The Couch Potato Report - January 25th, 2005
There is a world of tomorrow in The Couch Potato Report this week, along with some kind of monster, white heat, and 6 people coupling.
No matter how old I am, I will always be fascinated by robots and the world of tomorrow.
Luckily I am not alone in that fascination. There are still many people around the world who would like to have a robot, drive a flying car, or travel to the moon.
For those who share my mindset, there is a new film for you to enjoy called SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW. The film features Jude Law, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Those three big Hollywood names are the stars of the film, but the real star of SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW is writer-director Kerry Conran.
Even though movies are a visual medium, one of the things that's missing in movies today is vision. It is very rare in this day and age when a movie comes out that is unique, and unlike anything we've seen before.
There is just too much money to be made from sequels and movies based on old TV shows for people with vision to get their films made.
Happily, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW did get made and it is a technical marvel!
I can say that because there were no actual locations used to make this film. All of the actors did their work on a stage and the sets and events were all digitally created around them.
That is what allows the film to be unique, yet reminiscent of classic works like Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS, the cliffhanger serials of the 30's and 40's, and the INDIANA JONES films. Even STAR WARS is referenced when a pilot is instructed to land on the air carrier's pad 327, the same number the Millennium Falcon lands on in Cloud City.
But I digress.
The story centers on ace pilot "Sky Captain" Joe Sullivan and his daring reporter gal pal Polly Perkins as they attempt to save the world from a mad scientist.
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW is a wonderfully interesting film to look at, and even though I loved it, that fact is also why I hesitate to recommend it.
There is only a small amount of character development in the movie, and all of it comes from dialogue. In the end no one grows, or changes, or even becomes deeper than a character you might see in a commercial.
But I loved the picture as there is just so much going on in visually and it gave me the chance to relive a world that I have dreamt about since I was a kid.
Yes, I loved SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, but unless you are exactly like me, you might want to skip it.
That statement is almost true for this week's next new release as well.
Unless you are exactly like me, you might want to skip METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER.
This movie is a documentary about Metallica, the most successful heavy metal band of all time. The band that gave us "Enter Sandman", "Nothing Else Matters" and "One."
SOME KIND OF MONSTER offers a revealing and exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the group as they find out that they have conflicts in their professional relationships. We also see them address some personal issues as they begin to record their - eventual Grammy winning - album "St. Anger."
The filmmakers spent two years with Metallica as the band was forced to deal with the departure of long-time bassist Jason Newsted, the struggle to record St. Anger, and they even filmed the group as they began seeing a psychiatrist, or "performance enhancement coach."
The main selling point of SOME KIND OF MONSTER is the fact that it is the ultimate backstage pass. If you've ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in a recording studio with a very successful band, this is your opportunity.
Now let me get to the "exactly like me" part of this review. I love the rock and roll music that Metallica produces.
Even though there is more documentary than music in the film, the music is still Metallica's when it exists.
But I don't think you should allow the music to stop you in this instance. There are just so many great moments, and so much interesting stuff about the music industry, that I hope you will watch it.
I also think you should watch WHITE HEAT, actually, I insist that you do!
WHITE HEAT is one of the best gangster films ever made and the James Cagney classic has finally debuting on DVD.
Cagney returned to the gangster film genre in this 1949 film as Cody Jarrett.
Cody Jarrett is a killer with a mother fixation to rival Oedipus Rex as he tries to get to the "top of the world".
The result is a classic slice of Hollywood at it 's best! If you only know the film and it's dialogue from the Madonna song of the same name, see WHITE HEAT for yourself.
It is top of the world. Top of the world!!
Our final new release this week is COUPLING - THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON.
On previous editions of THE COUCH POTATO REPORT you have heard me call this BBC sitcom a classic. I have also said that it is the funniest things I have seen in years.
Now, while those statements are true for the series' first three seasons, neither one of them is applicable to the fourth season.
COUPLING is a witty, instantly addictive series about the tangled sex lives of a close-knit group of six people that is made up of "exes and best friends."
The main supplier of comedy in the show is Jeff Murdoch, as played by Richard Coyle. Coyle said he'd had enough of the show after three seasons, and he didn't return for the fourth.
His absence looms over the entire season, and the producers seem to be aware of it as they added another nervy and nerdy character to replace him. But Oliver is no Jeff! Not even close!!
While the show's fresh and provocative takes on relationships still exist, the humour and life of the show left with Coyle.
Yet, even without him, COUPLING - THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON still has it's moments. In time I will probably learn to appreciate them almost as much as season's one through three. I just don't right now.
The first four seasons of the BBC sitcom COUPLING, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER and WHITE HEAT are now available at your favourite local video store.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
RAY is the true biographical account of Ray Charles' life. Oscar nominee Jamie Foxx gives the performance of a lifetime as the titular legend.
In THE GRUDGE a deadly curse is passed on between victims like a curse. Sarah Michelle Gellar is the curse slayer.
SHALL WE DANCE is the ill-advised Hollywood remake of a beautiful Japanese film of the same name. This version stars Richard Gere as a businessman takes who takes dancing lessons to impress a woman. Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon are the women in his life.
Bernie Mac is the man known as MR. 3000. He plays an unlikable baseball star who is forced to come out of retirement to get three hits in order to secure his entry into baseball's Hall Of Fame.
Also coming out next week is VANITY FAIR. Reese Witherspoon stars in the classic story as a woman who uses wit and sexuality to better herself socially.
I'm Dan Reynish and I'll have more on VANITY FAIR, RAY, and those other releases, in seven days.
That's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!
Apple iTunes sells 250 million songs
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - With its music downloads selling at a rate of more than a million per day, Apple Computer Inc. said Monday customers have purchased more than 250 million songs from its online iTunes Music Store.
The store, now available in 15 countries, is selling 1.25 million songs at 99 cents apiece per day, the computer and multimedia company said.
Apple helped invigorate the market for legal music downloads when it launched the iTunes store in April 2003. Its robust sales far outpace rival services.
The success is due in part to Apple's wildly popular IPod portable music players, which do not play songs purchased from competing online music stores.
The Cupertino-based company sold 4.5 million IPods in the fourth quarter and more than 10 million since its debut in October 2001.
Shares of Apple rose 65 cents to $71.14 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $21.70 to $74.42.
Journey Reunite in L.A.
Former Journey vocalist Steve Perry shocked his old bandmates and thousands of fans gathered in Los Angeles Friday when he showed up to the unveiling of the band's star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
"I knew nothing about it, and nobody else knew [anything] about it," says guitarist Neal Schon. "We walked from the back to the front, where all the people were, and there he was. That's the first time we've seen -- or spoken to -- each other in about seven years."
Formed in 1973, Journey achieved their greatest success after Perry joined in 1977, when his soaring voice helped push the group's power ballads like "Don't Stop Believing," "Open Arms" and "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" up the charts, before the group disbanded in the mid-Eighties. Though Journey reunited in 1996, a corresponding tour became the source of controversy when Perry was diagnosed with a degenerative hip disease and the band replaced him with Steve Augeri.
Friday's reunion was spawned by Journey's Thursday morning appearance on L.A. radio station KLOS's Mark and Brian Show. "[The Djs asked], 'Is Steve gonna be there?' live on the radio," says Schon. "I said, 'You guys got his number? Let's call him and invite him!' So they proceeded to try and get through to him, which we were not able to do. In the end, Mark acted like he was Steve Perry, so I said, 'I'm personally inviting you. You need to be there. You had a lot to do with this.' And, apparently, Steve heard it when he was driving on the freeway."
Journey were also reunited with former vocalist Robert Fleischman, and ex-drummers Steve Smith and Aynsley Dunbar, who turned up for the ceremony and later jammed with the band at a House of Blues gig Friday night. Though Perry didn't make it to the performance, Schon hopes their brief reunion last Friday may have helped mend some fences. "I'm hoping everyone can put behind them all the ill feelings, for whatever reason, and just move on," he says. "Life is too short -- you need to get on with it. If you have problems, build a bridge and get over it. That's exactly where I'm at, and so I'm hoping this is the beginning of a better relationship between Perry and ourselves."
Journey are currently working on a new album with producers Kevin Elson and Mike Frasier. The band plan to give out the as-yet-untitled release to attendees of their upcoming summer tour, which will be billed as "An Evening with Journey" and sponsored by Clear Channel.
Friday's reunion may strengthen the lineup for the lengthy outing. "We're going to be able to play so much more material from the beginning, pre-Steve Perry days, and move on. We're probably going to end up doing a three-and-a-half-hour show, so I've invited all the past members to come and sit in -- including Steve Perry. We'll just have to wait and see if he shows."
Kanye West Collaborating With Lauryn Hill On New LP
More than six drama-filled years after the release of her Grammy-winning solo debut, it looks like Lauryn Hill's sophomore studio album is finally nearing fruition — with a little help from Kanye West, perhaps.
The pair have collaborated on at least two songs, and while it isn't certain that the collaborations will make the album's final track listing, given West's spiritual slant, the producer seems like a perfect fit for Hill, whose music has taken an ethereal turn in recent years.
Still, the pair's collaboration is somewhat ironic, considering that West sampled a Hill song for the original version of his track, "All Falls Down." The then-relatively unknown producer couldn't get clearance to use Hill's performance and re-recorded the song using singer Syleena Johnson.
Representatives for West and Hill could not be reached for comment.
Hill's last studio set, 1998's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, won five Grammy awards and turned her into a household name. However, rumored turbulence in the singer's personal life contributed to a long delay in the release of any new music.
The silence was finally broken in 2002 with MTV Unplugged 2.0, culled from an MTV special of the same name. The album featured Hill singing spiritually driven, acoustic songs while accompanying herself on acoustic guitar (which she'd only recently learned to play). The songs' lyrics reflected the religious and at times mystical bent that some of her comments to the media had taken. The singer's behavior has been unpredictable in recent years.
Recently, Hill has turned up to do a series of live performances and even reunited with the Fugees last year for Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which also featured West. While talk of a Fugees reunion album has been constant, fellow Fugee Wyclef Jean has often said that any group material would come only after Lauryn has finished this album.
West has had a remarkably busy schedule in recent months. The producer has worked with Mariah Carey, Common and Twista, among others, on their upcoming projects. He also tried his hand at directing John Legend's new video, "Ordinary People."
West has also been hard at work on his own sophomore release, Late Registration. He has already enlisted the help of John Mayer for the set, which is due this spring.
Scrubs News!
There's big news on Tuesday night on Scrubs (9 ET/PT), where Colin Farrell makes his U.S. series debut.
He plays a life-loving Irishman injured in a bar fight who teaches Turk and J.D. how to live, live, live — or some similar Auntie Mame-type lesson.
If he can teach a few more viewers how to find Scrubs on their dial, it will be a visit well spent.
New Tunage!
Here are the new CD Releases for Tuesday, January 25th, 2005:
4MULA 1 Let's Get It (Sobe)
7 Seconds Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over (SideOneDummy)
Agnostic Front Another Voice (Combat/Relativity)
Kelli Ali (ex-Sneaker Pimps) Psychic Cat (One Little Indian)
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Worlds Apart (deluxe edition w/DVD same day) (Interscope)
Aqueduct I Sold Gold (Barsuk)
Aura Noir The Merciless (Tyrant Syndicate/Peaceville)
Lou Barlow Emoh (Merge)
Adrian Belew Side One (w/Les Claypool of Primus and Tool's Danny Carey) (Sanctuary)
Shelly Berg Trio Blackbird (formerly titled "Questions and Answers") (Concord Jazz)
Bettie Serveert Atta Girl (w/two bonus tracks) (Minty Fresh)
Big Business (members of Murder City Devils and Karp) Head for the Shallow (Hydra Head)
Big Noyd On the Grind (guests Mobb Deep, Alchemist) (Monopolee)
The Black Maria Lead Us to Reason (Victory)
The Blasters Live: Going Home (final show of reunion tour) (DTS Entertainment)
Bleeding Through This Is Love, This Is Murder (w/enhanced bonus CD) (Trustkill)
The Bluerunners Honey Slides (Bayou Vista)
Tim Booth (ex-James frontman) Bone (Koch)
Bright Eyes Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)
Buck 65 This Right Here Is (V2)
Michel Camilo Solo (SACD same day; ICE #214) (Telarc Jazz)
Dick Campbell Blue Winds Only Know (Sound City)
Cast Iron Filter Falls of Rough (CIF)
John Cena & Trademarc Underground (Columbia)
Jimmy Chamberlin Complex Life Begins Again (enhanced CD; guests Billy Corgan, Righteous Brother Bill Medley and ex-Catherine Wheel's Rob Dickinson) (Sanctuary)
Larry Chance and the Earls Moonlight Kiss (new recording from ‘60s Doo Wop group) (Collectables)
The Chemical Brothers Push the Button (guest Q-Tip) (Astralwerks)
Kenny Chesney Be as You Are: Songs from an Old Blue Chair (BNA)
Jesse Cook Montreal (Live) (Narada World)
Sean Costello Sean Costello (Artemis/Tone-Cool)
Graham Coxon (ex-Blur guitarist) Happiness in Magazines (Astralwerks)
Crash Kelly Penny Pills (Liquor and Poker Music)
Cursed II (Goodfellow)
Destroyer Notorious Lightning and Other Works EP (Merge)
The Devlins Waves (Nettwerk)
Stefano Di Battista Parker's Mood (Blue Note)
Ani DiFranco Knuckle Down (Righteous Babe)
Daz Dillinger The Dogg Pound Gangsta LP (Gangsta Advisory/Daz Dillinger Music)
Dog Fashion Disco The City Is Alive Tonight...Live in Baltimore (w/bonus DVD) (Artemis)
Dominator Love It or Hate It (Thump)
Dave Douglas & Nomad Mountain Passages (Greenleaf/Koch)
Dry Branch Fire Squad Live at the Newburyport Firehouse (two CDs) (Rounder)
Emma (Bunton, formerly of Spice Girls) Free Me (19 Recordings)
Erasure Nightbird (Mute)
Marianne Faithfull Before the Poison (w/tracks written by PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and Blur's Damon Albarn) (Anti/Epitaph)
Forever Einstein Racket Science (Cuneiform)
Tom Freund Copper Moon (guests D.J. Bonebrake of X and The Wallflowers' Ben Peeler) (Surf Road)
John Frusciante Curtains (Record Collection)
Inara George All Rise (features members of Greyboy All Stars and Action Figure Party) (Everloving)
God Dethroned Lair of the White Worm (Metal Blade)
Goodie Mob Presents the Lumberjacks (Khujo and T-Mo of Goodie Mob) Livin' Life Like Lumberjacks (guests Witchdoctor and Big Gipp) (Koch)
Rosco Gordon No Dark in America (DualTone)
The Gossip/Tracy and the Plastics Real Damage (split EP) (Dim Mak)
John Hammond In Your Arms Again (Back Porch)
Missy Higgins All for Believing EP (Warner Bros.)
Ray Wylie Hubbard Delirium Tremolos (Philo/Rounder)
I Am Kloot I Am Kloot (Echo)
Jennifer Gentle Valende (Sub Pop)
Jesu (w/Justin Broadrick of Godflesh) Jesu (Hydra Head)
Kill Your Idols From Companionship to Competition (SideOneDummy)
James King Bluegrass Storyteller (Rounder)
Klang (w/ex-Elastica guitarist Donna Matthews) No Sound Is Heard (Blast First/Petite)
Kyau Vs. Albert Here We Are Now (two CDs) (Varèse Sarabande)
Jake La Botz All Soul and No Money (guest members of the Chambers Brothers, Tom Waits' band and Flying Burrito Brothers) (Joseph Street)
Mike Ladd Negrophilia: The Album (w/Vijay Iyer, Guillermo E. Brown, Andrew Lamb and Roy Campbell) (Thirsty Ear)
Miranda Lambert Kerosene (Epic)
Sonny Landreth Grant Street (Sugar Hill)
Blaine Larsen Off to Join the World (re-release of indie album w/added tracks) (BNA)
Lemon Jelly ‘64-'95 (DVD and deluxe CD same day) (XL/Beggars Group)
Lil' Scrappy & Trillville The King of Crunk and BME Records Present: Chopped & Screwed (Reprise)
Kama Linden Uninhibited (Nuendo)
Louis XIV Illegal Tender EP (contains new and previously released material) (Atlantic)
Low The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop)
Sylvain Luc Ambre (Dreyfus)
Lucky Who Shot Me (Thump)
M83 Before the Dawn Heals Us (Mute)
Machine and the Synergetic Nuts Leap Second Neutral (Cuneiform)
Pat Metheny Group The Way Up (Nonesuch)
The Moaners Dark Snack (Yep Roc)
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult My Life Remixed (dance remixes of the band's classics) (Red Ant)
New Model Army Small Town England (Snapper)
Nillah The Sun Show (Two Sheds)
No-Man Together We're Stranger (Snapper)
Paul Oakenfold Perfecto Presents...The Club Mixed (rare remixes of The Doors, Madonna, Justin Timberlake and more) (Thrive)
The Octopus Project One Ten Hundred Thousand Million (Peek-a-Boo)
Jeff Parker (of Tortoise) The Relatives (w/cover of Marvin Gaye's "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You") (Thrill Jockey)
Parker and Lily The Low Lows (Warm Electronic)
The Pierces Light of the Moon (Universal)
Pitty Sing Pitty Sing (Or Music)
Matt Pond PA Winter Songs EP (limited edition) (Altitude)
Pony Up! Pony Up! EP (first band signed to Ben Lee's new label) (Ten Fingers/Dim Mak)
Archer Prewitt (of Sea and Cake) Wilderness (Thrill Jockey)
Alex K. Redfearn and the Eyesores The Quiet Room (Cuneiform)
Pete Rock Surviving Elements: From Soul Survivor II Sessions (BBE/Rapster)
Shorty Rogers & The Giants The Wizard of Oz & Other Harold Arlen Music (DRG/BMG)
Romanowski Party in My Pants (Future Primitive Sound)
Todd Rundgren Liars (DualDisc) (Silverline)
Mando Saenz Watertown (Emergent)
Slackjaw A Tourist in the Land of the Living (Post436)
Spindle Self Serve Surgery (Triple Crown)
The Chris Stamey Experience A Question of Temperature (w/ Yo La Tengo) (Yep Roc)
The Stands All Years Leaving (produced by Tom Rothrock) (Echo)
Stereo Total Do the Bambi (Kill Rock Stars)
Street Dogs (ex-Dropkick Murphys frontman Mike McColgan) Back to the World (Brass Tacks)
Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters guitarist) About Them Shoes (guests Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Levon Helm, James Cotton and David Johansen) (Tone-Cool/Artemis)
Supersuckers Live at the Tractor Travern (Mid-Fi)
Keni Thomas Flags of Our Fathers - A Soldier's Story (Moraine Music)
Viva Voce Lovers Lead the Way (reissue of recent record on new label) (Minty Fresh)
Martha Wainwright (sister of Rufus) Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole EP (Rounder)
We Versus the Shark Ruin Everything! (Hello Sir Records)
VA Come to the Mountain: Old Time Music for Modern Times (Rounder)
VA Elko! A Cowboy's Gathering (two CDs; songs and poetry from National Cowboy Poetry Gathering) (DualTone)
VA Hi Power 2005 (hip-hop comp.) (Thump)
VA Hotel D'Amour (dance comp.) (Varèse Sarabande)
VA MPS Jazz Reworks (Verve)
VA Smooth Jazz Plays Your Favorite Radio Hits (Shanachie)
OST Alone in the Dark (Christian Slater/Tara Reid horror film) (Nuclear Blast)
OST Assault on Precinct 13 (score by Graeme Revell) (Varèse Sarabande)
OST Elektra - The Album (Daredevil spin-off movie w/Jennifer Garner; score by Christophe Beck) (Wind-up)
OST Go Fish Memory (Tommy Boy)
OST Mulan II (Walt Disney)
OST One Tree Hill (WB TV series) (Warner Bros.)
DVD Beyond Warped: The Vans Warped Tour 04 (w/The Bouncing Souls, Bowling for Soup, Juliette and the Licks and more) (Trinidad/Aloha Films)
DVD Fear of a Satanic Planet (documentary on Marilyn Manson) (Chrome Dreams)
DVD Magic Weed (Snapper)
DVD The Adventures of Street Dogg Vol. 1 (w/50 Cent, P. Diddy and more) (Music Video Distributors)
DVD BeauSoleil Live from New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Shout! Factory)
DVD Rachel Brice Tribal Fusion Belly Dance (Ark 21)
DVD The Funky Meters Live from New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Shout! Factory)
DVD Kool Keith Global Enlightenment Part 1 (Music Video Distributors)
DVD Old 97's Live (New West)
DVD The Pietasters Live at the 9:30 Club (Music Video Distributors)
DVD VA Burn to Shine: Washington DC - 01.14.2004 (live performance w/Bob Mould, Q and Not U, and Ted Leo) (Trixie)
DVD VA Tension and Release: Springing the Blues 2003 (live festival performances from Otis Taylor, John Hammond, Deborah Coleman and more) (Music Video Distributors)
SACD Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith Yo Miles! - Upriver (two-disc hybrid; w/covers of Miles Davis tunes) (Cuneiform)
SACD VA Sampler No. 5 (w/McCoy Tyner, Tierney Sutton, Junior Brown, Spyro Gyra and more) (Telarc)
SACD OST The Great Train Robbery (score by Jerry Goldsmith) (Varèse Sarabande)
SACD OST Timeline (score by Jerry Goldsmith) (Varèse Sarabande)
"Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that."
— Stewie Griffin, from Fox's FAMILY GUY
Costner Finds New Ball Game in 'Anger'
PARK CITY, Utah - There are three notable differences in Kevin Costner's latest career move as a big-screen ballplayer:
- The star of the previous baseball flicks "Bull Durham," "Field of Dreams" and "For Love of the Game" plays a retired ballplayer in the comic drama "The Upside of Anger," which premiered over the weekend at the Sundance Film Festival.
- Costner is a supporting performer to the film's central character, played by Joan Allen.
And
- The actor known for such sober dramas as "Dances With Wolves," "JFK" and "The Untouchables" is playing a good old goofball, a big-hearted meathead with a dopey laugh, a chronic marijuana buzz and a long-neck beer bottle perpetually in hand.
When writer-director Mike Binder's script for "The Upside of Anger" came his way, Costner had a moment's hesitation about doing another ballplayer.
"But listen, I'm not that timid about, `Ooh, what are people going to think?'" Costner said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I didn't think `Field of Dreams' had anything to do with `For Love of the Game.' I didn't think that `Love of the Game' had anything to do with `Bull Durham.' And I didn't do any of them because they were baseball.
"When I saw this, I thought the not-careful journalists will write, `Oh, another baseball movie.' But I did this because he was an interesting character."
Opening theatrically in March, "The Upside of Anger" stars Allen as a woman with four daughters (Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell and Alicia Witt) who turns boozy and caustically bitter after her husband pulls a vanishing act.
Costner plays Allen's laid-back neighbor, a former baseball star who becomes her drinking buddy and eventually tumbles into an uneasy relationship as her lover and referee for the woman's spats with her daughters.
Allen said it was refreshing for Costner to cut loose in a jollier role.
"I thought it would be fun to see him play something like that," Allen said. "We referred to him as a big teddy bear all the time. He was just really lovable and sweet and kind of goofy among all these women."
Binder, also co-starring as a lecherous pal who produces a radio talk show hosted by Costner's character, wrote the script with Allen in mind. The two had become chummy on the set of Allen's political drama "The Contender," in which Binder co-starred.
But it was Costner's star power that secured financing for the film. Costner, an Academy Award winner for best-picture and director on "Dances With Wolves," never tried to muscle in on the production, though, said Binder, who wrote and starred in the HBO series "The Mind of the Married Man."
"He was the driving force behind getting the movie greenlighted, but he never used that power, which I respected," Binder said. "He was always one of the ensemble, one of the players. Never pulled rank. He never came to my editing room, never wanted me to recut anything. He truly was just a player and a supportive guy."
One of Hollywood's biggest box-office draws in the late 1980s and early '90s with "Field of Dreams," "Dances With Wolves" and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," Costner has had fitful results with his movies over the last 12 years.
Last summer's Western "Open Range," which Costner directed and starred in, and the golf romance "Tin Cup" were modest successes. But his acclaimed political drama "Thirteen Days" failed to find an audience, and he had flops with such movies as the supernatural thriller "Dragonfly" and the heist flick "3000 Miles to Graceland."
Costner, who turned 50 this month, said studio pressures to boost the films' commercial prospects undermined some of his big-budgeted movies.
"I think some of the movies haven't lived up to what they should have been," Costner said. "When they're not done for a lot of money, sometimes you get a clearer voice, one single voice, about what the movie's to be about. And some of the movies for me that have not performed as well as I thought they could have, I think was because too many voices enter into them."
Costner said he feels no career pressure to deliver another breakout hit, saying his films have been profitable enough between theatrical and home-video revenues.
"I know what my movies do economically. I like everybody else understand what they do on opening weekend," Costner said. "The economic life of my movies, I'm really comfortable with what happens to them when they go out there, and so are the studios."
'We Are the World' Re-Issue Set for 20th Birthday
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "We Are the World," the pioneering all-star charity anthem that generated millions of dollars for African famine relief 20 years ago, is returning to the world stage -- this time to raise money for AIDS and tsunami victims.
The group USA For Africa will reissue the Grammy-winning single recorded by more than 40 superstars -- among them Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder -- on Feb. 1 as part of a two-disc DVD set.
In addition, hundreds of radio stations around the globe are planning to broadcast the song on Friday at noon Eastern time to mark the 20th anniversary of the recording, organizers said on Monday.
The original single and accompanying album have raised more than $60 million since their 1985 release to help combat hunger in Africa. Proceeds from the upcoming reissue will again be earmarked for famine relief, as well as for AIDS treatment and prevention, plus disaster recovery in areas of East Africa devastated by the recent tsunamis, organizers said.
The double-disc set features four hours of footage from the landmark "We Are the World" recording session, which began late on Jan. 28, 1985 and lasted 12 hours.
Inspired in part by the success of Bob Geldof's Band Aid project, which produced the British charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas" in 1984, "We Are the World" was the brainchild of American singer-activist Harry Belafonte.
After seeing news footage of Ethiopian famine victims, Belafonte contacted leading entertainment manager Ken Kragen for help enlisting stars to record a song whose royalties would go exclusively to relieve Africa's food crisis. There were no artist or agent fees.
The occasion brought together 45 of the biggest names in the U.S. music business to perform a seven-minute-plus ballad composed by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson.
While participants were all admonished to "check their egos at the door," the recording session at A&M Studios in Hollywood was not without its tensions.
ROCKERS VS. NON-ROCKERS
A manager for one of the artists complained that "the rockers don't care for the song that much and they don't want to stand next to the non-rockers," co-organizer Kragen recounted. "They felt it was going to hurt their credibility."
But when Springsteen refused to join the dissidents' revolt, "the whole mutiny fell apart," Kragen said, recalling that the response of the Boss was: "I'm here to save lives and feed people, and I'm staying."
Otherwise, Kragen said, "Everybody was blown away by Ray Charles. And everybody was impressed that Bob Dylan was there, except Bob Dylan, who was scared to death that all these people were there."
Kragen said session producer Quincy Jones, Richie and Stevie Wonder all joined in cajoling a self-conscious Dylan into singing in his rough-hewn voice.
The single, released on March 7, 1985, sold 800,000 copies its first week and shot to No. 1 in three weeks, making it the fastest-rising U.S. chart-topper at the time. It went on to win Grammys for song of the year and record of the year.
The effort also helped pave the way for a string of superstar charity projects that followed, including Farm Aid and Dionne Warwick's "That's What Friends Are For."
'Alexander,' 'Catwoman' Lead Bad Pix Nominations
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - This could be the year in which Alexander the Great conquers Catwoman and President Bush wins a prize as worst actor.
Nominations for the 25th annual Razzies, which honor the worst films of the year, were announced on Monday with "Catwoman," the Halle Berry box office bomb, besting "Alexander," Oliver Stone's much maligned tale of the bleached blond conqueror, by seven nominations to six.
In addition, the president made the list for worst actor for his film clip appearances in "Fahrenheit 9/11," a movie he might well consider the worst of the year. Also nominated for their appearances in the politically-charged film about the Iraq war were Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
The Razzies are a traditional spoof award made at Oscar time by the non-profit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. The group's prizes are given out on Feb. 26, the day before the Oscars. Never has one of its films gone on to win an Oscar.
"Catwoman" and "Alexander" were nominated for Worst Picture, a category which also drew "SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2," Ben Affleck's career-eroding "Surviving Christmas," and "White Chicks," the Wayans brothers dress-up, gender-bending comedy that left critics cold.
Bush was nominated for worst actor along with Affleck for "Surviving Christmas" and "Jersey Girl," Vin Diesel for "Chronicles of Riddick," Colin Farrell for "Alexander." Ben Stiller was nominated for "Along Came Polly," "Anchorman," "Dodgeball," "Envy" and "Starsky & Hutch."
Halle Berry was nominated for worst actress for "Catwoman," Hilary Duff for "Cinderella Story" and "Raise Your Voice," Angelina Jolie for "Alexander" and "Taking Lives," Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for "New York Minute" and Shawn and Marlon Wayans in their incarnation as the Wayans sisters in "White Chicks."
The nominations for worst screen couple include: Ben Affleck and either Jennifer Lopez or Liv Tyler in "Jersey Girl," Halle Berry and either Benjamin Bratt or Sharon Stone in "Catwoman, George W. Bush and either Rice or his pet goat in "Fahrenheit 9/11," the Olsen twins in "New York Minute," the Wayans Brothers, in or out of drag, in "White Chicks."
Worst supporting actress were Carmen Electra for "Starsky & Hutch," Jennifer Lopez for "Jersey Girl," Rice for "Fahrenheit 9/11," Britney Spears for her cameo role in that same movie and Sharon Stone for "Catwoman."
Val Kilmer was nominated for worst supporting actor for "Alexander." Also nominated were California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for "Around The World in 80 Days," Rumsfeld for "Fahrenheit 9/11," Jon Voight for SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2" and Lambert Wilson for "Catwoman."
"Catwoman" led with seven nominations to six for Alexander, five for "Fahrenheit 9/11," five "White Chicks," and four for "SuperBabies."
'Tonight Show' Pays Tribute to Carson
BURBANK, Calif. - Johnny Carson was remembered Monday on "The Tonight Show" with an affectionate lookback at his nearly 30 years as host, including tributes by comedians and former guests that left many in the audience teary-eyed.
"As a performer, I never wanted to impress anyone more than Johnny Carson," said Jay Leno, the show's current host.
Carson died Sunday at 79 after nearly 13 years in retirement. NBC said he died of emphysema — a respiratory disease that can be attributed to smoking.
Leno's guests Monday included Carson favorites Bob Newhart and Don Rickles, as well as comedian Drew Carey, singer k.d. lang and Carson's former sidekick, Ed McMahon.
In an interview earlier Monday, McMahon said Carson never lost his edge. When he called Carson in October to wish him a happy birthday, the two started bantering like old times.
"We could have gone on (television) that night and done a 'Carnac' skit. We were that crisp and hot," McMahon told The Associated Press.
The tribute show contained an abundance of archival clips, including one of a dark-haired young Leno making his first appearance as a guest on the "Tonight Show." He would take over as host when Carson retired in 1992.
Others included Carson in one of his signature bits, the mind-reading "Carnac the Magnificent," a routine that David Letterman's band leader Paul Shaffer occasionally still borrows for the "Late Show."
Comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Roseanne, who made their starts on the show, also appeared in clips.
Missing from the show was Carson's longtime bandleader Doc Severinsen, but he made an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live," where he told King he was still grieving.
"I'm still having a problem with it, you know," he said. "I think 'I'm OK, now, OK, I've got everything under control,' and then bam, it hits again."
While the mood on the "Tonight Show" set was often celebratory, there was quiet reflection outside NBC's Burbank studios.
At Johnny Carson Park, adjacent to the studio, a vase of red roses and other flowers had been left at a plaque of the late-night host along with notes that said, "Goodnight Johnny, we'll miss you" and "Nobody did it better than Carson."
"He will be missed by a lot of people, especially his sidekick Ed McMahon," said Basha Kerbel, 73, of Toronto, who came with her husband and received standby tickets for the show. "It's a sad day for everybody. He was liked by so many people."
Debby Kulber, 50, of Cleveland, remembered Carson for his self-deprecating style.
"He was able to laugh at himself. And he made all the guests seem interesting," she said. "He was just very funny."
In Los Angeles, meanwhile, flowers were placed on Carson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"This is a very sad day in Hollywood and I could tell you that Hollywood hasn't been this shocked since the news flash of Marilyn Monroe's demise," said Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood. "I think we all figured that Johnny Carson would just live on forever."
Friends Remember Carson as Humble, Generous
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Johnny Carson was quick-witted; he was cool, and he was a master foil for some of the biggest names in show business.
Yet he was most remembered by his peers for humbly stepping aside and letting others be funny on his "The Tonight Show," a trait that helped launch scores of comedy careers, among them Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor and George Carlin.
Comedian David Brenner, who tallied more than 150 appearances on "The Tonight Show," on NBC, recalled having just $3 to his name the night he debuted on Carson in 1971.
"The next day ... I had $10,000 worth of job offers," Brenner told Reuters. "I can't think of anything I've had in my career that didn't springboard from Johnny Carson, not a single thing."
Brenner also praised Carson as a performer of impeccable timing and a straight man of few words who knew how to let a fellow comedian shine.
"He always brought the best out of every guest. He put his ego in a drawer; he didn't try to top their jokes, make them look foolish, top their stories," Brenner said.
Carson's death on Sunday, at age 79 from emphysema triggered an outpouring of tributes from Hollywood to the White House.
GAVE JOAN RIVERS A CAREER
President Bush saluted Carson as a "steady and reassuring presence in homes across America for three decades."
Movie action hero turned California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recounted that Carson had "welcomed me on his show when no one knew who I was and helped promote the image of bodybuilding."
Bill Cosby, too, remembered Carson as a generous performer: "Johnny was responsible for the beginning and the rise of success for more performers than anybody. I doubt if those numbers will ever be surpassed."
Added Bob Newhart: "I guest hosted for Johnny many years ago ... and experienced first hand just how great he was, making it look so easy night after night. Once you sat in that chair, you knew there was nothing easy about it."
Comedian Joan Rivers called Carson "truly the best straight man ever. He fed you lines ... like nobody else ever did before or since."
"He gave me my career," Rivers told Reuters. "You never forget when you've been working as a waitress and an office temporary and you've been working strip joints at night, and then Carson says to you, 'You're going to be a star' on the air, and it happens."
LENO CAN'T COMPARE
"Nowadays, with all due respect, you can go on Leno a hundred times, and they still don't know who you are."
Brenner and Rivers both parlayed regular appearances on "The Tonight Show" into talk shows of their own, though Rivers' relationship with Carson was strained after she gave up her gig as Carson's permanent guest host to launch Fox television's first late-night show opposite his in 1986.
Carson never spoke to her again.
"He was very hurt," Rivers said, adding that when she tried to patch things up with her former mentor, he never responded.
"It's a small little business, and fewer and fewer of us that share the same memories," Rivers said. It's terribly, terribly sad."
Off screen, the Nebraska-raised Carson was remembered as humble and quiet, keeping company with a tight circle of friends and rarely making public appearances after retiring in 1992.
Even among close friends, few saw signs of the emphysema that ultimately took his life, said longtime pal and comic Don Rickles, who last saw Carson six months ago.
"He seemed fine at that time. I would never know he had that problem except word got out a little bit. He looked great. You would never know it," Rickles said.
"I feel like Johnny's up there now, delighted we'd be talking about him, but he wouldn't admit it," Rickles said. "He'd tell us: 'Stop making a fuss."