Holly Celebrated With Anniversary Set
Universal Music International is prepping what it calls the definitive audio/video collection of a lost rock'n'roll icon. Due April 25 in the United Kingdom, "The Music of Buddy Holly and the Crickets" will boast a DVD collecting archive footage and new interviews and a bonus 20-track audio disc.
In North America, the DVD/CD package will be released via Universal's Geffen label and will be titled "The Definitive Collection." At deadline a specific release date for the region has not been confirmed.
The release marks the 50th anniversary of Holly's first appearance opening a set of Texas shows for Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & the Comets.
The DVD will include clips of Holly and his band performing such well-known hits as "That'll Be the Day," "Peggy Sue," "It's So Easy," "Rave On" and "Maybe Baby." Also featured will be 1957-58 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Among the interviews are conversations with Crickets drummer Jerry (J.I.) Allison, backing vocalists John Pickering and Ray Rush, early Crickets bassist Joe Mauldin, and guitarists Sonny Curtis and Tommy Allsup. It was Allsup who gave Ritchie Valens his seat on the plane that crashed in Clear Lake, Iowa, on Feb. 2, 1959, killing him, Valens and the Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson).
Rare audio interviews with late producers Dick Jacobs and Norman Petty, the latter also being Holly's manager, are also included on the DVD.
While the CD includes most well-known Holly songs, its track listing was chosen by those who played, sang and wrote on or inspired the original recordings.
Last year, Geffen issued a remastered version of Holly's first two albums, 1957's "The 'Chirping' Crickets" and 1958's "Buddy Holly," in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of rock'n'roll that was spearheaded by a celebration in Memphis. Both discs were augmented by additional tracks.
Here is the "The Music of Buddy Holly and the Crickets" bonus CD track list:
"That'll Be the Day"
"Not Fade Away"
"Everyday"
"Peggy Sue"
"Listen to Me"
"Oh Boy"
"Send Me Some Lovin'"
"It's Too Late"
"Maybe Baby"
"Rock Me My Baby"
"Rave On"
"Well...All Right"
"Think It Over"
"Lonesome Tears"
"It's So Easy"
"Early in the Morning"
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore"
"Raining in My Heart"
"Peggy Sue Got Married"
"Crying, Waiting, Hoping"
'Black Woman' Tops 'Hitch' at Box Office
LOS ANGELES - "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" got its revenge against mixed critics' reviews by earning $22.7 million and taking first place at the weekend box office.
The drama-comedy is based on a script by Tyler Perry from his play of the same name and also features him cross-dressed as a gun-toting grandmother and in two other supporting roles. The film's strong debut pushed Will Smith's romantic comedy "Hitch" to the second spot with a weekend haul of $21 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Films contending for top honors at the Academy Awards also continued to draw healthy audiences with best picture nominees "Million Dollar Baby," "The Aviator" and "Sideways" ranked among the top 11 films.
Final figures were to be released Monday.
"Diary of a Mad Black Woman" follows Kimberly Elise's character, Helen, who is kicked out of her house by her husband on their 18th wedding anniversary so his longtime mistress can move in. Helen recovers from heartbreak by reconnecting with her cantankerous grandmother Madea, played by Perry, and by relying on her faith.
The film received some poor reviews, with The Associated Press giving it a single star in its four-star rating system and National Public Radio describing it as "half inspired and half really, really terrible."
Showing in 1,483 theaters, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" averaged a healthy $15,307 a cinema.
Perry, who has gained a strong following among blacks with his plays, should be given credit for the film's success, said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Films Releasing.
"The performance of the film is really a testament to Tyler Perry," Ortenberg said. "He's a cultural phenomenon that is taking America by storm. In the next few weeks, those unfamiliar with Tyler will become familiar with Tyler."
Audiences in exit polls gave the film an A-plus rating and the vast majority said they would recommend the PG-13 rated film to others, Ortenberg said.
"Every once in a while there is a film that comes out of nowhere and grabs the No. 1 spot and certainly 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' has done that," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "It shows the power that the urban audience wields at the box office."
"Hitch," another PG-13 rated film, played widely in 3,571 theaters and its $122 million over three weeks made it the first film in 2005 to crack the $100 million mark.
"Million Dollar Baby," which stars best-actress nominee Hilary Swank as a bullheaded boxer, ranked sixth with an estimated $7.2 million. Fellow best-picture nominees "The Aviator," a biopic about Howard Hughes, finished in ninth with $3.9 million, while the drinking road-trip movie "Sideways" ranked 11th with $3.5 million.
The latest Wes Craven horror film, "Cursed," debuted in fourth place with $9.6 million, while the weekend's other new film, the action-comedy "Man of the House" starring Tommy Lee Jones, opened in fifth place with $9 million.
Revenues from the top 12 movies were estimated at $105.4 million, down 24.6 percent from the same weekend last year. The comparison was skewed because Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" debuted last year with $83.8 million.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.
1. "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," $22.7 million.
2. "Hitch," $21 million.
3. "Constantine," $11.8 million.
4. "Cursed," $9.6 million.
5. "Man of the House," $9 million.
6. "Million Dollar Baby," $7.2 million.
7. "Because of Winn-Dixie," $6.8 million.
8. "Are We There Yet?", $4 million.
9. "The Aviator," $3.9 million.
10. "Son of the Mask," $3.8 million.
Dan Recaps Dan's Predictions
Last week as the headline for my Oscar Predictions in The Couch Potato Report I wrote:
"He (Dan) seems a bit confident, even though everyone else is saying it is too close to call!"
As it turned out it wasn't too close to call as, with one slight exception, I managed to get 5 out of my 6 predictions correct.
This is what I predicted in the six major categories:
BEST ACTOR - Jamie Foxx - RAY
BEST ACTRESS - Hilary Swank, MILLION DOLLAR BABY
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Morgan Freeman, MILLION DOLLAR BABY
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Virginia Madsen, SIDEWAYS
BEST PICTURE - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
And
BEST DIRECTOR - Clint Eastwood, MILLION DOLLAR BABY
The category I got wrong was BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS.
No excuses, but if I had only paid attention to what I wrote, I would have been a perfect six for six for the second year in a row.
What I wrote was:
"...as I said earlier regarding the BEST ACTOR category, biographies of remarkable, real-life individuals are heavily represented among Oscar winners.
Since Katharine Hepburn won more Academy Awards than any other actor it would seem to make sense that a victory would be in the cards for Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Hepburn in THE AVIATOR..."
I also wrote:
"...I usually get this category wrong."
Yet I still went with Virginia Madsen for SIDEWAYS.
Had I been paying attention to myself, I would have predicted a victory for Cate Blanchett in THE AVIATOR.
But I don't always listen to myself.
Now had you listened to me, you would have had five out of six as well.
Congratulations to us both!
'Baby' Is Oscar Heavyweight With 4 Wins
LOS ANGELES - The boxing saga "Million Dollar Baby" was the Academy Awards heavyweight Sunday, claiming best picture and three other trophies, including honors for director Clint Eastwood, lead actress Hilary Swank and supporting actor Morgan Freeman.
The night meant more heartbreak for Martin Scorsese. "The Aviator" came away with the most Oscars — five, including the supporting-actress prize for Cate Blanchett — but Scorsese lost the directing race for the fifth time.
Eastwood, who at 74 became the oldest directing winner ever, noted his mother was with him when his Western "Unforgiven" won the 1992 best-picture and directing Oscar.
"She's here with me again tonight, so at 96, I'm thanking her for her genes," Eastwood said. "I figure I'm just a kid. I've got a lot of stuff to do yet."
Scorsese matched the record of Oscar futility held by a handful of legendary filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Altman, who also went 0-for-5 in the directing category.
Swank became a double Academy Award winner Sunday for "Million Dollar Baby," while Jamie Foxx took lead actor for "Ray." The wins for Freeman and Foxx made it only the second time blacks won two of the four acting prizes.
Swank, who previously won the best-actress Oscar for "Boys Don't Cry," once again beat out main rival Annette Bening, nominated for the theater farce "Being Julia." Bening had been the front-runner for "American Beauty" five years ago but lost to underdog Swank.
"I don't know what I did in this life to deserve all this. I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream," said Swank, who played an indomitable boxer.
Swank joined Vivien Leigh, Helen Hayes, Sally Field and Luise Rainer as the only actresses with a perfect track record at the Oscars: Two nominations and two wins.
Foxx won for his uncanny emulation of Ray Charles in "Ray." As he had at earlier awards triumphs, Foxx led the Oscar audience in a rendition of the call-and-response chant from Charles' 1959 hit "What'd I Say," whose funky electric-piano grooves play over the opening credits of "Ray."
"Give it up for Ray Charles and his beautiful legacy. And thank you Ray Charles for living," said Foxx, who climbed to Oscar glory after an early career built mainly on comedy, including his TV series "The Jamie Foxx Show" and the raunchy sex flick "Booty Call."
Foxx had been a double Oscar nominee, also picked in the supporting category for the hit man thriller "Collateral."
Playing Katharine Hepburn in "The Aviator," Blanchett had the spirit of the Oscars' most-honored actress on her side. Hepburn, the love of Hughes' life in the 1930s before she began her long romance with Spencer Tracy, earned 12 nominations and won a record four Oscars.
"Thank you, of course, to Miss Hepburn. The longevity of her career I think is inspiring to everyone," said Blanchett. She added thanks to "Aviator" director Scorsese, saying, "I hope my son will marry your daughter."
Oscar host Chris Rock said Blanchett was so convincing that Sidney Poitier, Hepburn's co-star in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," showed up at Blanchett's house for supper.
The wins by Freeman and Foxx followed Denzel Washington and Halle Berry's triumph three years ago for "Training Day" and "Monster's Ball," the only other time blacks claimed two acting Oscars.
"It means that Hollywood is continuing to make history," Freeman said backstage. "We're evolving with the rest of the world."
The superhero action comedy "The Incredibles" won the animated-feature prize, beating 2004's biggest box-office hit, the fairy-tale sequel "Shrek 2." It was the second-straight animated Oscar for Pixar Animation, which won a year ago for "Finding Nemo."
"I don't know what's more frightening, being watched by millions of people, or the hundreds of people that are going to be annoyed with me tomorrow for not mentioning them," said Brad Bird, writer-director of the "The Incredibles."
The latest win dabs salt on the Walt Disney Co.'s wounds over the looming expiration of its distribution deal for Pixar films, which ends after next year's "Cars." The back-to-back Oscars underscore Pixar's growing ascendance and the weakening position of animation pioneer Disney, which has yet to win the animated-feature Oscar with any of its homegrown films and whose biggest recent cartoon hits have all been made by Pixar.
Unlike last year, when "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" dominated the awards as expected and flat-out front-runners took all four acting prizes, the 77th Oscars shaped up as a mixed bag, with only Foxx a virtual lock to win.
"Boy, am I glad there wasn't a fourth episode of `Lord of the Rings,'" said John Dykstra, who shared the visual-effects Oscar for "Spider-Man 2."
With no huge hits among top nominees, Oscar organizers worried that TV ratings could dwindle for the live ABC broadcast. The Oscars tend to draw their biggest audiences when blockbusters such as "Titanic" or "Return of the King" are in the mix, stoking viewer interest.
Producers of the show hoped the presence of first-time host Rock might boost ratings, particularly among younger viewers who may view the Oscars as too staid an affair. Rock had mocked the Oscars a bit beforehand, calling awards shows "idiotic," but he was on his best behavior in his opening monologue.
Rock chided some celebrities by name and included one mild three-letter word, but his routine was fairly clean for the comedian known for a foul mouth in his standup act.
"The only acting you ever see at the Oscars is when people act like they're not mad they lost," Rock said. He recalled the year when Halle Berry won and fellow nominee "Nicole Kidman was smiling so wide, she should have won an Emmy at the Oscars for her great performance. I was like, if you'd done that in the movie, you'd have won an Oscar, girl."
Organizers also tried to spice up the show with new presentation tactics, including herding all nominees on stage at the same time, beauty-pageant style, for some awards.
The first prize of the night, for art direction, was awarded that way, with a total of nine nominees from five films spread across stage behind presenter Berry. The Oscar went to "The Aviator," whose awards also included cinematography, film editing and costume design.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" took the original-screenplay award for Charlie Kaufman. "Sideways" won the adapted-screenplay prize for director Alexander Payne and his writing partner, Jim Taylor.
"My mother taught me to write, and she died before she could see any of this, so this is for you, mom," Taylor said.
"The Sea Inside," the Spanish film based on the true story of a bedridden euthanasia lobbyist, won as best foreign-language film, while "Born Into Brothels," which examines the lives of children of prostitutes in Calcutta, India, received the Oscar for feature-length documentary.
2005 Academy Awards
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Winner: Million Dollar Baby - Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, Tom Rosenberg
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Jamie Foxx for Ray
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Morgan Freeman for Million Dollar Baby
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Cate Blanchett for The Aviator
Best Achievement in Directing
Winner: Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Winner: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Winner: Sideways - Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Winner: The Aviator - Robert Richardson
Best Achievement in Editing
Winner: The Aviator - Thelma Schoonmaker
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Winner: The Aviator - Dante Ferretti, Francesca LoSchiavo
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Winner: The Aviator - Sandy Powell
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Winner: Finding Neverland - Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Winner: Diarios de motocicleta - Jorge Drexler("Al Otro Lado Del Río")
Best Achievement in Makeup
Winner: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - Valli O'Reilly, Bill Corso
Best Achievement in Sound
Winner: Ray - Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer, Steve Cantamessa, Scott Millan
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Winner: The Incredibles - Michael Silvers, Randy Thom
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Winner: Spider-Man 2 - John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Winner: The Incredibles - Brad Bird
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Winner: Mar adentro - Alejandro Amenábar(Spain)
Best Documentary, Features
Winner: Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids - Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman
Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Winner: Mighty Times: The Children's March - Robert Hudson, Robert Houston
Best Short Film, Animated
Winner: Ryan - Chris Landreth
Best Short Film, Live Action
Winner: Wasp - Andrea Arnold
Rock Comes Out Swinging As Oscar Host
LOS ANGELES - Apropos for an Oscar ceremony in which a boxing movie was one of the leading nominees, host Chris Rock came out swinging Sunday night, unleashing his acerbic wit on anyone and everyone in Hollywood — including himself.
Rock kept it clean compared to the profanity that fills his standup comedy routine. But he slung the mud in a way that kept the audience laughing.
"All right! Sit your a---- down!" he shouted after walking on stage in a white tie and tux and receiving a standing ovation from many in the star-studded crowd.
Then he let 'em have it.
His main point: Filmmakers should wait for better talent instead of rushing bad movies into theaters.
"Clint Eastwood's a star, OK? Tobey Maguire's just a boy in tights," Rock joked. "You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait. You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait. 'Alexander' is not 'Gladiator.'"
But Rock wasn't afraid to include himself in that assessment. "You want Denzel (Washington) and all you can get is me? Wait," he joked. "Denzel's a fine actor. He woulda never made 'Pootie Tang.'"
One of the raunchier moments — though an intentionally goofy one — came with help from Adam Sandler, who like Rock is a fellow "Saturday Night Live" alum.
Sandler took the stage to present the adapted-screenplay Oscar, and it was announced that Catherine Zeta-Jones would be joining him. But Zeta-Jones never came out.
So Rock strode calmly from the wings and offered to read Zeta-Jones' teleprompter lines — which he did in a playfully stiff manner, making fun of the often awkward exchanges that take place between presenters at awards shows.
The dialogue went like this:
Sandler: "Catherine, may I just say your dress looks incredibly sexy tonight."
Rock: "Why thank you, Adam. It's Versace."
Sandler: "Well, with you in it, it should be Ver-sexy."
When Rock said teasingly that Sandler needed a spanking for being so naughty, Sandler responded, "Sign me up, Mrs. Douglas."
Robin Williams got in on the act, too. Before announcing the winner of the best animated feature award, he stopped to rip a large piece of white tape from his mouth. The stunt appeared to confirm reports that producers had censored his gags.
Then he made fun of those who connect cartoon characters with pro-gay messages.
Getting down to business, the first category, art direction, provided the first chance for producer Gil Cates to show off some of the new logistical tricks he implemented to jazz up the broadcast.
The nominees walked out on stage together en masse, then stood around on a floor illuminated by dozens of LED screens, waiting to find out who would be the winner. After hearing presenter Halle Berry announce their names, Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo stepped forward and accepted their statuettes for "The Aviator." The losing nominees quietly exited.
Asked backstage what he thought about receiving the award in this new format, Ferretti responded, "I liked to be there, to be on the stage — also because we won."
Later, Cate Blanchett announced the nominees in the best makeup category while standing in an aisle in the audience. The winners — who happened to be seated right next to her — were Valli O'Reilly and Bill Corso for "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," who made their acceptance speech standing at a microphone a few feet away.
And Scarlett Johansson announced some of the earlier technical Oscar winners while standing in a Kodak Theatre balcony.
But the evening began in a traditional manner, with a montage of scenes from decades of classic films, including "Gone With the Wind," "Singin' in the Rain," "Animal House" and "The Sixth Sense."
NEW NIGHT
Looking to expand its programming schedule, HBO announcing the fifth and final season of Six Feet Under will shift from Sundays to Monday nights when it returns in June.
Berry Good Loser at the Razzies
Halle Berry was a good winner. She might be an even better loser.
Berry checked her ego at the door at the 25th Annual Razzie Awards, showing up Saturday in Hollywood to personally accept a spray-painted golf ball dis-honoring her work as Worst Actress in Catwoman.
"I want to thank Warner Bros. for casting me in this piece of [excrement]," Berry told the audience.
Berry's speech mocked her teary Oscar thank-yous from 2002 when she was honored as Best Actress for Monster's Ball.
"I'd like to thank the rest of the cast--to give a really bad performance like mine you need to have really bad actors," she said.
Indeed, Berry, who took the stage at the Ivar Theatre with her Academy Award in one hand, the Golden Raspberry in the other and her agent in tow, had company in Razzie hell. Catwoman was one of the night's big winners, as it were, taking four awards, including the ultimate dis, Worst Picture.
The other big "winner" was Fahrenheit 9/11, which also claimed four Razzies. Michael Moore's popular and polemic documentary on President Bush and post-9/11 politics was not itself ridiculed. Voting members of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, a consortium of 675 dues-paying film buffs from around the world, reserved their scorn for the featured talking heads.
To whit, President Bush was named Worst Actor; Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Worst Supporting Actor; and Britney Spears, seen in a brief clip voicing support for the President, Worst Supporting Actress. Bush scored a second Razzie win for Worst Screen Couple category, a needling shared with now Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the titular hero of the children's book My Pet Goat.
The White House contingent did not attend the Razzies ceremony. Aside from Berry, neither did any of the other scorned winners, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, named Worst Razzie Loser of Our First 25 Years for his knack of racking up nominations (eight in all), but never quite converting them to wins. Until now, that is.
As one might expect, star appearances at the Razzies are rare. The last name act to take his medicine--and his golf ball--in person was Freddy Got Fingered's Tom Green, proving himself a better sport than filmmaker in 2002.
Berry's act of bravery was the product of her upbringing, she told the audience. "When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser," she said, according to the Associated Press, "then there's no way you could be a good winner."
The failed feline heroine will bounce back Sunday as a scheduled presenter at the 77th Annual Academy Awards.
Good egg or no, Berry said she has no intention of becoming a Razzies regular. Quipped the actress, per the AP: "I hope to God I never see these people again!"
Here's a complete look at the razzed winners of the 25th annual Razzie Awards:
Worst Picture: Catwoman
Worst Actor in a Leading Role: President Bush, Fahrenheit 9/11
Worst Actress in a Leading Role: Halle Berry, Catwoman
Worst Supporting Actor: Donald Rumsfeld, Fahrenheit 9/11
Worst Supporting Actress: Britney Spears, Fahrenheit 9/11
Worst Screen Couple: President Bush and either Condoleeza Rice or his pet goat, Fahrenheit 9/11
Worst Remake or Sequel: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
Worst Director: Pitof, Catwoman
Worst Screenplay: Catwoman
Worst Razzie Loser of Our First 25 Years: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Worst Musical of Our First 25 Years: From Justin to Kelly (2003)
Worst Comedy of Our First 25 Years: Gigli (2003)
Worst Drama of Our First 25 Years: Battlefield Earth (2000)
Shout! Factory reveals more SCTV
This volume offers nine 90 minutes show from the fourth season to feed the demand for more SCTV. Broadcast on NBC in 1982, these episodes introduce new cast member Martin Short and chronicle the height of success for characters Bob and Doug.
It is here where The Shmenge Brothers (John Candy and Eugene Levy) make their first appearance and the Great White North gets the “special” treatment in the “Great White North Palace” featuring Tony Bennett. Celebrities Bill Murray and Carl Perkins join the fray and musical guests Bennett, Jimmy Buffett and Hall and Oates offer classic performances.
The set contains commentaries, the featurettes The Producers, That's Life with John Candy, SCTV Remembers, Part 3 and Television Festival Presents SCTV and a John Candy Photo Gallery.
The set arrives with an $89.98 suggested retail price on March 1st.