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 abouthow 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 Lassė 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.