Cusack 'Must Love' Romantic Comedies

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)- With apologizes to strong against-type performances in films like "The Grifters" and "Eight Men Out," John Cusack has built a career on playing modern men with very specific ideas about modern romance.

In turn, Cusack characters like Gib in "The Sure Thing," Rob in "High Fidelity" and -- best of all -- Lloyd in "Say Anything," have educated a generation of young males in a specific post-Redford kind of somewhat ironic, entirely self-aware brand of making woo. A bestselling book could be written on his movies and John Cusack's Rules of Love.

"Yeah, but they're wrong," Cusack laughs now. "They're always wrong."

It's true that the typical Cusack hero has to lose the girl -- often in the most emotionally goring way possible -- before finding happiness. Yet, despite those regular failings and despite the actor's regular attempts to branch out, he's become forever associated with a single character type.

"Women keep telling us, 'I wish John would only make these kinds of movies, because I love him in these kinds of movies,'" says Suzanne Todd, one of the producers of "Must Love Dogs," Cusack's latest effort in the genre.

Cusack has often admitted to taking certain obvious crowdpleasers -- appealing, but unremarkable films like "America's Sweethearts" or "Serendipity" -- to then use his stature to assist darker, more independent-minded productions like "Being John Malkovich" or "Max." He chafes at the idea of typecasting, though.

"It seems to be this one thing that people do over and over again which is to try and figure out how to get married, stay married, fall in love, how to rekindle all of this stuff," Cusack explains. "It seems to me to be a pretty eternal thing. So I don't think that you can get typecast into making movies about men relating to women. That kinda seems to be what happens on this planet a lot."

In "Dogs," Cusack plays Jake, an old-fashioned guy whose ethos will be familiar to the actor's devotees. Hurt once too often in love, Jake has retreated into repeated viewings of David Lean's classic "Doctor Zhivago," fearing that the ideal cinematic romance is more satisfying than anything in real life. That all changes when he meets equally lovelorn preschool teacher Sarah (Diane Lane). It's no accident that Jake sounds like something of an evolution of Lloyd or Lane Meyer. Ask Cusack's co-star what he brings to his movies and the answer is swift and warm.

"A lot of rewrites," Lane replies, before adding other adjectives like "freedom," "levity" and "confidence."

Television veteran Gary David Goldberg, who wrote and directed "Dogs," estimates that around half of Cusack's performance came from his own script additions and ad libs.

"I would never deny John Cusack anything that he wanted to do," Goldberg says. "He is an absolute prince. He had some thoughts about this character much deeper and better than mine. I had constructed a much more generic guy."

Surely Cusack, the romantic movie legend and personal script doctor, has some quality recommendations for male readers, or the possibility of hope for females.

"Do I have dating advice?" he ponders. "No. I don't have any dating advice. Except endurance is more important than truth. I don't know what that means, but it sounds cool."

"Must Love Dogs" hits theaters nationwide on Friday, July 29.

Phair Balances Old, New On 'Miracle'

Liz Phair has finalized the track list for her fifth album, "Somebody's Miracle." As previously reported, the 14-track set will arrive Oct. 4 via Capitol. First single "Everything to Me," one of the album's three co-writes with producer John Shanks, will arrive imminently at U.S. radio outlets.

"Somebody's Miracle" is the follow-up to Phair's 2003 self-titled effort, which spawned her first crossover hit in the form of "Why Can't I?," but alienated longtime fans with its glossy sound and mainstream ambitions.

Phair has not exactly returned to her lo-fi, indie-rock roots; streamlined cuts like "Stars and Planets," "Giving It All to You" and "Count on My Love" seem primed for pop radio airplay.

But several tracks here should bring a smile to the face of devotees of her 1993 Matador debut, "Exile in Guyville," and its 1994 follow-up, "Whip-Smart." "Why I Lie" rides a sexy, Stones-style rock groove, while "Got My Own Thing" lopes along on a detuned riff that recalls the "Guyville" touchstone "Stratford-on-Guy."

While not as openly sexual as an earlier single like "Supernova," "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into" is a similarly fast, fun rocker about a relationship that flies in the face of better judgment. "It gives me something to laugh about / because my real life ain't f***in' funny," she sings.

Fresh off an appearance last weekend at Lollapalooza in her Chicago hometown, Phair kicked off a solo acoustic tour last night (July 26) in Boston and will be on the road through Aug. 19 in San Francisco.

Here is the track list for "Somebody's Miracle":

"Leap of Innocence"
"Wind in the Mountain"
"Stars and Planets"
"Somebody's Miracle"
"Got My Own Thing"
"Count on My Love"
"Lazy Dreamer"
"Everything to Me"
"Can't Get Out of What I'm Into"
"Table for One"
"Why I Lie"
"Lost Tonight"
"Everything (Between Us)"
"Giving It All to You"

Madonna Names Comeback Single

Madonna has chosen "Hung Up" as the first single from her new album, "Confessions on a Dancefloor." No release dates have been unveiled for either item, but both are expected in the fall via Warner Bros.

The artist's official Web site says "Hung Up" was produced by Stuart Price, who previously served as the musical director on Madonna's 2004 Re-Invention tour. As previously reported, that outing will be the subject of a DVD due out near year's end.

Madonna told ABC's "The View" in June that the new album is dominated by dance music and will likely be supported by a tour in 2006.

The set will be the follow-up to 2003's critically maligned album "American Life," which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200, but posted the lowest sales of any Madonna album to-date (657,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan).

DAYTIME TO DVD

Oprah Winfrey releasing a 20th anniversary DVD in November featuring highlights from two decades of The Oprah Winfrey Show, per the Hollywood Reporter.

Dark Knight returns on DVD

LAS VEGAS (Hollywood Reporter) - With "Batman Begins" nearing the $200 million mark at the North American box office, fans of the Dark Knight will soon be able to buy double-disc editions of the previous four "Batman" movies.

"Batman," "Batman Returns," "Batman Forever" and "Batman & Robin" will be released Oct. 18 via Warner Home Video. They will be available individually and as a gift set, "Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997."

Each DVD features a new digital transfer of the movie. Bonus features include director commentaries by Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton, cast and crew interviews, several new documentaries, "making of" featurettes and nine music videos from Prince, Seal and the Smashing Pumpkins.

D'Onofrio: Happy to share 'L&O' duties with Noth

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Vincent D'Onofrio, who was hospitalized briefly last year for exhaustion, says he now has "the cushiest job on television."

D'Onofrio will be splitting the workload on NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent with Chris Noth, who left the original Law & Order series 10 years ago. Each actor will appear in 11 episodes.

"I wouldn't be doing a fifth season if it wasn't for Dick Wolf stepping in and coming up with a better idea," D'Onofrio told reporters recently, according to AP Radio.

Wolf is the creator and executive producer of the Law & Order crime drama franchise, which also includes Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Kathryn Erbe co-stars with D'Onofrio on Criminal Intent.

The 46-year-old actor fainted on the set of the New York-based crime drama in November and was hospitalized. Several days later, he fainted at home. Medical tests revealed exhaustion.

"It was just too much. Kate and I, we work our butts off," he said. "It's not digging ditches but ..."

With Noth signing on, "Now I have the cushiest job on television. I do," D'Onofrio said. "Eleven episodes a season. I mean, you can't beat that."

D'Onofrio said exhaustion "crept up" on him and put him down "like a rabid dog."

"I was worried. My family was worried. My kids worried. And my exes were worried. Everybody was worried. And the doctors were worried. There were four neurologists and heart guys, specialists at NYU, New York University, that's where I was, at the hospital there."

Noth will again play Detective Mike Logan, his character from Law & Order. His partner will be played by Annabella Sciorra.

McCready Apparently Attempted Suicide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Mindy McCready apparently attempted suicide, and a man charged last spring with trying to kill her was with the country singer when police found her unconscious in a Florida hotel lobby, authorities said Tuesday.

William McKnight, 39, had been charged with attempted criminal homicide and aggravated burglary in an attack on the 28-year-old entertainer earlier this year. The couple had broken up about two weeks before the attack, which occurred at McCready's Nashville home.

McKnight, who described himself as McCready's fiance, told authorities at the Holiday Inn Harborside in Indian Rocks Beach that she had taken a large amount of two substances and drank a lot of alcohol, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff's Department report.

Sgt. Jim Bordner refused to identify the substances, citing McCready's medical confidentiality rights.

Bordner also refused to release McCready's condition or the hospital where she was taken. He said only that she was "recovering at a local hospital."

According to the report, McKnight told authorities that he "had been having some relationship problems" with McCready and gave them a four-page suicide note he said she had written.

The note wasn't released.

McCready had testified in May that McKnight punched her in the face and choked her after he said she wasn't going to make a fool out of him by seeing other men. He posted $130,000 bail last month.

A few days before the attack, McCready — who had a hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time" — was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license.

Last year, she pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining the painkiller OxyContin at a suburban Nashville pharmacy and was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years of supervised probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

Stones Back with a "Bang"

The birth of the universe was a pretty big deal--but not as important as the first new Rolling Stones record in eight years.

The Bigger Bang, the band's first studio effort since 1997's Bridges to Babylon, is set for release Sept. 6 in the United States, Virgin Records announced Tuesday--which not so coincidentally is Mick Jagger's 62nd birthday.

The new disc will bow a day earlier overseas.

In addition to the lead single, "Streets of Love," the album includes two Keith Richards-sung tunes; "This Place Is Empty" and "Infamy."

Among the 16 cuts Bang are: "Rough Justice," "Back of My Hand," "Laugh, I Nearly Died" and "Oh No, Not You Again," which the Stones previewed in May at New York's Juilliard School after announcing their forthcoming world tour.

One track earning some prerelease controversy is "Sweet Neo-Con," which apparently takes aim at the Bush administration and its strong-armed foreign policy.

Don Was, who produced the band's previous two studio sets, Bridges to Babylon and 1994's Voodoo Lounge, was behind the board for Bang. The eight-year lapse between studio albums is the longest in the band's 43-year history, although the Stones did issue the live album No Security in 1998 and the greatest-hits compilation Forty Licks in 2002.

Bang was recorded during late 2004 and early 2005 in France. Drummer Charlie Watts, who spent much of last year receiving treatment for throat cancer, played on all the tracks. (He's fully recovered and will tour with the band.) Although early reports suggested longtime guitarist Ron Wood was missing from many of the recording sessions, a press release Tuesday confirmed Wood was indeed a part of Bang.

The Stones have been working out the new material in an empty airplane hangar in Toronto in advance of their 35-date North American tour (now dubbed the Bigger Bang Tour), which launches Aug. 21 at Boston's Fenway Park. Rumors have been circulating that the Stones may play a warm-up club date or two in advance of their official tour kickoff, most likely in Toronto or New York.

The North American road show will feature rotating A-list opening acts, including Beck, Black Eyed Peas, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Pearl Jam and Joss Stone. According to Virgin, fans have already snapped up 97 percent of all tickets currently available for sale.

The band will hit most of the rest of the world next year.

Report: Eminem Says He's 'Taking a Break'

NEW YORK - Is Eminem headed for retirement — or just taking a break? Earlier this month, reports from his hometown of Detroit quoted sources as saying the 32-year-old rapper would play his last concert at Slane Castle in Dublin, Ireland, on Sept. 17, at the end of "Anger Management" tour.

In a posting on its Web site, MTV quotes Eminem as saying, "I'm not retiring," and also denying that "Encore" is his last album.

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, is quoted as saying: "When I say I'm taking a break, I'm taking a break from my music to go in the studio and produce my other artists and put their albums out."

He is also quoted as saying, "When I know my next move, I'll tell everyone my next move. Not some reporter who writes a story about `This is Eminem's last album.' I never said (`Encore') was my last album."

Phone messages and e-mails left with the rapper's publicist by The Associated Press hadn't been returned Monday.

Eminem has won nine Grammys, including best rap album for "The Slim Shady LP," "The Marshall Mathers LP" and "The Eminem Show." He won an Oscar for the song "Lose Yourself" from the 2002 film "8 Mile," in which he also starred.