Pumpkins' Smashing Return
Today is the greatest day for fans of the Smashing Pumpkins.
Taking out full page ads in Tuesday's Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, Billy Corgan announced plans to reform his seminal alt-rock out five years after disbanded the group.
"For a year now, I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep," the bald-pated singer-songwriter writes in an open letter to fans. "But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams.
"Rock on and may God bless you! Billy Corgan."
Corgan makes no mention of whether the other three original Pumpkins--guitarist James Iha (currently with A Perfect Circle), bassist D'Arcy Wretzky or drummer Jimmy Chamberlin--share his enthusiasm, especially considering their acrimonious split. Nor did Corgan indicate exactly when the reunion would take place.
Known for his nasal whine and '70s-echoing guitar licks, Corgan was the principal songwriter and driving force (some would say taskmaster) behind the Windy City-based quartet. He broke the news of the reunion on the same day his first solo album, The Future Embrace, arrived in stores.
Over an 11-year career, the Smashing Pumpkins released five studio albums and won two Grammy Awards. The band first made noise with the 1991 college-rock fave Gish, followed by the breakout major-label debut, 1993's Siamese Dream, which rode the grunge wave and catapulted them into alt-rock superstars with radio-friendly songs like "Today" and "Disarm."
The Pumpkins followed up with 1994's Pisces Iscariot, before scoring their biggest success with 1995's double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The band's magnum opus sold 4.7 million copies on the strength of such hits as "Bullet with Butterfly Wings," "Tonight, Tonight" and "1979."
The band nearly imploded in 1996 following the death of touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin from a heroin overdose. Corgan fired Chamberlin for shooting up with Melvoin, using a rotating series of drummers for the next Pumpkins release, 1998's electronic-infused Adore, and subsequent tour.
In 1999, Chamberlain rejoined the lineup right before Wretzky, who would later battle her own drug problems, called it quits to try her hand at an acting career. She was replaced briefly by former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur for the band's final tour and album, 2000's hard-charging Machina: The Machines of God.
The band gave its final performance at a Dec. 2, 2000, 36-song marathon show at Chitown's legendary Metro.
Corgan immediately threw himself into various projects. He and Chamberlin formed a new band, Zwan, and released an album, Mary Star of the Sea, in 2003 but disbanded shortly thereafter. He also put out a bestselling book of poetry before getting to work on The Future Embrace, again with Chamberlain backing him up.
In his Tuesday dispatch, Corgan says the new album "represents a new beginning, not an ending" and "picks up the thread of the as-yet-unfinished work and charter of the Smashing Pumpkins."
He embarks on a solo tour Wednesday in Atlanta.
Mel B a Maybe for Live 8
Thanks to Scary Spice, Live 8 is in danger of a girl power deficit.
Melanie Brown, the Scary fifth of the former international chart-topping pop group the Spice Girls, is the lone holdout for a reunion at next month's London concert, according to organizer Bob Geldof.
Geldolf appeared on the U.K. TV show Richard & Judy (Britain's equivalent to Live with Regis and Kelly) and said that Mel B. was having "difficulty going back to something she did in the past. I'll call her during the week and if she can't do it, she can't do it."
He said that Brown was working on unspecified project in California.
Geldof says if he fails to convince Scary to join the aid effort, she will not be replaced. The other four Spices-- Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton, Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm and Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell, agree it should be the original lineup or nothing at all.
"It's got to be all or nothing," Geldof told the BBC this week.
The Spice Girls debuted in 1995, evolving from a giddy Brit novelty act to a worldwide pop sensation. With singles like "Wannabe" and "Say You'll Be There," their debut disc, Spice, sold some 7.3 million copies in the U.S. alone.
They followed up with another hit album, Spiceworld, which also was parlayed into the campy, Hard Day's Night-inspired film, Spice World.
But things went from spicy to downright salty in 1998, when Halliwell quit the group amid internal tension. As a quartet, the remaining girls trotted out their third and final disc, Forever, in 2000. The album tanked and their subsequent solo careers fizzled.
With or without the Spice Girls, Geldof's free Live 8 shows will feature an unprecedented lineup of stars--including Paul McCartney, Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder, U2, Coldplay, Madonna, Mariah Carey, the Who and a reunited Pink Floyd--performing to raise awareness of Third World problems.
Concerts will take place July 2 in London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Rome and, as of last week, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Toronto. On Tuesday, organizers announced that the Toronto show take place at Park Place (formerly Molson Park) and feature Canadian acts like the Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, the Tragically Hip, Simple Plan and, appearing via satellite from Las Vegas, Celine Dion. Native sons Dan Aykroyd and Tom Green will host the show. Motley Crue and Deep Purple are also on the bill.
There will be an additional Live 8 gig in Edinburgh on July 6 featuring Annie Lennox, Dido and Travis.
The concerts are expected to be carried live on AOL and Viacom-owned cable stations, including MTV.
AFI Ranks Top Movie Quotes
Frankly, my dear, even those who have never seen Gone with the Wind can still identify Rhett Butler's final words to Scarlett O'Hara.
The level of instantaneous recognition inspired by Clark Gable's final line to Vivien Leigh--"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"--led the American Film Institute to deem it number one on its list of the top 100 movie quotes.
The listmakers extraordinaire over at the AFI revealed the latest compilation in their 100 Years series--100 Movie Quotes: America's Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases--in a three-hour CBS television special Tuesday hosted by Pierce Brosnan.
The winning lines were selected by 1,500 jurors from a list of 400 nominees. Voting criteria included a nominated quote's cultural impact on the national lexicon and whether it was used to invoke the legacy of the film in which it appeared.
In close contention for the top spot on the list were two of Marlon Brando's most famous lines--"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse," from 1972's The Godfather and "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am," from 1954's On the Waterfront--which finished second and third, respectively.
In fourth place was Judy Garland's naive proclamation to her loyal canine in 1939's The Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
Humphrey Bogart's remark to Ingrid Bergman in 1942's Casablanca, "Here's looking at you, kid," was looking at fifth place on the list, but was one of six quotes overall chosen from the film. Others included Bogart's "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" (20th), "We'll always have Paris" (43rd), "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine" (67), and Bergman's "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By' " (28th).
Gone with the Wind also had multiple entries in the top 100. Leigh's "After all, tomorrow is another day" made the list at number 31, and her "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again" was number 59.
The earliest quote was Al Jolson's "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet," (71st) from 1927's The Jazz Singer. The most recent was Andy Serkis' "My precious," (85th) from 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Numerous sci-fi films inspired list-making quotes, including Harrison Ford's "May the Force be with you" (8th) from 1977's Star Wars, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back" (37) from The Terminator and a certain friendly alien's insistence that "E.T. phone home," (15th) from 1982's E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
On the lighter side, John Belushi's exclamations of "Toga! Toga!" from 1978's Animal House made the list at number 82, while Cuba Gooding Jr.'s rallying cry of "Show me the money!" from 1996's Jerry Maguire placed 25th on the list.
Then there were the lines that inspired fear in the hearts of all but the most intrepid moviegoers, such as Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny!" (68th) from 1980's The Shining, and Haley Joel Osment's "I see dead people," from 1999's The Sixth Sense (44th).
Patrick Swayze's solemn declaration that "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," from 1987's Dirty Dancing squeaked onto the list at number 98 and Margaret Hamilton's witchy vow, "I''ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" from The Wizard of Oz came in at number 99.
Rounding out the top 100 was Leonardo DiCaprio's passionate shout-out from 1997's Titanic: "I'm king of the world!" (And, please, let that be the last we hear of it.)
The complete list of 100 Movie Quotes: America's Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases can be viewed at www.afi.com.
Here's a rundown of the top 25 most memorable movie quotes as determined by the AFI:
1. "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn." Gone with the Wind, 1939
2. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." The Godfather, 1972
3. "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." On the Waterfront, 1954
4. "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." The Wizard of Oz, 1939
5. "Here's looking at you, kid." Casablanca, 1942
6. "Go ahead, make my day." Sudden Impact, 1983
7. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Sunset Boulevard., 1950
8. "May the Force be with you." Star Wars, 1977
9. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve, 1950
10. "You talking to me?" Taxi Driver, 1976
11. "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Cool Hand Luke, 1967
12. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Apocalypse Now, 1979
13. "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Love Story, 1970
14. "The stuff that dreams are made of." The Maltese Falcon, 1941
15. "E.T. phone home." E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
16. "They call me Mister Tibbs!" In the Heat of the Night, 1967
17. "Rosebud." Citizen Kane, 1941
18. "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" White Heat, 1949
19. "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Network, 1976
20. "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Casablanca, 1942
21. "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
22. "Bond. James Bond." Dr. No, 1962
23. "There's no place like home." The Wizard of Oz, 1939
24. "I am big! It's the pictures that got small." Sunset Boulevard, 1950
25. "Show me the money!" Jerry Maguire, 1996
'Family Guy' Movie Gets September DVD Release
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - "Family Guy" will return to the world of DVD after owing its network revival in part to brisk DVD sales of the series.
Creator Seth MacFarlane is set to release a direct-to-DVD movie based on his irreverent animated FOX series on Tuesday, Sept. 27, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story" centers on Stewie -- the precocious Griffin baby with the football-shaped head -- having a near-death experience. He decides to mend his evil, world-dominating ways and sets out on a road trip to find his real father.
MacFarlane promises that a "special gag" will feature the voices of "Beverly Hills, 90210" stars Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling, along with celebrity guest voices Drew Barrymore and Ron Livingston. Numerous special features are planned, including deleted scenes, still galleries, animatics and a commentary from MacFarlane to accompany the 83-minute, unrated movie.
"We also sandwiched special features around the movie," explains MacFarlane. "It begins with an animated movie premiere, with the family arriving to watch it, and then there's an after-party at the end."
MacFarlane says that "Untold Story" is a thank you to many fans who purchased the series' DVDs and contributed to FOX renewing the series two years after it was canceled in 2003. The temporarily canceled show also found fans in reruns on Cartoon Network. "Family Guy" resurrected in May, with 11.85 million people catching the fourth-season premiere.
Barrie wins Canadian Live 8 concert
After several weeks of rumours and speculation, organizers have announced Barrie, Ont., as the location of the upcoming Canadian Live 8 concert.
Concert promoter Michael Cohl, who was recently inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, made the announcement at a news conference in downtown Toronto Tuesday morning. Cohl, who helped organize the Rolling Stones SARS benefit concert in 2003, announced that the free concert will take place on July 2 at Barrie's outdoor Park Place concert venue, formerly known as Molson Park.
Performers will range from Canadian icons like Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings to bands like the Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, Our Lady Peace, the Tragically Hip and Great Big Sea.
Set to begin at 11am and end at 8pm, the July 2 concert will be hosted by Dan Ackroyd and Tom Green.
Free tickets, limited to two per person, will be distributed beginning Thursday via the Ticketmaster website.
Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the main proponents of 1985's Live Aid campaign to raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief, reunited to organize the upcoming star-studded concerts. Their aim is to raise awareness about the poverty facing nations in Africa and elsewhere in the world. Also they want to pressure the Group of Eight leaders – meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, from July 6-8 – to increase their foreign aid budgets and cancel debts owed by poor countries.
Geldof originally announced five free Live 8 concerts to be staged on July 2: in Philadelphia, London, Paris, Rome and Berlin. Last week, the former Boomtown Rat singer revealed four more venues: Toronto, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Cornwall, England.
Geldof and Ure also added a subsequent concert and protest rally in Edinburgh on the first day of the G8 summit.
There has been a huge appetite for the Live 8 concerts. For instance, more than two million people applied by text message for the 150,000 available tickets for the highly anticipated London show in Hyde Park. When the free tickets were distributed by lottery, some immediately turned up for sale on online auction site eBay. The tickets drew rapidly rising bids topping more than $1,000 and vocal criticism from Geldof, who urged people to enter bogus bids to inflate the prices to astronomical levels.
Though they specified that auctioning charity tickets is not illegal in the U.K., eBay officials eventually removed the Live 8 tickets from sale less than a day after they first appeared.