Madsen admits 'Sideways' a career booster

TORONTO (CP) - For two decades Virginia Madsen has been regarded as a Hollywood actress far better than the parts that came her way. Then last year, as she crossed over the big four-oh line, along came the role of Maya in Alexander Payne's Academy Award-nominated indie film Sideways.

And that has made all the difference.

"Oh my God, everything's changed," exclaims Madsen in a telephone interview from Los Angeles to promote Tuesday's home video release of Sideways.

"I'm making money now. And I also, for the first time, have three films lined up, and I've never had that luxury in my career, ever. You know, to be booked for a while, that's every actor's dream."

The blond Chicago native with one green eye and one half-green, half-brown, broke into the movies in the mid-1980s in such promising titles as Dune, Electric Dreams and Candyman. But in the '90s her rising star seemed to get eclipsed by her brother with the tough-guy image, Michael Madsen (the scary ear-slicer in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs).

Then along came Payne's Oscar-winning script for Sideways, about the misadventures of Miles and Jack, two middle-aged buddies who embark on a last-chance wine-tasting tour through California vineyard country.

In her Oscar-nominated supporting role, Madsen plays a wine-savvy local waitress who has already been beaten up by life and who falls for divorced, failed writer Miles (American Splendor's Paul Giamatti).

While many filmgoers were skeptical that the appealing Maya could like such a sad sack, Madsen finds it entirely plausible, insisting Maya was definitely not "settling."

Her character, she notes, was drawn to Miles's simple honesty, compared with her former professor husband who she found to be a "fraud."

"A lot of the women pick up on that particular word, because it means he was a fake, none of the things she thought (Miles) was.

"Some of us like nice guys. You know, I'm not 25 anymore. I'm not looking for James Dean on a bike, you know. I've got a 10-year-old son, I don't need another one."

So the Sideways role, to Madsen, puts the lie to the Hollywood theory that there are no good parts for women over 40.

"I've had the best roles of my life at this age," she maintains. "I don't think there's very good roles for women in their 20s. There's an abundance, but not many realistic portrayals of 23-year-olds."

She says while she can play a woman like Maya, she would have found it difficult at 25 or 30 trying to play, say, a mother and a lawyer, a character who had lived life.

As for moviegoers who found it difficult watching a film with two "heroes" who were so deeply flawed and outright obnoxious, Madsen says perhaps they should go see Scooby Doo and analyse it for its characters' imperfections.

"If you really examine the character of Shaggy, you will find a sad little man whose best friend is a dog and who has a serious eating disorder!"

Sideways, she adds, is about flawed people because writer-director Payne has admitted he doesn't know any likable heroes.

"We're all sideways people, we're all twisted and we all have our eccentricities and we've all done terrible things and good things. Martha Stewart, for God's sake, just went to prison for lying."

Frankly, she admits, she was braced for a different kind of debate about the film, convinced Mothers Against Drunk Driving, for example, would launch a vigorous campaign protesting the drinking and driving that went on during Miles and Jack's pilgrimage though the grapes.

As for reports the film has singlehandedly raised public awareness of, and interest in, wine-making and wine-tasting, Madsen says it's because wine has evolved from an elitist pastime to an approachable experience in American culture.

"Wine's become so affordable. You can get a really nice bottle of wine for $20 and you can have wine-tasting parties at home, and it's a real communal experience, a fun thing to share with friends."

Madsen says she has been filming in Vancouver recently and is scheduled to visit B.C.'s Okanagan Valley for a wine-tasting.

"I haven't found one (B.C. wine) that I like yet. Everyone of course in Canada really wants to turn me onto it, so I'm getting a new bottle practically every day in my hotel and I'm kinda like, 'I don't like that one, either' but I'm willing to give it a try."

When in Toronto recently, she says she was given a nice bottle of Ontario wine - she couldn't recall the name - but California wines remain her favourite.

Pamela Anderson Newest Face for M.A.C.

NEW YORK - Pamela Anderson is the newest face of the VIVA GLAM V lipstick and lipglass, the primary fund-raising tools for the M.A.C. AIDS Fund.

The former "Baywatch" actress joins the roster of the VIVA GLAM V lipstick advertising campaign that includes Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott, Linda Evangelista, Chloe Sevigny and Boy George.

"M.A.C. VIVA GLAM V is a great campaign to be involved with," Anderson said in a statement. "I feel privileged and empowered to help raise funds and awareness of the importance for getting tested.

"After being diagnosed with hepatitis C, I knew the importance of knowing your status. Only then can you make informed and wise decisions for your health and life."

Anderson was to be introduced Thursday at a Manhattan news conference. John Demsey, chairman of the M.A.C. AIDS Fund, was among those expected to attend.

The M.A.C. AIDS Fund, created by the professional cosmetics company in 1994, has raised more than $44 million, according to the fund's Web site.

The company says 100 percent of the sales of the lipglass and lipstick directly benefits the fund.

ABC's Koppel Leaving 'Nightline'

NEW YORK - Ted Koppel, who has provided a late-night alternative to laughs as anchor of ABC News' "Nightline" since it began 25 years ago, said Thursday he will leave the network when his contract expires in December.

Koppel, 65, said he's not retiring. His departure casts doubt on the future of "Nightline," although Koppel and ABC News President David Westin expressed confidence that it will continue.

The broadcast's longtime executive producer, Tom Bettag, will leave ABC News with Koppel.

Westin had made it clear that he wanted to expand "Nightline" to an hour and air live each weeknight (sometimes it's taped). Koppel was offered the chance to continue, or perhaps switch jobs with Sunday morning's "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos, but told Westin upon returning from a vacation this week that he wanted to leave.

"I would have preferred Ted to have stayed a few more years, but I respect his decision and I admire his courage to walk away," Westin said.

Koppel and ABC News executives had worked out a transition plan when he signed his last contract five years ago, but it blew up in 2002 when ABC's entertainment division made a secret bid to lure David Letterman from CBS. Letterman chose to stay, and the incident made "Nightline" employees question ABC's commitment to their show.

Koppel said Westin has assured him that he was not being pushed out the door.

"But who knows?" Koppel said. "Maybe it was. I'm too much a reporter and a realist, and have been in this business too long, not to recognize that my salary is very high, particularly for someone who only does three days a week now."

He said he understands that it is harder to keep an audience and make money in a fragmented television market where there are many more options than when he started "Nightline." As a direct competitor to Letterman and NBC's Jay Leno, the show's viewership has dropped from an average of 6.3 million a decade ago to 3.8 million this season, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"Maybe they feel that it's time to give somebody younger and willing to go downmarket a chance, but I'd only be speculating," he said. "I hope they don't go downmarket."

ABC has tested some new "Nightline" ideas at the network's Times Square studio in New York, and current "Nightline" staffers have submitted a proposal to keep it in Washington. Stephanopoulos and Chris Bury lately have served as subs on nights Koppel is absent.

"It will be a somewhat different program, but it will be a program that the `Nightline' audience will recognize and, I believe, embrace," Westin said.

Westin is working from the assumption that "Nightline" will continue, although it's ultimately ABC President Anne Sweeney's decision. It's also hard to imagine Robert Iger, incoming chief executive of ABC parent Walt Disney Corp. and a former ABC executive, won't weigh in.

Many in ABC's news division are hopeful, believing ABC's entertainment division and corporate cousin ESPN have no better alternatives for the 11:35 p.m. time slot.

"Nightline" began as a series of special reports during the Iranian hostage crisis in November 1979 (originally anchored by Frank Reynolds). Then ABC News President Roone Alredge seized on the opportunity to wrest the time from affiliates, and it became a regular newscast the following March.

Koppel's use of technology to conduct live interviews with subjects all around the world and show remote shots from far-flung places like Mount Everest — now television staples — were groundbreaking when "Nightline" started.

He also said he's proud of the show's efforts to investigate subjects that often didn't get much attention on television, such as the criminal justice system. "Nightline" did some 40 shows on the AIDS crisis over the years, he said.

Koppel had been ABC News' chief diplomatic correspondent for the decade before "Nightline" began. He joined ABC News as a general assignment reporter in New York at age 23 in 1963.

Koppel "is just a terrific reporter and as good an interviewer not only as there is today but as there has ever been in network news," Westin said. He's "a symbol for the best that we aspire to be."

Bettag, who has been Koppel's off-screen sidekick for 14 years, said the two men anticipate sticking together in some future projects.

"We're genuinely jumping off a cliff and declaring to the world eight months before our contract is up that we're out there looking to do good work," Bettag said.

They may not have to look long. Koppel said a news release announcing his departure was e-mailed to the world at 10:59 a.m. on Thursday and he got his first job offer at 11:01 (he won't say from whom).

"It was sort of lovely," he said. "I was disappointed that it didn't come in at 11, of course."

Noah Wyle to Leave As 'ER' Regular

LOS ANGELES - The doctor is out: Noah Wyle is leaving "ER" as a regular cast member at the end of this season, NBC said Thursday. Wyle, 33, the only original star who remained with the medical drama through its 11 years, will return for four episodes in each of the next two seasons. "ER" has been renewed through the 2007-08 season.

True love steals away his character, Dr. John Carter, who reunites in the May 12 episode with girlfriend Kem (Thandie Newton), a health administrator he met doing volunteer medical work in Africa.

Carter leaves Chicago's County General Hospital in the May 19 season finale.

"It's very sad for me. Noah and I have a lot of history together," "ER" executive producer John Wells told USA Today. "He's a wonderful actor and a wonderful man, and it's been great to watch him grow up and get married and have a family."

In 2004, Wyle said he intended to leave "ER" when his contract ended this season.

"I've just got other stuff going in my life right now," Wyle told "E! News Live" last September. "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."

When the series debuted in September 1994, Wyle played the impressionable young resident in a cast that included Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Eriq La Salle, Julianna Margulies and Sherry Stringfield.

As they departed, Wyle turned into the show's centerpiece.

Stringfield returned to her role as Dr. Susan Lewis in 2001 after a five-year break.

The drama has been a durable performer for NBC, although it lost its No. 1 ratings status to newcomers including Fox's "American Idol." In head-to-head competition with CBS' "Without a Trace" at 10 p.m. EST Thursday, it trails in total viewers.

Sony's PSP Selling Well But Not Sold Out - Analyst

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Corp.'s new handheld video game unit, the PlayStation Portable, is selling well but is far from sold out at stores nationwide, an analyst said on Thursday.

One week after the $249 PSP package was launched in the United States, American Technology Research found that only 50 of 150 stores surveyed nationally in the last two days were sold out. Another 15 stores had three or fewer units left.

Sony pushed hard to have as many as 1 million units available for the U.S. launch, postponing the device's European debut indefinitely so it could have enough hardware to meet that U.S. goal. Supplies have been thin in Japan as well, where the PSP debuted in a frenzy late last year.

The PSP, which also plays movies and music in addition to games, is Sony's first entry into handheld gaming, a market controlled since 1989 by Nintendo Co. Ltd. . Nintendo's established Game Boy Advance SP sells for $79, and its new dual-screened DS sells for $149.

Analyst P.J. McNealy said the specialty gaming retailers have already sold through two waves of hardware, but "big-box" retailers like Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. got more units than expected at launch and have inventory remaining.

McNealy estimated the PSP sold as many as 575,000 units in its first week, with up to 300,000 left in the inventory channel.

"The PlayStation Portable (PSP) has been solid but not spectacular. We believe that the PSP launch, while not the blow-out event expected, will be considered successful as retailers continue to sell through existing inventory levels," McNealy said in a note.

With sales of console games slowing as manufacturers prepare for the next generation of game hardware, the industry is counting on the handheld market to pick up much of the sales slack in calendar 2005. Most analysts expect U.S. software sales growth to be flat to up 5 percent this year.

Eccleston quits Doctor Who role

Actor Christopher Eccleston has quit as Doctor Who after just one episode of the new series has been screened, the BBC has confirmed.

Eccleston, whose first appearance as the ninth Time Lord attracted around 10 million viewers, feared being typecast.

Talks are taking place to replace him with Casanova star David Tennant.

A second series of the new Doctor Who, which will again be written by Russell T Davies and produced by BBC Wales, has already been commissioned.

Billie Piper, who plays Dr Who's assistant Rose, is expected to star again.

Eccleston - whose last appearance is expected to be in a Christmas special - said he was also planning new projects and that he found filming the series gruelling.

"The audience's response for the new Doctor Who has been incredible and I am really proud to be part of it and I hope viewers continue to enjoy the series," he said in a statement issued through the BBC.

A BBC spokesman said the corporation would issue a formal statement later on Thursday and that it had hoped, rather than expected, that Eccleston would continue in the role.

He said that although talks to make David Tennant the 10th Doctor were taking place, other names may be put forward.

Bill Nighy was also considered for the Eccleston role, while Richard E Grant starred in a BBC web drama version of Doctor Who.

Period drama Casanova, which moves to BBC1 from BBC3 on Monday, added to Tennant's reputation after his success in the drama Blackpool.

The BBC announced on Wednesday that it had commissioned the second Doctor Who series, which will again feature 13 episodes.

Billie Piper will once again play Rose in the new series

Russell T Davies said: "It's fantastic news. It's been a tense and jittery time because the production team has been working on plans.

"It's particularly good for BBC Wales. This is a major flagship show for the region, and their staff and crews are the best you could find. It's a tribute to them that Doctor Who is returning."

Dr Who was relaunched last Saturday weekend following a 16-year hiatus.

With 9.9 million viewers, it beat Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

Corgan Teams With Smith

Former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan will release his debut solo album, TheFutureEmbrace, on June 21st.

"It's guitar-driven and loud, but not aggressive," Corgan tells Rolling Stone. "The videos, music and tour will be really new and different. No one will accuse me of sitting on my past."

Recorded in Chicago, Future was co-produced by Corgan and features eleven new songs, including the first single, "Walking Shade," as well as an unlikely cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody," with the Cure's Robert Smith on backing vocals.

"The Cure is one of my favorite bands of all time," Corgan says. "Robert is a good friend of mine, so it's a dream come true. That song's sort of a gem that not everyone will know."

As for Corgan's aforementioned past, more than 200 Pumpkins' songs will be made available digitally on April 1st, including their six studio albums and dozens of B-sides. "The band was really aggressive about recording B-sides," Corgan says. "There's a song called 'Set the Ray to Jerry' that Flood, our producer, didn't think much of, but many Pumpkins fans think it's one of the best things we ever did."

Corgan just finished shooting the video for "Walking Shade" in Los Angeles and he plans to launch a world tour in July.

Huey Lewis & The News celebrate 25 years with live set, tour

Huey Lewis & The News will mark their 25th anniversary with a recently recorded live set and another round of tour dates.

Titled "Live at 25," the new collection is due in stores May 17, and will be available as an audio CD and video DVD. The group recorded the set during a two-night stand in Chico, CA, last December.

In addition to the recently recorded live material, "Live at 25" will also include some bonus material from the group's archives. A final track listing has not yet been released.

As "Live at 25" heads to stores, Lewis and his band plan to log some miles during a tour that so far stretches from early April into late September. The itinerary is included below.

Best known for their '80s-era batch of hits, Huey Lewis & The News have continued to tour steadily over the years. The group's most-recent studio album is 2001's "Plan B," which is its first collection of new material since 1991's "Hard at Play."

"Sports," released in 1983, remains the group's most commercially successful album to date. It features the Top 10 hits "I Want a New Drug," "The Heart of Rock & Roll," "If This Is It" and "Heart and Soul," and has been certified seven-times platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Tour Itinerary

April 2005
3 - Saint Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
8 - Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park Amphitheatre
9 - Orlando, FL - Universal Studios
10 - Saint Petersburg, FL - FunFest
29, 30 - Lincoln City, OR - Chinook Winds Casino

May 2005
28 - Kelseyville, CA - Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa
29 - Sparks, NV - John Ascuaga's Nugget

June 2005
4 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
10, 11 - Hankinson, ND - Dakota Magic
23 - Rama, Ontario - Casino Rama
30 - San Rafael, CA - Marin County Fair

July 2005
2 - Kettering, OH - Fraze Pavilion
3 - Cleveland, OH - Scene Pavilion
4 - Dublin, OH - Coffman High School
29 - Dubuque, IA - Dubuque County Fair
30 - West Bend, WI - Washington County Fair

August 2005
3 - Sterling Heights, MI - Jerome Duncan Ford Theatre
4 - Clio, MI - Clio Amphitheater
18 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion
19 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
20 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino
21 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap Filene Center
24 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre
26-28 - Atlantic City, NJ - Hilton Hotel & Casino

September 2005
6 - Livermore, CA - Wente Concerts at the Vineyard
8 - Tucson, AZ - Desert Diamond Casino
9 - Alpine, CA - Viejas Concerts in the Park
10 - Sante Fe Springs, CA - To be announced
15 - Santa Ynez, CA - Chumash Casino
16, 17 - Saratoga, CA - Historic Mountain Winery
24 - San Francisco, CA - Blues Festival

Online 'Hitchhiker' Trailer Visits 'Sin City'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - A trailer for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" that was made exclusively for the Internet will make an unprecedented leap to the big screen on Friday, April 1st. No foolin'.

Because of overwhelming online buzz since debuting mid-February, the promo will piggyback onto the theatrical release of Robert Rodriguez's action-packed "Sin City," which opens Friday.

"The response to the online trailer has been nothing short of phenomenal, with more than 7,000 discussions about the film posted since its debut. Many of those discussions urged us to put the trailer on the big screen," says Oren Aviv, president of marketing at Buena Vista Pictures. "The trailer is great fun for movie fans of all ages, whether they've read the Douglas Adams books or not, and it takes a very lighthearted, engaging and irreverent approach towards introducing the film."

The preview sets up the adventures of humble Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman of "The Office" and "Shaun of the Dead") after he becomes the only human to survive the demolition of Earth by the Vogons, who intend to use it for hyperspace freeway development. He joins a ragtag bunch of intergalactic travelers who are trying to discover the meaning of life.

Based on the best-selling novel by Douglas Adams, "Hitchhiker's Guide" opens nationwide on Friday, April 29. The film also stars Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel and Bill Nighy.

MAYBE THE TWIST ENDING THIS TIME IS THAT GIAMATTI WILL ACTUALLY GET AN OSCAR NOMINATION!

Days after setting his next film, "Lady in the Water," at Warner Bros., M. Night Shyamalan is moving quickly to set Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard in the starring roles.

Shyamalan has for several days been courting Giamatti to play a building super who finds a sea nymph in his apartment building's pool, and he has tapped Howard to play the title character.

WB will make formal offers to both thesps today for an August start date and a July 2006 release.

Sam Mercer is producing the project through Shyamalan's Blinding Edge shingle.

Pic will mark a reteaming for Shyamalan and Howard, who starred in his last film, "The Village." She replaced Nicole Kidman in the Lars Von Trier-directed "Manderlay" and next stars for Kenneth Branagh in the HBO Films-financed theatrical feature "As You Like It." She also will play the title role in "Mary Queen of Scots" for Warner Independent Pictures.

Giamatti is coming off "Sideways" and will next be seen starring opposite Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger in the Ron Howard-directed "Cinderella Man."

Showdown Between 'Lost' and 'Idol'

In a decision that is likely to boost the sales of TiVos and other digital video recorders, ABC plans to air the season finale of Lost as a two-hour special on May 25, the last night of the May sweeps and the 2004-05 season, opposite the two-hour season finale of American Idol.. In an interview with Daily Variety, ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said that the decision "was driven by the creative," TV jargon for content, adding that the show's producers and writers "have worked really hard to deliver for this first season, and to have it come to this great climax. They've delivered at the highest level, and it made sense to put it on regardless [of the competition]." Fox said that it had always planned to air the Idol finale on May 25.

'Miami Vice' Squad Books Gong Li as Love Interest

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Chinese-born actress Gong Li has joined the cast of Michael Mann's big-screen update on the 1980s TV crime drama "Miami Vice" for Universal Pictures.

Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx star, respectively, as Detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs in the film being adapted from the hit NBC series. Mann, who executive-produced the TV show, is writing, directing and producing the feature.

The actress will play Isabella, the Chinese-Cuban wife of the leader of a transnational crime syndicate and Crockett's love interest.

"Vice" is set for a July 28, 2006, release.

Li, whose credits include "Raise the Red Lantern" and "Farewell My Concubine," appears in the upcoming films "2046," "Eros" and "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Run DMC Star to Spread the Word on Reality TV Show

NEW YORK (Reuters) - What happens when rappers grow up? A new reality show starring former Run DMC star Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons aims to show you.

And you might be surprised.

"It's about Run, formerly Run DMC, who grew up on MTV, all grown up," said the rapper and father of five who now wears a white collar and preaches at an evangelical church.

"We grow up, we're fathers, we're family men. People don't see that side of rappers," Simmons told Reuters Television in an interview. "Rap has come a long way and you see that on this reality show," he said, adding that a pilot has been made and he expected to get the green light from MTV soon.

Simmons, who also has his own sneaker line and continues to make music, teamed up with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs to make the show which he hopes will help his mission of spreading the word of God through rap -- a genre better known for the crime, cursing and hard-living of many of its protagonists.

"I can go to church and preach to the saved and that's good, but they're saved. Or I can make a record and take my time and figure out how to catch everybody," said Simmons, who was accompanied to the interview by his mentor Bishop E. Bernard Jordan, founder and head of the Zoe Ministries church.

Combs approached him with the MTV idea. "He said ... I'm P. Diddy, you are Frank Sinatra ... I'll put you on MTV."'

"Run DMC were the first group on MTV that was black besides Michael Jackson so it's kind of perfect for me to be on MTV and say 'Look, rappers grow up,"' Simmons added.

For Simmons, the cause of the problems that make rap such a controversial art is the breakdown of the family and the fact that so many black Americans grow up in single parent homes.

Already under fire for lyrics that glorify violence and drugs, the rap world made headlines again recently over a feud between 50 Cent and The Game which erupted into a shootout at a New York radio station before the two called a truce.

Simmons said rap was misunderstood. "They're just showing what's going on in their neighborhood. It's not a pessimistic or optimistic view of the world, it's just like that."

The reality show aims to offer another view of the world, and offer an alternative black role model to the comedian Bill Cosby whose 1980s sitcom showed the lives of an affluent, professional family in New York.

"You will see Bill Cosby on steroids," Simmons said. "You'll see a lot of funny stuff, you'll see a lot of daddy knows best stuff, you'll see a lot of me and my wife trying to hold the family together."

Get Cooler

On June 7th, only three months after its theatrical premiere, MGM Home Entertainment will release Be Cool, the 2005 sequel to Get Shorty. John Travolta returns as Chili Palmer and is joined by his Pulp Fiction costar Uma Thurman; he's an ex-gangster turned movie exec turned music exec. The film earned back a tad under its production costs at the box office; I expect it to find new life on DVD. The anamorphic video presentation and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track will be supplemented with "Be Cool, Very Cool" Making-of Documentary; Deleted Scenes; a Gag Reel; a Music Video by The Rock as Elliot Wilhelm, "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man"; Close-Up Featurettes entitled Dance Partners, The Rock, Andre 3000, Cedric the Entertainer, and Christina Milian; and, the Original Theatrical Trailer. The SRP is $27.98.

Extended Stripes

Decades after its release, Ivan Reitman has revisited the military comedy Stripes with an extended cut of the film adding twenty minutes to the runtime thanks to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Bill Murray stars as John Winger who loses his job, his car, his apartment and his girlfriend - all in one day. His solution to the desolation of his life is to hitch up with the Army, talking his friend Russell (Harold Ramis) into enlisting with him. John convinces Russell that they'll get in shape, travel the world, and, most importantly, meet girls.

The DVD will be presented in widescreen and will contain a new audio commentary by director Ivan Reitman. The DVD also contains a new documentary and six deleted scenes.

The DVD will arrive at the barracks on June 7th and carry a $19.94 suggested list price.

Great Big Sea's Alan Doyle produced, co-wrote CD for Russell Crowe

TORONTO (CP) - Russell Crowe's next musical venture will have a distinctly Canadian flavour.

Great Big Sea frontman Alan Doyle helped produce and co-write the actor's next CD, tentatively titled My Hand My Heart. The pair began collaborating last summer after meeting backstage following a Great Big Sea concert in Toronto.

"(He) asked if I'd like to come by the hotel some time and write some songs," Doyle recalled from his studio in St. John's, Nfld.

Crowe was in Toronto at the time filming Cinderella Man. The rest of the production took place at Crowe's home studio in Australia.

"It was great fun. It was excellent," Doyle said. "He's got such a history of writing and recording music himself that it was great to actually sit with somebody who's been at it as long, or longer than me, but comes from a completely different part of the world and a completely different perspective on music."

Doyle praised Crowe's writing, saying the actor knows how to "deliver a good song" and is a "spectacular lyricist."

"I've never met anyone who pays more attention to the word than Russell Crowe," Doyle said. "I don't know if that's a result of him being a very attentive musician or being the best actor in the world ... somebody who's been exposed to the best dialogue in the world."

Crowe, who has been singing for several years, was equally impressed by Doyle.

"Alan Doyle is the first magical musical collaboration I have ever experienced," Crowe said in a statement. "We had the type of synergy I have experienced with other actors or directors, but which has always eluded me in music. I have poured my heart into these songs."

Doyle is back at work with Great Big Sea on a new CD.

Cochran Dead at 67

Johnnie Cochran Jr., arguably America's most famous criminal lawyer, died Tuesday.

The attorney, best known for defending O.J. Simpson against double-murder charges in the 1990s, was 67.

MSNBC reported Cochran's death early Tuesday afternoon. "He had had a brain tumor, and he had gone through a long process of dealing with it," attorney Rikki Klieman, legal analyst for NBC's Today show and expert on E! News' own The Michael Jackson Trial, told the cable network.

Cochran had been ill for years with a rare brain disorder that caused his tumor, per reports. He died at his home in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles around 12:30, according to a statement released by his family.

Although he was already a famous figure in legal circles in the 1980s, the legal eagle became a superstar during Simpson's sensational murder trial in the early 1990s. His signature line from the trial, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," became a catchphrase, and his lawyering helped clear his best-known client on murder charges.

Simpson's current attorney, Yale Galanter, released a statement just hours after the former football star learned of Cochran's passing.

"O.J. Simpson sends his deepest regrets and sympathies to Johnnie Cochran's family and loved ones," Galanter said. "Johnnie and O.J. were friends before the trial and remained friendly after the trial. O.J. sends his sincerest condolences. Johnnie was a true friend."

Simpson himself told CNN Tuesday that he loved Cochran as a "good Christian man."

"I knew him as that...he was a great guy," Simpson added.

Simpson told the cable news outlet he last saw his former lawyer at an Los Angeles Lakers game. He said Cochran seemed in good spirits despite his serious medical condition at the time.

Although Cochran was well-known before the O.J. trial, television coverage of the case made him a star overnight. He went on to become part of America's collective subconscious--inspiring several entertainment sketches on shows like Saturday Night Live.

He is also the inspiration for one of Seinfeld's most beloved recurring characters, Jackie Chiles, Kramer's fast-talking attorney on the 1990s sitcom.

Cochran even appeared as himself in the film Showtime and did the occasional cameo on televsion shows like The Hughleys.

Some in the television news industry credit Cochran's theatrics, in part, with the rise of Court TV and cable news' subsequent infatuation with celebrity lawyers and legal analysis as entertainment.

Before he was stricken with his brain tumor, Cochran had been working on a variety of cases, including a large-scale effort for African-American slavery reparations.

The UCLA grad's last criminal law case was successfully defending Sean "P. Diddy" Combs on weapons charges in New York in 2000.
Over his career, Cochran represented serveral big names from the entertainment world, including actor Todd Bridges on attempted murder charges, Tupac Shakur on a weapons charge and Snoop Dogg on a murder rap.

Cochran is survived by his son Jonathan Cochran and his daughters, Tiffany Cochran Edwards and Melodie. His wife and two sisters were with him at the time of his death.

Redford Readying "Robinson" Biopic

The Natural is moving from the diamond to the dugout.

Robert Redford, who played a fictional Babe Ruth-esque hero named Roy Hobbes in 1984's classic baseball film, The Natural, is ready to take on another sports legend.

The actor-director will essay the role of Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey in a biopic of Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in the Major League.

According to Daily Variety, Baldwin Entertainment, the producers of Ray, will team up with Redford's Wildwood Enterprises to produce the picture.

Redford has been developing the project on the Civil Rights pioneer with the consent of Robinson's widow and Rickey's son.

"It's a simple story, and one that most don't know about—how the color barrier was broken and changed the face of baseball and ultimately the country," Redford told Variety.

The still-untitled film will focus on Robinson's trials and tribulations after signing with the Dodgers in 1947, as he battled bigotry from both players and fans to stake out equal rights for African Americans, while laying the groundwork for the end of segregation.

The story will trace the athlete's youth in Southern California through his days starting for the Dodgers under Rickey, where he prevailed despite receiving death threats from fans, encountering tension from his teammates and facing the threat of a strike by the rival St. Louis Cardinals.

(Robinson, by the way, ended up playing himself in The Jackie Robinson Story, a 1950s film about his wild entry into the majors.)

Kirk Ellis, who nabbed an Emmy for writing the TV movie Anne Frank: The Whole Story, and who also wrote The Beach Boys: An American Family, will pen the screenplay.

No word yet who'll portray Robinson. However Baldwin Entertainment Chief Howard Baldwin is definitely eyeing Ray star, Jamie Foxx, a no-brainer considering Foxx won a Best Actor Academy Award portraying Ray Charles, in last year's biographical film about the music icon.

Baldwin--who's a veteran producer of sports flicks including Mystery Alaska and the upcoming The Game of Their Lives--told Variety the movie will reportedly end when Robinson takes the field for the Dodgers.

Aside from getting the Robinson movie up and running, Redford meanwhile recently revealed his intention to reunite with his most famous onscreen partner, Paul Newman, for one last go-round before Newman's promised retirement after two more pictures.

The two, who invented the "buddy picture" with 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and 1973's The Sting, are looking to team up for a film adaptation of Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods.

"That might be something for Paul Newman and me, if we're not too old," said Redford. "That's if Paul can hang on long enough, and we can get him on the Appalachian Trail before he gets in a wheelchair."

The thespian's next project however will be starring opposite Jennifer Lopez in the drama An Unfinished Life for director Lassë Hallstrom.

Lost Affleck Cameo in 'Elektra' DVD

Hollywood star Ben Affleck's deleted cameo in girlfriend Jennifer Garner's latest movie Elektra is set to be included in the forthcoming DVD of the Daredevil spin-off. Affleck began dating the Alias beauty shortly after he visited the Vancouver, Canada set of the action movie last summer. Despite filming a small role in Elektra, producers removed Affleck's scene from the final cut after they discovered the two actors were dating, fearing a similar backlash to Affleck's films Gigli and Jersey Girl, in which he starred alongside then fiancee Jennifer Lopez. Movie site RopeofSilicon.Com has posted the deleted scene, entitled "Come Back," in a DVD preview of Elektra.

Orlando To Bloom As Young 007?

Orlando Bloom's dream of becoming the next James Bond looks set to become reality - but he'll be playing the young 007. The Pirates Of The Caribbean actor has confirmed he has been in negotiations to star in Young 007. He says, "I love the idea, in principle, as he can be far more adventurous and do more stunts. This is as near as I think I will get to playing the grown up James for the next 20 years." The first Young 007 movie will be based on new novel Silverfin and will be set in the 1930s, years before Bond discovered he likes his Martinis shaken, not stirred. The film will follow the young Bond from school at Eton, England, to his uncle's house in the west Highlands.

Fisher To Reveal 'Star Wars' Secrets

Actress-turned-novelist Carrie Fisher is set to expose the secrets of the original Star Wars films in a behind-the-scenes expose of the classic sci-fi trilogy. Fisher, 48, kept a diary during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when she played Princess Leia Organa opposite Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill. She explains, "My publisher has told me not to talk about it... oh what the hell. When I was in Star Wars, I kept diaries. Big books full of what went on, what I thought, what I did. I am going to write them all up as a narrative. It will be riveting. Once I get started, that is. I'm months behind already."

Slash to handle anthems, Trailer Park Boys first pitch at Jays home opener

TORONTO (CP) - Laurel Lindsay knows it sounds cheesy but she can't help herself.

"You want to make a splash and you make a splash with Slash," she said with a laugh Tuesday after the Toronto Blue Jays announced plans to have the former Guns N' Roses guitarist perform the national anthems before the club's April 8 home opener against the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

"Opening night isn't your typical night," added Lindsay, vice-president, consumer marketing for the Jays. "It's about entertainment and it's the one game of the year when you can be different from other nights."

With the three main characters of the Canadian cult TV hit Trailer Park Boys on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, Blue Jays fans can be certain of that.

Rather than the safe, staid choices who typically perform the anthems at the Rogers Centre - it was R&B artist Keshia Chante at last year's opening day and Shawn Desman a year before that - Slash is a riskier, more memorable choice.

The renowned guitarist, famous for wearing top hats that sit precariously atop his wild curls and strumming with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, was a longtime member of rebel heavy metal band Guns N' Roses before joining rock supergroup Velvet Revolver.

Deb Belinsky, who is in charge of in-game entertainment for the Jays, pitched the idea to Slash last summer when he was in Toronto with Velvet Revolver for a show. He'll make a side trip from the group's current tour to play the home opener.

"He loved it," said Lindsay. "He loved the fact of coming here to perform solo and do the anthems. He's never done it before."

As for those worried about what Slash might do to O Canada, Lindsay says not to worry.

"It's going to be similar to a Jimi Hendrix style of anthem," she said. "It's going to be his rendition. He's been supplied with all the music and I know he's already practising."

The ceremonial first pitch, however, might not be as incident-free.

Showcase's Trailer Park Boys revolves around the troubled lives of Julian (played by John Paul Tremblay), Ricky (Robb Wells) and Bubbles (Mike Smith), who will take the mound in character and perhaps bring the shenanigans from the show with them.

"We'll know when they get to the mound," said Lindsay. "I have a feeling with these guys, you can't really predict a lot."

Actor Eugene Levy threw out the first pitch last year.

Disney Ends Weinsteins' 25-Year Run at Miramax

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co. and Harvey and Bob Weinstein on Tuesday finally agreed that the brothers would step down from the helm of the Miramax Films unit they founded 25 years ago and which produced Oscar winner "Chicago" and box office hits like "Spy Kids."

The Weinsteins, who named Miramax after their parents Miriam and Max, will form The Weinstein Co. and take some of their best-known directors with them, but will also continue to produce some films in conjunction with Disney after they leave Miramax at the end of September.

The decision ends a fiery relationship between the Weinsteins and Disney's outgoing Chief Executive Michael Eisner, which burst into public many times, notably last year when Disney refused to release Michael Moore's anti-Bush hit "Fahrenheit 9/11."

The end of the long breakup comes just weeks after President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger was named Eisner's successor.

Disney said the Weinsteins will give up their positions as co-chief executives of Miramax but continue as co-chairmen of the company they founded through Sept. 30, completing current film productions and overseeing marketing and distribution.

Miramax Films and a 550-title library that includes the hit "Scary Movie" titles and Oscar winners like "The English Patient" will remain at Disney, which can exploit them on DVD or new digital formats of the future.

The Weinsteins and Disney pledged to collaborate on new films in the lucrative "Spy Kids" and "Scary Movie" franchises, as well as more than 25 other projects, but The Weinstein Co. will release films from directors Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith with whom the Weinsteins have long relationships.

Disney and the Weinsteins did not disclose financial terms. Published reports had speculated Disney would pay more than $100 million in performance bonuses to the Weinsteins for 2004 and 2005, but that could not be confirmed.

HARVEY'S BITTERSWEET MOMENT

Disney acquired Miramax in 1993 for what at that time was reported to be between $70 million and $80 million. Twelve years and 220 Academy Award nominations later, Miramax was worth $2 billion, according to Harvey Weinstein.

In a conference call with reporters, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook called the Weinstein brothers "two of the most creative and passionate" executives in the movies.

Reflecting on what was a bittersweet moment, Harvey Weinstein said giving up a company that bore the names of his parents "was the toughest part of the entire negotiation."

"Maybe the whole chapter hasn't been written on that; maybe it has," Weinstein added.

He and Bob Weinstein will retain the Dimension Films label, which has been a popular brand for mass market movies aimed at kids and teenagers -- two core markets for film companies.

Miramax, by contrast, targets adults, art house crowds and lovers of foreign language films with its slate of movies.

Disney's Cook said decisions on the size, structure and strategy for the new Miramax Films would be made by July 2005, and he declined to divulge further details.

Likewise, Harvey Weinstein declined to say how much money he and his brother would raise for The Weinstein Co., or how large it would be when formed.

Their new company will be "a fully integrated media company" with broadcasting, film distribution and even Internet components, Harvey Weinstein said.

He said the reasons for the breakup were many, but singled out deals he brought to Disney to acquire the Bravo and IFC cable channels, as well as film distributor Artisan Entertainment that were nixed by Disney corporate executives.

"In the new Disney, I think, those entrepreneurial efforts will be met with a stronger response," Weinstein said. "That is the irony of this deal." Iger will succeed Eisner as chief executive on Sept. 30 -- the same day the Weinsteins depart Miramax.

Close encounters of William Shatner

Wanna make a movie with Captain Kirk?

That was the dilithium crystal carrot used to lure hundreds of Star Trek followers and other geeks out to Riverside, Iowa -- future birthplace of James T. Kirk.

Starting tonight, the actual town is the setting for Invasion Iowa, a prank reality series from the network and the producers behind The Joe Schmo Show.

The miniseries, which stars Kirk himself -- William Shatner -- begins tonight at 9 p.m. and airs all week on the U.S. superstation Spike (channel 32 locally on Rogers), concluding Friday -- April Fool's Day.

According to Trek lore (so it must be true), Kirk was born on March 22, 2228.

Iowa was mentioned as the birthplace on one Trek episode and some "enterprising" local decided Riverside was as good a place as any to fleece tourists.

For the past 20 years, Trekkers have been trekking to the small rural town (pop. 978) to celebrate all things Kirk.

Enjoying a career rebirth at 73 as a Boston Legal weasel, Shatner beamed aboard last January's Spike network press conference to promote the series.

Last fall, the Montreal-native and a film crew descended upon Riverside and punk'd the locals under the ruse that they were casting extras for a new sci-fi movie he was directing.

The townspeople (and others tracking the venture on the Internet) lined up for their shot at Hollywood -- only to eventually find it was all a big fat hoax.

"We didn't really dash their dreams. They're on television from Tuesday to Friday," said Shatner.

"Many of my motion pictures didn't last that long."

Cap't Hambone, as always, goes way over the top, arriving in town with a pseudo entourage including a fake spiritual advisor, a "nephew" body double (supposedly a bastard son of a wardrobe assistant on the original Star Trek) and a neurotic assistant -- all played by improv actors.

The people of Riverside prove there's no end to the number of humiliating stunts civilians will do in order to go Hollywood. One little old lady becomes Shatner's cue card holder. Others get tricked into pointless stunt duty. The town is told Sean Connery is jetting in to co-star.

It was all done in fun, Shatner insists. No locals were harmed in the making of this film. "Did we hurt their feelings, did we stunt them with the truth?" Shatner asked rhetorically, as only Shatner can.

Invasion Iowa was more of a love-in, he insists. By the end, a thousand people showed up cheering and crying. "We gave the town a lot of money," he explained. ($100,000 U.S., loser money on Survivor but still a haul in cable cash.)

The hoodwinked townspeople won all sorts of other individual prizes. Dreams came true for several folk, Shatner insists. "We're not laughing at them, they're laughing at us," he said.

It's a kinder, gentler Spike. No more Shmos, just regular folks basking in love and cash. Set phasers for fun.

The producers left behind hundreds of "Shats" green, yellow and red "mood" berets. They came, they pranked, they shat. Like there already wasn't enough shat on TV.

No Freddie, But for Queen the Show Must Go On

LONDON (Reuters) - British rock band Queen has kicked off its first tour since the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991, hoping that the strength of the songs makes up for the absence of the charismatic frontman.

Two of the original band members strutted the stage at a south London venue late on Monday accompanied by Paul Rodgers, the man handed the unenviable task of filling Freddie's shoes.

The crowd of 4,700 did not seem to mind as Brian May on guitar and drummer Roger Taylor led them through classic anthems "I Want to Break Free" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" before winding up with a rousing rendition of "We Are the Champions."

Bass guitarist John Deacon has decided not to join the band on the tour, which begins with dates around Europe before extending to the rest of the world.

Surviving Queen members have played concerts since Mercury died of AIDS, including in South Africa earlier this month, but this is the first tour since the flamboyant rocker performed in front of more than 100,000 fans at Knebworth, England, in 1986.

Wary of Mercury's lasting popularity, the tour has been called "Queen + Paul Rodgers," and May has been at pains to point out that Rodgers, vocalist on Free's 1970 classic "All Right Now," would not be imitating anyone.

"I was always against the idea of putting someone in there trying to impersonate Freddie in any way," May said.

"Then suddenly I'm looking at this guy who doesn't in any sense try to take the place of Freddie."

Die-hard fan Phil Stanyer, waiting for the curtain to go up at the Brixton Academy, said: "It would be better if Freddie was here, but it's the music that keeps us going.

"As they say -- the show must go on."

Internet chat rooms filled with followers defending the band's decision to tour, although there were some dissenters.

"Queen 1991; Freddie 1991. RIP," read one contribution.

QUEEN LIVES ON

Queen, with hits including "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "The Show Must Go On," are one of Britain's most successful bands, selling more than 150 million records worldwide since the early 1970s.

Despite Mercury's death, their success continued with compilations and prizes and the popular tribute musical "We Will Rock You" which has played to London audiences for over two years.

The Brixton preview will be followed by 32 more dates in Britain and Europe, and band management said the tour would be taken worldwide afterwards.

Rodgers recalled how the idea of the tour came together.

"We did a couple of songs together - 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are the Champions' ... It just felt so amazing that when we came off stage everyone just looked at each other and said: 'Well, let's take it on the road,"' he said before the Brixton gig.

Queen will not be the first band to try to resurrect itself after the death of its most famous member.

America's The Doors attempted it after Jim Morrison died of heart failure in 1971 and Australian group INXS has said it will seek a replacement for Michael Hutchence, found dead in a hotel room in 1997, via a reality television series.

Online Music Case Outcome Rests on VCR Technology

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Internet file-sharing services and the entertainment industry square off in the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the outcome will likely rest on a nearly obsolete technology -- the videocassette recorder.

Backers of "peer to peer" networks like Grokster will argue that the software makers deserve the same protections as VCR manufacturers, because both can be used for good or ill.

Record labels and movie studios will argue that Grokster should be held responsible when its millions of users illegally copy movies and music directly from each others' computers.

Both sides will agree one one thing -- the court could harm their ability to produce innovative new products if it doesn't rule in their favor.

"If nothing is changed and these services continue to operate, it will have an impact on the creative process. For the movie industry, it will mean less risk will be taken in terms of the creation of new material," said Dan Glickman, president of the Motion Picture Association of America.

"The way new technology is created and funded is it's a high-risk affair. It's not going to get funded if there's a sword of litigation hanging over it," said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, which supports Grokster.

The Supreme Court in 1984 ruled that Sony Corp. couldn't be held responsible if users of its Betamax VCR copied television shows without permission, because it also could be used for legitimate purposes such as taping a show to watch later.

Lower courts have said that ruling applies to Grokster as well.

The Betamax ruling has allowed consumer-electronics makers to develop products without getting permission from Hollywood first -- a key to the industry's success that could be upset if the court rules against Grokster, backers say.

"Every technology from the CD burner to the personal computer to the iPod has emerged in part because of the clarity of the (Betamax) rule," said Fred von Lohmann, a senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation who is representing Morpheus.

Grokster backers point out that the entertainment industry has a long history of initially opposing new technology, from the player piano to the VCR, that has ultimately benefited it in the long run.

But that doesn't change the fact that Grokster makes its money almost entirely by encouraging people to illegally copy music and movies, the entertainment industry argues.

Using that logic, a single instance of "legitimate" use can justify millions of illegal transactions, they say.

"Nobody would suggest that the iPod is a business based on infringement," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America. "Grokster, on the other hand, was conceived for the very purpose of encouraging and profiting from infringement."

Though the vast majority of traffic over peer-to-peer networks involves copyrighted material, legitimate uses have begun to emerge in recent years.

Independent artists like Steve Winwood have released their music over peer-to-peer networks, while scientists and government bureaucrats have used peer-to-peer technology to distribute information cheaply without central server computers.

Record labels have begun to licensing their music to a new breed of peer-to-peer networks like Mashboxx that will let copyright owners exert some control over their material.

The court will also hear arguments about whether cable companies should have to allow rival Internet service providers to use their high-speed pipeline.

The Couch Potato Report

Returns Thursday, March 31st

New CDS: Beck, Beanie

Reviews of "Guero," "The B. Coming" and more

Beck Guero (Interscope)

After the final out of the 2004 World Series, NBC played Beck's "The Golden Age" during the closing credits. It was a weird choice -- they obviously picked the song to celebrate the Red Sox victory, judging it by the title but ignoring the fact that it's a heinously depressing breakup ballad. Jesus, talk about a buzz-kill. But it was a perfect Beck moment, given the strange way he's spent his career foraging through American junk culture. On Guero, his eighth album, he returns to what he does best, hopping from genre to genre, hustling for scraps of beat and rhyme. He has reunited with the Dust Brothers, the producers behind his 1996 masterpiece, Odelay, for his liveliest and jumpiest music in years. Suggested ad slogan: The slack is back!

Ever since Beck hit his peak with Odelay, he's stood firm in refusing to make a sequel, or even an album that sounded remotely like one. His MO has been to push one of his tricks all the way to album length. So he became a morose folkie on Mutations, a comedy-funk party yutz on Midnite Vultures and a broken-down love junkie on Sea Change. All these records had their good and bad moments, and all had their fervent admirers. But they erred too far on the side of consistency, and whoever wanted consistency from Beck? Guero is the first record since Odelay where Beck mixes up the medicine the way he did in his Nineties prime -- we get stun-gun rock guitar ("E-Pro"), cracked country blues ("Farewell Ride"), psychedelic bossa nova ("Missing"), goth atmospherics ("Scarecrow") and laid-back fire-hydrant-Seventies R&B ("Earthquake Weather").

Throughout Guero, Beck dips deeply into Latin rhythms, reveling in the street culture of the East L.A. neighborhood where he grew up. "Que Onda Guero" is a walk through the barrio, with traffic noises and overheard Spanglish voices over Latin guitars and hip-hop beats. Guero is slang for "white guy"; Beck's an outsider here. The song ends with some stranger saying, "Let's go to Captain Cork's -- they have the new Yanni cassette!" "Hell Yes" and "Black Tambourine" sound like they were knocked off in a session that began, "Hey, let's do some of those wacky, zany numbers we used to do," but they're still pretty great.

Guero will get Beck accused of copying Odelay, but it has a completely different mood. Tune in "Missing" or "Earthquake Weather," and you can't miss the melancholy adult pang in the vocals. The closest he comes to a funny line on the album is "The sun burned a hole in my roof/I can't seem to fix it." Which isn't too close. Beck is thirty-four now and can't pretend to be the same wide-eyed, channel-surfing kid who buzzed with wiseass charisma on Mellow Gold, Odelay and Stereopathetic Soulmanure. On Guero, he sounds like an extremely bummed-out dude who made it to the future and discovered he hates it there. The lyrics are abstractly morbid -- lots of graves, lots of devils. Nearly every song has a dead body or two kicking around. At times, Guero feels as emotionally downbeat as Mutations or Sea Change. But there's a crucial difference: The rhythmic jolt makes the malaise more compelling and complex, with enough playful musical wit to hint at a next step. Beck isn't trying to replicate what he did ten years ago; instead, on Guero he finds a way to revitalize his musical imagination, without turning it into a joke.(ROB SHEFFIELD)

Beanie Sigel The B. Coming (Damon Dash Music Group)

Back in 2000, Beanie Sigel was poised for stardom, before his life and career were derailed by the street life he documents so well. In November, he began a year in prison on federal gun charges. The Philly MC's flow is still among the best -- it recalls the smooth delivery of his mentor, Jay-Z, mixed with a young Ice Cube's growl -- and The B. Coming starts strong. "Feel It in the Air" and "I Can't Go On This Way" weren't produced by Kanye West, but may as well have been, with soulful female vocal hooks softening Sigel's ruminations. The B. Coming eventually flattens out into dark, brooding territory -- it was, after all, originally going to be called The Great Depression. The stoner anthem "Purple Rain," with electric guitars reverberating into space, is an only slightly apologetic ode to painkillers and cough syrup. And many a track waxes longingly about the guns that landed him a sentence. "Don't Stop" is vintage Neptunes, with Snoop Dogg purring above drifting organs and a cowbell sound. "Let's toast to the man that when he get out/He gonna do them things that he rappin' about," says Snoop. And then comes Beanie: "Hatas, stay out my face/And know that thing still by my waist." (BILL WERDE)

Morrissey Live at Earls Court (Attack/Sanctuary)

It's been nearly twenty years since the Smiths broke up, but the band's passionate, sensitive fans have never quite gotten over it. On this live set from 2004, Morrissey -- who is slowly turning into a British New Wave version of Frank Sinatra -- heals some of the heartache by revisiting his old group's anthems in excellent, swaggering renditions. Between the shuddering opening riff of "How Soon Is Now?" and the final cymbal crash of "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me," Moz takes on "Shoplifters of the World Unite" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" to rapturous applause. But Live at Earls Court isn't just an exercise in nostalgia. The best songs from last year's return-to-form You Are the Quarry -- the ironic "I Have Forgiven Jesus" and the fiery "Irish Blood, English Heart" -- hold their own against the Smiths' classics. (JONATHAN RINGEN)

The Bravery The Bravery (Island)

After the success of the Killers and Franz Ferdinand, the world is crawling with rock dudes who've suddenly discovered their deep and abiding respect for the Cure's Robert Smith. Enter the Bravery, who got together in New York barely more than a year ago but who already have fans drooling for their heavily anticipated debut album of synth-heavy goth pop. Singer Sam Endicott looks like a cross between Morrissey and the bald punk guy who befriends Eric Stoltz in Some Kind of Wonderful. The Bravery do a jockier version of the New Wave competition, pumping the drums in straight-ahead tunes such as "An Honest Mistake" and "The Ring Song." But the peak is "Swollen Summer," which combines the best of early Love and Rockets with late Flesh for Lulu. (ROB SHEFFIELD)

ROLLING STONE
(Posted Mar 28, 2005)

New White Stripes Album Due In June

Rock duo the White Stripes will release their next studio album on June 14 via Third Man/V2. The as-yet-untitled set was recently recorded in the group's Detroit home base. It will be the follow-up to 2003's "Elephant," which debuted at a career-best No. 6 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 1.7 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

A handful of live dates have already been announced ahead of the album, including a three-night run in Mexico that begins May 11 in Monterrey. As previously reported, the group will also play June 10 at Atlanta's Music Midtown festival.

Beyond the White Stripes disc, singer/guitarist Jack White has also been working on an album with fellow Detroit native Brendan Benson. The project, which also features Greenhornes bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler, will most likely not see the light of day until the end of the year or early 2006, according to a V2 spokesperson.

"It's kind of a little of everything," Benson told Billboard.com in December. "I've got songs that I've pretty much written and he added lyrics to it. And he brought some songs, or actually made a bunch of 'em up on the spot. It's cool, different stuff. Some of it sounds like Jack and some of it just sounds like Cat Stevens or something."

Entertainment groups predict more movies, songs over Internet

WASHINGTON (AP) - The music and film industries will continue to offer digital copies of songs and movies online for a price even if they lose a landmark Supreme Court case focusing on consumers who steal copyrighted material over the Internet, those industries' chief lobbyists said Monday.

"Consumers want a legal, hassle-free, reasonable-cost way to get their products online," said Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America. "There's no question you'll see a lot more opportunity for people in their homes to enjoy music and movies and other creative material."

Glickman and Mitch Bainwol, chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America, met with editors from The Associated Press on the eve of arguments in the upcoming Supreme Court case, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios vs. Grokster.

Regardless of the case's outcome, Bainwol predicted a rise among Internet music-subscription services, which permit consumers to listen to more than one million songs for a flat monthly fee.

"Subscriptions will really take off," Bainwol said.

In the Supreme Court case, entertainment companies want the court to permit them to sue manufacturers of file-sharing software popular among computer users for trading music and movies over the Internet.

Lower U.S. courts have twice ruled that such file-sharing software can be used for "substantial" legal purposes, such as giving away free songs, free software or government documents.

The lower court rulings - effectively shielding the manufacturers of file-sharing software - have compelled entertainment companies to sue thousands of people caught illegally distributing songs and movies over the Internet.

"There's no question it's far more efficient and far more sensible to go after the people whose business is built on infringement," said Cary Sherman, the president of the recording industry association.

Lisa Marie Presley Firms Tour Dates for 'Now'

NEW YORK (Billboard) - With the release of her sophomore full-length album nearing, Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, has confirmed a spring tour that will kick off April 26 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Thirteen dates have been confirmed through a May 15 show in Asbury Park, N.J., with more expected.

Presley's second album, "Now What," will be released April 5 via Capitol. The set features 10 original songs and a cover of Don Henley's 1983 hit "'Dirty Laundry" and guest appearances by pop singer Pink and Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

Here are Presley's tour dates:

April 26: St. Petersburg, Fla. (Jannus Landing)
April 27: Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (House of Blues)
April 29: West Palm Beach, Fla. (SunFest)
May 1: Memphis, Tenn. (Beale Street Music Festival)
May 2: Nashville (The Cannery)
May 4: North Myrtle Beach, S.C. (House of Blues)
May 5: Norfolk, Va. (NorVa Theatre)
May 8: Boston (Paradise Club)
May 9: Alexandria, Va. (Birchmere)
May 10: New York (Supper Club)
May 12: Rama, Ont. (Casino Rama)
May 14: Atlantic City, N.J. (Trump Marina Casino)
May 15: Asbury Park, N.J. (Stone Pony Landing)

'Corner Gas' closes for season

Keep your eye on Nancy Robertson, who plays Wanda the cashier on CTV's hit comedy Corner Gas.

Nancy Robertson's favourite scene so far on Corner Gas? Kicking The Tragically Hip out of the garage.

"It was nice bossing The Hip around," she says. "Don't think I didn't take advantage of that."

Robinson plays Wanda, the blond mighty mite behind the cash register on Canada's No. 1 sitcom. She was in Toronto two weeks ago to promote the season finale of Corner Gas, airing tonight at 8 p.m. on CTV.

There'll be no shock ending, she reports. "Nothing that's cliffhangy. Just finding out more and more about the characters."

The cheery Vancouver native almost didn't audition for the series. Wanda was originally envisioned as an older character. When series creator Brent Butt and the other producers were having trouble finding Wanda, the casting director suggested they re-think the role for Robertson. She auditioned in Vancouver, got the good news on a Monday and had to be in Regina that Wednesday to start work on the series.

While she had met Butt before on the comedy circuit, the Corner Gas cast member she knew best was Fred Ewanuick, who plays Hank. The two co-starred in The Delicate Art Of Parking, a mocumentary about parking attendants which won Best Canadian Film at the 2003 Montreal Film Festival.

Robertson, a mainstage member of the Vancouver Theatresports Improv League, has worked shows like Addams Family and Cold Squad in the past. She's in CTV's upcoming Robeson Arms and had a small part in Ice Cube's Are We There Yet? "Blink and you miss me," she jokes.

Corner Gas has been the Canadian success story of the past two years, averaging over a million-and-a-half viewers and flirting with two million on a couple of occasions. That's despite several pre-emptions and scheduled shifts (mainly to accommodate the ins and outs of American Idol).

"You could see the possibilities because the scripts were funny," says Robertson. "A lot of times you go to audition for a part and it says it's a comedy and as an actor you go, 'No it's not.' "

She credits Butt and the other writers for establishing a "very specific rhythm" for the show.

And while it is set in fictional Dog River, Sask. (and shot near Regina), she thinks the fact that it could be any rural Canadian outpost broadens the appeal. Several recent Canadian comedies were industry shows (An American In Canada, Made In Canada, The Newsroom, etc). Corner Gas has nothing to do with television. "Everybody can identify with it," she says.

It also helps that it appeals to all age groups, she says. "You'll talk to people and they'll say my grandson or my grandmother watch it," she says. "It's not offensive, not in your face. It has wackier humour, all different kinds of humour. It's real escapism."

Has she ever had a job like Wanda's? Just once, and it lasted a day, says Robertson. "A friend got me a job at a T-shirt store when I was 17," she says. "It was a Sunday and the boss wasn't supposed to be there. I was a cocky girl and decided to unwind in the back room and read a few magazines. The boss walked in and there I am with my feet up, reading Playgirl."

Sounds like a future Corner Gas episode. "Sure, that's just what the writers need," says Robertson. "You gotta second? Can we go for a walk?"

ALSO TONIGHT: CTV picks up John Stamos' new comedy, Jake In Progress, already in progress on ABC. It makes its Canadian network debut tonight at 8:30 p.m., followed by back-to-back episodes Thursday starting at 8 p.m. (providing there's no voter screw-up on American Idol this week). Also at 8:30, Ken Finkleman gets animated on the series finale of The Newsroom (CBC). Jerry O'Connell's kid brother Charlie is the latest rose tosser on The Bachelor (ABC/CITY-TV, 9 p.m.) And Dave Bidini skates with Alexander Yakushev and other former Soviet stars in The Hockey Nomad Goes To Russia (CBC, 9 p.m.).

LOOK WHO'S BOBCAT

Bobcat Goldthwait is calling the shots at "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and has been working as the show's di rector for six months.

Remember Bob cat? The chubby- cheeked wild man from the 1980s who shrieked his way to fame as a stand- up comic and later as a mo- vie star.

De spite six months of solid and stable ratings under his watch and things on "Kimmel" running smoother and funnier than ever before, ABC officials have remained mum about Bobcat's new job.

"If I ran a network, I don't know how quick I would be to announce that I was the guy now at the reins of your late-night talk show," jokes Bobcat, 42. "Look, it would probably make them look like they were crazy."

Then again, Goldthwait says he's never made much of an attempt to change his wild public image.

"People really don't have any idea hard-working and how serious I take this or any of my directing jobs," he says. "I've always been a Groucho Marx fan and I never wanted to hear or see Groucho talking serious, so I've never presented that side of me to the public — I can understand why people would perceive me as an insane person."

But instead of the growling, snarling loon people remember, Bobcat is now soft-spoken and slim — but still gut-busting funny. And aside from donning a different, strange hat every day at work (he greets a visitor after the show wearing a large, black Mexican sombrero), he leaves all the strange stuff to Kimmel.

Whatever his secret, it's working.

Since Bobcat joined the show, the ratings have soared, especially among the network's most coveted group of viewers (ages 18-39). The numbers even jumped 50 percent with tough-to-attract teens — maybe not such a good thing for a show that starts at 12:05 a.m. on school nights.

His late-night gig began on an unpromising note: The show's former director had a heart attack on Bobcat's first day on the job. "I had nothing to do with it," he laughs. "Seriously."

Kimmel says the cast and crew love having Bobcat in charge.

"He knows where to go with things and more important where not to go," Kimmel says. "He comes to writer's meetings; he understands subtlety; and he adds funny moments to the show, whereas a lot of other people wouldn't."

Goldthwait is no stranger to calling the shots behind the scenes.

He spent four years directing at Kimmel's old Comedy Central gig "The Man Show" and called the shots for segments of "Chapelle's Show."

7 DEADLY SINS

Jessica Alba really wanted to be in the new movie "Sin City," but she hesitated when she first looked at the cult-classic Frank Miller comic books it's based on.

Her character, Nancy, is a stripper - and not just a topless one.

"She's bottomless, too," Alba tells The Post.

"I really couldn't be bottomless for my dad. He would disown me."

In the end, Alba kept on both parts. Co-directors Miller and Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids") let her film the strip-dance scene in a cowgirl outfit that covered the naughty bits.

But Alba still looks stunning in "Sin City," and the movie doesn't skimp on beautiful women (or nudity).

Along with an all-star cast of guys, including Bruce Willis, Benecio Del Toro, Clive Owen and Mickey Rourke, the movie (opening Friday) features a drool-worthy harem of some of Hollywood's most gorgeous young actresses.

That's only right for this visual feast, which uses cutting-edge special effects to create a super-stylized film-noir world that looks almost exactly like the dramatic drawings in Miller's cartoons.

Miller and Rodriguez planned each shot using panels from the books as a storyboard, and they didn't compromise on Miller's hyper-violent and sexy vision.

Their movie tells three interconnected tales about gritty characters in a dark, rainy and grim place called Basin City, where the dirtiest neighborhood, Old Town, is run by prostitutes - the Old Town Girls - who will machine-gun any john who gets out of line.

"They're fantasies," Miller tells The Post. "Sometimes they're dark fantasies. Sometimes they're alluring fantasies. Sometimes they're both."

Real-life women may never live up to the fierce and erotic women that Miller draws in his books, but the "Sin City" actresses came awfully close.

"I swooned over them all," Miller recalls.

"Doing this movie was like falling in love again and again."

JESSICA ALBA IS NAUGHTY AND NICE AS NANCY...

"I'm not someone who goes out clubbing and to raves," Jessica Alba tells The Post. "I'm not really a dancer."

But Robert Rodriguez wanted Alba to come up with her own exotic dance for "Sin City," just like Salma Hayek did in his 1996 movie "From Dusk Till Dawn."

"And that's the sexiest woman's dance ever put onscreen!" says Alba, 23, who plays the lovely but unattainable strip-club angel Nancy.

"Those are big shoes to fill."

So Alba plunged into research, including several nights spent watching pros perform at strip clubs in L.A. and New York.

On the "Sin City" set in Austin, she learned how to twirl a lasso from real-life cowboys, and there were plenty of mishaps along the way.

"I was practicing on everybody," she recalls. "Bruce Willis would walk by, and I'd say, 'Wait, Bruce, can I lasso you? Just close your eyes and put your hands over your face.'

"I hit a lot of people in the head. I felt bad about it."

In the end, Alba improvised the strip dance in front of a green screen, listening to CD of music she had brought in, "with everything from Emmylou Harris to Kylie Minogue." (Rodriguez added different music for the final cut.)

Alba says she didn't actually learn that much from the pro strippers she watched. "All they're doing," she says, "is trying to get tips."

And she isn't in a hurry to get back to one of their clubs.

"The only person it would be appropriate to go with is my boyfriend," Alba says, referring to Cash Warren, the 25-year-old Yale grad she met last year on the set of this summer's "Fantastic Four," where he was an assistant to the director and she was playing the Invisible Woman.

"But I don't want Cash looking at other people," she says.

"I want him to think about me naked - not some woman he can throw money at."

ALEXIS BLEDEL IS DECEPTIVE AS BECKY ...

The final cut of "Sin City" is mostly black-and-white, with flashes of unnatural color added by computer: a pair of candy-apple-red shoes, a splash of bright-yellow blood. But Rodriguez and Miller actually shot in color, and they used it for a small handful of details in the final cut - most memorably, Bledel's wide blue eyes.

But while the "Gilmore Girls" star (who's dating her former on-screen boyfriend Milo Ventimiglia) looks innocent, her "Sin City" character Becky isn't what she seems. In one gnarly scene, she enrages Dawson's character so much that she seems to take a bite out of Bledel's neck and spit the flesh on the floor.

"It didn't hurt at all," says Bledel, who was wearing a prosthetic skin piece, "but it looked disgusting."

BRITTANY MURPHY IS SASSY AS SHELLE ...

"Brittany isn't afraid to go lower class," Miller says of Murphy, who has the trailer-trash thing down, after eight years as the voice of beauty-school dropout Luanne Platter on "King of the Hill" and co-starring with Eminem in "8 Mile."

That made her perfect for the sassy "Sin City" waitress Shellie, a brash broad who Murphy calls "a throwback to the '30s or '40s."

In real life, Miller says, Murphy is a perfectionist who's sometimes too nice for her own good.

"One time on the set, she was walking with her coffee and accidentally spilled it all over these cables," Miller recalls. "She goes, 'Get me a paper towel!'

"We had her ushered out, because the last thing we needed was an important actress playing with wet electrical cables."

ROSARIO DAWSON IS ROUGH AS GAIL ...

"I wanted a real New Yorker with a genuine edge," Miller says of the character Gail, the leader of the kick-ass Old Town Girl prostitutes.

He found it with Dawson, who's best known as Colin Farrell's wife in "Alexander" but was discovered 10 years ago sitting on her Lower East Side stoop and cast in the notorious skate-punk movie 1995 "Kids."

Dawson got the "Sin City" idea right away.

"It's a tough town where a man punches a girl across the face, and she chops his [penis] off," says Dawson, 25, who recently snagged the role of Mimi Marquez in the movie version of "Rent."

"Rosario's just cool no matter what she does," Alba says.

That's lucky, because in "Sin City," she had to wear a barely-there outfit that even Miller calls "ridiculous" and a Mohawk that Rodriguez admits is "a very weird hairstyle."

"The outfit was unbelievable," Dawson says. "The costume designer gave me a bunch of flowers when I decided I was going to actually wear it."

JAIME KING IS SWEET AS GOLDIE ...

"I always wanted to be in a movie with Rosario," says King, who has known Dawson for 10 years, since the days when King was a 16-year-old beauty from Omaha making big waves in New York fashion world with modeling gigs for Vogue, Mademoiselle and Allure.

The two hung out in the same cool-teens crowd - "mostly the guys who were in 'Kids,'" King recalls - and reconnected on "Sin City," in which King plays Goldie, a hooker with a heart of gold.

DEVON AOKI IS CUTTING AS MIHO ...

She's an heir to the Benihana steak-house fortune, so you'd think this New Yorker would know how handle knives. But when Aoki showed up on the "Sin City" set last year to play Miho, a hooker who slices up men with a samurai sword, it quickly became clear that she was clueless when it came to martial arts. "I made her my special project," Miller recalls of the model, actress, Page Six fixture, and budding hip-hop star (who recently signed to record for a new company). "I got a couple of trainers to work with her and had her come in early and stay late every day. "Robert was laughing at me," Miller says. "He called me Devon's soccer dad, because I was so hard on her. But I was so proud when it worked."

CARLA GUGINO IS NO-HOLDS-BARRED SEXY AS LUCILLE ...

None of the "Sin City" actresses is more in-your-face sexy than the 33-year-old Gugino, who plays Lucille, "a fast-talking, deadpan dame," as Gugino calls it, and does her first scene clad in nothing but "a G-string and strategically placed shadows."

The nudity might come as a surprise to those who remember Gugino as the spunky mom from the "Spy Kids" movies.

But she doesn't mind taking her clothes off.

"I'm more European in that way," says Gugino, who tried the scene with a bra before the directors decided it actually looked less sleazy when she was naked.

Duran Duran Not Giving Up On 'Astronaut'

Despite lukewarm sales for highly anticipated reunion album, "Astronaut," the members of Duran Duran aren't about to give up on the Epic disc. Released late last year, the set has sold 219,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"I don't think any of us are satisfied with how that record has done and that's really why we're planning on staying on the road for most of this year," bassist John Taylor tells Billboard.com. "Because I think it's an album that is deserved of a bigger audience than what it already has, our job in part is to turn people on to the new music and that's what the touring is about."

Currently finishing up an American tour that runs through April before going to the U.K. and Europe in May, Duran Duran is planning a late July Stateside return aimed mainly at outdoor amphitheaters and markets in which the band didn't play on its first leg. Also in the works is a concert DVD, which was recorded last spring at London's Wembley Arena and is due out this summer.

As for guitarist Andy Taylor's unexpected departure from the tour last week to be at his ailing father's bedside, the band decided to continue touring with Dominic Brown replacing him in the interim. John Taylor said the band agonized over how to properly handle the situation.

"Yeah, [there were] some very heavy discussions, actually, and tables were thrown," Taylor says. "The decision was made to continue with the tour and we felt that we had a momentum because it's not just about the shows, it's about the station tie-ins. And you have people who have made plans to travel from all over the country. We all knew that we were sacrificing something and Andy wanted us to go on and I'm fairly sure he'll be back with us by Cleveland [March 29]."

Included in the band's current set are new tracks "(Reach Up for the) Sunrise," "Nice" and "Bedroom Toys," along with past hits like "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Rio" and "Ordinary World." Taylor says the band is also digging into its treasure chest for instrumental "Tiger Tiger," "Hold Back the Rain" and even "Wild Boys," which was never properly toured before Duran Duran's original members began their exodus to various side projects.

But fans hoping to hear a song or two from Power Station (John and Andy Taylor) or Arcadia (Simon LeBon, Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes) shouldn't hold their breath.

"I don't think so," Taylor says. "I can't speak for Arcadia but I think with the death of [singer] Robert [Palmer], [drummer] Tony [Thompson] and [producer] Bernard [Edwards], that book is really closed. The project was never represented better than it was on record. In fact, there is a DVD coming out. And it has the only performance that we did with the original lineup, which was on 'Saturday Night Live.' So if you missed that, it's worth seeing because it's quite a laugh, actually."

That self-titled CD/DVD set features seven bonus tracks and remixes and is scheduled for an April 26 release via Capitol.

Springsteen Single To Premiere Monday

The title track and first single from Bruce Springsteen's upcoming album, "Devils & Dust," will premiere beginning 12:01 AM Monday (March 28) via AOL Music's First Listen initiative. The next day, it will be exclusively available for download from Apple's iTunes Music Store for a week.

As previously reported, "Devils & Dust" is due April 26 via Columbia as a DualDisc with the audio tracks on one side and various bonus content on the DVD side. A deluxe edition will also be available, featuring expanded packaging, as well as a double-vinyl version.

On the heels of a playback session of six tracks at Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas, last week during the South by Southwest music festival, listening parties are expected to commence within the next week-and-a-half in a handful of North American cities.

Springsteen is also expected to announce details of an acoustic tour in support of the new album.

Duh nah...Duh nah...

Universal has officially announced the DVD release of a Jaws: 30th Anniversary Edition for 6/14 (SRP $22.98).

This will be a 2-disc set containing the film in anamorphic widescreen video, with both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio.

The second disc will be all extras (no word yet on what they are).

Word is you'll also get something called Jaws: The Commemorative Photo Journal - probably a commemorative book.

This 2-disc set will also be available in a full frame version, and it looks as though a single-disc Jaws: Anniversary Collector's Edition version will also be available in full frame and anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 and anamorphic widescreen with DTS 5.1 (SRP $14.98).

Crowded House drummer, Paul Hester, found dead in Australian park

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The drummer from popular 1980s Australian rock band Crowded House has been found dead in a park in southern Australia, a newspaper reported Monday.

Paul Hester, 46, failed to return home after taking his two dogs for a walk late Saturday, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Police found the drummer's body Sunday in a park near his home in the southern city of Melbourne, the newspaper said.

The newspaper did not explain how Hester died, but reported that police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Hester played in several small bands before joining the New Zealand group Split Enz in 1983. He and Split Enz singer Neil Finn formed Crowded House in 1985 with bass player Nick Seymour.

Crowded House was one of Australia's most successful bands in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with international hits such as Don't Dream it's Over and Weather with You.

Currently touring in London, Finn mourned the loss of his one-time band member.

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of a close friend," Finn told the Daily Telegraph.

Hester is survived by his girlfriend Mardi Sommerfield and their two daughters, ages eight and 10.

'Guess Who' Debuts As Top Movie With $21M

LOS ANGELES - Two guesses on who topped the weekend box office. The Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher comedy "Guess Who," an update to the 1967 classic "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," debuted at No. 1 with $21 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Sandra Bullock's sequel, "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous," opened in second place with $14.5 million for Friday to Sunday. That brought the movie's total to $17.6 million since it opened Thursday to get a head start on Easter weekend.

The previous weekend's top flick, "The Ring 2," slipped to third with $13.8 million, lifting its 10-day total to $58 million.

It was a solid but unremarkable Easter weekend, generally a slow time at theaters because families are preoccupied with holiday gatherings. The top 12 movies took in $90.1 million, off 7 percent from Easter weekend last year, when "The Passion of the Christ" was No. 1.

"Guess Who" stars Mac as a black father who learns his daughter's boyfriend, Kutcher, is white. It is a reversal of the scenario of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," which starred Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier in the story about a white woman engaged to a black man.

While the original was heavy on social commentary amid the civil-rights movement, "Guess Who" plays the interracial romance angle for slapstick laughs.

"'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' is the inspiration, but this is very broad comedy that plays really well in kind of the buddy mode as well as the romantic comedy mode," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, which released "Guess Who."

In "Miss Congeniality 2," Bullock returns to her role as a tomboy FBI agent who gets a fashion makeover. This time, she is teamed with a surly partner, Regina King, to track down a kidnapped beauty queen.

The sequel had a better opening weekend than the original, which debuted with just over $10 million on Christmas weekend 2000, then hung on through word of mouth to become a $100 million hit.

Woody Allen's comedy-drama hybrid "Melinda and Melinda" had a strong expansion from its debut at one New York City theater the previous weekend. The film, which stars Radha Mitchell in dual roles, widened to 95 theaters in 12 cities and took in $790,000.

"The Ballad of Jack and Rose," starring Daniel Day-Lewis, debuted well in limited release, taking in $60,461 in four theaters. Written and directed by Rebecca Miller, Day-Lewis' wife and the daughter of playwright Arthur Miller, the film centers on the relationship between a dying environmental idealist and his troubled teenage daughter.

The blood-soaked South Korean vengeance thriller "Oldboy," runner-up to "Fahrenheit 9/11" for the top prize at last spring's Cannes Film Festival, debuted solidly in limited release with $75,000 in five theaters.

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. "Guess Who," $21 million.
2. "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous," $14.5 million.
3. "The Ring 2," $13.8 million.
4. "Robots," $13 million.
5. "The Pacifier," $8.5 million.
6. "Hitch," $4.3 million.
7. "Hostage," $4.1 million.
8. "Ice Princess," $3.7 million.
9. "Be Cool," $2.85 million.
10. "Million Dollar Baby," $2.6 million.

Carey's New Album Puts Vocals Front and Center

NEW YORK (Billboard) - On this severely cold March night, Mariah Carey is inside a studio at MTV taping an interview for an upcoming broadcast. Walking out of the studio, she is heard muttering to no one in particular, "The abuse I endure is never-ending."

Minutes later, ensconced in one of the cable network's many conference rooms, Carey smiles and laughs. "I'm a little dramatic at times," she says, referring to the "abuse" comment. "I know, I know, it's tough to believe. But it's true."

Sure, the multimillion-selling, two-time Grammy Award winner has experienced great highs and lows in the course of her 15-year career. But on the eve of the April 12 U.S. release of her eighth studio album, "The Emancipation of Mimi," Carey is confident, upbeat and spirited.

"The Emancipation of Mimi" -- the title comes from the singer's nickname -- arrives March 30 in Japan and April 4 in the rest of the world outside the United States.

In all territories, the set will sell as a standard CD and as a limited-edition Digipak (including a pull-out poster) with different cover art.

The album is decidedly pop and R&B, with flourishes of hip-hop. Carey co-wrote the set's 14 tracks.

The album features collaborations with several heavy hitters, including Jermaine Dupri, the Neptunes, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Twista and James "Big Jim" Wright.

RETURN TO FORM

The collection of songs rightfully places her voice front and center. It is as if Carey is returning to the place that put her on the map. Which helps explain the campaign in major markets like New York and Los Angeles that proclaims "The return of the voice."

Giggling (again), Carey says, "Oh, so you've seen the posters? That's good."

On a more serious note, she says, "The voice has been here all along. Even if you listen to the oh-so-dissed 'Glitter' (soundtrack), there is a song called 'Lead the Way,' which is one of my best vocal performances ever."

She continues, "People who only heard certain singles would be like, 'Why is she singing so breathy?' Some people are of the opinion that if you have a big voice you should use it all the time."

Though Carey admits she is a fan of big-voiced singers, she says, "I don't want to hear someone scream at me all the time."

When Carey sings, she says, it's not about "showing off so everybody can hear me singing at the top of my lungs. But truth be told, I feel that my voice is in a better place than it has been in years."

She credits this to her Charmbracelet tour in 2003: "It was my longest tour ever, and it got me in great shape vocally."

This strength is not lost on Island Def Jam Music Group chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid. "We are feeling her voice again," he says. "She has an incredible voice -- and she is using that voice on this album."

Island president Steve Bartels agrees. "There is a level of comfort with Mariah and these songs. She is digging deep into her soul."

CONNECTING WITH FANS

Because of this, Reid believes Carey will touch people again.

This is already happening. The album's lead single, "It's Like That," is a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. And the David Morales uptempo remix was recently sent to club DJs.

The second single is the anthemic power ballad "We Belong Together." And Island plans to send the album's closing track, the inspirational and spiritual "Fly Like a Bird," to gospel radio outlets.

To further showcase Carey and that voice, a tour is being discussed.

"Over the past several years, the (music) industry has produced many stars -- not all of (whom) can sing," Reid says. "Mariah can sing. Hers is an extraordinary gift."

'Doctor Who' Culprit Fired

A Canadian TV worker has been sacked after a brand new episode of sci-fi series Doctor Who was leaked onto the internet.

The 45-minute episode, entitled "Rose," appeared on the web on March 7, three weeks before the series was due to premiere on British TV channel BBC One.

BBC Worldwide claim its broadcast partner in Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), harbored the culprit who had access to an preview copy of the eagerly awaited first episode.

BBC bosses remain tightlipped about the identity of the individual to blame, but revealed that the person worked for a "third-party company in Canada". BBC Worldwide, which is taking legal action, released the following statement: "After a thorough investigation by BBC Worldwide's Canadian broadcast partner, the source of the leak of episode one of the new Doctor Who series has been traced to a third party company in Canada which had an early preview copy for legitimate purposes.

The individual responsible for the leak has had their employment terminated by that company as a result. BBC Worldwide is considering further legal remedies and takes extremely seriously any unlawful copying or misuse of its copyright material."

Definitions of easter on the Web:

- A Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ; celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox
www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

- The festival that commemorates the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the third day after he was crucified. It is called Easter Day in our prayer book, but has come to be called (redundantly) Easter Sunday by the media, most laity, and some clergy, all of whom ought to know better. Easter is a movable feast, which means it does not always fall on the same day each year. Easter is always the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox (first day of Spring). By this calculation, Easter could occur anytime from March 22, to April 25. The length of Epiphany and the Season after Pentecost, as well as the dates of Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday are all determined by the date of Easter. Easter is also a Church season, spanning the 40 days (six Sundays) after Easter, to Ascension Day.
www.holycross.net/anonline.htm

- Kempe spent Easter in Rome probably in 1415. That she would mention that she waited "until Eastertime had come and gone" to begin her return to England reflects the enormous solemnity of the celebrations connected to Easter. Holy Week had its great moments, but Easter was the quintessential great feast of Christian practice. Whether for monastic establishment or parish church, Easter was the moment when the finest mass vestments and service for the altar (chalices, crosses, etc) were taken from church treasuries for the most elaborate ceremonies of the year. The folded altarpieces were open to reveal the most significant paintings. Specific songs were rehearsed by choirs and sung. In some churches, a boy's choir would sing from the towers of the church at dawn, imitating the angel of the Resurrection. [Chapter 9] [Chapter 30] [Chapter 42] [Chapter 54] [Chapter 81] [II: Chapter 3]
www.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/kempe/text/gloss2.html

- The oldest feast of the Christian church celebrating the resurrection of Christ; Easter Day falls on or between 21 March, and 25 April.
www.lichfield-cathedral.org/glossary.htm

- The feast day of the resurrection of Christ, known also as "the Feast of Feasts." It is the greatest Orthodox festival, celebrated the Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox. It is a movable feast and the dates of the other movable feasts of the Orthodox Church are calculated from it.
essenes.crosswinds.net/odict.htm

- April was called Ostermonath - the month of the Ost-end wind (wind from the east). Easter is therefore the April feast, which lasted eight days. Our Easter Sunday must be between March 21st and April 25th. It is regulated by the paschal moon, or first full moon between the vernal equinox and fourteen days afterwards. (Teutonic, ostara; Anglo-Saxon, eastre.) Easter. The Saxon goddess of the east, whose festival was held in the spring.
www.bootlegbooks.com/Reference/PhraseAndFable/data/401.html

- Falls on the Sunday first after the paschal full moon. The paschal full moon is the full moon which falls on or first after 21st March - the vernal equinox. The date of Easter is however calculated, and is therefore fixed by reference to a theoretical moon.
privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~kent/calisto/guide/glossary.htm

- The day of celebrating the Lord's resurrection, and the weeks which followed until He went up to heaven to be with God. This season continues until Pentecost.
www.natpresch.org/Glossary.shtml

- The day of Jesus Christ's resurrection after renunciation of His body on the cross.
www.sanatan.org/en/glossary/e.htm

- The celebration of Christ’s Resurrection ("rise to life again") from the Dead after being crucified. (BCP pp. 170 – 174, 222 – 225)
www.eca-sj.org/text/terms_and_definitions.htm

- This is the most important Christian festival on the Church calendar. It is the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Easter eggs have become associated with the celebration, symbolising the bursting forth of new, resurrection life from the tomb.The name Easter comes from the pagan, Saxon goddess Eostre whose sacred animal was the rabbit.
www.fitzwimarc.org.uk/glossary/e.htm

- The feast day of the resurrection of Christ, known also as "the Feast of Feasts." It is the greatest Orthodox festival, celebrated the Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox. It is a movable feast and the dates of the other movable feasts of the Orthodox Church are calculated from it.
www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/misc/litsas_dictionary_orthodox_terminology.htm

- The feast of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ; the major feast of the calendar; a movable feast falling on the Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox
www.anu.edu.au/history/medieval/resources/churchglossary/glossarye.htm

- The major festival in the Christian church which celebrates the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
www.geocities.com/brentwoodursuline/dictionary.htm

Happy Easter to one and all!!

Definitions of easter on the Web:

- A Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ; celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox
www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

- The festival that commemorates the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the third day after he was crucified. It is called Easter Day in our prayer book, but has come to be called (redundantly) Easter Sunday by the media, most laity, and some clergy, all of whom ought to know better. Easter is a movable feast, which means it does not always fall on the same day each year. Easter is always the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox (first day of Spring). By this calculation, Easter could occur anytime from March 22, to April 25. The length of Epiphany and the Season after Pentecost, as well as the dates of Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday are all determined by the date of Easter. Easter is also a Church season, spanning the 40 days (six Sundays) after Easter, to Ascension Day.
www.holycross.net/anonline.htm

- Kempe spent Easter in Rome probably in 1415. That she would mention that she waited "until Eastertime had come and gone" to begin her return to England reflects the enormous solemnity of the celebrations connected to Easter. Holy Week had its great moments, but Easter was the quintessential great feast of Christian practice. Whether for monastic establishment or parish church, Easter was the moment when the finest mass vestments and service for the altar (chalices, crosses, etc) were taken from church treasuries for the most elaborate ceremonies of the year. The folded altarpieces were open to reveal the most significant paintings. Specific songs were rehearsed by choirs and sung. In some churches, a boy's choir would sing from the towers of the church at dawn, imitating the angel of the Resurrection. [Chapter 9] [Chapter 30] [Chapter 42] [Chapter 54] [Chapter 81] [II: Chapter 3]
www.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/kempe/text/gloss2.html

- The oldest feast of the Christian church celebrating the resurrection of Christ; Easter Day falls on or between 21 March, and 25 April.
www.lichfield-cathedral.org/glossary.htm

- The feast day of the resurrection of Christ, known also as "the Feast of Feasts." It is the greatest Orthodox festival, celebrated the Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox. It is a movable feast and the dates of the other movable feasts of the Orthodox Church are calculated from it.
essenes.crosswinds.net/odict.htm

- April was called Ostermonath - the month of the Ost-end wind (wind from the east). Easter is therefore the April feast, which lasted eight days. Our Easter Sunday must be between March 21st and April 25th. It is regulated by the paschal moon, or first full moon between the vernal equinox and fourteen days afterwards. (Teutonic, ostara; Anglo-Saxon, eastre.) Easter. The Saxon goddess of the east, whose festival was held in the spring.
www.bootlegbooks.com/Reference/PhraseAndFable/data/401.html

- Falls on the Sunday first after the paschal full moon. The paschal full moon is the full moon which falls on or first after 21st March - the vernal equinox. The date of Easter is however calculated, and is therefore fixed by reference to a theoretical moon.
privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~kent/calisto/guide/glossary.htm

- The day of celebrating the Lord's resurrection, and the weeks which followed until He went up to heaven to be with God. This season continues until Pentecost.
www.natpresch.org/Glossary.shtml

- The day of Jesus Christ's resurrection after renunciation of His body on the cross.
www.sanatan.org/en/glossary/e.htm

- The celebration of Christ’s Resurrection ("rise to life again") from the Dead after being crucified. (BCP pp. 170 – 174, 222 – 225)
www.eca-sj.org/text/terms_and_definitions.htm

- This is the most important Christian festival on the Church calendar. It is the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Easter eggs have become associated with the celebration, symbolising the bursting forth of new, resurrection life from the tomb.The name Easter comes from the pagan, Saxon goddess Eostre whose sacred animal was the rabbit.
www.fitzwimarc.org.uk/glossary/e.htm

- The feast day of the resurrection of Christ, known also as "the Feast of Feasts." It is the greatest Orthodox festival, celebrated the Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox. It is a movable feast and the dates of the other movable feasts of the Orthodox Church are calculated from it.
www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/misc/litsas_dictionary_orthodox_terminology.htm

- The feast of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ; the major feast of the calendar; a movable feast falling on the Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox
www.anu.edu.au/history/medieval/resources/churchglossary/glossarye.htm

- The major festival in the Christian church which celebrates the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
www.geocities.com/brentwoodursuline/dictionary.htm

Happy Easter to one and all!!

Ottawa moves to restrict music sharing with proposed copyright reform

TORONTO (CP) - Those who enjoy swapping music, books and movies online may want to reconsider.

The federal government inched closer Thursday to cracking down on file sharing by announcing several proposed amendments to the Copyright Act. The changes would include implementing elements of two World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties and forcing Internet service providers to keep records of those who share high volumes of copyright-protected material such as songs, Hollywood movies and TV shows.

The amendments would "clarify that the unauthorized posting or the peer-to-peer file-sharing of material on the Internet will constitute an infringement of copyright," say documents released jointly Thursday by Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada.

"It will also be made clear that private copies of sound recordings cannot be uploaded or further distributed."

The reforms, which will be introduced in the House of Commons later this spring, would give the music industry greater power to stop such behaviour through the courts via lawsuits. Currently, it is not illegal in Canada to upload material to programs like Kazaa and BearShare.

"Clearly, once we get implementation there'll be no doubt . . . it'll be illegal to engage in unauthorized file-sharing," said Graham Henderson, who heads the Canadian Recording Industry Association, which represents the country's record labels.

Adding Canada's name to the list of 50 countries already using the WIPO treaties would make it illegal to distribute and trade music online.

It would also become a crime to remove or circumvent copyright protections on CDs.

The amendments also ask that ISPs such as Rogers, Shaw and Bell "play a role in curbing the misuse of their facilities for copyright infringement."

ISPs would have to notify subscribers when illegal activity is detected via their Internet connection. They would also be required, as is the case in the United States and parts of Europe, to keep a log of such warnings in case of a lawsuit - although a court order would be needed to make the names and addresses known to prosecutors.

In pre-committee meetings the copyright amendments were approved by all political parties.

New ways for indie artists to distribute music at stake in file-sharing case

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Recording industry executive Andy Gershon sees opportunity in the online file-sharing networks that most of his rivals decry as havens for music pirates.

As president of V2 Records, home to such established acts as The White Stripes and Moby, Gershon mines such Internet distribution channels for new fans and revenues.

"The cat is so far out of the bag and so far gone that it's pointless to keep fighting it," Gershon said. "I might as well make as many people fans of our music, whether they illegally download it or not."

A number of mostly independent recording artists and labels have experimented with and embraced the freewheeling digital distribution that the Internet affords. And many worry that a victory by major recording companies in a landmark file-sharing case now before the U.S. Supreme Court could short-circuit the very technologies that they believe are making a more level playing field of the music business.

The U.S. high court is to hear arguments next Tuesday on whether the entertainment industry can hold file-sharing software firms Grokster Inc. and StreamCast Networks, which distributes Morpheus, liable for what computer users do with the technology.

Lower courts have sided with the software makers, which argue their so-called peer-to-peer technology is as legitimate as a videocassette recorder or a copy machine.

Several artists'-rights associations, music publishers and well-known musicians, including Don Henley, Sheryl Crow and the Dixie Chicks, are backing the major recording labels, which accuse Grokster and StreamCast of profiting from a business model that depends on piracy.

From 1999 to 2004, the total value of the U.S. recording industry fell $2.4 billion to $12.1 billion US - a decline the industry blames primarily on file-sharing.

But some artists, including Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, see an upside to file-sharing.

"I look at it as a library. I look at it as our version of the radio," Tweedy said. "It's a place where basically we can encourage fans to be fans and not feel like they're being exploited, which is basically what the whole industry is geared to do."

Tweedy encourages fans to tape Wilco shows and has distributed tracks over the Internet for free months before releasing them on CDs.

He agrees artists should be compensated, but "you try to encourage people to feel more like a patron of the arts instead of a consumer."

V2 Records taps file-sharing networks and other Internet distribution means by selling songs and offering free promotional materials like music videos. Though results are difficult to quantify, Gershon credits ads on Web sites and song giveaways with raising the profile of The Blood Brothers.

"The CD sales have stayed steady," said Gershon. "For a band like this, a lot of the steadiness of the sales is based on people being turned on to it online."

Mitch Bainwol, chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America, says artists and labels can be creative with online distribution and promotion but those decisions should not be left up to listeners.

"If you want to give up your property for free as a way of trying to drive other commercial advantages, that is certainly a strategy one can employ," Bainwol said. "But it should be the individual (artist's) choice."

About 20 independent recording artists, including musician and producer Brian Eno, rockers Heart and rapper-activist Chuck D, filed a legal brief with the high court in support of Grokster and StreamCast. They insist file-sharing and related technologies help expose new audiences to their music - outside established channels of the recording labels.

The artists argue that file-sharing "has the immediate potential to develop into a significantly more prevalent alternative distribution and promotion system." But a ruling that outlaws or limits it "will block that potential from ever being fully realized," the brief contends.

Some are concerned about the possibility of requiring file-sharing companies to filter out unauthorized works, a move the major labels consider crucial to legitimizing file-sharing as a distribution system.

"It definitely would greatly reduce the amount of traffic," said Chip Schutzman, head of online marketing at Sovereign Artists Inc.

Santa Monica-based Sovereign has promoted and sold tracks by Heart using the online Weed file-sharing format, in which listeners can hear a song for free several times before having to buy it. Weed files are distributed to Web sites and across file-sharing networks.

For Sananda Maitreya, who also joined the legal brief, online music distribution gives him the freedom he says he lacked when he was signed with a major label in the 1980s under his former name, Terence Trent D'Arby (news). Back then, Maitreya recalled, committees had to sign off on any music released.

"The Beatles could not have faced that criteria and come up with anything other than the most mediocre, conservative music," said Maitreya, who now lives in Italy.

Maitreya and the rap group Fine Arts Militia, featuring Chuck D, have released albums through Weed. Representatives of the groups declined to give specific sales figures.

John Beezer, president of Weed-creator Shared Media Licensing Inc. in Seattle, estimates that fewer than 100,000 tracks have been sold in the 18 months since the software went into use. Beezer said more than 7,000 artists have offered their songs through Weed, and the vast majority aren't signed with recording labels.

But even for unsigned bands, the potential to cheaply target the pool of music fans on file-swapping networks can be tantalizing.

Kevin Martin, vocalist for the 1990s band Candlebox, credits a file-sharing song promotion involving the Yoo-hoo drink brand with generating online interest and some sales for his new LA-based band, Kevin Martin and the Hiawatts.

"We're not doing 10,000 records a week," he said, "but to see yourself go from 15 records to 62, it's pretty exciting."

NBC Announcer Retires After 62 Years

NEW YORK - Through the eras of John Chancellor, Tom Brokaw and now Brian Williams, Howard Reig's voice also was heard when viewers heard they turned on the news.

"This is NBC Nightly News," the clear baritone would say, ushering in headlines from Watergate to terrorism. Now 84, with a career that spans the very life of television itself, Reig retires Friday as NBC's last staff announcer.

A gnomish figure who w