 1955 Ealing comedy that inspired this remake, you might enjoy this new Tom Hanks version.

If you have seen the original, well, I doubt you'll like this new version at all.

One thing you will like is the fact that Tom Hanks creates his own character, instead of just re-creating the standout Guinness performance.

Hanks is a con man who rents a room in an old lady's house. He needs a secret headquarters for his five-man plot to rob a riverboat casino moored on the Mississippi.

His "gang of experts" pose as musicians and they use the woman's cellar to tunnel to the casino's cash-rich counting room.

As this is a Coen Brothers film mishaps ensue, the experts are all idiots, and to tell you any more would rob you of the very few pleasures in this less than stellar remake.

Yes, it's a less than stellar film that takes place in a cellar.

Sorry. I couldn't resist saying that.

THE LADYKILLERS is funny in parts, but those parts are few and far in between.

It is certainly not as funny as the Coen Brothers' O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? and nowhere near as entertaining as FARGO.

As far as it being a Tom Hanks film, well it falls somewhere between THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOW and TURNER & HOOCH.

I doubt if either Hanks or The Coen Brothers will ever see THE LADYKILLERS added to the list of their good films.

A few weeks ago I added HELLBOY To the list of good films made from comic books. This week we add THE PUNISHER to the list of bad ones.

Before he starts punishing people Frank Castle is a regular guy who retires from the FBI.

A shady Florida businessman, whose son was killed in Castle's last mission, orders a hit Castle's wife and child. He also wants Castle's parents and other members of his family killed.

Castle is also shot, but he survives and sets out to even the score.

The character of The Punisher first appeared in comics in "Spider-Man: Number 129."

The Punisher first appeared on the big screen in 1989 in a film starring Dolph Lundgren from ROCKY 4.

This new film version of THE PUNISHER isn't as bad as that original theatrical miss-fire, but it is really, really bad.

If you need to punish yourself, watch THE PUNISHER. Otherwise, see something else.

Like JERSEY GIRL, for instance.

JERSEY GIRL is the latest movie written and directed by Kevin Smith. Smith also gave us CLERKS, CHASING AMY and MALLRATS.

JERSEY GIRL is nothing like any of those movies.

It is reminiscent of other films you've seen, but its nothing like Smith's previous work.

Ben Affleck from CHANGING LANES and PEARL HARBOR stars as a workaholic who loses his wife and has to raise his newborn daughter with the help of his less-than-perfect New Jersey father, who is played by the one and only George Carlin.

As I mentioned, JERSEY GIRL is reminiscent of other films you've seen as it contains several movie cliché's, including: a parent forced to choose between child and career; a parent rushing to attend a child's school performance; and a man oblivious to the fact that he loves the woman he's been spending all of his free time with, just to name three.

Clichéd or not, I liked JERSEY GIRL! Yes, I am a long time fan of Kevin Smith's work, but I thought Affleck was great in the movie. I also think Liv Tyler does a tremendous job as the woman and Raquel Castro is superb as the Jersey Girl.

JERSEY GIRL is not a perfect film, but it is a nice little film.

Most of the time there is nothing nice about Special Agent Sydney Bristow, the character Jennifer Garner plays on the TV show ALIAS.

She is a spy who has to fight, lie and steal all in the name of justice and doing what's right.

And even though the mystery and excitement started to wane in its most recent season, the exploits of the characters on ALIAS are always worth watching because of the talents of Jennifer Garner. Thus, ALIAS - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON is a DVD Box Set that I am more than happy to recommend.

Especially i fyou like to watch Ganer kick some serious butt!

THE LADYKILLERS, THE PUNISHER, JERSEY GIRL and ALIAS - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON are all available now at your favourite local video store.

COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT

SCOOBY-DOO2: MONSTERS UNLEASED is the less than stellar live-action sequel to the 2002 movie that was based on the classic cartoon. The original movie cast of Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini all return, but they should have hired a screenwriter.

In MAN ON FIRE Denzel Washington is a man who seeks vengeance on kidnappers in Mexico.

And HOME ON THE RANGE is an animated film from Walt Disney about some animals who band together to save a farm from foreclosure. Roseanne, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sarah Jessica Parker provide the voices.

I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

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

Nirvana Box Primed For Holiday Success

Although a label spokesperson declined to confirm specifics, Universal Music Enterprises will release a three-CD boxed set from Nirvana in November. Limited editions of the project will include a DVD, which boasts footage of the Kurt Cobain-led band playing at a 1987 house party.

The box is expected to be one of the most in-demand items at music retail this holiday season. High hopes were fueled when portions of the DVD were screened at the recent National Association of Recording Merchandisers conference.

"From what I saw at [NARM] -- which was amazing -- I think it's going to blow everyone away," Newbury Comics music buyer Carl Mello tells Billboard. "It really will out-perform any expectations that customers may have -- even if their expectations are huge."

The boxed set was originally intended for release in Christmas 2001, to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of Nirvana's breakthrough album, "Nevermind." But surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic were thwarted by lawsuits from Cobain's widow Courtney Love, who objected to their planned use of the previously unreleased track "You Know You're Right" in the set.

The artists traded vicious barbs in the press, with Grohl and Novoselic claiming Love "couldn't care less about Nirvana fans. She is using Nirvana's music as a bargaining chip to increase leverage for her personal gain, without any regard for the Nirvana legacy." For her part, Love maintained Cobain was by far the driving force in Nirvana's success, and that Grohl and Novoselic were little more than hired hands.

The dispute was eventually settled in September 2002, with the parties agreeing to earmark "You Know You're Right" for a self-titled Nirvana compilation released on Oct. 29, 2002. The album has gone on to sell 1.45 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while the song rocketed to No. 1 on both Billboard's Modern and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts.

"We were looking forward to releasing unheard Nirvana material for our personal sense of closure," Grohl and Novoselic said before the suit was settled. "As the cycle of life moves forward, we are each living our own lives and moving on to new things. We only wanted to go on with the assurance of knowing that all of Nirvana's music is where it really belongs; in the hearts and minds of millions of people in the world.

As previously reported, Novoselic will revisit his Nirvana past in the upcoming book "Of Grunge & Government: Let's Fix this Broken Democracy!" Due later this month via RDV Books, the volume will also address Novoselic's longstanding work in political activism.

Stars Pack Fourth Quarter Release Schedule

Fourth-quarter releases from U2, Eminem, Alan Jackson, Good Charlotte, Ludacris, Fabolous and Gwen Stefani are fueling excitement among retailers as the industry heads into its key selling season.

Like the same period last year -- which yielded new releases by Jay-Z, OutKast and Nappy Roots -- a jam-packed urban release schedule will likely make up the majority of holiday sales.

Led by the aforementioned Eminem, (whose album will arrive Nov. 16 on Slim Shady/Interscope), and Ludacris (coming in October from Def Jam South), other big urban titles include two from Nelly (Fo' Reel/Universal), as well as sets from P. Diddy (Bad Boy/Universal), Destiny's Child (Sony Urban), Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz (BME/ TVT) and Chingy (Capitol).

Sony Urban will also release new studio efforts from rappers Xzibit and Nas, while Island Def Jam will bow projects by Redman, Ja Rule, Musiq and Ashanti.

Capitol has multiple titles coming, including Slum Village, Dilated Peoples and I-20, as does Atlantic, with sets by Fat Joe, Trick Daddy and T.I.

Other strongly anticipated urban sets coming by year's end are releases from Talib Kweli and Mos Def (Geffen), Guerilla Black (Virgin), Babyface (Arista), and Mario (J).

On the rock side, along with the highly anticipated U2 album, No Doubt frontwoman Stefani's first solo turn, both on Interscope, will likely be big. Also, for the first time in almost 20 years, the original Duran Duran lineup is releasing an album, "Astronaut" (Epic), due Oct. 12. A new set is tentatively due Oct. 26 from Beck (Geffen).

Warner Bros. will bow anticipated releases by Green Day and R.E.M. Also on the horizon are Fountains Of Wayne (S-Curve), the Donnas (Atlantic), Cake (Columbia), Sum 41 (Island) and a mini-album from Modest Mouse (Epic).

Plus, sets are coming from pop singers Mariah Carey (Island Def Jam) and Vanessa Carlton (A&M/Interscope) and soul vocalist Joss Stone (S-Curve).

Greatest-hits sets are expected from Britney Spears (Jive) and Mandy Moore (Epic). Best-ofs from Macy Gray and Korn (both on Epic), Everclear (Capitol), Phil Collins (Atlantic), Def Leppard (IDJ) and Seal (Warner Bros.) will also be on shelves.

Though boxed sets are expected from Al Green and the Rat Pack (both from EMI Music), as well as Bon Jovi (Island/Mercury), the Grateful Dead and Ozzy Osbourne (Sony Legacy), retailers are buzzing about the limited-edition vinyl box from Metallica (Elektra/Rhino Vinyl) and Nirvana's three-CD/one-DVD set on Universal Music Enterprises.

Country veterans Shania Twain (Mercury), Toby Keith (DreamWorks Nashville) and George Strait (MCA) are releasing compilations for the holidays.

There will also be new studio albums from Alan Jackson (Arista), Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street), Keith Urban (Capitol) and LeAnn Rimes (Curb).

"American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard is taking his turn at gospel this season with a J Records release. New material from EMI CMG's Steven Curtis Chapman, Toby Mac and Smokie Norful; Sony Urban's BeBe Winans; Word's Point Of Grace; and Reunion's Michael W. Smith are also slated.

Universal Classics will release an album by opera soprano Renée Fleming as well as Andrea Bocelli's first turn at pop. Sony will release a new Yo Yo Ma collection.

Rereleases of their current albums with new material added will come from Usher, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys and Twista by end of the year.

Ogre and Out for Summer Box Office

The Scottish-braying green ogre of Shrek 2 was the monster of the summer box office, scaring up $436.5 million to help lead Hollywood to a record seasonal take of nearly $4 billion, estimates from the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. showed.

"For the most part, all the surprises of the summer were a matter of degree," says box-office expert Brandon Gray. "With Shrek 2, [you knew] it was a blockbuster going in, but it just did better than anyone could have expected."

A sequel to 2001's Shrek, no slouch itself with $268 million in the domestic bank, Shrek 2 made a single-day record $44.8 million on its first Saturday and never looked back, zooming past the $400 million mark in just 43 days, per Gray's BoxOfficeMojo.com.

The CGI-animated fairy tale not only topped 2003's Finding Nemo as the biggest-grossing feature-length 'toon ever, it topped just about every movie ever made.

Shrek 2, starring the voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy, now stands in third place among the all-time box-office champs, behind only 1997's Titanic ($600.8 million) and 1977's Star Wars ($461 million).

In an absolutely related development, Shrek 3 and just maybe Shrek 4 are already in the works at DreamWorks.

Shrek 2 was one of summer's two mega-movies. The other also featured the number two in its title: Spider-Man 2, which had snared $367.8 million through last weekend.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was the third summer movie to blow past $200 million, but at $247.6 million, it's also the lowest-grossing flick of the boy-wizard franchise.

Likewise, Spider-Man 2 won't make quite as much as its predecessor, Spider-Man, which ruled the 2002 box office with $406 million.

Overall, the Hollywood of 2004 is not the Hollywood of 2002. That year saw ticket sales jump 12 percent. That summer saw attendance grow by 7 percent.

This summer (defined as the first weekend in May through Labor Day weekend) will have seen actual attendance--living, breathing, popcorn-eating bodies--fall by about three-quarters of a percent, down to 637.8 million ticket buyers, Exhibitor Relations estimated.

The drop, though slight, marks the second straight summer of downward-trending attendance. Since 2002, the summertime movie-going public has shrunk by about 17.2 million bodies.

Still, aided by ticket prices reaching an average of $6.25--up more than $1 from five years ago--revenues continue to climb. The summer of 2004 will go down as the hottest one ever in terms of sales, with all films combining to gross $3.986 billion.

"This would be a solid [grade] B summer," says Exhibitor Relations' Paul Dergarabedian. "And you know, I think Hollywood would take a solid B every year."

In all, 11 films crossed the $100 million mark, down from the 16 that hit nine figures in 2003.

To Gray, just about every movie that was expected to do well (Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, et al.) did well. And just about every movie that wasn't expected to do well, didn't do well.

Among the films which saw weak buzz translate into weak box office (relative to cost): Catwoman ($39.4 million domestic gross; reputed $100 budget); King Arthur ($51.3 million; $120 million); and The Stepford Wives ($59.3 million; $90 million).

Other summer washouts: The Olsen twins' New York Minute ($14 million); Brittany Murphy's little-used Little Black Book ($19.8 million); and the so-not-nice-they-made-it-twice Exorcist: The Beginning ($31.2 million).

Adding insult to injury, this stat regarding the biggest summer flop not called Thunderbirds ($6.8 million): Disney's $110 million remake of Around the World in 80 Days, which amounted to about as much box-office business ($23.9 million) as two micro-budget indies--Open Water ($23.2 million) and Napoleon Dynamite ($22.4 million), each produced for less than $1 million.

Still, Gray called the so-so $77 million taken in by The Terminal, a would-be prestige picture from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the biggest disappointment of the summer.

"Going in, it had the pedigree, it had the release date [mid-June] as being the first adult release of the season," says Gray. "It was an unusual, tough sell, but then Tom Hanks is known for taking tough sells and turning them into gold."

This time, instead of running Forrest Gump to the top of the box office, Hanks and his airport drama got stuck in traffic with the likes of The Notebook ($77.4 million), The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement ($75.1 million) and, read it and weep, Garfield: The Movie ($74.7 million).

On paper, Van Helsing, with $120 million in U.S. ticket sales off a reported $160 million budget, would seem to be a big-money loser, but that's only if the paper doesn't include worldwide grosses.

Across the globe, the Hugh Jackman monster mash has more than doubled its pleasure, for an overall haul of $269.5 million, per BoxOfficeMojo.com.

"As time goes by, domestic is just part of the story," Gray says.

No summer movie benefited more from the disposable incomes of overseas audiences than Troy, which managed a respectable $133.2 million for a nearly three-hour, R-rated war movie in the States, but hauled in another $358.4 million from Brad Pitt-worshipping international markets.

Figuring in overseas grosses also helps pretty-up the likes of King Arthur ($158.9 million worldwide) and The Stepford Wives ($94.4 million).

Does that mean there's hope yet for Catwoman?

Says Gray: "No."

Well, there's always DVD...

Here's a look at the top 10 domestic summer films of 2004, according to Exhibitor Relations:

1. Shrek 2, $436.5 million
2. Spider-Man 2, $367.8 million
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, $247.6 million
4. The Day After Tomorrow, $186.2 million
5. The Bourne Supremacy, $157.7 million
6. I, Robot, $140.5 million
7. Troy, $133.2 million
8. Van Helsing, $120 million
9. Fahrenheit 9/11, $117.5 million
10. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, $113.3 million

Jerry Lewis Telethon Raises $59.4M

LOS ANGELES - The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon raised $59.4 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, but organizers said Monday that power outages and other disruptions from Hurricane Frances contributed to a decline over last year.

Donations totaled 1.8 percent less than last year's $60.5 million.

Television stations in the Florida cities of Jacksonville, Sarasota and Gainesville canceled broadcasts of the telethon completely. Other Florida stations showed only the national portions, preventing the broadcast of local segments during which most pledges are made.

Lewis, 78, was assisted during the 21 1/2 hour fund-raiser by Ed McMahon, and the broadcast featured performances by Elton John, Oprah Winfrey, Ray Romano, Tony Orlando and others.

Lewis said the late child poet Mattie Stepanek almost helped the telethon reach its goal. Stepanek, whose inspirational verse made him a best-selling writer, died in June at age 13 from a rare form of muscular dystrophy.

The boy was an advocate for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. His mother, Jeni, and Lewis appealed to telethon viewers to make up for lost contributions from Florida.

"Even now, Mattie continues to perform miracles," Lewis said in a statement after the telethon. "Without the love and hope that Mattie inspired in millions of Americans, there's no way we would have come so close to reaching our goal in the face of such overwhelming odds."

Only one other telethon in the 1980s failed to surpass the previous year's total.

The 39th annual telethon, based in Los Angeles, was shown on nearly 200 TV stations nationwide.

Moore to Pursue Best Picture Oscar

LOS ANGELES - Michael Moore says he won't submit "Fahrenheit 9/11" for consideration as best documentary at this year's Academy Awards. Instead, he's going for the bigger prize of best picture.

Moore's critically acclaimed film slams President Bush's war on terror as ill-advised and corrupt. The movie has cheered Democrats but enraged the president's supporters, who booed Moore when he visited the Republican National Convention last week.

"For me the real Oscar would be Bush's defeat on Nov. 2," Moore told The Associated Press during a phone interview Monday from New York.

The $6 million film has become a sensation that collected $117.3 million in the United States this summer, despite an early roadblock when the Walt Disney Co. banned its Miramax Films division from distributing the political hot-potato.

In the midst of the presidential campaign, Moore's announcement is a strategic move for his Oscar campaign. Documentaries and animated films have their own categories, but the conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that those niche awards can limit a film's appeal in the overall best picture class.

Moore said he and his producing partner, Harvey Weinstein, agreed "Fahrenheit 9/11" would stand a better chance if they focused solely on the top Oscar.

He also said he wanted to be "supportive of my teammates in nonfiction film."

So many documentaries — such as the gonzo fast-food satire "Super Size Me" and the sober look at Arab television news in "Control Room" — have made the rounds in theaters recently that Moore, who won the best documentary Oscar for "Bowling for Columbine," said he wanted to give others a chance.

"It's not that I want to be disrespectful and say I don't ever want to win a (documentary) Oscar again," Moore said. "This just seems like the right thing to do. ... I don't want to take away from the other nominees and the attention that they richly deserve."

Moore also hinted in a recent interview in Rolling Stone he would like the movie to play on television before the presidential election. According to the rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, playing on TV would invalidate its contention in the documentary category, but not for best picture. With the movie coming out on DVD Oct. 5, it's not clear whether the TV deal would happen.

Regardless of who wins the election, Moore said the movie's presence at the Academy Awards in February will provide another forum for Americans to think about its message.

"The issues in the film — terrorism, the war on terrorism, the Iraq war — will be with us five months from now, sadly," Moore said. "The issues that the film raises will be no less relevant, in the new year."

Singer Anita Baker Returns After 10-Year Break

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Timeless hits like "Sweet Love" may have transformed sultry singer Anita Baker into an international star, but after 10 years as a stay-at-home mom, her young sons offer a more humble assessment of her career.

"Their friends at school used to tell them, 'Your mom's famous!"' Baker told Reuters in an interview. "And they would say, 'No, she used to sing -- (now) she's retired."'

Indeed, it may have seemed like retirement for Baker when she dropped from sight after her 1994 album "Rhythm of Love," for which she earned her eighth Grammy Award. Baker's hiatus ends this month with "My Everything" (Blue Note), the 46-year-old vocalist's first album of new songs in a decade.

Her sons, now aged 11 and 10, were not completely wrong about their mom, who has sold more than 13 million albums.

Once the touring and excitement from "Rhythm of Love" simmered down, she retreated to tend to family matters, namely raising her babies and caring for ailing elders.

"Unfortunately, I buried my parents during that time, and my cousin," she said. "But, it's part of living life -- the same thing that you have been doing, I have been doing. When the time was right I was able to get up from the grief and the pots and pans in the kitchen, and the extra pounds."

Some things haven't changed. Baker still wears her trademark short hairstyle that sets free the warmth of her smile and bobs a little when the animated performer speaks.

Her album features collaborations with producer Barry Eastmond and singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. She hopes its familiar sound reconnects with the sort of faithful fans who have flocked back in recent years to acts like Steely Dan and Sade when they returned from professional hibernation.

"My Everything" continues the thread Baker established with songs like 1988's "Giving You The Best That I Got." Still in stride, she croons lush, lyrical stories of love, life and maturity that simmer with emotion -- all delivered in expansive style with her smoky, full-bodied alto voice.

HELLO, BLUE NOTE?

"That I would sound pretty much the same in 2004 as I did in 1995 is because I have creative control. And I always want my product to be what's in my heart, so I'm writing and in the sessions. It sounds like me because I'm there," she said.

The album's 10 songs include the tune "Men in My Life," an ode to her two sons and husband Walter Bridgeforth, whom she married in 1988.

Two years ago, Baker, who has a reputation as a tenacious businesswoman, was still seeking the right partner to work on her new project. She left Elektra Records after some legal sparring, and another label deal fell through.

She eventually found her way to prestigious jazz imprint Blue Note Records at the urging of industry heavyweight Bruce Lundvall, president and chief executive of EMI Jazz & Classics, the parent of Blue Note.

"I called him," she said of Lundvall. "I was basically just looking for a home. So I said, 'Can I just come over there and do a little jazz record?"'

Blue Note's artists typically are not household names, but Lundvall has had a knack for finding critical gems in eclectic jazz vocalists including Cassandra Wilson, Diane Reeves and Rachelle Ferrelle.

She invited Lundvall to attend a sold-out performance in New York in 2002. Afterwards, he told Baker, "Your audience is still here -- and Blue Note wants to be here, so let's get it done," she recalled.

What began as a humble urge to satisfy her jazz yearnings turned out to be a savvy move by Baker, as Blue Note's cache soared thanks to the blockbuster success of singer Norah Jones. With a debut album that sold 6 million copies, Jones' broad, genre-crossing ascent mirrored that of Baker 15 years earlier.

Still, with "My Everything" due in stores on Tuesday, Baker remains semi-retired. Although the lead single, "You're My Everything," is already topping the charts, Baker does not plan to fully promote her album with U.S. concert dates until mid-2005, perhaps coinciding with the start of the summer season.

"Back in the day, the music industry was my God," she said. "But I have got kids, and I can't do a tour unless they are out of school."

Looney Tunes Get A Second Volume of "The Golden Collection"

Looney Tunes finally made it to DVD in the form of the Golden Collection along with several smaller collections last year. The second set is set to arrive this winter.

For all who rightly place Looney Tunes alongside Mom, apple pie and web-surfing at work as American institutions, this is your time to rise and shine and watch. Yes, here on 4 discs you'll find 60 more of the finest, funniest, bestest Golden Era cartoons from the feverishly bent artistic minds at Termite Terrace.

Disc 1 showcases a certain wascally wabbit. The happiness of pursuit is center stage in Disc 2 and 3's respective batches of Road Runner and Sylvester/Tweety fun. Disc 4 is an all-star cavalcade of Hollywood parodies and more.

All 60 toons are restored, remastered, uncut. And each disc is chock-a-block with bonus goodies. It's a 24-carrot gem of a collection. Anything less would be dethpicable.

Features haven’t been finalized, but the shorts included will be The Big Snooze, Broomstick Bunny, Bugs Bunny Rides Again, Bunny Hugged, French Rabbit, Gorilla My Dreams, The Hare-Brained Hypnotist, Hare Conditioned, The Heckling Hare, Little Red Riding Rabbit, Tortoise Beats Hare, Rabbit Transit, Slick Hare, Baby Buggy Bunny, Hyde and Hare, Beep Beep, Going Going Gosh, Zipping Along Stop Look and Hasten, Ready Set Zoom, Guided Muscle, Gee Whiz-z-z-z, There They Go-Go-Go, Scarambled Aches, Zoom and Bored, Whoa Be Gone, Cheese Chasers, The Dover Boys, Mouse Wreckers, Bear for Punishment, Bad Ol' Putty Tat, All Abir-r-r-d, Room and Bird, Tweet Tweet Tweety, Gift Wrapped, Ain't She Tweet, A Bird in a Guilty Cage, Snow Business, Tweety Pie, Kitty Kornered, Baby Bottleneck, Old Glory, The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, Duck Soup to Nuts, Porky in Wackyland (B/W), Back Alley Oproar, Book Revue, Corny Concerto, Have You Got Any Castles, Hollywood Steps Out, I Love to Singa, Katnip Kollege, The Hep Cat, Three Little Bops, One Froggy Evening, Rhapsody Rabbit, Show Biz Bugs, Stage Door Cartoon What's Opera Doc and You Ought To Be in Pictures.

The set will arrive on November 2nd.

Chinese 'Hero' Still Tops at Holiday Box Office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Chinese martial arts thriller "Hero" held onto the No. 1 slot at the North American box office during the U.S. Labor Day holiday, helping to consign four newcomers to a quick oblivion.

"Hero," released by Miramax Films, earned about $9 million in the three days beginning Sept. 3, according to estimates provided on Sunday by two rival studios. Officials from Walt Disney Co. -owned Miramax were not available for comment.

Directed by Zhang Yimou, "Hero" stars action hero Jet Li as a nameless warrior in the third century BC. It was released in China two years ago, and nominated for a foreign-language Oscar last year.

The adventure comedy "Without a Paddle" rose one place to No. 2 with a three-day sum of $7.1 million in its third weekend, said its distributor, Paramount Pictures. Its total rose to $37.9 million.

It swapped places with Sony Pictures' reptilian sequel "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid" with $6.4 million in its second round, and a 10-day haul of $22.3 million.

"Paparazzi" was the best of the new releases, opening at No. 4 with just $6.3 million, said distributor, Twentieth Century Fox. The film, from Mel Gibson's Icon production company, revolves around an action star (played by Cole Hauser), who hunts down a gang of criminal photographers, led by Tom Sizemore.

"The Cookout," an urban comedy starring newcomer Quran Pender as a basketball star who throws a neighborhood barbecue, opened at No. 5 with $5.6 million, said distributor Lions Gate Films, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp .

The psychological drama "Wicker Park," starring Josh Hartnett in a remake of the French film "L'Appartement," opened with $5.4 million, according to distributor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc . It tied at No. 6 with Disney's romantic comedy "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," which has earned $83.4 million after four weekends.

"Vanity Fair," a period drama starring Reese Witherspoon in director Mira Nair's adaptation of the William Makepeace Thackeray novel, opened at No. 8 with $4.9 million. Since its Wednesday release, it has earned $6.0 million, said distributor Focus Features.

The Labor Day weekend is traditionally one of the slowest of the year as Americans fire up their barbecues one last time for the final holiday of the summer. The next few weekends promise to be similarly quiet as well.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AT 7:15 AM - September 3, 2004

VAN HALEN TO ROCK IN SASKATCHEWAN

Eddie, Alex, Michael, and Sammy Set Credit Union Centre (Saskatoon) Concert
For Thursday, October 28

Tickets On Sale September 11, 2004 @ 9:30AM

VAN HALEN: Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and Sammy Hagar will be performing in Saskatoon on Thursday, October 28th at the Credit
Union Centre. Tickets are set to go on sale to the public on Saturday,
September 11th at 9:30 AM.

Since Van Halen's seminal debut album in 1978, the band has set the template
for hard rock and heavy metal, continually attracting legions of fervent
fans. Van Halen in concert will be performing songs from their 25-year
career including hits from their current double CD, The Best Of Both Worlds,
Top of the World," "When It's Love," "Why Can't This Be Love," "Right Now,"
"Dreams," "Jump," "Best of Both Worlds," "Panama," and "Love Walks In."

Sammy Hagar was the Van Halen front man from 1985-1996. During that period, all Van Halen studio albums, 5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance, as well as Best of Van Halen Volume I, went straight to #1 on the Billboard charts. Live: Right Here, Right Now peaked at #5. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge won a GRAMMY Award for "Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal" in 1991.

The GRAMMY Award-winning band has sold more than 75 million albums
worldwide. Twelve Van Halen albums have been certified multi-Platinum.
Additionally, the band's eponymous debut album and 1984 have both reached
Diamond status, recognizing sales in excess of 10 million units each. The
band holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most Number One rock
tracks (11) at album radio.

Van Halen has teamed up with iloveallaccess.com to offer the ultimate fan
experience featuring a variety of premium ticket packages. For more details
go to www.iloveallaccess.com.

General public tickets will be on sale on Saturday, September 11th at 9:30
AM.

Tickets available through all Ticketmaster Outlets,

Charge By Phone at 306-938-7800 or 1-800-970-7328, or order online at
www.ticketmaster.ca

Jolie Dumps Croft

Angelina Jolie is getting out of the Tomb Raiding business, saying she would not be reprising her role as Lara Croft again. Jolie plays aviatrix Franky Cook in this month's SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.

Terry Gilliam Movie Saskatchewan Bound

TORONTO (CP) -- Writer-director Terry Gilliam is bringing his sense of the fantastic and bizarre to Saskatchewan.

The acclaimed British director, known for such magical and surreal films as Brazil, Twelve Monkeys and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, will shoot Tideland in Regina and picturesque Qu'Appelle valley for 10 weeks starting Sept. 27.

The script is based on Mitch Cullin's acclaimed southern gothic novel of the same name and is written by Gilliam and Tony Grisoni.

Nine-year-old Vancouver actress Jodelle Ferland stars in the lead role, Jeliza-Rose. The cast also includes Brendan Fletcher of Comox, B.C., Jennifer Tilly and Janet McTeer.

Tideland is described as a fable about an abandoned girl's life and the fantasies that help her escape the harsh reality of her childhood.

The Canada-U.K. co-production involves Toronto-based Capri Films and the U.K.'s Recorded Picture Co.

"Terry and I have been developing this project for many years and I am thrilled with the involvement of (co-producer) Gabriella Martinelli and Capri to realize this film in Canada," Jerry Thomas, chairman of Recorded Picture, said Thursday in a release.

'Generations' DVD lost in space

The Star Trek universe is no longer unfolding as it should: Paramount Home Entertainment yesterday suspended the Sept. 7 release of the Special Collector's Edition of the 1994 hit film Star Trek: Generations.

Due to a technical error that left two promised trailers missing from the set, Tuesday's release has been recalled. It could take weeks to get the set re-packaged, re-marketed and re-issued, Paramount officials said.

Everything else promised on the package is on the set, including three hours of bonus materials. They include a commentary by co-writers Brannon Braga and Ron Moore, production documentaries, visual effects insights, three scene deconstructions, a Picard family album, three deleted scenes, an alternate ending and live premiere footage.

But two measly trailers totalling three or four minutes of running time -- one a teaser, the other the theatrical trailer -- went AWOL and ruined the release. It sounds trivial, but Paramount officials do not want to risk alienating their hard-core Trek fans by promising something on the DVD cover that is not included inside.

When the new sets come out later this fall, the trailers still will not be included, but the packaging will not list them in the contents. Yesterday's decision could end up costing Paramount millions of dollars and frustrate millions of Trekkies, who have eagerly gobbled up the series of Special Collector's Editions of the Star Trek movie catalogue.

Generations is the film that combined key members of the two most famous Star Trek casts, the original one led by Canadian William Shatner as Cpt. James T. Kirk and the Next Generation one led by Englishman Patrick Stewart as Cpt. Jean-Luc Picard. Stewart was supposed to be in Toronto last weekend to meet Trek fans at a convention but cancelled due to illness.

Deadline Arrives for 'Fahrenheit,' 'Super Size Me'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Even though Michael Moore has been covering the Republican National Convention, he probably hasn't forgotten one significant date.

Wednesday, Sept. 1 is the official submission deadline for short subject or feature-length documentaries that are seeking Oscar consideration for the upcoming 77th Academy Awards.

The record-breaking success of Moore's controversial "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- his take on President Bush's handling of the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq war -- has made 2004 the year of the documentary. Although a nomination is fairly assured, it remains to be seen whether the filmmaker can earn a second Oscar after his win for 2002's "Bowling for Columbine."

The second most popular documentary for the year is Morgan Spurlock's "Super Size Me," in which the filmmaker examines the effects on his health from eating three square McDonald's meals daily for a month. A nice bit of controversy also surrounded this film, with the fast food giant crying fowl -- that is, foul -- for its negative depiction.

Other likely contenders include: "Control Room," about the Arab news outlet Al Jazeera; "Riding Giants," abut surfing massive waves; musical docs "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," "Mayor of the Sunset Strip" and "Festival Express"; "Bukowski: Born Into This" and Disney's "America's Heart and Soul."

To qualify for consideration, filmmakers must submit a synopsis of the film, a 12-month theatrical exhibition plan, film credits, filmographies of the director/producer, scene stills, 20 video copies of the film and proof of qualifying exhibition.

Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 25. The 77th Academy Awards will be televised live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, Feb. 27.

Gabriel Upgrades Videos For Fall DVD

Peter Gabriel is at his U.K.-based Real World studios with Canadian producer Daniel Lanois to remix tracks for an as-yet-untitled DVD compilation of his videos, due for worldwide release Oct. 21 via Warner Vision. Gabriel says that the project will allow viewers to experience such classic videos as "Sledgehammer" and "Red Rain" in 5.1 surround sound.

"The project has been on the cards for some time, and now seems to be the perfect timing," the artist tells Billboard.com. "Daniel is doing mixes that will sometimes sound better than the originals. For a musician, it is fantastic to have access to 5.1 technology. It is a much wider sound -- there's more clarity."

Lanois previously worked with Gabriel on 1986's "So" and 1992's "Us". He says 5.1 technology will allow listeners "to discover the different layers of sound. It's almost like revealing the architects' plans."

Some videos will also be re-edited, and in some cases, new images will be added. "We won't touch the better ones, but on some others we will have new material," Gabriel reveals.

The DVD will comprise 18-20 tracks, including "Biko," "Digging in the Dirt," "Shock the Monkey," "Games Without Frontiers" and "Don't Give Up." Gabriel says his personal favorite videos are "Sledgehammer," "Mercy Street" and "Digging in the Dirt," while Lanois goes for the lesser known "Zaara" and "Lovetown."

"We haven't completed the sequencing yet," says Gabriel. "I guess we'll go for a recommended order and then people will be free to re-arrange it."

What!??!

Jessica Simpson kicked off the Fifth Annual Latin Grammy Awards from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Wednesday.

Being Latina was obviously not a key qualification for the gig.

"Late Late" Guest Host Hoedown

Who wants to guest host the Late Late Show?

That's the question CBS executives are asking this week as they frantically line up talent to sub for former host Craig Kilborn, who left the show last Friday after five years.

Kilborn caught CBS off guard last month when, in the middle of contract negotiations, he announced he was not returning to his 12:35 a.m. show. Now, the Eyeball has its eyes on two other members of David Letterman's Worldwide Pants production crew for weeklong gusting duties, according to Variety. Ed actor and frequent VH1 pop culture pundit Michael Ian Black has made the cut, as has Strangers with Candy funny lady Amy Sedaris.

Both Sedaris and Black are under contract with Worldwide Pants and are no strangers to the world of late-night television. Sedaris performed several well-received skits on Letterman earlier this year.

Other names that pass the smell test, according to published reports, include sports-radio personality Jim Rome and actor-comedian D.L. Hughley.

Who goes on first and for how long remains unclear at this stage--CBS has so far declined to comment on the search.

Fans of Vince Vaughn will be disappointed to know that despite Vaughn's friendship with Kilborn and his brilliant fill-in work for Letterman during Dave's medical hiatus last year, the actor will not be guest hosting for the Late Late Show. Vaughn's publicist confirmed Wednesday that Vaughn is busy with feature-film projects and will not take on additional work.

The Late Late Show remains in reruns for another three weeks before CBS starts bringing out the guest hosts September 20.

U2 Reveals New Album Track Names

NEW YORK (Billboard) - U2 has revealed the names of six of the 11 tracks, including first single "Vertigo," on its as-yet-untitled album, due Nov. 23 via Interscope.

Other songs include "A Man and a Woman," "Crumbs From Your Table," "Yahweh," "City of Blinding Lights" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own." "Vertigo" is due to arrive at U.S. radio outlets in late September.

Band members previously named the songs "Tough" and "Full Metal Jacket" as contenders for the album, but it is unknown if they have made the final cut.

The upcoming release will be the follow-up to 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind," which has sold more than 4 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. A world tour is expected to launch early next year.

In other U2 news, frontman Bono was scheduled to appear Sept. 1 on the Fox News Channel show "The O'Reilly Factor" live from the Republican National Convention in New York.

Bono will kick off the 2004-2005 International Speaker series with an Oct. 20 speech at Portland, Ore.'s Rose Garden Arena. The event is sponsored by World Affairs Council of Oregon. Tickets go on sale Sept. 13 via Ticketmaster.

The Enterprise waits in the Nexus

Paramount Home Entertainment has issued a recall on Star Trek: Generations which was due for release on September 7th. No reason has been given, but may have to do with the inconsistency of features on the disc versus the feature listing on the packaging (the box lists theatrical trailers which are not on the disc). Hopefully, if this is the case, the trailer will be added to the disc rather than removed from the packaging since Generations is currently the only Trek film without a trailer on any disc.

Don’t rush to Ebay however, the disc will likely be released soon.

Identity Recovered
 
The Bourne Supremacy took in over $150 million (and counting) at the box office and Universal Studios Home Video will launch the thriller on DVD on December 7th, in separate anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions.

Each includes English, French and Spanish Dolby 5.1 surround tracks, and while the full specs are not yet in, goodies will include audio commentary, making-of featurettes, deleted scenes and trailers.

The Contender
 
Just in from MGM Home Entertainment is their December lineup of new catalog releases, which will be quite an extensive slate led by a number of highly-awaited favorites.

Hot on the heels of Warner's recent Martin Scorsese box set, MGM will also pull two more gems from its library and give them the full-tilt special edition treatment on December 14th. Making its DVD debut is the director's somewhat maligned musical New York New York. Presented in non-anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen and Dolby 5.1 surround, extras include a new audio commentary by Scorsese, deleted scenes and alternate takes, a still gallery and theatrical trailers.

Even more highly awaited is the director's Oscar-winning Raging Bull, which will get the full anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround treatment.

Extras include commentary by Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, plus additional cast and crew and "Storytellers" commentary (participants TBA), the "Before the Fight: Writing and Casting," "INside the Ring," "After the Fight" and "The Bronx Bull" featurettes, "LaMotta Defends Title" and "De Niro vs. La Motta" vignettes, the theatrical trailer and a collectible booklet.

MGM will also release The Martin Scorsese Film Collection box, which will include both of the above and the previously released Boxcar Bertha and The Last Waltz, for $69.95.

More great catalog reissues include, at long last, David Lynch's Wild at Heart, which will make its DVD debut on December 7th. Remastered in anamorphic widescreen and Dolby 5.1, new extras include a new documentary, "David Lynch on the DVD" featurette, an interactive map with additional interviews, a still gallery, the original EPK, and trailers and TV spots.

Rounding out MGM's holiday lineup is another batch of library titles, all due on December 7th. Watch for Jinxed!, Daddy's Dyin'...So Who's Got the Will?, Hi, Mom!, Out Cold, Hound of the Baskervilles, Young Doctors in Love, Smooth Talk and the Robert Englund horror remake The Phantom of the Opera. All are presented in anamorphic widescreen except for Young Doctors in Love, which is non-anamorphic widescreen, and Out Cold, which is full screen only. There are no extras aside from trailers.

'Star Trek' Actor Doohan Receives Star

LOS ANGELES - "Star Trek" actor James Doohan — famed for his portrayal of "Beam Me Up" Scotty, the intrepid engineer who kept the starship Enterprise warping across galaxies — grinned and waved to fans Tuesday as he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It was expected to be the last public appearance of the 84-year-old performer, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and also suffers from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and lung fibrosis.

The ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard was the culmination of several days of farewell activities that brought Doohan back into contact with many of this longtime fans.

George Takei, who played Sulu on "Star Trek," told the crowd: "This is a galactic day in this town full of stars.

"We've gathered from throughout this planet to say congratulations to you, Jimmy," Takei said. "We love you and we thank you for your luminous talent. We thank you for the gift you have given us of that unforgettable character, that ingenious and beloved engineer that was able to fix anything."

Other "Star Trek" cast members to attend were Nichelle Nichols, who was Uhura on the series, and Walter Koenig, who played Chekov.

"He's a wonderful friend, a beautiful person," Nichols said of Doohan. "There is no one better than he, and no one more deserving. We all love this man."

Koenig said he felt great companionship with Doohan after decades of working together, from the original TV series in 1966 to their last film in 1994, "Star Trek: Generations."

"This star is a recognition of a man's talent, his endurance and the effect that he's had on people all over the world," Koenig said.

Doohan did not speak to the crowd, but he waved and posed for photos before leaving with his family.

Charlize Theron Hurt on Germany Film Set

LOS ANGELES - Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron was injured while shooting her new Paramount film, "Aeon Flux," in Germany, but her representatives aren't saying how badly she was hurt.

Theron suffered the unspecified injury while doing her own stunts in a wire-hanging action sequence, the movie's publicist, Jeanmarie Carrasco, told The Associated Press Tuesday.

"No cuts, no broken bones," Carrasco said. "I think it was something less tangible than that. ... Something vague and nagging."

No one else was hurt, Carrasco added.

Filming in Berlin has been halted for several weeks to allow Theron to recover. It wasn't known if the injury would require script changes or when the movie would resume production.

Theron's publicist said the 29-year-old actress wasn't hospitalized.

"She did sustain an injury on the set. It's a very physically demanding role," said Theron publicist Amanda Silverman.

"Aeon Flux" is set centuries in the future at a time when a plague has wiped out most of the population. Theron plays the title character, a sleek, sexy commando who is part of a rebellion against the remaining government.

The "Aeon Flux" story was once depicted in a series of animated shorts on MTV.

Theron, who won an Academy Award for her role in "Monster," stars in "Head in the Clouds," set for release Sept. 17. She follows up her best-actress Oscar as a French socialite living it up on the eve of World War II.

'The Passion' Sells 2.4 Million DVDs

LOS ANGELES - The DVD of Mel Gibson's biblical epic "The Passion of the Christ" went on sale Tuesday and sold 2.4 million copies by midday.

"We think a lot of the consumers will be going in after work to pick it up," said Steve Feldstein, spokesman for Fox Home Entertainment, which is distributing the DVD. Total one-day sales figures for the movie were expected Wednesday.

"The Passion," starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus, earned more than $370 million at the North American box office, making it the second-most popular movie of the year behind "Shrek 2."

The film was also one of the most controversial movies in years. Besides its violent depiction of the crucifixion, some Jewish organizations complained it might spark a rise in anti-Semitism by blaming ancient Jewish people for killing Christ.

"Finding Nemo" holds the record for one-day DVD sales with about 8 million, but it's unclear how that movie was selling by midday on the day of its release, said Scott Hettrick, editor in chief of DVD Exclusive magazine.

"This is really good, but it's really hard to do an apple-to-apple comparison," he said. "It's been less than a handful of movies that have done first-day sales reporting."

He said "The Passion" is on track to sell as well as other Hollywood blockbusters such as "Spider-Man" and "The Lord of the Rings" movies, which topped out between 15 million and 18 million total DVD sales.

Churches and religious groups were active in trying to promote the movie to their congregations, sometimes buying huge blocks of theater tickets for sale to parishioners. Many DVDs were paid for well in advance and picked up Tuesday.

Fox Home Entertainment reported that each customer bought an average of 1.8 copies of the DVD.

Filmed in Aramaic and Latin, the movie was sold with English subtitles on VHS for $24.98, and English and Spanish subtitles on DVD for $29.98.

An update on Ed Wood

New info has been made available on the elusive appearance of Ed Wood on DVD. The disc has been given a new October 19th release date, but with a couple modifications. Well, just one change actually. The featurette on the history of cross-dressing has been removed apparently at the request of director Tim Burton.