Hip to release hits package
The Tragically Hip will release their first ever greatest hits package, Hipeponymous, on Nov. 1.
The limited edition box set includes a double CD, Yer Favourites, and a live concert DVD, That Night In Toronto, plus a bonus DVD that includes all of the band's 23 music videos.
The double CD will feature 35 remastered Hip classics chosen by 150,000 fans online plus two new tracks, No Threat and The New Maybe.
The concert DVD catches The Hip in concert at Toronto's Air Canada Centre last November and was filmed in high definition and mixed in PCM Stereo and 5.1 surround sound.
The limited edition package also includes a 48-page bound book.
Jackson Going Ape on DVD
We always knew Peter Jackson was a multi-tasker. Now we can add overachiever to the list.
Despite nearly going bananas working round the clock to finish up post-production on his highly anticipated remake of King Kong before its Dec. 14 bow, the Lord of the Rings ringmaster has somehow found the time and energy to lord over a two-disc DVD set of the 1933 original that Warner Home Video is set to unleash on Nov. 22.
Jackson has filmed a two-hour, seven-part feature documentary entitled RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World that will unearth much of the production history of the black-and-white classic that starred Fay Wray as the Great Ape's object d'amore.
Among the tantalizing tidbits the doc will cover is the fate of the mysterious "spider pit" scene that was cut from the film before its big premiere in New York and Los Angeles because it was considered too terrifying.
"For years, there has always been speculation, does this footage exist, so we have a piece that actually explains what it was and we do a recreation of it," George Feltenstein, Warner's Senior VP overseeing its classic catalog, told the Hollywood Reporter. "For fans of the film, that's a big, important thing."
And Jackson certainly counts himself among the film's fans. Bringing a new appreciation to the monster movie fulfills a lifelong dream for the Oscar-winning director, who credits seeing the original King Kong as a child with inspiring him to monkey around as a teenager with stop-motion animation shorts and become a filmmaker.
The Warner DVD happens to arrive in stores before Jackson's own update for Universal swings into theaters, but Feltenstein is quick to note the studio has no intention of cross-promoting its rival's blockbuster.
Among the DVD goodies cineastes will savor are the long-lost frames of Wray at the flick's climax when she falls from the Empire State building; a bonus documentary by Turner Classic Movies on Kong director and creator Merian C. Cooper; audio commentary featuring archival recordings of the cast and crew; commentary from stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen along with special effects masters Ken Ralston and Terry Moore; and a trailer gallery of Coooper's other movies.
Two versions of the DVD will go on sale. The first will be a two-disc special edition while the second will package the set in a collectible tin that also includes a 20-page reproduction of the original souvenir program, postcard reproductions of the original one sheets and a mail-in offer for a reproduction of a vintage 27-by-41-inch movie poster.
Additionally, Warner Home Video plans to issue a four-disc collector's set that packages the special edition Kong along for the first time with two new-to-DVD titles, the sequels The Son of Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949).
Simpson Puts Up Her 'Dukes' in New York
NEW YORK - In the eyes of Jessica Simpson, Daisy Duke is an "iconish" figure. During her co-hosting gig Friday on the syndicated TV show "Live With Regis and Kelly," Simpson said she had to "step into those shorts and the red bikinis and I had to do Catherine Bach proud" for her role in "The Dukes of Hazzard" movie.
Bach played Daisy Duke on the '70s TV series.
"To play Daisy Duke, I mean, that's like an iconish ... is that a word ... iconic figure," she said.
Simpson said she hired a trainer to get in shape for the film, which stars Johnny Knoxville as Luke Duke and Seann William Scott as Bo Duke.
"I was running sprints and doing all kinds of stuff. All I was thinking was bikini, bikini, bikini," the 25-year-old singer-actress said. "It was strange to actually be in the shorts. By the way, I tried on over a hundred pair."
Simpson also appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" summer concert series in Bryant Park singing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," the Nancy Sinatra song she rerecorded for "Dukes."
"The Dukes of Hazzard" opened in theaters on Friday.
'Lost' websites intriguing as series
Fans of ABC's Lost are likely to agree on one thing: It is a weekly hour of television as frustrating as it is absorbing.
In addition to wondering just what is up with the mysterious, not-really deserted island, viewers can ponder dozens of dangling threads associated with each of the show's plane crash survivors.
Threads like how Locke got in his wheelchair, what did Kate do to make her mother freak out so badly on that hospital stretcher and why, exactly, does Jack's stubble always stay the same?
The show's Sept. 21 second season premiere still sits a tantalizing six weeks away. But for fans eager to learn or see or read anything Lost, there are compelling websites out there ready to whet the appetite and feed the mystery.
Take the official-looking website for Oceanic Air, owner of the ill-fated Flight 815. Or a fansite dedicated to fictional rock band Drive Shaft, and by extension, its heroin-snorting bassist Charlie Pace, played by Dominic Monaghan.
While ABC is clearly behind the airline site, Drive Shaft seems to be the work of fans. Either way, both are examples of Lost in cyberspace: Extensive, fun, peekaboo-style places for hungry fans to play.
And as Lost writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach told the Sun yesterday via e-mail, that's exactly the way those behind the show like it.
Creator J.J. Abrams sponsored a fan community dubbed "The Fuselage" very early on in the first season, said Grillo-Marxuach. Others -- he wouldn't say which, or how many -- came as Lost gathered steam.
"Clearly, the success of the show was a motivating factor in getting an expanded Web presence out there, but one of the things that sets us apart is a sensitivity to fandom," wrote Grillo-Marxuach. "So we always looked to the Web as a great place to find a deeper involvement with our audience."
The Oceanic Air site is an example of how the show has translated its confounding appeal to the Web. Visitors can read a statement from Michael Orteig, airline president.
"After 25 years of service, we are forced to close our doors," reads the statement. "Due to financial difficulties in the wake of the Flight 815 tragedy, we are no longer able to sustain service."
Try to track flight 815 and you'll only see an eerie looking "alert" in the "arrival" section. Or spend several long minutes playing around on the plane's seating plan, finding out where the main characters sat and what visuals pop up once they are clicked.
"The sites are designed as puzzles -- they are very environmental -- you are supposed to go in, poke around, and see what you find," confirmed Grillo-Marxuach.
Over at the Drive Shaft site, a "media" section turns up several articles about Flight 815.
One article features an interview with the Martha Stewart-style wedding guru mother of killed-off character Boone Carlyle.
A techie piece indicates one passenger carried on his laptop all the research for a revolutionary communication device; another spun from a show plot suggests several of the passengers aboard the plane had no "history" or background.
Grillo-Marxuach says that kind of "noise" -- truthful or not -- actually helps the show.
"At the end of the day, the only truly canonical information about the show is what you see on primetime," he said.
Grillo-Marxuach said response to the sites has been overwhelming, keeping staff working constantly to refresh content and provide new experiences for visitors.
"We are in the business of entertaining people and the Web has become another way -- one that's a little looser and playful in structure -- for us to do that."
Elton John slams Live 8
Rocker Elton John, known in recent years as much for his periodic outbursts as his musical output, has slammed Live 8 as an "anticlimax."
John was one of the featured performers at the benefit, which took place at several venues around the world on July 2.
"Oh God, here I go," he said in an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper when asked his opinion of Live 8. "I thought it was a bit of an anticlimax, to be honest."
"There was no sense of occasion and from a musical point, I didn't think there were too many highlights," he said, adding that he was nonetheless "very pleased" to be included as one of Live 8's headliners.
In the days leading up to the global gig, organizer Bob Geldof – who also spearheaded 1985's Live Aid – said the simultaneous shows represented "all the promise of rock 'n' roll."
"You will never see it again. You will never see this happen again. It will be the greatest concert ever," Geldof boasted.
John says he had no quibbles with Geldof's stated goal – to raise awareness of global poverty and put pressure on the leaders of the G-8 nations; however, he said the venue of the London concert itself might have sapped energy from the performers.
"The thought behind it was fantastic, but Hyde Park is a charisma-free zone," he said.
The Canadian edition of Live 8 took place in Barrie, Ont. Organizers spoke out beforehand to defend the lineup, which included the likes of Randy Bachman and Blue Rodeo. According to some critics, more young acts should have been included.
John says the bottom line is that Live 8 could never have been as exciting as the original Live Aid concerts 20 years ago: "How could it be?"
The flamboyant entertainer built a career in the 1970s out of hits like Daniel and Rocket Man. In the latter stage of his life he has found success penning stage musicals, but his verbal barrages have at times overshadowed his musicianship.
Last year, John made headlines when he attacked Madonna for allegedly lip-synching during live shows. He also called photographers in Taiwan "rude, vile pigs."
John says now that the source of his outspokenness is not chemical. "I haven't got Tourette's syndrome, but I can't censor myself. Why should I?" he said, adding that his most recent remarks will probably make people think he is a "grumpy old sod."
Hagar Happy Without Van Halen On Summer Tour
Sammy Hagar has titled his latest tour "The Tequila Made Me Do It." And his fans are hoping he keeps the bottle open.
Rather than a traditional concert, Hagar, who's done stints fronting the bands Montrose and Van Halen in addition to his solo work, has created what he calls a "lifestyle concept." It's basically a Sammypalooza, a harder-rocking version of what Jimmy Buffett does, with gates opening in the afternoon and a variety of activities -- including beach volleyball, a "Sammy-oke" karaoke stage and photo ops with donkeys wearing sombreros -- preceding the music.
"We have a direction and a lifestyle and a way we want to live," explains Hagar, 57, a Monterey, Calif., native. "It's beach by day and dancing all night, tank tops and flip flops. It's all about keeping my fans happy, giving them a little direction if I can find it for them and turning them on to anything I get turned onto, and that's it."
Hagar also hopes to turn them on to some new music of his own soon. He's five songs into his next album, which he says will be a "lifestyle concept record" that will include cover songs and possibly new recordings of his older material by Hagar and his band, the Waboritas.
A year ago, however, Hagar wasn't entirely sure he'd be back to his solo enterprise. In 2004 he was in the midst of a reunion by Van Halen, who recorded three new songs for a greatest hits album and were doing big business at the box office. All indications were that the band was a going concern again.
But, Hagar, whose first run with the group was from 1985-96, says things didn't work out as planned, and he places the blame almost solely with guitarist Edward Van Halen.
"The Van Halen thing wasn't a horrible experience, but it wasn't a great experience," he recalls. "I don't get along with Eddie anymore, and that's all there is to it. I think the whole world knows that he's changed. He used to be a great guy, a fun guy, but now he's miserable and he likes to make everyone around him miserable.
He continues: "And I'm the happiest guy on the planet, y'know? Anybody who makes me miserable, I don't want to be around. That's a simple way to put it; I don't like being around Eddie. He's not any fun."
Hagar says, hopefully, that "maybe he'll change back, and then we can do it again." But he adds that things definitely ended badly. "We almost got into it after the last show," he says. "They just pulled him one way and me the other. We didn't even say goodbye to each other. It was a horrible way to end the whole thing, so I just said 'Man, that's it for me. I'm not playing with people like this."
Hagar still plays with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony in the covers band Los Tres Guzanos. And in addition to the Waboritas, he's re-formed Montrose to play some of The Tequila Made Me Do It shows -- a model for more "special events" he'd like to be part of his future festivals.
"I like to do 'An Evening With;' I'm not interested in bringing Joe Blow & the Goofballs out to open for me," Hagar explains. "My dream come true would be to have a guy like Eddie [Van Halen] be buddies with me and go out with the Wabos and have Montrose and ... everybody, man. That's my dream situation, and I think the fans would be real happy with that."