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Billy Crystal brings '700 Sundays' to Toronto

Billy Crystal is bringing his bittersweet autobiographical one-man show to Toronto next month.

700 Sundays will play at the Canon Theatre from Sept. 28 to Oct. 9, Mirvish Productions announced Thursday. Tickets are only available to subscribers.

The show has been a huge hit on Broadway, where it closed June 12. It outsold many other Broadway plays last year, and set a sales record for a solo show. It also won a Tony Award for best theatrical event.

The title refers to the number of Sundays Crystal figures he got to spend with his hard-working father, Jack Crystal. He died when Billy Crystal was 15.

"The best work I've ever done in my life has been 700 Sundays," he said at the Tony Award ceremony in June. "It's reconnected me with myself and reminded me of what I do best, which is performing in front of people."

Crystal is perhaps best known for hosting the Academy Awards, which he has done eight times. A former Saturday Night Live cast member, he has also had roles in movies like When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers.

NHL Games Skate to OLN

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Even back when the National Hockey League was still playing games, its TV ratings weren't exactly stratospheric. But telecasts on ESPN and ESPN2 could at least draw a million viewers, maybe 2 million on a good night during the playoffs.

If an NHL game pulls in 2 million people on OLN, the league's new cable home, it will be a record for the channel.

The network previously best known for its Tour de France coverage, outdoor sports and "Survivor" reruns has ponied up a reported $200 million to become hockey's cable home for the next three seasons. It's the first foray into professional team sports by the network, which is owned by cable giant Comcast (which also owns the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers and several regional sports networks).

"We are proud to be the new national television home of the NHL when the puck drops on Oct. 5," OLN President Gavin Harvey says. "Adding hockey to our lineup when the NHL returns to the ice with a fresh season, new energy, new players and a new attitude adds tremendous value to OLN."

If you don't remember the last time you saw an NHL game on TV, that may be because there haven't been any since June 2004. The league lost its entire 2004-05 season to a labor dispute after the owners locked out players.

OLN will televise at least 58 regular-season games on Monday and Tuesday nights, along with the NHL All-Star Game and most of the Stanley Cup playoffs, including the first two games of the Finals. NBC has the rights to a handful of weekend regular-season games and games three through seven of the Finals, in a deal for which it paid no rights fees.

OLN grabbed its biggest audience ever -- 1.7 million viewers -- last month for the final stage of Lance Armstrong's record seventh Tour de France victory. The network, which is available in about 64 million homes, averages fewer than a half-million viewers in primetime.

Garth Brooks Inks Exclusive Deal With Wal-Mart

Garth Brooks has signed a multi-year, exclusive pact with Wal-Mart, making the retailer and its Sam's Clubs and Walmart.com outlets the only places where his music will be commercially available.

The deal with Brooks marks the first time an artist -- and certainly a superstar -- has aligned himself and his entire catalog with one chain. (A number of other retailers have started labels, but they were never exclusive to the retailer and most have shut down).

Speculation about a pact brewing between Brooks and Wal-Mart grew after the artist performed at a Wal-Mart shareholders meeting June 3 in Bentonville, Ark. However, until now, both sides have declined to acknowledge that they had made a deal.

Brooks tells Billboard that he's not ready to discuss details of the marriage until "we get our ducks a row," but adds that the forthcoming releases, "in everything from cost to content, will be an amazing deal for the Garth fan."

The initial deal is believed to cover only catalog since Brooks had vowed to remain retired from performing and recording new material until his youngest daughter graduates from high school in 2015. Then, he has said he'll reevaluate the marketplace and his desire to return to the music recording industry. Brooks' last studio album, 2001's "Scarecrow," has sold 2.9 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Although neither Brooks nor Wal-Mart would comment on the first arrival under the pact, industry sources say that it will be a multiple-disc box set including previously unreleased material. The set will street in late fall and will retail at around $25.

While other superstars, such as Elton John and the Rolling Stones have released exclusive box sets through Best Buy, they were DVD projects. This is the first time an artist has released an audio box set exclusively through a traditional retailer.

Brooks' departure from Capitol Nashville, his label home since 1989, paved the way for the Wal-Mart deal. Capitol and Brooks dissolved their licensing deal in June. Brooks owns his masters, leaving him free to shop for a new deal. His catalog includes 15 projects. Capitol parent EMI can sell remaining Brooks' titles it already had in the pipeline to retailers prior to the June deal, but it can manufacture no more units.

'Virgin' should get lucky at box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As Hollywood's summer coasts to its Labor Day close, box office expectations tend to diminish along with summer work hours. But this weekend, four films will try to overcome the end-of-summer malaise with fresh offerings to four distinct demographics.

The likely winner of the frame is "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," which should top the $20 million mark for the three-day period.

Hot on the heels of "Wedding Crashers," the Universal Pictures release already is receiving the highest of compliments from reviewers, who are saying the film is on par with if not better than the hit Vince Vaughn- Owen Wilson starrer.

Starring Steve Carell, "Virgin" centers on a 40-year-old retail clerk who never got around to having sex. His friends, including Paul Rudd, are committed to getting this average Joe deflowered. Catherine Keener co-stars in a well-reviewed role as Carell's love interest.

The R-rated film -- director Judd Apatow's theatrical debut -- should open well in these dog days of summer, luring those elusive young men who have been avoiding the megaplex.

Hoping for a rebound after the fatal release of "The Island," DreamWorks Pictures will bow Wes Craven's "Red Eye," which insiders predict will bow in the mid-teen-millions.

The PG-13 film marks Craven's transition from horror to thriller. The film stars up-and-comers Rachel McAdams ("Wedding Crashers") and Cillian Murphy, the Irish actor who shone in "Batman Begins." "Red Eye" centers on a woman held captive on an airplane by a stranger who threatens to kill her father unless she helps him arrange the assassination of a wealthy businessman. It cost less than $30 million to produce.

Disney will bow the British computer-animated film "Valiant," from Vanguard Animation, the company founded by "Shrek" producer John Williams.

"Valiant" follows the adventures of a World War II carrier pigeon. Directed by first-timer Gary Chapman, the film features the voices of Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, John Cleese and Jim Broadbent. The $40 million, G-rated film opened in March in the U.K. and has grossed $15 million. With limited publicity in the U.S. compared with the huge animated blockbusters that flood multiplexes here, "Valiant" will find it difficult to take flight. Industry insiders put the film's weekend gross at $10 million.

20th Century Fox opened "Supercross: The Movie" on Wednesday. The film revolves around two brothers who, after the suspicious death of their father, must motivate each other to get back on their bikes for the Supercross championships in Las Vegas. Aiming at fans of extreme sports, the PG-13 film is unlikely to cross the $10 million mark for the five-day frame.

In limited release, Wellspring opened the indie documentary "Reel Paradise" on Wednesday in New York. The R-rated film centers on indie film guru John Pierson, who moves his family to Fiji for one year to run the world's most remote movie theater.

Tartan Films bows "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" on three screens in New York. The R-rated South Korean film tells the story of a deaf mute who struggles to find a way to help his sister, who requires a kidney transplant.

Monaco, O'Hurley: "Dancing" Rematch!

Not only can controversy be good for business, sometimes it can inspire a two-part special.

Kelly Monaco and John O'Hurley will return to the Dancing with the Stars ballroom for a so-called "dance-off" on Sept. 20, ABC announced Thursday. The results, based solely on viewer voting, will be announced in a Sept. 22 telecast.

Monaco, the daytime soap star, took the first round against O'Hurley, the former Seinfeld player, back on July 6 when she and professional dance partner Alec Mazo were named champs of the six-week made-for-TV contest.

Coming in the wake of early shaky efforts, Monaco's win was greeted with suspicion by O'Hurley die-hards who thought the show's elder statesman had samba-d circles around the competition with the help of partner Charlotte Jorgensen. One conspiracy theory had ABC plotting to put Monaco on top in the name of corporate synergy--the actress' day job is on the network's General Hospital.

At the Television Critics Association press tour last month, ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson told reporters the network was considering a Monaco-O'Hurley rematch. To the exec, a show returning the two rivals to the dance floor was a "great idea," not an admission that funny business had marred the initial results.

"The voting was not fixed whatsoever," McPherson said.

The newly sure-footed Monaco, meanwhile, refused to be tripped up by talk that she didn't earn her victory, and welcomed a rematch.

"Bring it on," the actress said at the ABC press conference last month. "You want a dance-off, come on up here. I'll give you a dance-off."

And so the dance-off: The Monaco and O'Hurley teams will compete in Latin, ballroom and freestyle. The 90-minute special will be filled out with "dance demonstrations" by: Ashly Delgrosso, Joey McIntyre's former partner; Jonathan Roberts, Rachel Hunter's ringer; Edyta Sliwinska, survivor of Evander Holyfield's moves; and, Louis van Amstel, Trista Sutter's harsh taskmaster.

The results show, airing two nights later, will be kept to a relatively spare 30 minutes.

No decision has been made as to whether a separate results show will be part of Dancing with the Stars' second season. And, no, no decision has been made as to when Dancing with the Stars' second season will launch.

In its inaugural run, summer's biggest TV hit aired once a week, for six consecutive weeks, starting June 1. One dance team was eliminated at the end of each episode, except the first episode, on account of no team got eliminated until a lousy performance was at least one week old. (The logistics and math made a bit, but not a lot, more sense as the series played out.)

While Dancing's trio of judges will be on hand for next month's dance-off, they'll only serve as sideline observers, a la the Simon-Paula-Randy troika on American Idol. The Monaco-O'Hurley winner be determined by audience-generated online and phone voting.

Results will be final. Presumably until the next dance-off.

Eminem in Rehab for Sleep Medication

DETROIT - Eminem is undergoing treatment for dependency to sleep medication, his publicist said Thursday, two days after the Grammy-winning rapper canceled his European tour citing exhaustion.

In a brief statement, Dennis Dennehy said Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, "is in the hospital under doctors' care."

Eminem wrapped up his nationwide "Anger Management" tour last week, then on Tuesday canceled 10 European concerts that were to kick off Sept. 1 in Hamburg, Germany.

Interscope Records released a statement at the time saying Eminem was being treated for exhaustion, complicated by other medical issues.

Last month, the 32-year-old denied a report that he was planning to retire. But he did say he might be taking a breather after releasing four multi-platinum albums, including his latest, "Encore."

BBC orders more 'Extras'

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - The BBC has commissioned a second season of "Extras" -- Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's comedy follow-up to hit satire "The Office."

"Extras," which averages 3.9 million viewers in its Thursday airings on BBC 2, is due to premiere on HBO September 25.

Gervais stars as a background actor with dim hopes of screen stardom, while Merchant plays his bumbling agent. Ben Stiller, Vinnie Jones and Kate Winslet have made cameos.

'Toy Story' Co-Writer Reportedly Dies

UKIAH, Calif. - Joe Ranft, who was nominated for an Oscar for co-writing "Toy Story" for Pixar Animation Studios, died when the car he was riding in veered off a Mendocino County highway and into the water, the Hollywood Reporter reported Wednesday. He was 45.

An unidentified spokeswoman for the Mendocino County Sheriff-Coroner's Office confirmed to the trade publication that Ranft was one of two people who died Tuesday in the crash on Highway 1.

"Joe was an important and beloved member of the Pixar family, and his loss is of great sorrow to all of us and to the animation industry as a whole," the company said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.

Hundreds of Pixar employees gathered Wednesday in the animation company's atrium to share their grief, according to blogs written by several Pixar animators.

An accident report from the California Highway Patrol confirmed the crash but said only the coroner's office could release the names of the two fatalities. No one was available at the coroner's office late Wednesday night.

Ranft, the head of story for more than a decade at Pixar, also co-wrote "A Bug's Life" and was the voice for such characters as Heimlich in "A Bug's Life" and Wheezy the Penguin in "Toy Story 2."

Before joining Pixar, Ranft worked at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he was a writer on "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King."

The CHP said the car was traveling north on Highway 1 on Tuesday afternoon when the driver overcorrected and veered over the cliff at about 30 mph, overturning twice and landing near where the Navarro River meets the Pacific Ocean.

The driver and the front passenger were killed. The rear passenger, identified as Eric T. Frierson, 39 of Los Angeles, escaped with moderate injuries.