'Alias' Fans Fight for Vartan

Fans of hit TV series Alias have launched a campaign to save Michael Vartan's character, even though producers have failed to confirm they're killing him off. Vartan, who plays his former girlfriend Jennifer Garner's on-screen lover Michael Vaughn on the show, reportedly shot his final scenes last week, according to the New York Post. Insiders claim Vaughn will be killed off in the upcoming series, which will also see pregnant Garner coping with impending motherhood both in real life and on the crime drama. The news has prompted some fans to launch www.mvcampaign.com, which has been set up to stop any potential Vartan departure. In a posting on the fansite, one devotee states, "Many of us feel that if this were to occur, it would be showing the show, the viewers, and Mr. Vartan a huge lack of both respect and loyalty. We have decided to take action and do something to express our feelings."

Cruise Speared on Cover of New Magazine

Movie star Tom Cruise is bracing for his most savage critical attack yet in a new magazine article about his loyalty to Scientology. A doctored photograph of the actor in his underwear appears on the front cover of US pop and politics magazine Radar with five arrows appearing to pierce his skin, suggesting the article inside, by investigative journalist Kim Masters, will leave him wounded. The controversial piece is headlined, 'Risky Business: the untold story of Scientology's movie-star martyr.' In the accompanying article, Masters speaks to a handful of former Scientologists and business acquaintances of Cruise, who all link the actor's recent passion for the controversial religion to the fact he has risen through the Church to a level just under leaders like his close friend and Scientology chief David Miscavige. One former Scientologist, who worked closely with the religion's celebrity members, claims Cruise is close to becoming a member of the Church's mythical Sea Org level or something similar. She says, "You feel so good, it's like you're high on coke. If you look at him, he has that dedicated glare that Sea Org members have." High-level Scientologists insist the Sea Org level never existed and such claims are ridiculous. The article also suggests Cruise's War Of The Worlds director, Steven Spielberg, was far from happy about the actor's Scientology-heavy interviews and romantic gestures for new girlfriend Katie Holmes at a time when he should have been promoting the summer blockbuster. Producer Marvin Levy coyly remarks, "It (the non-War of The Worlds talk) certainly took some of the emphasis away from where we would have liked it." Levy also tells Masters that Spielberg was upset when he saw Cruise's famous sofa leaping episode on Oprah in May, as he declared his love for Holmes. Masters writes, "When Spielberg later watched Cruise's manic declaration of love, Levy says, he sensed that the film's carefully orchestrated media plan might be slipping off the rails."

New Robbie Williams album due in October

LONDON (Billboard) - British pop star Robbie Williams, a virtual unknown in America despite huge international success, will release his sixth solo album in Europe on October 24.

"Intensive Care" (EMI), which Williams has been recording in Los Angeles for the past two years, marks the follow-up to the 2003 chart-topper release "Escapology."

It is unknown when, or if, "Intensive Care" will be released in North America. Despite a strong promotional push in an attempt to expand Williams' global reach, "Escapology" flopped across the Atlantic, selling just 136,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The new album's first single, "Tripping," is described by Williams on his Web site as "something like a mini-gangster opera." It will be issued to European radio outlets beginning September 5 ahead of its October 3 release at retail.

Williams, a former member of boy-band Take That, is one of Europe's biggest hit-makers, with 18 top 10 singles and six No. 1 albums in the United Kingdom alone. According to EMI, he has shifted 35 million albums worldwide.

Williams will play a one-off show October 9 at the 12,000 capacity Velodrom in Berlin. The concert will be simultaneously broadcast at cinemas across Europe. Television broadcasts are also being lined up.

Talking Heads Refurbish Catalog For DualDisc

The Talking Heads have expanded their eight studio albums with previously unreleased content for their release as DualDiscs. Due Oct. 4 via Rhino, the sets will be packaged together in a white molded plastic box that holds eight jewel cases. Each album has also been remastered by Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison.

The group's 1977 debut, the appropriately named "Talking Heads: 77," will include a 5.1 mix of a previously unreleased acoustic version of "Psycho Killer" and an alternate 5.1 mix of "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town." The DVD side sports a live clip of "Pulled Up" taped in 1978 in Berkeley, Calif., and "I Feel It in My Heart" shot in 1976 at New York's now-defunct the Kitchen.

The follow-up, "More Songs About Buildings and Food," is bolstered by alternate versions of "The Big Country," "I'm Not in Love" and "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel," as well as a "1977 version" of "Stay Hungry." The DVD pulls "Warning Sign" from the aforementioned Berkeley show plus "Found a Job" from a 1978 gig at New York's Entermedia Theatre.

Best known for "Cities" and "Life During Wartime," 1979's "Fear of Music" is expanded here with alternate versions of those tracks as well as "Mind," and an unfinished outtake of "Dancing for Money." The DVD side includes performances of "Cities" and "I Zimba" from the German TV show "Rockpop" in 1980.

"Remain in Light" is beefed up with four unfinished outtakes: "Fela's Riff," "Unison," "Double Groove" and "Right Start." "Rockpop" performances of "Once in a Lifetime" and "Crosseyed and Painless" are utilized for the DVD side. The 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues" features an alternate 5.1 mix of "Burning Down the House" as well as videos for that tune and "This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)."

"Little Creatures" is filled out with previously unreleased early versions of its most notable tracks, "Road to Nowhere" and "And She Was," plus videos for both songs. The 1986 companion to "True Stories," directed by Heads vocalist David Byrne, includes a bonus Pop Staples Vocal Version 5.1 mix of "Papa Legba" and videos for "Wild Wild Life" and "Love for Sale."

The Heads' final studio album, "Naked," tacks on a 5.1 mix of "Sax and Violins" as well as its video and a clip for "Blind."

As previously reported, the Talking Heads and the spin-off group the Tom Tom Club are represented on the Sire Records box set "Just Say Sire," due Sept. 13 via Rhino.

'Old School' sequel gets go-ahead

"Old School" writers Todd Phillips and Scot Armstrong are getting ready for a reunion.

Variety reports DreamWorks has given the duo the go-ahead for "Old School 2," a follow-up to the hit 2003 comedy starring Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson as middle-aged frat boys.

Phillips and Armstrong previously collaborated on the original "Old School" and last year's "Starsky & Hutch."

Casting for the planned sequel has yet to be announced.