New Hannibal Lecter Book Due Late 2005
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ever wondered what made Hannibal a cannibal?
The answer will come when Thomas Harris' new novel about serial killer Hannibal Lecter, "Behind the Mask," is published next year.
"Millions of readers in 25 languages have wondered how Dr. Lecter developed his particular appetite for evil. This novel will satisfy their curiosity," publisher Bantam Dell said in a statement announcing the book would be ready late in 2005.
Chillingly brought to the screen by Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 film "The Silence of the Lambs," Hannibal Lecter is due to be back on movie screens for another outing based on the new novel. Film rights for the book have been acquired by The Dino De Laurentiis Company, producer of "Red Dragon" and "Hannibal."
"Behind the Mask" will be the fourth book about Hannibal, who first appeared in "Red Dragon."
"Hannibal," the third book in the series, was a number one New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller, with sales of nearly 1.5 million hardcovers in 1999 and more than 3 million paperbacks.
Irwyn Applebaum, president of Bantam Dell Publishing Group, part of Random House, called Harris, "the premier novelist of psychological suspense of our time" and said Lecter was "the literary figure to whom all other villains are compared."
Random House is a division of Bertelsmann .
Lavigne Says Fake Pop Starlets Are 'Pathetic'
CLEVELAND (Billboard) - With Ashlee Simpson in the news this week following a disastrous lip-synching appearance on "Saturday Night Live," Canadian pop singer Avril Lavigne says it's "pathetic" that some young artists don't sing on their own record or on stage.
While she can relate to the pressures of learning how to play live and work an audience for the first time, Lavigne says she takes exception to the practice of lip-synching.
"You know what? There are a lot of people out there today, who have become stars or famous musicians -- I wouldn't really define them as a star -- with a record only because they have connections and only because they have money and for the wrong reasons," Lavigne, 20, told Billboard.com.
"And it sucks. Actually, I know for a fact there are some young female artists who don't even sing on their own records and who don't sing live. And that is pathetic."
Ashlee Simpson, the younger sister of fellow reality TV starlet, Jessica Simpson, was caught out during her "SNL" appearance when a pre-recorded vocal track started playing as she held her microphone to her side. She initially blamed her band, and then a sore throat that prevented her from singing live.
Lavigne, who is six days older than Simpson, added, "I got signed because of my voice. That's what (then-Arista head Antonio) 'L.A.' Reid signed me on. He said, 'Wow, you are only 15 and you can really sing. I'm going to sign you.' And I've never lip-synced once."
Lavigne is in the midst of a North American tour to promote her newly released second album "Under My Skin," which has sold 1.8 million copies to date in the United States. She drops in on Hampton, Va., Oct. 30.
She says she's more confident than ever. On stage, she's singing, playing piano and even showing off her drum chops on one song.
While she has been doing a little writing on tour, and live material is being gathered for an eventual DVD release, there is no timetable for her next project. Said Lavigne, "No, I'm going to be out here for a while."
Lavigne recorded the theme song for the upcoming "SpongeBob SquarePants" soundtrack, due Nov. 9 via Sire.
"I sang the theme song but did my own version for the movie," she said. "I had never done anything like that before so I said that would be kind of cool. You know, a good experience. I just did a rockier version -- a me version of it."
Springsteen draws 100,000 to cheer Kerry
Bruce Springsteen sent megastar wattage pumping through John Kerry's presidential campaign Thursday, rocking crowds of over 100,000 people in swing states Wisconsin and Ohio.
"The Boss," famed for hits including Born in the USA, said the Democratic candidate had lived his country's history and was a guardian of the gritty working folk and American fables that people his songs.
In Madison, Wisconsin, thousands of spectators packed balconies on neat wooden houses along a mile-long stretch of road climbing up the Midwest state's white Capitol, packed with what fire chiefs said was at least 80,000 people.
"As a songwriter I've written about America for 30 years, tried to write about who we are, what we stand for, and what we fight for," said Springsteen, who has never before endorsed a presidential candidate.
Springsteen said Kerry shared his fight for "human principles" of economic justice, healing the sick, healthcare, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and a "sane foreign policy."
"I believe that Senator Kerry honors these ideals. He has lived our history over the past 50 years. He has an informed and adult view of America and its people."
"He's shown us starting as a young man that by facing America's hard truths, both the good and bad that that's where we find a deeper patriotism," the rocker said, as golden leaves floated from the trees onto his stage.
Sox Win Throws Curve to Barrymore Movie
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Boston Red Sox's historic World Series baseball win Wednesday has forced a rewrite of a sports-based romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon.
Fox's "Fever Pitch," which is set during the 2004 Red Sox season, stars Barrymore as a woman who falls for Fallon's Red Sox-obsessed sports addict. It is in production in Toronto and depicts the Red Sox losing just as the baseball team has for the past 85 years.
"We had gone into the movie anticipating that the Red Sox would not win the World Championship, and it would be another dismal ending for them, but love would conquer all," said Peter Farrelly, who is directing with brother Bobby. "But what happened because of this turn of events, we now have the double whammy of a happy love story and a championship team at the same time."
Because of the reversal of fortune, screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who Americanized English author Nick Hornby's football novel, have been in rewrite mode to incorporate the championship run.
"Since Game 4 of the Yankee series, when the Red Sox pulled it out and started turning the tide, (Ganz and Mandel) were writing on an hour-by-hour basis," Farrelly said.
The production shot in Boston's Fenway Park last month, incorporating actual games into the movie. When it looked as if the team was going to clinch the World Series title, a skeleton crew including the actors flew to St. Louis to shoot a scene or two at the final game.
"Had we made this ending up, it would have been considered too trite," said Nancy Juvonen, a producer on the film. "Now the happy ending isn't just for our couple, it's a happy ending for the team and all underdogs."