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Miami Vice - Here's a Hot Heads-Up For Ya!
Fans (old and new) of Miami Vice have thoroughly enjoyed the first season set of the show. That includes myself, and - like the rest of you! - I have been hungry for news of the second season release. Now I'm very pleased to have great news for you!
I have learned from retail sources that Miami Vice - Season 2, a 3-DVD set, is tentatively scheduled for release in the USA on December 13th, 2005. No other information is available yet, and since Universal has not made an official announcement, please understand that this date could change. Stay tuned, though, and we'll keep you posted with updates and developments.
Dont like Simpsons packaging? Fox is listening
In a wonderful move a listening to customers, Twentieth Century Fox is offering to replace the boxes for the current sixth season of The Simpsons on DVD.
Many people griped about the change of packaging on the Simpsons DVD sets starting with the sixth season set, which now resembles Homer Simpsons head. Fox has offered that anyone who wishes to have old-style packaging to match the earlier seasons can call 1 (800) 223-2369 or visit www.simpsonsbox.com for a replacement.
All it will cost the consumer is shipping and handling and a little good natured ribbing from the website.
Program director Slawko Klymkiw leaves CBC TV
CBC announced Wednesday that its head of network TV, Slawko Klymkiw, is leaving the public broadcaster at the end of the month.
Klymkiw has been the head of programming for nine years.
In a note to staff, CBC TV VP Richard Stursberg said Klymkiw is leaving to take up a "new, exciting and very different professional opportunity."
Klymkiw, in his own note, said his new role will allow him to "give something back to the industry in a way that I hope will leave a lasting legacy in terms of developing future talent in this country."
There is speculation he may become executive director of the Canadian Film Centre.
The announcement came on the third day of the CBC lockout, with 5,500 Canadian Media Guild employees off work and on the picket line, although Klymkiw said his decision "has absolutely nothing to do with our current labour situation."
Klymkiw has been program director since 1996. Some of his successes include Canada: a People's History, The Greatest Canadian, and Rick Mercer's Monday Report. He was also responsible for CBC's Movie Night in Canada strategy, which replaced Hockey Night in Canada when last year's NHL season was cancelled.
He had previously been in charge of CBC Newsworld, the CBC's 24-hour news and information specialty channel. He also ran the CBC News special program unit, where he developed the Gemini Award-nominated National Town Hall specials. Before that, he ran TV news for CBC in Toronto, and Winnipeg.
He started with the CBC in Winnipeg in 1980.
In July 2004, Richard Stursberg was appointed VP of CBC TV. At the time, there was widespread speculation that Klymkiw was unhappy at having been passed over, with CBC President and CEO Robert Rabinovitch telling the media he was "sure [Klymkiw] was disappointed."
Stursberg said Eva Czigler will take on Klymkiw's former role on an acting basis, which will ensure "strong continuity during the transition." She is currently senior director of network programming at CBC TV.
Garofalo Joins 'West Wing' Campaign
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Janeane Garofalo, who's not shy about airing her real-life political views, will enter the fictional political world of "The West Wing" this fall.
The "Reality Bites" star will appear in three episodes of the NBC drama this season, playing a media strategist hired by Democratic presidential hopeful Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits). Her advice to move away from political gamesmanship and start speaking directly to voters ruffles feathers within the Santos campaign, including those of Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford).
Her first episode is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 2 ("The West Wing" is moving away from its long-time Wednesday home this season to 8 p.m. ET Sundays).
Garofalo, who first gained notice as part of "The Ben Stiller Show," earned two Emmy nominations for her role as Paula on "The Larry Sanders Show" and also did a short stint on "Saturday Night Live" in the mid-1990s. This spring, she starred in an NBC comedy pilot called "All In," which wasn't picked up.
In addition to "Reality Bites," her movie credits include "Cop Land," "The Truth about Cats & Dogs," "The Matchmaker" and "Wonderland." She also co-hosts a show on the liberal Air America radio network.
'Batman Begins' Sets Record for IMAX
The IMAX 2-D version of Warner Bros.' Batman Begins generated $14.5 million worldwide, making it the biggest gross for a 2-D Hollywood title ever exhibited by the giant-screen company. The previous record holder was The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience, which produced $14 million in total ticket sales.
Highlights of Fall Books Releases
Fiction
"An Atomic Romance" (Random House), Bobbie Ann Mason's novel is set in a uranium enrichment plant.
"Christ the Lord" (Alfred A. Knopf), Anne Rice leaves vampires behind for this story of the young Jesus.
"The Diviners" (Little, Brown), "Ice Storm" author Rick Moody sets his new book during the 2000 presidential election.
"Get a Life" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), a South African ecologist ill with cancer is the main character in Nadine Gordimer's new novel.
"Goodnight Nobody" (Atria), Jennifer Weiner's story of a young mother in a Connecticut town.
"The Lighthouse" (Alfred A. Knopf), the latest mystery from P.D. James.
"Lipstick" (Hyperion), "Sex and the City" writer Candace Bushnell offer more urban tales.
"The March" (Random House), E.L. Doctorow's fictionalized version of General Sherman's advance through the South during the Civil War.
"Memories of My Melancholy Whores" (Alfred A. Knopf), Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short novel, translated from the Spanish text, tells of an old man's night with a virgin.
"Ordinary Heroes" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), courtroom master Scott Turow looks into the past of a World War II veteran.
"The Painted Drum" (HarperCollins), Louise Erdrich's novel follows the history of a painted drum.
"Predator" (Putnam), Patricia Cornwell's latest Kay Scarpetta mystery.
"S Is for Silence" (Putnam), Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone is back on the job.
"Saving Fish From Drowning" (Putnam), Amy Tan's story of American tourists in Burma.
"Shalimar the Clown" (Random House), a parable about terrorism and religious warfare from "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie.
"Slow Man" (Viking), J.M. Coetzee's novel features a photographer who loses his leg in a bicycle accident.
"Son of a Witch" (Regan), Gregory Maguire's sequel to "Wicked," the basis for the Broadway musical.
"Vita" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), Melania G. Mazzucco's story of Italian immigrants in New York.
"Wickett's Remedy" (Doubleday), Myla Goldberg's new novel is set during the 1918 influenza epidemic.
"The Widow of the South" (Warner), Robert Hicks' debut is a Civil War novel.
Nonfiction
"Bait and Switch" (Henry Holt), Barbara Ehrenreich takes on the white collar job market.
"The Beatles" (Little, Brown), an 800-plus page biography by Bob Spitz, based on hundreds of interviews.
"The City of Falling Angels (Penguin Press), John Berendt, who immortalized Savannah, Ga., in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," attempts the same for Venice, Italy.
"Dean and Me" (Doubleday), Jerry Lewis remembers his old partner, Dean Martin.
"Here's Johnny" (Rutledge Hill Press), sidekick Ed McMahon remembers talk-show king Johnny Carson.
"Julie and Julia" (Little, Brown), Julie Powell's adventures with the recipes of Julia Child.
"The Lost Painting" (Random House), Jonathan Harr, author of "A Civil Action," seeks out a lost Caravaggio painting.
"Memories of John Lennon" (Harper Entertainment), reflections from Yoko Ono upon the 25th anniversary of her husband's murder.
"Mirror to America" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), the memoir by historian and civil rights advocate John Hope Franklin.
"My Detachment" (Random House), Tracy Kidder, a Vietnam War memoir from the author of "Soul of a New Machine."
"Team of Rivals" (Simon & Schuster), Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Abraham Lincoln.
"The Tender Bar" (Hyperion), J.R. Moehringer's memoir about coming age in a saloon.
"The Truth (With Jokes)" (Dutton), Al Franken serves it up, again, from the left.
"Mark Twain" (Free Press), a 800-page biography by Ron Powers.
"The Year of Magical Thinking" (Alfred A. Knopf), Joan Didion reflects on the death of her husband, author John Gregory Dunne.
'Best Of' Albums Not So Great These Days
NEW YORK - A greatest-hits album once stood as a watershed a milestone chronicling a collection of top-rated hits, culturally significant songs or the end of a stellar career.
But in recent years, a flood of "best of" titles from acts with only few years in the business and performers with even fewer hits have called into question how great a greatest-hits collection is.
Last fall, Britney Spears released "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative," a retrospective of her chart-topping, multiplatinum recording career all six years of it. The Backstreet Boys put out "The Hits: Chapter One" in 2001 just four years after releasing their first album.
"I don't know what you'd put on a record if you've only been making records for five years. I don't know what those greatest hits would be," said veteran rocker John Mellencamp.
At least Spears and the Boys had a steady collection of hits or can say they have more than just one.
Among the more questionable greatest-hits collections that have popped up in recent years: "Toy Soldiers: The Best of Martika" (with one hit from the 1980s); "The Best of Mandy Moore," from an entertainer who had more success as an actress than she ever did as a singer; and "The Best of O.D.B.," from the late rapper who will best be remembered for his wild behavior and legal troubles than his chart-topping hits (or lack thereof).
And while teen queen Hilary Duff has sold millions of albums, she's only released two discs the first one in 2003 and neither spawned a top 10 hit. Her "best of" collection, "Most Wanted," hit record stores Tuesday.
"I guess with music becoming so disposable, things just happen so much faster now," said Collective Soul singer Dean Roland, whose band put out a greatest-hits album of its own in 2001. "The short answer to the whole thing is it comes out to a money issue. The labels can put a greatest-hits album out and it's going to sell."
They can be wildly popular. The Eagles' "Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975" is the best-selling album in U.S. history, selling more than 28 million copies. They're also cheap to produce and promote.
Sheryl Crow, whose "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow," was a multiplatinum hit in 2003, agrees that in some cases, thoughts of profits weigh heavily. "Part of that is record labels continually try to work their catalog so they always have money coming in," Crow said.
But Kevin Gore, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Rhino Entertainment, which puts out various greatest-hits packages, compilations and boxed sets, says a "Best of Sugar Ray" which they recently released is valid, even if some may sneer.
"At the end of the day, there's a larger audience that will buy a greatest-hits collection than might buy the individual albums just because they've chosen not to buy the original albums," Gore said.
"Let's say there's two hit songs on a record from five years ago, and then there's another two hit songs from a record that's three years ago," he said. "You have a greater opportunity to bring in a larger audience because you're putting all the hits in one place."
It's an idea the Backstreet Boys agree with even though, initially, they balked at the idea of putting one out.
"For me as an artist, like, when I see somebody put out a greatest-hits record, they're either finished, or they need some time (off)," said Brian Littrell. "I kind of felt it was too soon to put those great songs on a CD. I think I wanted our fans to miss them a little bit."
However, Howie Dorough said in many ways, the greatest-hits album which sold more than 1 million copies and contained a few new tunes may have drawn the casual fan who had never brought a Backstreet Boys CD.
"We've had, knock on wood, over 12 singles," Dorough said. "But for somebody who's not a truly Backstreet fan, (who) wants to go out and buy five different records? ... To be able to go and buy their greatest hits, I'd do that in a heartbeat."
A more critical issue, record companies say, is the decreasing shelf space to carry an artist's catalog. With the advent of Wal-Mart and Target as major record stores, there are fewer outlets where you might find several different albums from one artist.
"If an artist has five or six or seven albums in his or her catalog, a lot of times many retailers are only carrying two or three. Perhaps songs that were included on albums one, three and five might no longer get the kind of visibility or shelf space that a hits record will provide those particular songs," said Jeff Jones, executive vice president of Sony BMG's catalog division Legacy Recordings (whose catalog releases this year range from Miles Davis to Bob Dylan to ... Martika).
Which brings us back to Martika's "Best Of ..." collection.
At the time, her "Toy Soldiers" was enjoying a resurgence after Eminem sampled it on his song, "Like Toy Soldiers." Fans searching for the original song may have been out of luck, Jones said.
Stores weren't carrying her records anymore, he said, adding: "So without creating a new hits collection, there's no visibility."
Besides, just because the average person can't name more than one Martika song doesn't mean there aren't fans out there.
"A hits collection doesn't necessarily always have to be 16 No. 1 songs," Jones said.
Not anymore.
Which is good news for the PM Dawns, Lisa Stansfields and Color Me Badds of the world who all have greatest-hits albums.
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Edward Scissorhands celebrates fifteen years
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of Edward Scissorhands with a special edition coming out this year.
The film will be available in separate fullscreen and anamorphic widescreen releases with audio commentary from Tim Burton a second commentarywith Danny Elfman, a featurette, interviews, trailers, TV spots and concept art.
Scheduled to be out on November 8th, the discs will be $14.98. A separate collectors edition will come in a tin and be priced at $19.98.
New details for Batman Begins
A single disc and two disc version of Batman Begins are both coming from Warner Home Entertainment.
Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.
The single disc version looks to contain no extras, save for some DVD-ROM content.
The two disc version contains eight documentaries, character and gadget based featurettes, an interactive comic, theatrical trailers, a photo gallery, easter eggs, the DVD-ROM features. Also included are reprintings of three Batman comics that influenced the creation of the film.
The one and two disc versions will both be available on October 18th for $28.98 and $30.97 respectively.
Fabulous TV flops now out on DVD
Holy Lord, there's NOTHING on TV this summer. Once upon a time that was a real bummer. Like, you had to go outside and stuff.
Now, thanks to DVDs, you never have to leave your La-Z-Boy again. Avoid the great outdoors by enjoying some fabulous TV flops in special collector's edition sets. All without commercials!
These series never really "opened." Too odd or unusual for the masses, they're like little independent films. Some only aired two or three times before being cancelled. None produced more than 17 episodes:
PROFIT
So bizarre, creepy and ahead of its time it should have been an HBO show. Instead it somehow snuck on the air while the Fox censors were asleep for a few weeks in April, 1996.
Adrian Pasdar stars as Jim Profit, the ultimate, back-stabbing, corporate weasel, a totally amoral dude who worms his way up the ladder at fictional Gracen & Gracen.
Bad enough that he is constantly plotting against co-workers on his home computer. He also has an incestuous relationship with his white trash stepmother who is constantly blackmailing him. (She knows he once set fire to his dad).
The payoff comes at the end of the two-hour movie debut. Profit is shown curling up nude inside a cardboard box and going to sleep. That's how he was raised, nude in a box, with only a peep hole to watch his one and only window on the outside world -- television. No wonder he's so screwed up!
Said the New York Daily News at the time: "May well be the most unremittingly evil character ever to serve as the protagonist and principal voice of a network TV series."
Four episodes that never aired are included on the set. Time has blunted some of the shock (HBO and FX series such as Six Feet Under and Nip/Tuck have gone further) and the computer graphics look quaint today, but Profit is still worth a look just to see how far TV once strayed on the dark side. Among the producers -- John MacNamara, who just flamed out with a future addition to this list: ABC's stylish and unjustly abandoned Tim Daly caper Eyes.
UNDECLARED
This 2001 followup to another one-year-wonder, Freaks And Geeks -- stars Montreal-native Jay Baruchel (teamed with Don Johnson in the new WB series Just Legal) as a dorky college freshman. The DVD set includes a 17th, never-before-seen episode, bloopers and outtakes plus tons of commentary from brilliant showrunner Judd Apatow.
KEEN EDDIE
Before she was getting screwed over by Jude Law, Sienna Miller co-starred (opposite Boston Legal's Mark Valley) in this smash-and-grab 2003 detective series set and shot in London. There is nothing this bratty, original or stylish on TV this fall. All 13 episodes, but no commentary or other extras. Cheapskates!
GOD, THE DEVIL AND BOB
Another 13-episode wonder, with James Garner as the voice of God (who looks just like Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead) in this wry, animated gem from Matthew Carlson (About A Boy, Malcolm In The Middle). Alan Cumming voices the Devil (natch) with French Stewart as Bob (natch again). Only three episodes aired on NBC in 2000. Why, God, why?
WONDERFALLS
There is nobody on TV this fall as adorable as Montreal native Caroline Dhavernas. Here she's Jaye, a screwed up clerk who keeps hearing voices from trinkets in her Niagara Falls souvenir shop. Besides the 13 episodes (Fox only showed four before cancelling this in 2004), this collection is loaded with commentary, a music video and enough other extras to keep fans panting for a still hoped-for big screen sequel.
THE TICK
Wicked men, beware! Patrick Warburton is the big blue bug of justice in this loopy, laugh-out-loud superhero sendup from 2001. Eight precious episodes. Four crime fighters. One Batmanuel (Nestor Carbonell). Worth it just for the "Death Of The Immortal" episode.
'Virgin' star Carell gets 'High'
"The 40 Year Old Virgin" star Steve Carell has scored his next major movie role.
Variety reports Carell has signed on for the tentatively-titled comedy "High T," written by "50 First Dates" scribe George Wing.
The film, produced by Bob Cooper ("Sleepover," "Mr. Woodcock") centres on a man who, after giving himself testosterone shots, begins to have wild mood swings based on his hormonal levels.
Carell's other movie credits include "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Bewitched" and "Bruce Almighty." He will also star as Maxwell Smart in the upcoming big screen remake of the 1960s espionage sitcom "Get Smart."
"The 40 Year Old Virgin" hits Canadian theatres on Friday.
A&E'S 'BIO' HAZARD
'BIOGRAPHY" could be history.
The long-running cornerstone show that put A&E on the map 18 years ago has lost more than half its audience, had its on-air schedule cut in half and could be in danger of going out of production, reports industry trade magazine TV Week.
At one time, as many as 3 million viewers tuned in to watch the famed warts-and-all documentary show, which inspired an army of copycats ranging from VH1's "Behind the Music" to "The E! True Hollywood Story."
The program became so popular that, in 1998, A&E was able to spin off an entire cable network, the Biography Channel.
But lately, "Biography" has averaged less than 700,000 viewers a number even A&E programming chief Robert DiBitetto says wouldn't be acceptable for a new series. Even more glaring is the fact that other A&E shows are more than doubling the "Biography" audience.
"Dog the Bounty Hunter" which delves into the seedy world of a New York-based bounty hunter, regularly averages 1.6 million viewers, while "Cold Case Files" draws about 1.5 million.
Yet tales of the impending death of "Biography" may be greatly exaggerated, say A&E execs.
That's because despite its low ratings, "Biography" still makes money for A&E and that may be its ultimate lifeline for at least one more season.
"There are also blue chip [advertising] clients of A&E that love the series," DiBitetto says. "It drives business disproportionate to the ratings there's a financial consequence to canceling it."
A&E officials say that whatever the future of "Biography," it won't affect The Biography Channel.
And even if A&E stops making new "Biography" episodes, a spinoff called "Being" produced by Mick Jagger is already waiting in the wings.
Pierce Brosnan Out As James Bond, 007
NEW YORK - A single, surprising phone call and it was over. That's how Pierce Brosnan says he learned that his services as James Bond would no longer be required.
"One phone call, that's all it took!" the 52-year-old actor tells Entertainment Weekly magazine in its Aug. 19 issue.
Brosnan starred in four Bond films. He says that before they stopped negotiations, the producers had invited him back for a fifth time.
"You know, the movie career for me really started with Bond," says Brosnan, acknowledging that by the time "GoldenEye" premiered in 1995, he was already 42.
He then starred as 007 in "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), "The World Is Not Enough" (1999) and "Die Another Day" (2002).
His departure from the role was a "titanic jolt to the system," says Brosnan, followed by "a great sense of calm."
"I thought. ... I can do anything I want to do now. I'm not beholden to them or anyone. I'm not shackled by some contracted image. So there was a sense of liberation."
Brosnan says he's grateful to have had the role, but adds: "It never felt real to me. I never felt I had complete ownership over Bond. Because you'd have these stupid one-liners which I loathed and I always felt phony doing them."
He plays a foulmouthed, skirt-chasing hit man in the upcoming film "The Matador."
"(For this) to come on the heels of my departure from the world of Bond is sweet grace, to play this one as a farewell to that chapter in time it certainly wasn't planned."
BEST BEHIND
British moviegoers voting Jude Law's butt the sexiest in a poll of the top tushes in show business. Renιe Zellweger rounded out the top 10.
Exhausted Eminem Cancels European Tour
Citing exhaustion, rapper Eminem has canceled a planned 12-date tour of Europe as part of the Anger Management outing with 50 Cent, D12, G-Unit and other acts. The tour was to get underway Sept. 1 in Hamburg, Germany and wrap Sept. 17 in Meath, Ireland.
According to a statement from Interscope Records, "Eminem is currently being treated for exhaustion, complicated by other medical issues." The canceled European shows are not expected to be rescheduled, according to the label.
An Interscope spokesperson says that plans for 50 Cent to potentially continue the tour alone are still being determined.
Rumors have recently swirled that this round of the Anger Management tour would be Eminem's last, although the artist himself has made no definitive statement on the subject. Footage from the trek's recent stand at New York's Madison Square Garden will air as a special in December on Showtime.
Microsoft beats Apple, files iPod patents
There are likely some red faces at Apple Computer.
Apple took too long to file a patent on part of its blockbuster iPod music players, so Microsoft jumped in and beat Apple to it.
Tech pundits are snickering at the prospect of Apple having to pay Bill Gates big royalties on the hugely popular iPods, which account for more than a third of Apple's revenue.
On Tuesday, technology lawyer John Ferrell said Apple still has a lot of options, and this isn't a knockout blow. He said Apple could file a declaration stating it invented the technology before Microsoft filed its patent request.
The company could also alter the patent claims so they don't overlap Microsoft's. Ferrell estimates it could be at least another six months before it's all sorted out.
AP Casts Its Ballot for MTV's VMAs
NEW YORK - When MTV descends on Miami on Aug. 28 for the annual Video Music Awards, it will bring a seemingly endless lineup of rappers, rockers, teeny boppers and even Killers.
Which might make you think MTV still shows music videos.
While the Music Television network long ago refocused on original programming, those three-minute bursts of camera crooning are finding new life on Web sites like IFilm.com and Yahoo's "Launch." And recent reports that videos could be coming to iPods might make videos a consumer product in their own right.
But in the meantime, MTV still needs to hand out those awards. Here's a prediction of who will take home the bling and who SHOULD win.
BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Nominees: Amerie, "1 Thing"; Mariah Carey, "We Belong Together"; Gwen Stefani, "Hollaback Girl"; Shakira featuring Alejandro Sanz, "La Tortura"; Kelly Clarkson, "Since U Been Gone."
Will Win: Gwen Stefani in a cheerleading outfit will beat just about anything.
Should win: Missy Elliot is the undisputed queen of the hip-hop video. Her clip for "Lose Control" is as jerky and incomprehensible as anything she's done before. She looks like a cover to an old Funkadelic album especially when buried neck-deep in sand. Honorable mention to the dive bar performance of "Portland, Oregon" by Loretta Lynn and Jack White. You've got to give it up to the real life version of Harold and Maude.
BEST MALE VIDEO
Nominees: 50 Cent, "Candy Shop"; Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"; Beck, "E-Pro"; Usher, "Caught Up"; John Legend, "Ordinary People."
Will Win: The smart money is on Kanye, but (like Maroon 5 at the Grammys) West may again get upset by a skinny white guy this time courtesy of Beck, whose digital "E-Pro" is like "Beck: The Video Game." Sonic the Hedgehog, look out.
Should Win: John Mellencamp's "Walk Tall" and not just because anybody who once took a deadly feline for his middle name deserves an award. Actor Peter Dinklage stars in the black-and-white version of a prejudiced 1950s where height not race is the basis of discrimination.
BEST GROUP VIDEO
Nominees: Black Eyed Peas, "Don't Phunk With My Heart"; The Killers, "Mr. Brightside"; Destiny's Child featuring T.I. & Lil' Wayne, "Soldier"; U2, "Vertigo"; Green Day, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."
Will Win: Destiny's Child. Beyonce and the gang aren't looking for a Marine, but a tough dude who "carries big things" and may or may not own a Doberman.
Should Win: Everybody loves to see geeks score hot chicks, but rarely has the match been taken to such extremes. In Weezer's "Beverly Hills," the bespectacled band and a hundred of their fans party it up at the Playboy Mansion. But if Charlie Sheen and Fred Durst are welcome at Hef's house, why not Rivers Cuomo?
BEST RAP VIDEO
Nominees: Eminem, "Just Lose It"; T.I., "U Don't Know Me"; The Game & 50 Cent, "Hate It Or Love It"; Ying Yang Twins, "Wait (The Whisper Song)"; Ludacris, "Number One Spot."
Will Win: Ludacris as Austin Powers in "Number One Spot." He's as funny as Eminem is angry.
Should Win: How about Mase's "Welcome Back"? Who missed P. Diddy's mumbling sidekick? Well, nobody. But the now Christian Ma$e nevertheless returned with a sunny "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood"-style vid that was more fun than any other rap video.
BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Nominees: Common, "Go"; Nas featuring Olu Dara, "Bridging The Gap"; Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"; Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell, "Drop It Like It's Hot"; Missy Elliott featuring Ciara & Fat Man Scoop, "Lose Control."
Will Win: Forgetting the possible overlap between having both hip-hop and rap categories, this one goes to "Drop It Like It's Hot." It's really just Snoop and Pharrell in black and white groovin' to their beat and clicking their tongues, but the minimalism matches the sparse song.
Should Win: Common's video for "Go" might be the smoothest of the year. Filmed with a Jay-Z "Big Pimpin'"-style white letterbox, it's full of retro browns and whites and cool digital transitions.
BEST R&B VIDEO
Nominees: Alicia Keys, "Karma"; Mariah Carey, "We Belong Together"; Ciara featuring Ludacris, "Oh"; Usher & Alicia Keys, "My Boo"; John Legend, "Ordinary People."
Will Win: Usher and Alicia Keys. Their back and forth vocals are the '00s answer to Positive K's "I Got a Man."
Should Win: Alicia Keys is great and all, but she's a little too earnest, too well-meaning for a contemporary R&B crooner. Give me R.Kelly. Or Prince. They're plenty weird. The Artist's "Cinnamon Girl" also might have been the only genuinely thought-provoking video in the past 12 months. It stars Keisha "Whale Rider" Castle-Hughes as a girl contemplating terrorism.
BEST ROCK VIDEO
Nominees: Foo Fighters, "Best of You"; My Chemical Romance, "Helena"; Green Day, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"; Weezer, "Beverly Hills"; The Killers, "Mr. Brightside."
Will Win: The band of the year, Green Day. The group walks down a downtrodden street, superimposed (like actors driving cars in old movies) to show their disconnect to America.
Should Win: Modest Mouse is the best band you only recently heard of. One of the top indie bands of the past decade, they broke through last year with "Float On" but their more memorable video was "Ocean Breathes Salty." Isaac Brock plays a wounded crow temporarily nurtured back to health by a young boy. It seems the perfect role for Brock, who sings, "You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the afterlife?" Perhaps the only clip this year to inexplicably give you a lump in your throat.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Coldplay, "Speed of Sound"; Kanye West, "Jesus Walks"; Green Day, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"; Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell, "Drop It Like It's Hot"; Gwen Stefani, "Hollaback Girl."
Will Win: Kanye West. No other video was even close to as audacious as West's fury of slavery, chain gangs and crucifixes. Though his martyrdom is something to behold, it's nevertheless unforgettable. Besides, after the Grammys dis, Kanye might hurt somebody if he loses again.
Should Win: While many bands opt to make cartoon videos simply because it means less work for them, it's the whole point for the Gorillaz. The virtual hip-hop group's "Feel Good Inc." achieves what almost no music videos do: a marriage of song and visual even if the flying windmill seems a copy of famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's "Moving Castle."
But let's face it. The video of the year wasn't in the running, even though it's been seen on MTV hundreds of times the singing and dancing silhouettes of the iPod commercials have been the best marriage of music and video on television.