It Comes Out On Tuesday!!
Bryan Adams releases his first ever two-CD Anthology that includes a limited edition DVD of previously unreleased 2005 concert.
The biggest retrospective of his multi-platinum career, Anthology is to be released in North America 18 October, 2005. The International track listing and release date is soon to be confirmed.
The 36-selection Anthology spans Adams’ entire career from 1980 to 2005, and includes two new recordings. Most notably a new song, So Far So Good, which not-so-coincidentally was the title of his first 1993 quintuple platinum greatest hits disc. It also boasts a newly recorded version of When You’re Gone with pop culture idol Pamela Anderson. When You’re Gone will be released as the new radio single in America soon.
The definitive collection includes four #1 hits, and 6 of his top 10 hits. In addition the package includes photographs and an essay by renowned music critic Dave Marsh. A bonus is a limited edition concert DVD shot in Lisbon, Portugal this past February.
BRYAN ADAMS
THE ANTHOLOGY 1980-2005
DISC ONE
1 Remember
2 Lonely Nights
3 Straight From The Heart
4 Cuts Like A Knife
5 This Time
6 Run To You
7 Somebody
8 Heaven
9 Summer Of ’69
10 One Night Love Affair
11 It’s Only Love (with Tina Turner )
12 Heat Of The Night
13 Hearts On Fire
14 (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
15 Can’t Stop This Thing We Started
16 There Will Never Be Another Tonight
17 Thought I’d Died And Gone To Heaven
18 Best of Me
DISC TWO
1 Please Forgive Me
2 All For Love (with Sting and Rod Stewart)
3 Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman
4 Rock Steady (live with Bonnie Raitt)
5 The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
6 Let’s Make A Night To Remember
7 Star
8 Back To You live
9 I’m Ready live
10 On A Day Like Today
11 Cloud #9
12 Here I Am
13 this Side Of Paradise
14 Why Do You Have To Be So Hard To Love
15 Open Road live
16 18 Til I Die live
17 When You’re Gone (with Pamela Anderson)
18 So Far So Good
Q&A: Jeff Dowd Is the Real 'Lebowski'
NEW YORK - Call him the Dude. That or his Dudeness, Duder or el Duderino — if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
Addressing Jeff Dowd — the real life inspiration for Jeff Bridges' character in "The Big Lebowski" — is not a formal affair. But as the cult of the Coen brothers' 1998 mistaken identity comedy has grown, so has Dowd's fame.
The 55-year-old film producer first met Joel and Ethan Coen when he helped promote their 1984 debut, "Blood Simple." The Coens decided the large, boisterous Dowd, who referred to himself as "the Dude," would yield endless possibilities if inserted into a genre film — a Los Angeles film noir.
"It was sort of imaging him in the context of a (Raymond) Chandler kind of story that got us started on the script," Joel Coen says on the new collector's edition DVD of "The Big Lebowski."
Eight years later, the fan base for the movie continues to grow. A new collector's edition DVD comes out Tuesday, and New York will host the "Lebowski Fest" Oct. 21-22 — the fourth year fans will dress up as characters from the film, bowl a few games and sip the Dude's signature white Russians.
Imdb.com notes that the Dude, "the laziest in all of Los Angeles County," says "man" 144 times in the movie. Unfortunately, Dowd didn't drop one "man" talking to the AP, but he did discuss his peculiar "somewhat icon status."
AP: How similar are you to the Dude we know from the movie?
Dowd: A lot of the body language is 110 percent spot on. That's very, very similar. Some of the dress is pretty close. This is what Joel and Ethan imaged I would have been like in the `70s. There was a period of time after when we were very active politically in the late `60s — there was no "movement" anymore. A fair amount of people hung out for a couple years. We were hanging pretty heavy, and indeed for a while we drank white Russians somewhere between tequila sunrises and Harvey Wallbangers, or whatever the drink of season was.
AP: Did the Coens tell you they were working on "The Big Lebowski" with you in mind?
Dowd: I actually heard it through a guy named Ben Barenholt who produced a couple of their movies. "The boys are doin' a movie about 'ya, Dude." They told me shortly after that.
AP: Did you work with Jeff Bridges beforehand?
Dowd: Just a day, but he got it. I'm pretty easy to mimic. (Robert) Redford does a good impression of me too. I'm kind of bigger than life and the way I use my hands and mumble and lay back with my belly sticking out. In the script, it says, "The Dude, in rumpled clothes. Casualness runs deep."
AP: Do you bowl?
Dowd: Not that much. I know where Joel and Ethan got the bowling idea. It was during "Blood Simple," when I was helping them with the marketing and distribution. I had an idea to throw a party at a bowling alley in Santa Monica and it was like a thousand people. That's where that came from.
AP: Sam Elliot narrates at the start of the movie that the Dude is "the man for his time and place." Is that true of you as well?
Dowd: I've been fortunate enough to be in the right place and the right time for the better part of half a century — being around a lot of interesting people and a lot of interesting events. ... I'm there at 17 years old traveling around Europe with the Living Theater and, by chance, the Rolling Stones. I was around Ralph Nader when he started up his PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) organization. I got involved with Redford ... there's a whole story about the first year of Sundance and how it was started. I was involved in the last demonstration against Richard Nixon at the Spokane World Fair. (Dowd was a member of the Seattle Seven, an anti-Vietnam protest group alluded to in "Lebowski.")
AP: I hear you're writing an autobiography?
Dowd: I'm almost done. It's called "The Dude Abides." It's about how friends can get together and do things positively and hopefully using this somewhat icon status I have now, bequeathed to me by Joel and Ethan ... it'll help empower the younger generation.
AP: What's it like, this "icon status"?
Dowd: The persona of that character automatically is an icebreaker. People are like, "Wow! The Dude!" And they want to give you a big handshake or a hug. It's a very friendly feeling for them and obviously for me. It's different than what happens with people being in awe with a star — it's like a friendly thing. People seem to be instantly at ease. From my point of view, that's great, because that's how the world should be anyway.
AP: Do you indeed have a rug that really ties the room together?
Dowd: Absolutely.
English actor Craig named as first blond Bond
LONDON (Reuters) - His name is Craig, Daniel Craig.
The English actor was named as the next James Bond on Friday, ending months of speculation over who would take over from Pierce Brosnan on Her Majesty's secret service.
In typically flamboyant 007 style, the 37-year-old swept up the River Thames on a power launch to a news conference, escorted by Royal Marines boats.
The first blond Bond, wearing a blue suit and red tie, posed for photos in the shadow of Tower Bridge and told reporters: "I'm kind of speechless at the moment."
The casting of one of cinema's most iconic characters closes the successful four-film run of Irishman Brosnan, who was shaken and stirred not to be retained to make "Casino Royale," the 21st Bond film, that starts shooting in January.
The 52-year-old described the decision by the Bond franchise makers to drop him as a "body blow."
"I was looking forward to making it edgier and grittier, and for all of that to go down in one phone call was highly disappointing," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Craig was the hot favorite in the runup to Friday's announcement, and his appointment was all but confirmed when his mother let the secret slip to a regional newspaper on Friday.
While little known in the United States, Craig will be more familiar to British audiences after appearing in the gangster caper "Layer Cake."
He also played alongside Paul Newman in "Road to Perdition" and was poet Ted Hughes opposite Gwyneth Paltrow's Sylvia Plath in "Sylvia." But it is the Bond role that could catapult him into superstardom.
Other actors rumored to have been approached to play 007 include Britons Clive Owen and Jude Law, Australia's Hugh Jackman and Croatia's Goran Visnjic.
SIXTH BOND
Only five actors have played Bond since the first film, "Dr. No," more than 40 years ago. Brosnan, Sean Connery and Roger Moore were well-loved mainstays as the secret agent, while George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton were less successful.
For the filmmakers, there is more at stake than how to prepare Bond's Martini.
Not only is the character a national institution in Britain, but he is also one of history's most profitable film franchises.
The 20 official Bond films have netted nearly $4 billion in global ticket sales, of which Brosnan's four films grossed around $1.5 billion, industry figures show.
Media have reported that Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Hollywood backers of the new Bond film "Casino Royale" along with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc, were keen to keep Brosnan, mindful of his box office clout.
But Web sites devoted to all things Bond say producer Barbara Broccoli wanted fresh blood, with the plot of Casino returning to the start of the spy's career and therefore requiring a younger actor.
New Zealand-born director Martin Campbell will helm Casino, as he did "GoldenEye" in 1995.
Brosnan first played Bond in "GoldenEye" and last appeared in "Die Another Day" in 2002.
Diamond Strips Down, Gets Personal On '12 Songs'
Neil Diamond unveils some of the most stripped-down, heartfelt material of his storied career on "12 Songs," due Nov. 8 via Columbia. As previously reported, the project was produced by Rick Rubin, who encouraged Diamond to play guitar on one his own albums for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Of a piece with such vintage songs like "And the Grass Won't Pay No Mind," "I Am, I Said," "If I Never Knew Your Name" and "Juliet," the music here finds Diamond's instantly recognizable voice front and center, much in the vein of the "American Recordings" albums Rubin made with Johnny Cash in the latter years of his life.
With a nod to the melody of his 1976 song "Beautiful Noise," "Hell Yeah" finds Diamond questioning whether he's made the most of his life: "This crazy life around me / It confuses and confounds me / but it's all the life I've got until I die."
On "I'm on to You," the narrator struggles to end a so bad-it's good relationship: "Wrong to be staying so long / Was I out of my head? / Should have known it was dead but it's good." The jubilant "Delirious Love" revels in the early days of a romance, while on "Captain of a Shipwreck," Diamond pledges to stay by the side of a friend even "when life brings the day uncertain," offering to "soothe you with my song."
"12 Songs" features subtle backing by guitarist Smokey Hormel and Mike Campbell, keyboardists Billy Preston, Benmont Tench and Roger Manning Jr., guitarist/upright bassist Jonny Polonsky and percussionist Lenny Castro.
The digipak version of the album will feature the bonus track "Men Are So Easy" plus an alternate version of "Delirious Love" with a guest appearance by Brian Wilson.
Diamond is in the midst of a North American tour that hits Dallas tonight (Oct. 14).
Here is the track list for "12 Songs":
"Oh Mary"
"Hell Yeah"
"Captain of a Shipwreck"
"Evermore"
"Save Me a Saturday Night"
"Delirious Love"
"I'm on to You"
"What's It Gonna Be"
"Man of God"
"Create Me"
"Face Me"
"We"
Bonus Tracks Pack Eurythmics Reissues
The entirety of the Eurythmics catalog has been remastered and expanded by group member Dave Stewart. Each of the act's eight albums has been bolstered with bonus tracks -- 44 in all, 11 of which are previously unreleased.
The revamped releases are due Nov. 15, a week after the group's "Ultimate Collection" (J/Arista), which as previously reported will feature two new songs by Stewart and Annie Lennox: "I've Got a Life" and "Was It Just Another Love Affair?"
The new version of the Eurythmics' 1981 debut, "In the Garden," features the bonus B-sides "Le Sinistre" and "Heartbeat Heartbeat" and live versions of the album's "Never Gonna Cry Again" and "Take Me to Your Heart," as well as "4/4 in Leather," all from the EP "This Is the House." The pair's 1983 breakthrough, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is expanded to include a previously unreleased cover of Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love," the B-sides "Home Is Where the Heart Is," "Monkey Monkey" and "Baby's Gone Blue" and remixes of "Sweet Dreams" and "Love Is a Stranger."
The 1984 follow-up, "Touch," grows substantially with seven bonuses. Beyond a cover of David Bowie's "Fame," there are several B-sides ("You Take Some Lentils... And You Take Some Rice," "ABC (Freeform)," "Plus Something Else," "Paint a Rumour" (long version)) and live takes on "Who's That Girl?" and "Here Comes the Rain Again," the latter previously unreleased.
"Be Yourself Tonight," released in 1985, adds five cuts: B-Sides "Grown Up Girls" and "Tout Les Garcon Et Les," remixes of "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" and "Would I Lie to You?" and previously unreleased versions of the album's "Conditioned Soul" and the Doors' "Hello I Love You."
A cover of Mary Wells' "My Guy" is among the newly appended tracks on 1986's "Revenge." The rest are extended versions of "When Tomorrow Comes," "Thorn in My Side" and "Missionary Man," a previously unreleased live acoustic version of "When Tomorrow Comes" and the duo's contribution to the "Rooftops" soundtrack, "Revenge 2."
"Savage," released in 1987, adds an extended "philharmonic" version of "Beethoven," remixes of "Shame" and "I Need a Man" and a cover of the Beatles' "Come Together." The 1989 set "We Too Are One" has B-sides "Precious" and "See No Evil," remixes of "The King and Queen of America" and "Angel" and a previously unreleased cover of the Smiths' "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me."
The Eurythmics' most recent studio album, "Peace," was released in 1999, after several years where Lennox and Stewart pursued solo projects. The reunion came as they were honored with a Brit Award for outstanding contribution to British music and saw them tour for the first time in more than a decade.
All of the additions to that set are previously unreleased, and include a cover of Joan Armatrading's "Something in the Air Tonight." The others are acoustic versions of songs album cuts "Beautiful Child," "17 Again" and "I Saved the World Today."
Moviegoers poised for trip to 'Elizabethtown'
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Three wide releases will open in theaters this weekend, providing an alternative to the Major League Baseball playoffs. But none is likely to cross the $20 million mark, keeping overall sales down yet again.
With three genres at work -- from Paramount Pictures' uber-romantic "Elizabethtown" to New Line Cinema's action-adventure "Domino" to Sony Pictures' remake of the classic horror film "The Fog" -- there is something for everyone. Or maybe not: insiders expect "Domino," starring British actress Keira Knightley as a bounty hunter, to sell just $5 million worth of tickets in its first three days.
Writer/director Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown" should replace "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" at No. 1 with sales in the $12 million-$15 million range, although "Fog" could give it a run for its money.
Crowe -- the man behind such films as "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous" -- takes audiences on a journey inspired by his experiences in Elizabethtown, Ky., after the death of his father in 1989. The film centers on Drew ( Orlando Bloom), who, on the verge of suicide after a professional debacle, travels to Kentucky for his father's funeral. Along the way he meets flight attendant Claire ( Kirsten Dunst), and the two take off on a musically inspired road trip.
After it was skewered by critics at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, Crowe has trimmed his PG-13 release by about 20 minutes in the hopes of turning around the bad press.
Crowe had bigger bows with both "Maguire" and "Vanilla Sky," but both of those films starred Tom Cruise. As evidenced by the disappointing $19 million debut of "Kingdom of Heaven" earlier this summer, Bloom has yet to prove he can carry a movie.
Sony's "Fog," a remake of the 1980 horror film directed and co-written by John Carpenter, should open in the low-teen millions, insiders say. The PG-13 release features two of today's hottest young TV stars: Tom Welling from "Smallville" and Maggie Grace from "Lost." Selma Blair also is featured.
With Carpenter on board as a producer this time, the film centers on a small coastal town that is enshrouded in a thick fog exactly 100 years after a deadly shipwreck. Now the victims are back for revenge on the descendants of the men who killed them. "Fog" was directed by Rupert Wainwright ("Stigmata").
"Domino," from kinetically paced director Tony Scott, is based on the true story of actor Laurence Harvey's daughter, Domino Harvey, who gives up a career as a fashion model to become a bounty hunter. New Line's R-rated release is banking on its ultra-hipness to lure teen audiences, but it isn't tracking great with audiences. If the $5 million prediction holds true, it would be Scott's lowest opener since 1996's "The Fan," starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes. That film opened to $6 million on its way to $19 million.
In limited release, ThinkFilm will open Canadian director Atom Egoyan's thriller "Where the Truth Lies," starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Alison Lohman. The film was given an NC-17 rating because of a three-way sex scene but will be released without a rating. It centers on a journalist (Lohman) who tries to uncover the truth about a young girl's death at the hands of two showbiz celebrities (Firth and Bacon.) The film will bow in nine theaters.
Magnolia Pictures will open Rodrigo Garcia's "Nine Lives" in Los Angeles and New York. The R-rated film is composed of nine vignettes, each showcasing a woman's disappointments in life. The film stars Amy Brenneman, Glenn Close, Sissy Spacek and Robin Wright Penn, among others.