'Star Wars: Episode III' Trailer Debuts

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Darth Vader is coming.

George Lucas disciples will have a chance to view the new trailer for "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" on entertainment newsmagazine "Access Hollywood" on Thursday night, Nov. 4.

The preview includes a hooded Anakin Skywalker with eerie glowing red eyes, Chewbacca leading a group of Wookies in an attack and the Emperor wielding a lightsaber.

According to Internet buzz, the trailer also features a battle scene with a prototype of the X-Wing fighter and the lines "A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights. He betrayed and murdered your father," spoken by Obi-Wan.

"Episode III" is set two years into the Clone Wars, when Chancellor Palpatine, with the help of his clone army and Sith Warriors, prepares to rid the galaxy of the Jedis in order to declare himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire. The film sets up the mysterious circumstances in which 1977's "Episode IV" begins, namely: Anakin's capitulation to the dark side of The Force and the birth -- and subsequent separation -- of twins Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker.

"Access Hollywood" will show the "Episode III" trailer in its entirety before it's released nationwide with "The Incredibles" on Friday, Nov. 5. The final installment of the sci-fi prequel trilogy hits theaters in a galaxy not so far away on May 19, 2005.

ULTIMATE MATRIX

The ULTIMATE MATRIX COLLECTION DVD set will be the collection to own for all MATRIX fans. The 10-disc set will feature the three MATRIX movies with new supplemental materials, including new commentary tracks on each movie. It will also include a remastered version of the first movie as well as the companion pieces THE MATRIX REVISITED and THE ANIMATRIX.

Every aspect of the MATRIX universe will be included on the DVDs such as footage from the ENTER THE MATRIX video-game as well as more than 100 featurettes and documentaries.

The ULTIMATE MATRIX COLLECTION will be available on December 7 at a suggested price of $79.92. For hard-core fans, a limited edition of the collection will feature a Neo minibust figurine and an 80-page collector's book for a suggested price of $129.92.

11 Films 'Toon Up for Oscar

A family of superheroes is vying for Oscar glory. And we're not talking about the Justice League.

Disney-Pixar's buzz-heavy 'toon The Incredibles, which opens Friday, tops this year's slate of eligible contenders for this year's Best Animated Feature Film Oscar unveiled by the folks at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

But giving the superheroes a run for their money will be DreamWorks' megahit sequel Shrek 2 and undersea adventure Shark Tale (which happens to feature a lead character named Oscar), along with Nickelodeon's upcoming The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and director Robert Zemeckis' The Polar Express, featuring Tom Hanks in six animated parts.

Thursday's announcement means Zemeckis can exhale: the Oscar-winning director had feared his film might not qualify in the animation category because it uses a brand new technique called performance capture, for which Hanks and costars acted out their roles in live action, while technicians later converted the performances to CGI.

Other films qualifying include Disney's Home on the Range and Teacher's Pet; DreamWorks' cyberpunk anime thriller by Mamoru Oshii, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence; and Warner Bros.' Clifford's Really Big Movie. Sky Blue and The Legend of Buddha round out the list of contenders.

With 11 deemed eligible, the Best Animated Feature category will be activated for the fourth year in a row. The Academy's 40-member governing board will now whittle the list down to three finalists by Dec. 14.

According to Academy criteria, if more than eight but fewer than 16 flicks qualify, three films will be nominated in that category. If more than 16 qualify, then five films can be nominated. Last year, for instance, because there were fewer eligible films, only three 'toons made the grade: Brother Bear, The Triplets of Belleville and the winner, Finding Nemo.

This year's troika will be announced with the rest of the Academy Award nominations on Jan. 25.

The Academy decided to launch the Animated Feature category in 2000. The first new Oscar category in 20 years, which was created at the behest of animators who felt slighted, aims to honor those 'toons that were shut out of the Best Picture competition and/or were too long for the Animated Short category.

To qualify for Best Animated Feature, a film must be a minimum of 70 minutes, contain more than 75 percent animation and utilize one of three styles: traditional cel drawing, stop-motion or computer-generated animation. They must also open theatrically in Los Angeles prior to Dec. 31.

Reality Contest for 'Saturday Night Live' Berth

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The always fierce competition among comics to land a gig on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" is set to become the basis of a reality series for the network.

Sources said NBC is working on a reality-competition series fronted by "SNL" creator/executive producer Lorne Michaels. The project would chronicle a group of comedians vying for a grand prize that is believed to be a role on the long-running sketch comedy series.

Michaels is expected to play a Donald Trump-like role, winnowing the pool of contestants until a victor is selected. Sources indicated that the project is eyed for a possible summer launch. NBC declined comment.

Michaels got his taste of getting tough on reality series contestants in a "SNL" parody skit of NBC's reality hit "The Apprentice" last season, in which he took over Trump's role and "fired" cast member Jimmy Fallon. NBC already has a track record in turning talent searches into a successful reality series with "Last Comic Standing."

Eminem, Snoop CDs Pushed Up Due to Piracy

NEW YORK (Billboard) - High-profile albums from rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg will be released ahead of schedule because of piracy concerns, their distributor Interscope Geffen A&M Records said Thursday.

Eminem's "Encore" (Interscope) originally scheduled for Nov. 16, has been moved up to Nov. 12. The set can already be found in its entirety on the Internet.

Additionally, Snoop Dogg's Geffen album "R&G (Rhythm & Gansta): The Masterpiece," originally due Nov. 23, has been shifted to Nov. 16.

Eminem is no stranger to shifting release dates due to online leaks. His last studio album, "The Eminem Show," was moved forward nine days from its original release date.

Bono, McCartney Join Band Aid 20 Lineup

LONDON (Billboard) - Paul McCartney, U2 frontman Bono, Robbie Williams and Dido are among the performers lined up for the new recording of the all-star Band Aid charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas."

The tune, which will be credited to Band Aid 20 in acknowledgement of the anniversary of the 1984 release, will be issued Nov. 29 in the U.K. on Mercury/Universal.

Others on board include Snow Patrol and Natasha Bedingfield. McCartney will play bass on the track and Bono will reprise one of the most famous lines in the original lyric: "Well tonight, thank God it's them instead of you."

McCartney, Williams and Dido are understood to be recording their parts separately from the Nov. 14 session at London's Air Studios; Williams recorded the whole track in Los Angeles on Monday.

British artist Damien Hirst will design the sleeve artwork for the release, which will raise money for the Band Aid Trust's famine relief in Africa, specifically in the blighted Darfur region of Sudan.

Travis' Fran Healy will play guitar on the recording. "It's dead exciting," he told Billboard.com. "When it was first recorded, I was 11 and I went everywhere looking for it and I couldn't find it, and now we're going to do the follow-up to it. It's going to be great, McCartney's doing it, Bono's going to sing his own line, (and) we're going to help out with some music, with Nigel (Godrich, who'll produce the single). I really wanted to get Franz Ferdinand involved in it -- I think they're going to do it, although I haven't spoken to (executive producer) Midge Ure for about a week now."

"Midge did a thumbnail sketch of the original with new music on it," Healy continued. "He's got the Darkness doing the guitars at the end, and he's changed the arrangement of it. He shipped that over to L.A. where Nigel was working with McCartney. If it turns out absolutely s---, it does not matter. What I will say is you've got to buy the record because it's the only record that's going to save lives this side of Christmas, and you can't ask for more than that."