Canadians listening to the radio less: report
Canadians are not spending as much time listening to the radio as they once did, according to a new government report that was released on Friday.
The report says that Canadians spend 90 fewer minutes per week tuning in to their favourite stations compared to a decade ago.
A joint venture of Statistics Canada, Heritage Canada and the CRTC, the survey compares the listening habits of Canadians in the fall of 2004 with the figures for 1995.
It found that the average person spends 19.5 hours a week listening to the radio. That number represents a drop of an hour and a half.
Despite the overall decline, people are listening to the radio more in their cars and at work.
In 1995, people spent 56 per cent of their listening time at home; that number has now fallen to 49 per cent.
Meanwhile, Canadians now spend 27 per cent of listening time in the car (up from 22 per cent) and 23 per cent while working (up from 20 per cent).
As for regional differences, residents of Prince Edward Island are the most avid radio listeners, logging an average of 21.2 hours a week of listening time. People in British Columbia, by contrast, spend the least amount of time – an average of 17.8 hours – listening to the radio.
The report also found differences between the listening habits of teens and those of adults.
"Radio still has very little appeal for teenagers," it states. "In the fall of 2004, they tuned in for only 8.5 hours a week, the least amount of time devoted to the medium by any age group."
Indeed, teens are tuning out more rapidly than adults. The 2004 figures indicated an average decline of three hours per week for teens compared to five years ago.
The average adult decline, on the other hand, was about an hour.
The numbers come from log-type questionnaires and cover a six-week period from Sept. 6 to Oct. 31, 2004. Only people over 12 years old were allowed to participate.
The response rate was 41.4 per cent, which StatsCan says is "in line with Canadian and international broadcasting industry practice for audience measurement."
"However, the data should be interpreted with caution," the agency added.
Depp defends 'Chocolate Factory' remake
Actor Johnny Depp has spoken out to defend his new movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which lands in theatres July 15.
The film is based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name. It has been adapted once before, as 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Gene Wilder, who originated the role of the candy magnate in the 1971 version, condemned the new adaptation in a recent interview.
"It's just some people sitting around thinking 'How can we make some more money?' Why else would you remake Willy Wonka? I don't see the point of going back and doing it all over again," Wilder told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"I like Johnny Depp, and I appreciate that he has said on the record that my shoes would be hard to fill. But I don't know how it will all turn out. Right now, the only thing that does take some of the edge off this for me is that Willy Wonka's name isn't in the title.''
In an interview this week with the Associated Press, Depp struck back at Wilder.
"Somebody sent me an article where Gene Wilder said 'Why would they remake Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?' We didn't remake Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, we remade [the book] Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's based on the same book they based theirs on," Depp told the news agency.
Depp said he was careful to play Wonka, who hosts a tour of his candy-making plant for a group of children, in a new way.
"I was really conscious about making sure I went to a different area than Gene Wilder," he explained.
Many consider Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to be a classic film. Wilder's performance was much lauded, and he went on to be one of the biggest film stars of the 1970s.
In the run-up to the release of the new movie, director Tim Burton has revealed that he added a number of his own touches to the story.
Chief among these is a series of flashbacks in which Wonka relates with his father, a dentist played by Christopher Lee. These scenes were added, Burton says, so the audience can understand what makes the off-centre Wonka tick.
Dahl's book, as well as the first movie, are silent on the issue of Wonka's origins.
Depp, known for his turns in movies like Benny & Joon and on television's 21 Jump Street, also said Wilder's criticisms about the financial motives behind the new film sound strange to him.
"Making a statement that they only made this film because of the money is a really odd statement to make from a guy who has been in the business as long as he has ... all movies were made because somebody somewhere wanted a return on their dollar that they spent," he noted.
"Ultimately, it's a business."
Chan Says Tucker Holding Up 'Rush Hour 3'
HONG KONG - Jackie Chan says the third installment of "Rush Hour" is stuck in neutral because co-star Chris Tucker is making too many demands.
"He wants too much power. The movie company hasn't obliged. He wants final editing rights and the final look at the movie and so on," Chan told The Associated Press Thursday.
Chan called Tucker a "good friend" but questioned whether he had the stature to be so demanding.
"He's still a new actor," Chan, 51, said. "How many movies has he made? Two movies have already made him very famous and made him a lot of money."
"He needs to learn slowly," he added.
A call by The Associated Press to Tucker's publicist, Samantha Mast, wasn't returned Friday.
While "Rush Hour 3" remains in limbo, Chan said he's going ahead with another project — one with famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Zhang's recent films include "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero."
Chan declined to reveal details of the movie, saying only that it would be "galvanizing" and is set in the 1980s. He said the idea is his, but Zhang will work on the script.
"He relies on imagination ... like an arrow flying through water," said Chan. "He has elevated the martial arts genre. I believe he can make any type of movie now."
Stone, Cage to Team Up on Film About 9/11
NEW YORK - Nearly four years after the collapse of the World Trade Center, Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone will direct a film based on the story of two police officers who were trapped in the rubble on Sept. 11, 2001.
Nicolas Cage, who won a best-actor Oscar for "Leaving Las Vegas," will star as Port Authority police Sgt. John McLoughlin. McLoughlin and fellow officer William J. Jimeno became trapped during rescue efforts after the collapse of the twin towers.
Paramount Pictures said the movie is expected to be released next year.
"It's a work of collective passion, a serious meditation on what happened and carries within a compassion that heals," Stone said in a statement Friday. "It's an exploration of heroism in our country — but it's international at the same time in its humanity."
Paramount said the film also will focus on the officers' rescuers and their families. McLoughlin and Jimeno are said to be the last two men rescued.
"I feel someone had to tell the story of the people who were in the Trade Center before and after it collapsed," McLoughlin said in a statement. "It needs to be told how this horrific tragedy brought Americans and the world together to help those in need."
While the star power of Stone and Cage will likely make the movie the most high profile film to tackle 9/11, it's not the first. Many independent films have turned their lens to downtown New York, and in the 2002 film "The Guys," Anthony LaPaglia played a fire captain who lost eight men in the towers' collapse.
Stone has won best-director Oscars for "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July." He also has directed "Alexander," "Nixon," "JFK" and "Wall Street."
Screen credits for Cage include "Adaptation," "City of Angels" and "Moonstruck."
'Fantastic Four' Snaps Hollywood Slump
LOS ANGELES - The latest superhero movie may have been just fantastic enough to snap Hollywood's longest modern losing streak at the box office.
The comic-book adaptation "Fantastic Four" raked in $56 million during its first three days, apparently helping to end a swoon in which domestic movie revenues had been down 19 weekends in a row compared to last year's.
The top 12 films took in $141 million, up 2.25 percent from the same weekend in 2004, according to industry estimates Sunday. Numbers often drop slightly when studios release final figures Monday, but this past weekend still should come in ahead of last year's, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
"It took four superheroes to end this slump, and Hollywood is grateful," Dergarabedian said. "Comic-book movies, if properly marketed, are exactly what mainstream audiences want to see in their summer movies."
The movie bumped the previous weekend's top film, "War of the Worlds," into second place with $31.3 million. "War of the Worlds" raised its 12-day domestic total to $165.8 million.
"Fantastic Four" far surpassed industry projections of an opening weekend of $40 million or less. 20th Century Fox, which released the film, had expected a debut "in the high 30s," said Bruce Snyder, the studio's head of distribution.
Based on the Marvel Comics series that debuted in the early 1960s, "Fantastic Four" stars Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans as astronauts who gain superpowers after exposure to a cosmic storm.
If Sunday's estimate holds, it would come in ahead of the opening weekend of fellow Marvel adaptation "X-Men," which debuted in 2000 with $54.5 million. Marvel's first "Spider-Man" movie had a record opening weekend of $114.8 million in 2002.
Unlike the well-reviewed "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" films, "Fantastic Four" overcame a drubbing by critics, with some calling it a lightweight tale with a sitcom tone.
While Hollywood appeared to have ended its downturn of 19-straight weekends, movie revenues remain in the doldrums. Revenues this year are running 7 percent behind last year's, and factoring in higher ticket prices, admissions are off 10 percent.
Revenues may continue to sag in the coming weeks compared to this time last year, when such hits as "I, Robot," "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Village" had huge opening weekends in July and early August.
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is expected to do big business this weekend. Other movies coming this month and next include the remake "The Bad News Bears," the action films "The Island" and "Stealth," the comedy "Wedding Crashers" and "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Here is 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. "Fantastic Four," $56 million.
2. "War of the Worlds," $31.3 million.
3. "Batman Begins," $10.2 million.
4. "Dark Water," $10.1 million.
5. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," $7.85 million.
6. "Herbie: Fully Loaded," $6.3 million.
7. "Bewitched," $5.5 million.
8. "Madagascar," $4.3 million.
9. "Rebound," $2.9 million.
10. "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," $2.6 million.