Actress Sperber Loses Breast Cancer Fight 17 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Actress Wendie Jo Sperber, who starred opposite Tom Hanks on TV's "Bosom Buddies" and who in his words became "a walking inspiration" after she contracted cancer, has died. She was 46.

Sperber died at home Tuesday after an eight-year battle with breast cancer, publicist Jo-Ann Geffen said Wednesday.

A Los Angeles native, Sperber appeared in dozens of television shows and movies, including all three "Back to the Future" films.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, the actress became an advocate for cancer care. In 2001, she founded the weSPARK Cancer Support Center, which provides free emotional support, information and social activities for individuals and families affected by cancer.

Sperber helped unveil and promote a breast cancer stamp for the U.S. Postal Service in 1998, Geffen said.

"The memory of Wendie Jo is that of a walking inspiration," Hanks said in a statement. "She met the challenges of her illness with love, cheer, joy and altruism. We are going to miss her as surely as we are all better for knowing her."

Sperber is survived by a son and daughter, her parents, two sisters and a brother.

'Berenstain Bears' co-creator dies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Stan Berenstain, who with his wife created the popular children's books about the Berenstain Bears, has died.

He died in Pennsylvania on Saturday, said Audra Boltion, a spokeswoman for HarperCollins Children's Books in New York. He was 82. In more than 200 books, the Berenstain Bears, written and illustrated by Stan and Jan Berenstain, helped children for 40 years cope with trips to the dentist, babysitters, eating junk food and cleaning their messy rooms.

The first Berenstain Bears book, The Big Honey Hunt, was published in 1962. The couple developed the series with children's author Theodor Geisel - better known as Dr. Seuss, then head of children's publishing at Random House - with the goal of teaching children to read while entertaining them.

The books show children - and parents - how to deal with a long list of childhood challenges, from finding ways to share and watch less TV to overcoming the "gimmies" and not succumbing to the "in-crowd."

Despite changes in society in the last four decades, little has changed in "Bears Country."

"Kids still tell fibs and they mess up their rooms and they still throw tantrums in the supermarket," Stan Berenstain told The Associated Press in 2002. "Nobody gets shot. No violence. There are problems, but they're the kind of typical family problems everyone goes through."

Stan and Jan Berenstain began drawing together when they met at Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art in 1941.

The two married soon after he got out of Second World War-era army service and began submitting cartoons to magazines. They became contributors to The Saturday Evening Post, McCalls and Collier's.

In their early years of collaboration, the couple wrote the All in the Family cartoon series for McCall's and Good Housekeeping. In 1962, they began an association with Geisel, who suggested that they write for the juvenile market.

Their sons Leo and Michael joined them, and many of the recent books are credited collectively to "The Berenstains."

The characters are the subject of their own public television program, DVDs and a Christmas musical.

In addition to his wife, Berenstain is survived by his two sons. A private memorial service was scheduled for Wednesday.

Stones Roll to Super Bowl

The British have always been better at that whole propriety thing.

Maybe that's why, for the second post-Janet year in a row, the NFL has chosen across-the-Pond entertainers to headline TV's most watched event of the year.

The Rolling Stones have been tapped to headline the Super Bowl XL Halftime Show, it was announced Tuesday by the NFL and ABC, which is broadcasting the big game Feb. 5 at Detroit's Ford Field.

"We are thrilled to perform for millions of fans at one of the most exciting and highly anticipated sporting events of the year," the band says in a statement.

The sentiment was echoed by the Super Bowl brain trust.

"We are excited to welcome one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands in history to the Super Bowl," says Steve Bornstein, the NFL's executive vice president of media, and the man in charge of the event. "As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Super Bowl this season, it is fitting we work with the Rolling Stones whose music has thrilled audiences around the world for years."

The performance will cap the Stones' season-long promotional deal with the NFL and ABC. The band had earlier created multiple segments and intros for the entire 2005-06 season of Monday Night Football.

Sir Mick and his mates will follow in the footsteps of fellow knight Paul McCartney. The ex-Beatle's halftime extravaganza, though watched in part by more than 133 million viewers in the U.S., generated more headlines for its lack of headline- (and breast-) grabbing theatrics than for its entertainment value.

The NFL went with the decidedly uncontroversial McCartney as part of the damage control from the previous year's highly scrutinized, fine-inducing, wardrobe-malfunctioning Janet Jackson show.

News of their Super Bowl duties marked the second big announcement of the day for the Stones, who earlier revealed plans for a European summer tour, kicking off May 27 in Barcelona.

The Rolling Stones: A Bigger Bang tour is set to hit more than 20 countries in 30 days, and like its North American counterpart, several hundred audience seats are expected to be built into the stage for each performance.

The seemingly unstoppable group just released Rarities: 1971-2003, a collection of hard-to-find B-sides, live recordings and remixes jointly put out by Virgin Records and Starbucks' Hear Music. The Stones' also recently made available a limited edition version of their current album, A Bigger Bang, with expanded audio and video content.

Meanwhile, the band continues on the North American leg of its latest road show, which runs through Dec. 3 in Memphis.

'Squid and the Whale' Leads Indie Nominees

LOS ANGELES - The divorce tale "The Squid and the Whale" led contenders Tuesday for the Independent Spirit Awards with six nominations, including best-picture and honors for director Noah Baumbach and actors Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney.

The other best-picture nominees were the cowboy tales "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" and the film biographies "Capote" and "Good Night, and Good Luck." Those four movies all had four nominations each for the awards, which honor films whose financing comes at least partly from independent sources outside the Hollywood studio system.

Daniels was nominated for lead actor and Linney for lead actress as parents going through a caustic divorce in "The Squid and the Whale," inspired by writer-director Baumbach's own parents' breakup in the 1980s.

Jesse Eisenberg scored a supporting-actor nomination as Daniels and Linney's son, while Baumbach was nominated for directing and his screenplay.

Other lead-actor nominees were Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in "Capote," a chronicle of the author's years creating the true-crime novel "In Cold Blood"; Terrence Howard as a pimp and drug dealer trying to build a rap career in "Hustle & Flow"; Heath Ledger as a family man carrying on a gay affair with an old ranch buddy in "Brokeback Mountain"; and David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck," an account of the newsman's battle against the communist witch hunt in the 1950s.

Also among lead-actress contenders were Felicity Huffman in a gender-bending role in "Transamerica," a road-trip tale about a man preparing for the final surgical procedures to become a woman; Dina Korzun as a Russian woman married to a rock 'n' roll legend who becomes involved with her husband's son in "Forty Shades of Blue"; S. Epatha Merkerson as proprietor of a boarding house who takes in an outcast teen in "Lackawanna Blues"; and Cyndi Williams in "Room," about a Texas woman who goes in search of a mysterious place she sees in visions.

The nonprofit group Film Independent, which sponsors the awards, will announce winners March 4, the night before the Academy Awards.

Along with Eisenberg, supporting-actor nominees were Firdous Bamji for "The War Within," about a Middle Eastern man involved in a terrorist plot in New York City; Matt Dillon as a bigoted cop in the ensemble drama "Crash"; Barry Pepper as a Border Patrol agent who kills a Mexican immigrant and is forced by the victim's friend to dig up the body for reburial in Mexico in "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"; and Jeffrey Wright as a man who sends his neighbor on a quest to find the son he never knew in "Broken Flowers."

The lead actors in the latter two movies — Tommy Lee Jones in "Three Burials" and Bill Murray in "Broken Flowers" — were shut out of the nominations. Jones also directed "Three Burials" but missed out in the directing category, too.

Supporting-actress picks were Amy Adams as a Southern waif captivated by her new sister-in-law from up north in "Junebug"; Maggie Gyllenhaal as a gold-digger pursuing an older man in "Happy Endings"; Allison Janney as a mom trying to hold her crumbling family together in "Our Very Own"; Michelle Williams as a wife stung by revelations her husband is carrying on with another man in "Brokeback Mountain"; and Robin Wright Penn as a married woman thrown into turmoil by a chance encounter with an old lover in "Nine Lives."

Joining Baumbach in the directing category were Gregg Araki for the teen drama "Mysterious Skin"; George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck"; Rodrigo Garcia for "Nine Lives"; and Ang Lee for "Brokeback Mountain.

The Couch Potato Report - November 29th, 2005

This week The Couch Potato Report features 8 new releases, and I will overuse the word "surprise."

One of the most successful films of the year was a complete surprise.

It was surprise that it did as well as it did at the box office, and it was surprisingly entertaining.

That film is MARCH OF THE PENGUINS a documentary about the over-100 kilometer journey that emperor penguins have to make every year in order to survive and procreate.

The film is narrated by Morgan Freeman and at times it is dramatic, suspenseful, and informative. At other times it is just funny and entertaining.

Actually, the film is entertaining from start to finish.

Penguins can either be waddling entertaining, or incredibly graceful and in MARCH OF THE PENGUINS you get to experience both.

The film is a perfect mix of science and entertainment and the whole family will enjoy it.

Yes, the documentary MARCH OF THE PENGUINS was a surprise.

So was the documentary MURDERBALL.

I had no idea what to expect from this film about quadriplegic rugby - or "Murderball" as it was formerly known.

The film shows us players in modified wheelchairs in a hardcore, full-contact sport trying to win Gold at the Athens Paralympics. But in addition to MURDERBALL being about the sport, it is also about some very interesting people who play it.

The film is a unique mix of sports documentary and inspirational profiles of triumph over adversity.

The majority of the people in MURDERBALL are disabled, but since the film doesn't focus on that, by the end of the film you won't be thinking about that it at all.

Unlike MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, MURDERBALL isn't for the entire family. But both documentaries are completely entertaining, and both are full of surprises.

MR. AND MRS SMITH isn't full of surprises, in fact it doesn't have any. But some films don't have to have surprises, or be a surprise to be entertaining.

And make no mistake, MR AND MRS SMITH sure is entertaining.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play an unhappy couple who are bored with each other and their mundane day to day home life.

Their relationship improves once they discover their mutually-hidden identities as world-class assassins.

Unfortunately they have each been hired to kill the other one.

No MR AND MRS SMITH doesn't contain any major surprises or plot twists, but the performances of Pitt and Jolie are fun to watch and the dialogue is a treat to listen to. Plus, Jolie looks amazing as always, and Pitt is always fun to watch in a film.

Director Doug Liman gave us a better action film with THE BOURNE IDENTITY, and MR AND MRS SMITH should've been a better movie than it is, but I still enjoyed it.

I also sort of enjoyed SKY HIGH, even if I am not in the film's target demographic.

In this film the son of superheroes must save the world, and I suspect the demographic the filmmakers were shooting for was between 12 and 16 years of age.

Sky High is a high school in the clouds for kids with super-human powers or abilities.

At this school gadgets, acts of bravery, and magical skills are part of high school the same way that peer pressure and dating are.

SKY HIGH isn't unique, especially if you've seen THE INCREDIBLES, but it is a surprisingly fun film, whether you are in the correct demographic or not.

Finally this week, I would like to talk about THE MUPPET MOVIE, THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND and THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL because all four films are being re-released to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Kermit The Frog.

Yes, it has really been 50 years since Jim Henson introduced us to Kermit The Frog.

I have made no attempt over the years to hide my adoration for Jim Henson and The Muppets, so I won't bother to review these four releases for you, other than to say that I watched all four again this week and they still entertained me on every level, especially THE MUPPET MOVIE and THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL.

I've seen each of these films dozens of times over the years and it still surprises me how much I am entertained by them.

Happy Anniversary Kermit!

THE MUPPET MOVIE, THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND, THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL, SKY HIGH, MR AND MRS SMITH, MURDERBALL and the superb MARCH OF THE PENGUINS are all available now at a store near you.

Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report

CINDERELLA MAN is the underlooked, but very good, true story of heavyweight boxer Jim Braddock starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger and Paul Giamatti.

IMAGINE: JOHN LENNON is the superb 1988 documentary about the man made with home movies. The audio from those movies allows Lennon himself to
be the narrator.

The movie version of the classic comic book FANTASTIC 4 is less than classic, and much less than fantastic, but it isn't horrible. On the other hand the film version of THE DUKES OF HAZZARD is horrible, but somehow it is worth seeing.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!

Kazaa owners working to install filters for copyright material

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The owners of the Kazaa online file-sharing network are working on a new version to meet a court mandate aimed at preventing users from illegally swapping copyright music and movies.

Sharman Networks Ltd. has until next week to develop a filtering system that would block files based on about 3,000 keywords, most likely the names of popular recording artists.

Federal Court Judge Murray Wilcox ordered Kazaa's owners last week to install the new filters as part of lawsuit filed by the Australian recording industry. Wilcox also told Sharman to urge Kazaa users to download the new software.

"There will have to be filters in place by Dec. 5 or Kazaa will be shut down," Stephen Peach, chief executive of the Australian Record Industry Association, said in a statement Monday.

Although Sharman is legally incorporated in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, its main offices are in Sydney.

It is unlikely Kazaa could be shut down completely. Any order would only cover Australian users; the software is used by millions of people around the world to exchange files containing music, movies and other material. Also, users of older versions of the Kazaa software would likely be unaffected by the new filters.

Furthermore, it's not clear how well filters will end piracy. In the past, users of file-sharing networks have countered filters by purposely misspelling the names of artists and songs.

Sharman spokeswoman Julie Fenwick said the company is working to comply with the order, even as it appeals the September ruling that found Sharman liable for copyright infringement.

In that ruling, Wilcox said it had been in the financial interest of Sharman and its partners "to maximize, not minimize, music file-sharing."

A hearing to set damages is expected next year.

Angelina Jolie Might Be Back as Lara Croft

Angelina Jolie might be making a third trip into the world of Lara Croft's Tomb Raider movie series. The Business Online reports that talks are already underway between Paramount Pictures and SCI, the company that owns the Lara Croft video game. Jolie has apparently made it known she's interested in playing the thrill-seeking British archeologist again, no doubt prompting the licensing negotiations. Combined, the previous Tomb movies have earned over $450 million at the box office, and while the films are based on the video game of the same name, unlike other game-genre films, SCI is not planning to release any game titles in conjunction with the film.

NEW CD RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER 29, 2005

13 Ghosts Cicada (Skybucket)

Anthony B My Hope (Minor7Flat5)

Ryan Cabrera Live at the Wiltern (Atlantic)

The Darkness One Way Ticket to Hell...and Back (Atlantic)

Egg Cream Sweet Harmony (Collectables)

Zac Harmon The Blues According to Zachariah (Bluestone/33rd Street)

Hot Chip Coming on Strong (2004 UK-only release w/three bonus tracks) (Astralwerks)

INXS Switch (first album w/new singer J.D. Fortune) (Epic)

Arthur Kell The Traveller (Fresh Sound)

Chris Liebing/Speedy J Collabs 3000 - Metalism (Mute)

Dave Matthews Band Weekend on the Rocks (two CDs/DVD; live album from September 2005 shows at Red Rocks) (RCA)

Mel Melton & the Wicked Mojos Papa Mojo's Roadhouse (Louisiana Red Hot)

Nous Non Plus Nous Non Plus (Aeronaut)

Rancid Vat Vs. the Rest of the World (Steel Cage)

The Samples Rehearsing for Life (Apache)

Shakira Oral Fixation 2 (guest Carlos Santana) (Epic)

Three (David J. or Bauhaus/Love and Rockets) Evocations (Arena Rock)

Twilight featuring Joel Katz Once Upon a Time (Collectables)

Winechuggers Grand Rapids (Arena Rock)

Wintergreen Wintergreen EP (Mt. Fuji)

VA Chicano Rap con Reggaeton (PR)

OST Nick Cave and Warren Ellis The Proposition (original score to film written by Cave) (Mute)

DVD Drift (art film w/soundtrack by Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo) (Plexifilm)

DVD The Diplomats & Friends Book of Hip Hop: Chapter 1 (Image)

DVD Todd Rundgren Liars Live (June 2004 performance) (Sanctuary)

Black Eyed Peas rock Grey Cup

VANCOUVER (CP) - Black Eyed Peas were on the Grey Cup menu Sunday as the Grammy-winning recording artists put on an energetic - and raunchy - hip-hop halftime show before a sellout crowd at B.C. Place.

Led by demonstrative lead rapper Will.I.Am and sultry female vocalist Fergie, the Los Angeles quartet got the crowd of 59,157 out of its seats with Pump It and Don't Phunk With My Heart. Things took a turn for the sleazy when Fergie - adorned in short shorts and a black tank top - suggestively shook her derriere during My Humps.

As she gyrated on stage, Will.I.Am found his way down to the front of the stage, where he mingled with cheerleaders.

Their performance was a far cry from the usual conservative Grey Cup halftime shows. Last year, Canadian icons The Tragically Hip entertained the crowd in Ottawa.

Black Eyed Peas, who have sold over 7.5 million albums worldwide, finished up with a boisterious performance of Let's Get it Started, a song made popular during the 2004 NBA playoffs.

At least two members of the band were in the Grey Cup spirit: the DJ wore a Ricky Ray Edmonton jersey, while the drummer sported a jersey of Eskimos teammate Jason Tucker.

R&B singer Jully Black, a Toronto native, performed O Canada.

Rock Hall of Fame Announces Inductees

NEW YORK - Black Sabbath, Miles Davis and the Sex Pistols are among five musical legends to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation will hold its induction ceremony March 13 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, the organization announced Monday.

Also to be inducted into the class of 2006: 1980s New Wave band Blondie and Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, who founded A&M records in 1962, will receive a lifetime achievement award in the non-performer category.

Inductees into the side-men category will be announced at a later date.

Musicians, industry professionals and journalists vote on the nominations. Artists are eligible to be inducted into the Rock Hall after at least 25 years have passed since their first record was released.

STATE OF 'FLUX'

An actor prepares. Charlize Theron goes to the grass roots. For acclaimed turns in "Monster" and "North Country," the dedicated actress spent weeks studying the methods and motivations of a murderous Florida prostitute and sexually harassed Minnesota mining women.

For "Aeon Flux," she studied a gecko.

Yes, gecko - as in tropical lizard.

"There's a scene where Charlize runs on all fours, and her belly's only 3 or 4 inches off the ground," says stunt coordinator Charlie Croughwell, "so we watched National Geographic videos of geckos to analyze their movement."

Says Theron: "I'm from Africa. I know all about geckos. I used to play 'Alcatraz' with them in my yard."

"Aeon Flux," which opens Friday, is the big-screen adaptation of an animated MTV sci-fi series about a mysterious assassin who prowls the underworld of the futuristic city-state of Bregna.

But for Theron, getting cartoon-lethal meant more than dying her blond hair black. Big-bad Bregna meanies don't just keel over because you're drop-dead gorgeous.

"She had to look effortless but powerful, fluid yet ferocious," says Croughwell. "And we didn't want a lot of weapons. We wanted Charlize to get into a guy's face before she killed him."

Three months before filming, Theron began training in L.A. with Croughwell, whose workout regimen incorporated trampoline, hand-to-hand Krav Maga combat techniques and the Brazilian martial art of capoeira.

To teach her the dance-derived skills of capoeira (pronounced capo-edda), Croughwell called in master teacher Neal "Xingu" Rodil.

"Charlize was all-in, she had a lot of drive - and a strong kick," said Xingu, 27, who started Theron out with basic maneuvers like an au' (cartwheel) or bencaou' (push kick). "She used to be a ballerina, so it came naturally."

At the outset, Theron still carried some of the 30 pounds she'd put on for her Oscar-winning role in "Monster." But after three months of grueling, four-hour workouts - plus trampoline training with Cirque du Soleil's Terry Bartlett - Theron was ready for her close-up macaco (monkey flip).

It's in the film, when Theron sneaks up on a guard, springs into a one-armed cartwheel, scissors her legs around the goon's head and spins down to the ground, snapping his neck.

"I'd practiced that hundreds of times but never quite nailed it," Theron says. "On the day of shooting, we had a stunt person try, but after maybe 15 times she still couldn't get it. I looked at Charlie and said, 'I'm ready, let's do it!' Then I nailed it five times in a row."

During filming, Theron herniated a disc in her neck after landing awkwardly on a back flip, but she returned after a six-week production delay and continued to do most of her own stunts.

"Charlize isn't the type to complain," says Xingu. "No matter how difficult the maneuver, she'd keep saying, " 'Let's do it again.'"

Post-Ted Koppel Era Begins on 'Nightline'

NEW YORK - Like a Broadway show in rehearsals too long, the post-Ted Koppel "Nightline" finally has its opening night.

"There are many people out there who are looking to prejudge us one way or another," said James Goldston, the show's new executive producer. "There's a great feeling of `will this remain true to the original `Nightline' and all that. All I would say is that I'd like the show to be judged on what we do, rather than a theoretical version of what we might do."

The new "Nightline" with Martin Bashir, Cynthia McFadden and Terry Moran debuts Monday (11:35 p.m. EST).

It's all-new — new anchors, new look, new pace, new production team. It's literally a Broadway show, originating from ABC's Times Square studios. That's new, too.

Part of the newness is inevitable, given the loss of the only anchor "Nightline" has known for nearly 26 years. But it's also by design, an attempt to correct perceived weaknesses while trying not to alienate the show's longtime fans.

"Most programs, if they stay around for a long time, take on a structure imparted by the anchors," said ABC News President David Westin. "So when you change the personality, you have to make changes in the program. Ted is a very strong example of that, but he's not unique."

The multiple anchor format is at least partly a recognition that it would have been a lot of pressure on one person to succeed Koppel, he said.

McFadden and Bashir will be based in New York. McFadden, a former legal correspondent and "Primetime Live" reporter, is a known quantity who has been with ABC News since 1994.

Bashir is best known in this country, in a not altogether flattering way, for an interview with Michael Jackson. But he has a 20-year reputation as an investigative reporter and interviewer from his work in England, Goldston said. (On Monday, Bashir reports on the California School for the Deaf and its football squad, the Riverside Cubs, who are looking to complete an undefeated season as the only deaf team in their league.)

Moran, ABC's former White House correspondent, will be in Baghdad for the first week as a new studio set is built for him in Washington.

Their feelings about succeeding Koppel are a mystery; ABC News, perhaps showing some nervousness about the relaunch, hasn't made any of them available for interviews prior to opening night.

Gone will be the "Nightline" tradition of focusing on a single story each night. That may happen during big news events, but a typical show will have three stories and a wry ending segment.

The old format left "Nightline" vulnerable to missing out on stories that weren't worth the full show, Westin said.

"You have two choices — either you ignore them altogether, or you stretch," he said. "If you go away from the ironclad commitment to the single topic, it gives you more flexibility to cover the stories that you think really matter to people."

McFadden has been working on a story about AIDS in India. Instead of making it the subject of a single show, "Nightline" will break it up and present it over several nights.

Westin also was insistent on making "Nightline" live again, even if it's more of a magazine-type show than a newscast. In recent years, Koppel had been taping "Nightline" several hours in advance, much like the late-night comics.

"I certainly wanted to make sure we were totally responsive to being on the news, and that's hard to do when you've taped the program at 6 (o'clock) in the evening and people have largely gone home," Westin said.

Goldston talks about making the show "vibrant" again. Most of that comes with thought-provoking reporting, but also with an improved presentation. Expect to see, for example, more "teases" about upcoming material heading into commercial breaks.

"In this kind of a multichannel world you have to make a bit of a song and dance about your material," he said. "I don't think it has any implications for the quality of our journalism. I think we can present the show in a much more modern way."

Between McFadden's AIDS series and several upcoming stories on the impact of the war in Iraq and at home, Goldston's plans show that his first priority is convincing the typical "Nightline" audience of 3.6 million people that despite everything new, it's still a serious show that they'll be comfortable with.

Only then can ABC seek someone new, like the 2 million regular "Nightline" viewers who have tuned out over the past decade.

At his going-away party at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Nov. 16, Koppel noted that critic Tom Shales called "Nightline" after its first broadcast "at best a great leap sideways and at worst a pratfall backwards for television news." But 10 months later Shales revisited, calling the show "smart, classy."

"I don't know if everyone will give you a fair amount of time ... but I promise you I will," Koppel said.

On his final broadcast, Koppel also asked viewers to give the new folks a break, saying, "If you don't, I promise you the network will just put another comedy show in this time slot. Then you'll be sorry." It was a none-too-subtle reference to ABC's 2002 courtship of David Letterman to replace him.

Westin said he has no indication that the clock is ticking on "Nightline," any more than it is for every show that must earn its place on the air by doing good work and drawing an audience.

"I've been getting no pressure in that regard," he said. "The only pressure for us is putting on a really good program and succeeding. If we do that, we're fine. If we don't do that, we shouldn't be fine."

Harry's 'Goblet' Nets $54.9M at Box Office

LOS ANGELES - A boy wizard and a country-music legend outclassed a flurry of box-office newcomers over Thanksgiving. " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" took in $54.9 million over the three-day weekend to remain the top movie, while the Johnny Cash film biography "Walk the Line" stayed in second place with $19.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

For the whole five-day Thanksgiving period, "Goblet of Fire" grossed $81.3 million to lift its 10-day total to $201.1 million, while "Walk the Line" took in $27.6 million, raising its 10-day total to $54.7 million.

The two films paced Hollywood to a healthy holiday weekend. If estimates hold when final numbers are released Monday, it would be the second-highest gross ever for the five-day Thanksgiving period at $218.3 million, beating last year's haul by 3 percent but finishing behind 2000's record $232.1 million.

That was a boost for the slumping movie business, which has had attendance running 8 percent behind last year's.

"You've got to look at 'Harry Potter' as being the savior of the box office right now," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "Who would have thought in a year we're having this down box office that we'd have the second-biggest Thanksgiving ever?"

Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo's family flick "Yours, Mine & Ours" overcame bad reviews to lead the new movies, finishing third with $17.5 million. The movie's five-day total since opening Wednesday was $24.5 million.

The animated tale "Chicken Little" held up strongly at No. 4 with $12.4 million, lifting its four-week total to $118.2 million.

"Rent," featuring Taye Diggs and Rosario Dawson in an adaptation of the Broadway musical sensation, debuted in fifth with a three-day total of $10.7 million and $18.1 million since opening Wednesday.

Premiering at No. 6 was Ryan Reynolds' romantic comedy "Just Friends" with $9.3 million from Friday to Sunday and $13.6 million since Wednesday.

R&B singer Usher's first starring role with the mob romance "In the Mix" opened at No. 9 with $4.5 million for the weekend and $6.2 million since Wednesday. John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton's crime caper "The Ice Harvest" debuted at No. 10 with $3.7 million Friday to Sunday and $5.1 million since Wednesday.

"Goblet of Fire" shot past $200 million domestically in just 10 days, the fastest of the four "Harry Potter" movies to cross that mark. The fastest-grossing of the previous movies was the first, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which took in $186 million in 10 days.

"Goblet of Fire" could be on track to beat the $317.6 million domestic gross of "Sorcerer's Stone," the franchise's most successful installment.

"Goblet of Fire" has disproved speculation that its PG-13 rating — the first of the franchise to carry that tag, after PG ratings for the first three — might hurt the film by scaring off younger fans.

"We've learned the audience has grown older with the movies, so the PG-13 rating just played into the core of the audience," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which releases the "Harry Potter" films.

Warner Bros. also had terrific results for its limited-release debut of "Syriana," whose ensemble cast includes George Clooney and Matt Damon in a thriller centered on the oil industry. The film took in a whopping $372,147 in five theaters over the weekend and $553,372 since Wednesday. "Syriana" goes into nationwide release Dec. 9.

Heer are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," $54.9 million.
2. "Walk the Line," $19.7 million.
3. "Yours, Mine & Ours," $17.5 million.
4. "Chicken Little," $12.4 million.
5. "Rent," $10.7 million.
6. "Just Friends," $9.3 million.
7. "Pride & Prejudice," $7 million.
8. "Derailed," $4.7 million.
9. "In the Mix," $4.5 million.
10. "The Ice Harvest," $3.7 million.

Actor Pat Morita Dies at 73

LOS ANGELES - Actor Pat Morita, who offered the famous advice "wax on, wax off" to a young karate student in his performance as the wise Mr. Miyagi in "The Karate Kid," has died. He was 73.

Morita died Thursday at his Las Vegas home of natural causes, said his wife of 12 years, Evelyn. She said in a statement that her husband, who first rose to fame with a role on "Happy Days," had "dedicated his entire life to acting and comedy."

His role in the 1984 film defined his career. As Kesuke Miyagi, the mentor to Ralph Macchio's "Daniel-san," he taught karate while trying to catch flies with chopsticks and offering such advice as "wax on, wax off" to help Daniel improve his skills while doing his chores.

"It was both my honor and privilege to have worked with him and create a bit of cinema magic together," Macchio said in a statement. "My life is all the richer for having known him. I will miss his genuine friendship."

"Forever my Sensei," Macchio added, referring to Morita's role in "The Karate Kid."

The role earned Morita an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor, but he lost to Haing S. Ngor, who appeared in "The Killing Fields."

Morita said in a 1986 interview with The Associated Press he was billed as Noriyuki (Pat) Morita in the film because producer Jerry Weintraub wanted him to sound more ethnic. He said he used the billing because it was "the only name my parents gave me."

For years, Morita played small and sometimes demeaning roles in such films as "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and TV series such as "The Odd Couple" and "Green Acres." His first breakthrough came with "Happy Days," and he followed with his own brief series, "Mr. T and Tina."

"The Karate Kid" led to three sequels, the last of which, 1994's "The Next Karate Kid," paired him with a young Hilary Swank.

Morita was prolific outside of the "Karate Kid" series as well, appearing in "Honeymoon in Vegas," "Spy Hard," "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and "The Center of the World." He also provided the voice for a character in the Disney movie "Mulan" in 1998.

Born in northern California on June 28, 1932, the son of migrant fruit pickers, Morita spent most of his early years in the hospital with spinal tuberculosis. He later recovered only to be sent to a Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during World War II.

"One day I was an invalid," he recalled in a 1989 AP interview. "The next day I was public enemy No. 1 being escorted to an internment camp by an FBI agent wearing a piece."

After the war, Morita's family tried to repair their finances by operating a Sacramento restaurant. It was there that Morita first tried his comedy on patrons.

Because prospects for a Japanese-American standup comic seemed poor, Morita found steady work in computers at Aerojet General. But at age 30 he entered show business full time.

"Only in America could you get away with the kind of comedy I did," he said. "If I tried it in Japan before the war, it would have been considered blasphemy, and I would have ended in leg irons."

Morita was to be buried at Palm Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery.

He is survived by his wife and three daughters from a previous marriage.

Crowe slams media over phone toss

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe slammed the media on Thursday for blowing his phone throwing incident out of proportion.

Crowe pleaded guilty earlier this month to third-degree assault, admitting to a judge that he threw a phone that hit a Manhattan hotel concierge in June. A Manhattan criminal court sentenced the actor to a conditional discharge, which means he must not get arrested for one year.

The judge also instructed Crowe to pay a $160 US court surcharge.

"I think it brings things back into perspective," Crowe told reporters in Melbourne when asked if he was happy with the outcome.

"Travelling businessmen get touchy or testy with hotel staff in every major city all around the world," Crowe told reporters in Melbourne. "That doesn't excuse the fact that I lost my temper ... What I did was stupid. I admitted that straight away."

But, he added: "I got a $160 court cost fine for something that would have had more news print about it than some very horrific and specific things that we should know about in our community," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"That is what I mean by getting it into perspective."

Had Crowe been convicted of the more serious charges initially filed against him - assault and criminal possession of a weapon, the telephone - he could have lost his right to work in the United States and might have faced seven years of prison time.

Crowe, 41, who won the Academy Award for best actor in 2001 for Gladiator, has also starred in such films as A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man.

The actor said he was planning to make a film next year with Australian director Baz Luhrmann - who made Moulin Rouge! and Strictly Ballroom - and fellow Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman, but would not provide any details.

AND THE TURKEY GOES TO...

It's time for Hollywood's roll call of shame for The New York Post's seventh annual Turkey Awards.

Ben Affleck may have taken the year off - and his "Gigli" co-star Jennifer Lopez got stuffed into one of the Weinsteins' 2004 leftovers - but Brad, Angelina, Nicole, Ewan and unpromising newcomers like Jessica Simpson and 50 Cent stepped up for critical bastings in another bumper crop of cinematic butterballs. So without further adieu, this year's Tinseltown list of the bad, the worse and the truly ugly:

† Most Likely to Have Their Oscars Confiscated: Adrien Brody chewing the scenery as a wacky veteran in "The Jacket"; Jamie Foxx hamming it up as a Navy flier in "Stealth"

† Cinematic Disaster Prefiguring a Real Disaster: The lame New Orleans-set horror movie "The Skeleton Key"

† Most Annoying Child Actor: Gap-toothed Dakota Fanning, screaming through "War of the Worlds" and "Hide and Seek"

† Most Financially Successful Cinematic Atrocity: The brain-dead and cheesy-looking "The Fantastic Four"

† Most Pointless Screen Reunion: John Travolta and Uma Thurman, fruitlessly trying to rekindle their "Pulp Fiction" chemistry in the uncool "Be Cool"

† War Movie Most Likely to be Used as an Instrument of Torture: The excruciatingly boring "The Great Raid"

† Most Convincing Impression of a Wax Dummy: Paris Hilton, in every single scene of "House of Wax"

† Don't Give Up Your Day Job: Jessica Simpson, impersonating an actress in "Dukes of Hazzard"; Nicole Ritchie as the world's oldest teenager in "Kids in America"; 50 Cent wearing a single expression in "Get Rich or Die Tryin'"

† Most Pointless Remakes: "The Longest Yard," "Amityville Horror."

† Worst Remake: "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" with Robert De Niro and Kathy Bates.

† Worst Sequel: "The Mask 2," a PG-rated horror flick filled with smutty jokes

† Most Totally Misconceived Movie Based on TV series: "Bewitched," starring Nicole Kidman as a real witch who plays one on TV in "Bewitched."

† Least Convincing Femme Fatale: Jennifer Aniston, "Derailed"

† Stick a Fork in Him: Orlando Bloom, lacking presence as a leading man in "Elizabethtown" and "Kingdom of Heaven"

† Most Dubious Demonstration of Versatility: Ice Cube in the witless family comedy "Are We There Yet?" and the witless action comedy "XXX: State of the Union"

† Worst Performance by the Director's Soon-to-Be Ex-Wife: Jenny McCarthy, "Dirty Love" (Director: John Asher)

† Worst Performance by the Director's Wife, Playing his Mother: Tea Leoni, "House of D" (Director: David Duchovny)

† Worst Movie Based on a Story by the Director's Son: "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D" (Director: Robert Rodriguez).

† Best Reason to Hope for Ed Burns' Retirement: The hopeless sci-fi adventure "A Sound of Thunder"

† Best Reason to Hope for Gwyneth Paltrow's Retirement: As the world's unlikeliest math genius in "Proof"

† Best Performance in a Bad Movie Full of Overpaid Stars: Bart the Bear, who fared better than Jennifer Lopez, Robert Redford or Morgan Freeman in "An Unfinished Life"

† Most Prentiously Empty Art Films: "Palindromes," "Last Days"

† Most Aggressively Stupid Movie Vaguely Based on a Real Person: Tony Scott's execrable "Domino"

† Why Will Ferrell Needs a New Agent: "Bewitched," "Kicking and Screaming," "Melinda and Melinda"

† Most Dubious Pro-Life Arguments: "The Island" (Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johanssen are clones) "Just Like Heaven." (Reese Witherspoon is in a coma)

† Most Embarrassingly Bad Oscar Bid: Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm"

† Three Reasons to Join Naomi Watts in Crying: "The Ring 2," "Stay," "Ellie Parker"

† So Bad We (Almost) Missed Ben Affleck: "Elektra" with Jennifer Garner

† Worst Chemistry: Sean Penn and the much taller Nicole Kidman, "The Interpeter,'' Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman, "Bewitched''

† Best Chemistry in an Appallingly Bad Movie: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, "Mr. And Mrs. Smith"

† Beneath Contempt: "The Pacifier" with Vin Diesel, "Doom" with the Rock, "The Weather Man" with Nicolas Cage "The Perfect Man" with Hilary Duff - or was that Lindsay Lohan?

† And Finally, a Drumstick, er, Drumroll For the Absolute Worst Movie of 2005 and the Decade So Far . . . "Deuce Bigelow, European Gigolo," starring the unforgivable Rob Schneider

Don't watch any of these and you're certain to have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Martina Joins The Muppets

Martina McBride's version of "When Love Is Gone" is a new addition to "The Muppet Christmas Carol" soundtrack, reissued yesterday (Nov. 22) in conjunction with an anniversary DVD edition of the classic holiday film. The balance of the Walt Disney Records set mirrors the original version, with Paul Williams' songs and score as sung by such beloved characters as Kermit the Frog (as Bob Crachit), Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem and Statler and Waldorf (as the late Marley Brothers).

Still featured on the disc is Meredith Braun's original "When Love Is Gone," as well as star Michal Caine (Ebenezer Scrooge) singing the joyous "Thankful Heart" upon his Christmas morning epiphany.

Dubbed "Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition," in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Jim Henson Company, the new DVD due Tuesday (Nov. 29) includes remastered version of the film in full-frame and widescreen format. Also reissued on DVD Tuesday are "The Muppet Movie," "The Great Muppet Caper" and "Muppet Treasure Island."

...ABC's 'Alias' to end run after 5 years

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Alias," the ABC espionage drama starring Jennifer Garner as a sexy, globe-trotting secret agent, will end its prime-time run in May after five seasons on the air, the network said on Wednesday.

No reason was given for bringing the series to a close, but the show has declined sharply in the ratings since moving to a tougher time slot on Thursdays this season opposite the CBS reality hit "Survivor: Guatemala."

"Alias" also has undergone a creative make-over this season as producers wrote the real-life pregnancy of Garner into the show's story line.

It was not immediately clear what role, if any, Garner's impending motherhood played in the decision to conclude the series at the end of its fifth season. The Houston-born actress, 33, is married to Hollywood star Ben Affleck, her co-star in the 2003 comic book movie "Daredevil."

In a statement announcing the move, ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson and executive producer Jeff Pinkner promised fans that the show would "rev up" for the remainder of the season as it heads for a climactic finale.

Garner has earned four back-to-back Emmy Award nominations for her role as super spy Sydney Bristow, a master of disguise who has chased terrorists and dodged danger in hot spots around the world, even finding time for occasional romance.

The CIA was so impressed by her character that Garner was enlisted last year to film a recruitment video for the agency on its employment Web site.

"Alias" enjoyed its biggest ratings success last season in a plum Wednesday night time slot following ABC's hit castaway thriller "Lost." But the show has struggled this fall on Thursday nights against "Survivor," averaging 7 million viewers a week, down from 10.3 million last season, according to Nielsen Media Research.

By comparison, "Survivor" tallied nearly 19 million viewers last week, giving Viacom Inc.-owned CBS control of its hour. ABC is a unit of the Walt Disney Co.

Simpson, Lachey Officially Separating

LOS ANGELES - After months of rumors, denials and salacious magazine covers, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey are officially calling it quits.

The couple jointly announced their separation Wednesday, their publicists Meredith O'Sullivan and Rob Shooter confirmed.

"After three years of marriage, and careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways," Simpson and Lachey said in an official statement.

"This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other. We hope that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."

The couple wed in October 2002 and went on to star in their own reality show, "Newlyweds," on MTV. The show made them A-list celebrities.

Following Simpson's role in 2004's "The Dukes of Hazzard," tabloid magazines began reporting trouble in the marriage.

Us Weekly first reported the couple's split in its Oct. 17 issue.

SHORT SIGHTED

Billy Crystal made $10 million on Broad way last season with his autobiographical show "700 Sundays," so why not Martin Short?

The popular comedian recently unveiled his show, "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me," for an invited audience made up of theater owners, potential investors, celebrity pals (Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Steve Martin, Eugene Levy) and other showbiz insiders.

People who saw it are still laughing.

Unlike Crystal's carefully wrought, sentimental trip back to his childhood on Long Beach, Short's show is pure, old-fashioned sketch comedy and musical revue.

"It's loose, very loose," says a theater executive.

Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman — Broadway's favorite funny couple who wrote the score to "Hairspray" — supplied the original songs and comic routines.

Wittman calls the show a cross between "Hellzapoppin' " — the legendary Olsen and Johnson vaudeville from 1938 — and "New Faces of 1952," a revue that launched the careers of Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde and lyricist Sheldon Harnick ("Fiddler on the Roof").

"The notion behind this is: It's OK to be entertaining," Wittman says. "We're just being funny for the sake of being funny."

Short, who is joined on stage by four other performers, plays himself at times, though his life story is completely made up.

"Marty's had a wonderful life, so we had to create some angst," Wittman says.

Short pokes fun at all the autobiographical shows that have swamped Broadway in recent years, including Crystal's.

Crystal talked about the "boulder" he had to push through life, a symbol for the sudden death of his father when Crystal was a kid; Short talks about a symbolic "snowball" he's had to deal with while struggling to make it in showbiz.

"It's hard. Sometimes you forget to wear your mittens."

Where Elaine Stritch dragged around a stool on stage in "At Liberty," Short drags around a bar stool and talks about the 12-step program.

In the second half of the show, Short trots out his Jiminy Glick character, the fawning celebrity interviewer and host of his own entertainment cable show in Butte, Montana.

Glick sings a song called "Every Saturday at Sardi's" — "where we stop by and sip Bacardis" — and then pulls a celebrity out of the audience for an interview (Lane, Paul Shaffer and "Sweeney Todd" star Michael Cerveris all obliged him at the workshop).

When the show gets to Broadway, Wittman says Short will make good use of any celebrity who's in town that night to appear on David Letterman's show.

Another routine, which I hear is hysterical, concerns famous Broadway directors, including Tommy Tune, who is played by an actor on stilts.

Bob Fosse makes an appearance as well. A drink in his hand, a cigarette hanging from his lips, he's in the middle of choreographing a number when he has a heart attack.

The dancers think his convulsions are steps and mimic him until they wind up dead.

If all of this sounds funny to you, then you're probably a showbiz insider — or at least a theater queen.

And the one criticism that some people have about "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me" is that it's too insider-y for its own good.

Wittman is aware of that pitfall, however, and he says he's taken pains to make sure everyone is in on the joke.

"It has to stand on its own," he says. "It can't just be 10 gay men laughing."

"Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me" (a good title, but not as funny as the original, "If I'd Saved, I Wouldn't Be Here") will likely play out-of-town tryouts in Chicago and San Francisco before opening on Broadway in the spring.

Cruise Buys Sonogram Machine for Katie

NEW YORK - Tom Cruise has made an unusual purchase for his fiancee Katie Holmes — one that will let them see the development of their baby. "I bought a sonogram machine," Cruise says on ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005," to air Nov. 29 (10 p.m. EST). Excerpts of the interview are published in the latest issue of People magazine, on newsstands Friday.

The 43-year-old actor said the couple will do their own sonograms, which show fetus development with ultrasound waves. Cruise said he will donate the machine to a hospital after the baby is born. Sonogram machines range in cost from $25,000 to $200,000.

Holmes' pregnancy was announced in early October. The couple, who have been dating since April, became engaged in June.

"We are gonna get married next summer or early fall," Cruise told Walters. "We don't have a date set yet."

Cruise said he didn't know if the baby is a boy or a girl. He has two children, Connor, 10, and Isabella, 12, from his marriage to Nicole Kidman. It will be the first child for 26-year-old Holmes.

Hollywood, BitTorrent software creator Bram Cohen reach agreement

LOS ANGELES (AP) - In a deal aimed at reducing illegal Internet traffic in pirated films, Hollywood reached an agreement Tuesday with the creator of the popular file-sharing software BitTorrent.

The agreement requires 30-year-old software designer Bram Cohen to prevent his website, bittorrent.com, from locating pirated versions of popular movies, effectively frustrating people who search for illegal copies of films.

BitTorrent must remove web links leading to illegal content owned by the seven studios that are members of the Motion Picture Association of America.

"BitTorrent Inc. discourages the use of its technology for distributing films without a licence to do so," Cohen said in the statement. "As such, we are pleased to work with the film industry to remove unauthorized content from bittorrent.com's search engine."

MPAA chief executive Dan Glickman declared, "They're leading the way for other companies by their example."

The agreement represents the latest effort by the entertainment industry to discourage illegal Internet downloads. It also demonstrates Cohen's sensitivity toward Hollywood's piracy problems, making him potentially more attractive to studios for future deals related to movie downloads.

Cohen disclosed in September his company had raised $8.75 million US in venture funding to develop commercial distribution tools for media companies.

The BitTorrent technology pioneered by Cohen - and used by an estimated 45 million people - assembles digital movies and other computer files from separate bits of data downloaded from other computer users across the Internet. Its decentralized nature makes downloading more efficient but also frustrates the entertainment industry's efforts to find and identify movie pirates.

The agreement with Cohen would not prevent determined Internet users from finding movies or other materials using tools or websites other than Cohen's, but it removes one of the most convenient methods people have used.

Singer-Songwriter Chris Whitley Dies

HOUSTON - Chris Whitley, a chameleon singer-songwriter who oscillated between roots rock 'n' roll, blues and alt-rock, has died. He was 45.

Whitley died Sunday of lung cancer in Houston, according to his record label, Messenger Records.

The Texas-based singer was surrounded by his family and girlfriend, according to his Web site.

"I hope you all will mourn my brother's death, but more important, celebrate his life as Chris was all about life and living," read a message from his brother, Daniel. "I started the celebration by cranking up `Dirt Floor' in his honor."

"Dirt Floor" was Whitley 1998 album. He recorded eleven albums since his 1991 debut, "Living with the Law," including this year's "Soft Dangerous Shores."

Tim McGraw, Green Day Big Winners at AMAs

LOS ANGELES - The American Music Awards spread things around Tuesday, with country star Tim McGraw, alternative rockers Green Day, soul stars Destiny's Child and hip-hop chart toppers Black Eyed Peas each winning two awards.

Mariah Carey, in the midst of a career comeback, had gone into the evening's competition the heavy favorite with a leading four nominations, but the pop diva took home only one award, for favorite female artist in the soul-R&B category.

"Thank you so much for the warmth and the love," she said as she accepted the evening's first award moments after opening the show with a rousing rendition of "Don't Forget About Us." Carey, who appeared in a sequined, silver, spaghetti-strap gown slit to the waist, had to quickly change into a black evening gown before accepting her award.

The show was as much about those who didn't show up as those who did. Many of the night's biggest names, including Green Day, Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Kelly Clarkson and 50 Cent, were nowhere to be seen.

Notable moments provided by those who were there included an inspired pairing of Cyndi Lauper and Sarah McLachlan for a soulful version of Lauper's 1980s hit "Time After Time."

The rapper Pharrell, Gwen Stefani and the Eurythmics also took to the stage, and the Rolling Stones closed the show with a two-song performance from Salt Lake City, wrapping up the evening with a spirited rendition of "It's Only Rock&Roll (But I Like It)."

Stefani, who bested out Carey for the favorite female pop artist award, barely had time to get to the podium after completing her performance.

"What did I win?" she asked as she was presented her first American Music Award. "I guess whatever I won, I just want to say thank you to the fans, especially all my girls. Imagine what it feels like to be me all these years and have your support. It's just outrageous."

McGraw roped in both awards in the country category in which he was nominated. He came out ahead of Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith for favorite male artist and his album, "Live Like You Were Dying," beat albums by Keith and Gretchen Wilson, who took the honor for country female artist.

The Black Eyed Peas earned favorite group honors in both the rap/hip-hop and pop-rock categories.

Rapper 50 Cent's album, "The Massacre," won the favorite rap/hip-hop album honor, while Missy Elliott took home the favorite female artist award in the rap/hip-hop category for the second year in a row.

"I got to thank God because that's my inspiration for everything that I do," Elliott said. She also dedicated the award to the late singer Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash shortly after takeoff in 2001.

Actor-singer Will Smith won favorite make artist in the pop-rock division, edging out Rob Thomas and 50 Cent, while R. Kelly edged Omarion and John Legend for favorite soul-R&B male artist.

Shakira, who picked up the favorite Latin music artist award, praised the trend toward the presentation of more Spanish music on U.S. radio.

"I can only say that when a Spanish song gets played on Top 40 American radio, it means the pseudo rules of the industry are changing," she said. "America is a cross-cultural open country and music is a language on its own."

Destiny's Child was two-thirds absent, as only singer Kelly Rolland was on hand to accept the group's awards.

"This feels very awkward being up here by myself," she said as she accepted the favorite band award in the soul-R&B category. "I miss my girls, Beyonce and Michelle, wherever you are. I love you so much."

In a cross-genre category, country group Sugarland bested alternative rockers The Killers and singer Jesse McCartney for breakthrough new artist.

In awards presented off-camera, Green Day won favorite artist in the Alternative category and the band's album, "American Idiot," received the pop-rock category honor.

Eminem won the favorite male artist in the rap/hip-hop division, while Clarkson received the honor for favorite artist in the adult contemporary category.

Nominees were chosen on the basis of record sales, with winners selected through a survey of about 20,000 listeners.

Comedian Cedric The Entertainer hosted the three-hour ceremony, broadcast live on ABC from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

He took to the stage wearing a grey pinstripe suit and holding a boombox that he dubbed the first iPod. He quickly noted that new versions of Apple Computer Inc.'s digital music player seem to be coming out all the time and getting smaller and smaller.

"I got the new Apple Tic-Tac. It freshens your breath and plays one song," he joked.

The scene on the red carpet before the show reflected the hodgepodge of musical genres being honored at the AMAs, with hip-hop, pop and country stars making their way through the gantlet of press.

"It's an American quilt," said Lauper, who arrived in a black dress with sheer sleeves and a fringed hem.

She and McLachlan exchanged compliments backstage after the rousing response they received for their duet on "Time After Time," which was co-written by Lauper.

"'Time after Time' is one of the best pop songs ever written, in my opinion. It's an incredible, beautiful, timeless song," McLachan said.

The Couch Potato Report - November 22nd, 2005

This week The Couch Potato Report features Cruise, Spielberg and "The Beav."

For some summer films, like THE LONGEST YARD, FANTASTIC FOUR, and THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, it was easy to check your brain at the door and just enjoy them.

Doing that with some other summer movies was harder, primarily due to expectations.

For instance, if Steven Spielberg decided to make another science fiction movie, there would be expectations.

After all he's the man who made CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and E.T. - THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL.

And if that film starred Tom Cruise, the world's biggest movie star, and was going to be based on the classic H.G. Wells book "The War Of The Worlds", well, talk about expectations!

In the end, despite that pedigree, and the best special effects money can buy, the newest version of WAR OF THE WORLDS isn't very good.

The film is very faithful to the book and the story still focuses on aliens who are looking destroy humankind as quick as possible.

But unlike the WAR OF THE WORLDS inspired INDEPENDENCE DAY this movie doesn't give us much of a thrill ride. Ultimately, that is why I didn't find it very entertaining.

Yes, it has the special effects, Spielberg's unflappable direction, and Cruise's reliable performance as a divorced father who has to rise to the challenge to save his kids, but it doesn't have enough thrill ride moments to make it a great action film, or even a great summer movie.

In reality, it is just a dramatic film with some summer explosions thrown in for good measure.

But it is the second most popular film of 2005 in theatres, so people must have enjoyed it, right?

Well, I didn't enjoy it when I saw it in a theatre, and when I watched the DVD this week I was more than bored.

WAR OF THE WORLDS has great special effects, great directing, a great cast and a great premise, but unfortunately the sum of the movie's parts are nowhere near great.

Another film base on a book is also new on video and DVD this week and I hope this film becomes a cherished holiday classic alongside IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS.

When THE POLAR EXPRESS was released in theatres a little over a year ago much of the publicity the film received was due to the fact that the film used a "performance capture" technique to translate live performances into all-digital characters.

I admit that if you focus on the technological side of the film you won't enjoy THE POLAR EXPRESS as much as you should.

However, if you can enjoy the film you will find it to be a classic! It is a wonderful celebration of the Christmas spirit, and yes I said Christmas and not Holiday Spirit.

Late one Christmas Eve night, a doubting boy boards a magical train with many other pajama-clad children. The train is headed to the North Pole and only one of the children will be chosen to receive a magical gift that only those who still believe in Santa are eligible.

Tom Hanks' voice stars in THE POLAR EXPRESS and he is directed by Robert Zemeckis, the man who gave us FORREST GUMP and the BACK TO THE FUTURE FILMS.

Yes, THE POLAR EXPRESS is visually stunning, but the story is what is most overwhelming. And who knows, it might even fill you with the childhood joy of Christmas.

Christmas - and Holiday - gift giving might be easier this year if you have people on your list who love TV shows on DVD.

After all there is a wide array of DVD Box Sets already available, and this week we add four more.

And I must admit that it is about time for one of these releases!

My friends, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER has finally debuted on DVD!

LEAVE IT TO BEAVER premiered in the fall of 1957 and instead of looking at life from a parents point of view it focused on the adventures of seven-year-old Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver and his 12-year-old brother, Wally.

Ward and June Cleaver try to keep their youngest son in line, but he always ends up in one kind of jam or another.

Some of the stories are a little dated today, but the show's charm still shines through. It remains one of the best TV shows ever and now all 39 episodes from the show's first season have been digitally remastered and they are available in a three-disc box set.

"Seinfeld" is another classic television show, albeit from a different era. SEINFELD - SEASON 5 and SEASON 6 are also new on DVD this week.

Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer continue to go through life, discussing and experiencing things that we can all relate to on one level or another.

SEASON FIVE includes: The Puffy Shirt, The Sniffing Accountant, The Bris, The Lip Reader, The Stall and The Opposite and you will find The Big Salad, The Gymnast, The Soup, The Race, The Label Maker and The Kiss Hello on the SEASON SIX set.

Each of the sets are four discs and they also include an array of retrospective interviews and behind-the-scenes features.

Since I have already raved about seasons ONE to FOUR here on The Couch Potato Report, you know I love the show, so let me just conclude by saying: Giddy-up!

The final DVD set that I am going to speak about this week is also our final "leftover." Yes, we have now covered all of the major titles that came out while there were no shows this summer.

So, that final "leftover" is the DVD set for A DIFFERENT WORLD - SEASON ONE.

IN 1987 the show debuted as a spin off of THE COSBY SHOW. Daughter Denise was sent off to college to find out that there was "a different world" awaiting her outside the Huxtable house.

In addition to Lisa Bonet as Denise, this first season of the show stars the young, and always beautiful, Marisa Tomei, who would eventually go on to win an Academy Award for her work in MY COUSIN
VINNY.

Denise, Maggie, Whitley, Dwayne Wayne, Ron. They are all still attending Hillman College on this new 4-DVD box set.

A DIFFERENT WORLD - SEASON ONE, SEINFELD - SEASONS 5 & 6, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER - SEASON ONE, THE POLAR EXPRESS and WAR OF THE WORLDS are all available now at a store near you.

Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report is the superb documentary THE MARCH OF THE PENGUINS; Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie star in MR. AND MRS. SMITH as a couple who hide their real jobs from each other; and in SKY HIGH the son of superheroes must save the world.

There is also FAMILY GUY - VOLUME THREE, MURDERBALL and THE MUPPET MOVIE, THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND and THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL are being re-released to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Kermit The Frog!

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pretty Lady named Cdn classics by Socan

TORONTO (CP) - Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot and Trooper's Pretty Lady were among five oldies added Monday to the list of homegrown classics by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada.

Jann Arden's Insensitive, Paul Carrack's Don't Shed A Tear and Nick Gilder's Hot Child In the City rounded out the list of tracks, which passed the 100,000-airplay mark on domestic radio in 2004.

All the songs were written by Canadians.

In addition to marking classics, Socan, which collects and distributes royalty cheques on behalf of songwriters, acknowledged newly written songs which dominated radio last year.

They included Nelly Furtado's Powerless and Try, Sarah McLachlan's Fallen and Stupid, Sarah Harmer's Almost, k-os's Crabbuckit, Finger Eleven's One Thing and Emerson Drive's Waitin' On Me.

The songwriters were to receive trophies at a gala dinner reception on Monday night.

Former 'Showgirl' Crosses 'Threshold'

The dramatic arc of this story would be better if the actress, having starred in a widely derided film that would for years be an easy Hollywood punchline, picked herself up and vowed, Scarlett O'Hara-like, never to go hungry, creatively speaking, again.

Instead, Elizabeth Berkley just went back to work.

"It really has been a great lesson," she says. "Even though people knew me from 'Saved by the Bell,' after that movie it was really up to me to pave my own way."

That movie, of course, is "Showgirls," the legendarily savaged production that also was Berkley's first major role in a feature film. Ten years removed, though, Berkley has forged a nice working actor's career for herself, bouncing between stage, movie and TV work. Her latest role comes Tuesday (Nov. 22) on CBS' first-year drama "Threshold."

In the episode, she plays the trophy wife of an oil magnate who becomes infected with the alien DNA that the government team led by Molly Anne Caffrey (Carla Gugino) is trying to contain. Her character starts to behave rather strangely -- and violently -- but, Berkley notes, "she feels she has a purpose for the first time ever."

"Her drive to spread [the alien DNA] is uncompromised," the actress says from New York, where last week she was filming an episode of NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." "That's her mission, and she'll stop at nothing to do that, because of this passion and newfound thrill of actually having that purpose. Whether that means seduction, fighting -- whatever it takes. So it was kind of fun to play the bad girl."

The part also allowed her to do something she's never done before: punch through a window. "It was fake glass, obviously, but I've never done a stunt like that in my life," she says, adding with a laugh, "I'm not used to punching."

Berkley has landed a number of guest roles on high-profile shows in recent years, including spots on "CSI" and "Without a Trace." She says doing guest roles requires a somewhat different approach than longer-term work, but it boils down to respecting the fact that a show's regular cast determines the tone on set.

That wasn't an issue on "Threshold," she says, partly because she and Gugino are friends outside of work and partly because the show's cast and crew "are excited about what they're doing, and you can feel that."

"You can really feel the tone on set if people are creatively happy," she says," because then people don't care about the hours. They just love the work. That's what I felt here -- people really cared about what they were doing."

Berkley, whose recent work also includes turns on stage in "Sly Fox" and "Hurlyburly" and the well-received indie film "Roger Dodger," says she doesn't really know what's up next for her. (She does mention that she'd love to work on FX's "Nip/Tuck.") But that's okay -- in fact, it's part of the appeal of acting for her.

"I wouldn't want to know exactly what the next thing is all the time," she says. "The adventure is what moves me ...

"I love what I do so much, and even with the highs and lows of the business, my love for what I do is my salvation, always. It's always exciting that way."

NEW CD RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER 22, 2005

Akon Trouble (CD/DVD combo; Special Edition of 2004 album) (Universal Motown)

Alexisonfire/Moneen Split EP (Vagrant)

Birch Book (In Gowan Ring) Birch Book (In Gowan Ring) (Secretly Canadian)

Michael Bublé Caught in the Act (CD/DVD combo; live performance) (Reprise)

Chamillionaire The Sound of Revenge (two-CD limited edition available same day) (Universal Motown)

Ray Davies Thanksgiving Day EP (V2)

Death from Above 1979 Romance Bloody Romance (remix album; w/Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme) (Vice)

DJ Kay Slay The Champions - North Meets South (Koch)

Dr. John Sippiana Hericane EP (Blue Note)

Enya Amarantine (Reprise)

Fort Minor (Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda) The Rising Tied (w//Black Thought, Common, John Legend and more; executive produced by Jay-Z) (Warner Bros.)

Fra Lippo Lippi Songs (Rune Arkiv)

The Fully Down Don't Get Lost in a Movement (Fearless)

Bill Harley One More Time: More Favorite Songs and a New Story (Empyrean)

Seu Jorge Life Aquatic Studio Sessions (Hollywood)

Talib Kweli Right About Now... (w/Mos Def and Jean Grae) (Blacksmith/Warner Bros.)

Jens Lekman Oh, You're So Silent Jens (Secretly Canadian)

Lil' Tweety Confessing a Feeling (enhanced CD) (Thump)

Samara Lubelski The Spectacular Passage (Secretly Canadian)

Gerard Malanga Up from the Archives (Sub Rosa)

Ricky Martin Life (guests Fat Joe, Amerie, the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am and more) (Columbia)

John Mayer Trio Try! (recorded in Chicago) (Columbia)

The Mendoza Line Full of Light and Full of Fire (Secretly Canadian)

MX-80 We're an American Band (Secretly Canadian)

Nelly Sweatsuit (best of two 2004 albums plus new songs w/Diddy, Notorious B.I.G., Paul Wall and more) (Universal Motown)

The Never Enders Air Raid Romance (Indianola)

Okkervil River Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP (Secretly Canadian)

Part Chimp I Am Come (Secretly Canadian)

Queens of the Stone Age Over the Years and Through the Woods (CD/DVD combo) (Interscope)

The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang (deluxe edition w/bonus tracks, remixes and more) (Virgin)

Juelz Santana What the Game's Been Missing (deluxe limited-edition CD/DVD combo available same day) (Def Jam)

Ray Scott My Kind of Music (Warner Bros. Nashville)

Southern Kaos Get It How U Live (Dollywood)

Scott Stapp (ex-Creed) The Great Divide (Wind-Up)

Static Re: Talking About Memories (City Centre Offices)

System of a Down Hypnotize (produced by Rick Rubin) (Columbia)

Tristeza A Coloures (Better Looking)

Wayne B Night of the Hunter (Quartermass)

Mike West A Westside Story - Chapter 1 (w/Daz Dillinger, the Outlawz, Pitbull and more) (Integrated)

VA Big Boi Presents...Got That Purp? Vol. 2 (w/Goodie Mob, Bubba Sparxxx, Killer Mike, Sleepy Brown and more) (Purple Ribbon/Virgin)

VA High School Reunion: A Tribute to Those Great Eighties Films! (covers of '80s tunes from popular films; w/Kristin Hersch performing the Pixies' "Wave of Mutilation," Matthew Sweet covering Tom Petty's "American Girl," Frank Black doing Iggy Pop's "Repo Man" and more) (American Laundromat/Face Down)

VA Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now (two CDs; new songs by Coldplay, Elton John, Barbra Streisand and more, plus classics by Louis Armstrong, Dr. John and others) (Concord)

VA Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert (Blue Note)

VA Just Like Paradise: A Millennium Tribute to Diamond David Lee Roth (w/current and former members of Aerosmith, Poison, Black Sabbath, Dio and more) (Versailles)

VA Yo Gotti Presents: The Blackout Squad Volume 2 (w/Yo Gotti, Al Kapone and more) (Inevitable Entertainment)

OST Four Dead Batteries (Hightone)

OST Muppets Christmas Carol (Disney)

OST Rent (film adaptation of Broadway musical) (Reprise)

OST Stargate: Atlantis (score by Joel Goldsmith) (Varèse Sarabande)

OST The High and the Mighty (score by Richard Kaufman) (Varèse Sarabande)

OST Zathura (score by John Debney) (Varèse Sarabande)

DVD The Best and Worst of American Idol, Seasons 1-4 (three DVDs; also available separately; limited edition w/interviews and behind-the-scenes footage) (Fremantle/Capital Entertainment)

DVD The MC: How We Do It (interviews w/Kanye West, 50 Cent, KRS-One, RZA and many more) (Image)

DVD Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis Harry and Branford: A Duo Occasion (Marsalis Music/Rounder)

DVD Cradle of Filth Peace Through Superior Firepower (live concert w/behind-the-scenes footage and music videos) (Roadrunner)

DVD Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand (two DVDs; live collection) (Epic)

DVD Peter Gabriel Still Growing Up: Live and Unwrapped (two DVDs; includes material from 2003's "Growing Up Live," plus many other previously unreleased tracks and documentary) (Rhino)

DVD Hellogoodbye OMG HGB DVD ROTFL (w/music videos, interviews, performance footage and more) (Drive Thru)

DVD The Hives Tussles in Brussels (Interscope)

DVD Jack Johnson A Weekend at the Greek & Live in Japan (two DVDs) (Universal)

DVD Keane Strangers (two DVDs) (Interscope)

DVD Killswitch Engage (Set This) World Ablaze (Roadrunner)

DVD Lifehouse Everything (Geffen)

DVD Nailbomb (Soulfly's Max Cavalera and Fudge Tunnel's Alex Newport) Live at Dynamo (Roadrunner)

DVD Papa Roach Live and Murderous in Chicago (Geffen)

DVD Radiohead The Astoria London Live (Capitol)

DVD Rush R30 (two DVDs; deluxe edition w/two CDs available same day; live 2004 Frankfurt show) (Rounder)

DVD Carly Simon Queen Mary 2 Concert (Columbia)

BACK ON TRACK

Per Variety, New Line Cinema sealing a deal with Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, director Brett Ratner and scribe Jeff Nathanson to make the long-delayed third Rush Hour movie.

Oprah Agrees to Appear on the 'Late Show'

NEW YORK - Oprah, Dave. Dave, Oprah. The cold war between television titans Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman has thawed to the point where Winfrey has accepted Letterman's invitation to appear on the "Late Show" on Dec. 1.

Letterman made the announcement during a taping of his show on Monday. Winfrey's appearance will coincide with opening night of the Broadway musical "The Color Purple," which she is producing.

"What a big night that is going to be — not only for us, not only for Oprah, but for Broadway," Letterman said. "You have the big `Color Purple' Broadway opening, and then right across the street here in this theater, you have Oprah appearing here. I mean, that's what Broadway is all about — it's a street of dreams."

It's Winfrey's first visit to "Late Show," although she was twice Letterman's guest on his NBC show before the late-night comic moved to CBS in 1993.

The origin of their "feud" was murky, although Letterman has frequently joked about her through the years. Letterman's failed 1995 stint as Academy Awards host is best remembered for his awkward "Oprah, Uma. Uma, Oprah" introduction.

Winfrey told Time magazine in 2003 that she wouldn't go on Letterman's show because she's been "completely uncomfortable" as the target of his jokes.

"This just gives you an idea of what a big, big star this really is," Letterman said on Monday. "She's huge. Put bygones behind us, the water under the bridge, over the dam, wherever water goes — standing in your basement — she's going to be here on this show and it's going to be fantastic."

Back in 2003, Letterman joked about wanting Winfrey on his show to hold "the Super Bowl of love." Winfrey — who had sent an olive branch gift of books for Letterman's newborn son — called his bluff and invited him on her show. He declined.

"Here's what would happen: I would go on the `Oprah' show, and I would break down and sob like a little girl ... I don't want to have that happen," he said at the time. "I'd feel ridiculous. I'd never be able to live that down, that Oprah would make me sob."

Former Winfrey protege Dr. Phil has been a frequent Letterman guest, offering his own form of "tough love" in a needling relationship.

Oprah's appearance is a big boost for Letterman, who has been struggling in the ratings this season and falling further behind his nemesis, NBC's Jay Leno.

The timing isn't quite ideal, however: Winfrey will visit the day after the November ratings sweeps period ends.

Peak 'Seinfeld' Seasons to Be Released

NEW YORK - "Seinfeld" has not suffered from shrinkage. Seven years after its finale, not only does the classic sitcom air up to two hours a day in some markets, but the reruns remain fresh enough to spark watercooler chitchat about everything from puffy shirts to mimbos.

"Isn't it weird how present it still is on the television landscape?" Jerry Seinfeld wondered during a recent joint interview with Jason Alexander (who played George), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) and Michael Richards (Kramer).

"I hear it all the time, `We go to bed with you guys. We never miss it,'" says Alexander.

Tuesday marks the DVD release of seasons five and six, a period when "Seinfeld" was at its peak with episodes like "The Fusilli Jerry," "The Face Painter" and "The Opposite."

"Most people, you do a TV series, it ends three, four, five years later; it's a relic," Seinfeld says. "But we're still hearing from the people, the audience, the people on the street, as if we're still doing it.

"It feels alive."

Seeing the four principals together again is like a reunion of the Beatles — for the actors as well, who are rarely together any more. Despite last year's acrimony over DVD proceeds, today they revel in each other's company, quickly recounting dialogue when certain scenes are mentioned.

Recalling Kramer's exploits to save a severed pinky toe by commandeering a city bus, Alexander repeats Jerry's line: "You kept makin' all the stops?"

"They kept ringing the bell!" Richards replies, in character.

And they all laugh — it's still funny to them. Similarly, on many of the DVD commentaries, insider insight devolves into simple laughter; the viewer no longer has a guide, but a companion on the couch.

"The show had an intense comedic energy that you do not find on other shows," Seinfeld says. "There's an intense comedic scene happening all the time, and that's the way we tried to make them, really packed, tight, strong — and that just holds the audience."

Alexander adds, "On this show, the comedy was the thing, so if you had to kind of trash a character a little bit..."

"Or entirely," chimes Louis-Dreyfus, whose character perhaps suffered the most — a long, subtle descent from "sponge-worthy" to flirting with Newman, if needed.

"Seinfeld" nearly didn't get the chance to become a hit. It wasn't until the third or fourth season that the show really found its rhythm and audience.

"It seemed early on that it was such a specific audience and when every new element of the audience came on, I was just thinking, `Wow,'" Alexander says. He remembers being astounded when he saw, through his mother's friends, "the senior citizen community groovin' on our show."

"It really was written and geared for a very specific audience, but our comedic strength trumps all of that," Seinfeld says. "The subject matter, the dialogue, the tone isn't right for most of America."

Part of what he's referring to is the racy material. Though vulgarity is often hidden by acrobatic metaphors and pregnant omissions ("You know, I was alone..."), "Seinfeld" still managed to slide plenty past the censors.

How did they get away with their most heralded triumph, "The Contest," from season 4?

"We were somewhat unsupervised," Seinfeld says. "The audience was there and the network is not going to complain if everyone's liking the show."

But one fact of television life is that it can't help but eventually feel dated. While "I Love Lucy," "M A S H" and "Cheers" still have their charms, they are very much of their era.

The absence of cell phones, Jerry's old computer and the group's fondness for "Melrose Place" may soon feel antiquated. Louis-Dreyfus cringes at some of her outfits and hairstyles, and is quick to correct Seinfeld's claim that her clothes have aged more than his.

After the show ended, Seinfeld, 51, mostly went back to standup, a journey chronicled in the documentary "Comedian." The other three have tried new shows: Alexander with last season's canceled "Listen Up," Richards with the failed "The Michael Richards Show," and Louis-Dreyfus on "Old Christine," which debuts at midseason on CBS.

But being pigeonholed by "Seinfeld" is a price the cast will gladly pay. "What actor wouldn't want that kind of experience?" says Louis-Dreyfus, 44.

Perhaps inevitably, the foursome is further removed from "Seinfeld" than many fans. Richards, 56, says he never says "Giddy up!" — "not even when I'm on a horse."

They say they rarely watch their old show, though Alexander, 46, recounts the fun of watching "Seinfeld" with his children, who were surprised what a jerk their father was.

The cast will nevertheless have plenty to remind them of "Seinfeld." People actually practice Mr. Constanza's pseudo Christmas holiday, Festivus, for example. Alexander still gets shouts of "Can't-stand-ya" and "these pretzels are makin' me thirsty!" Louis-Dreyfus hears "yada yada yada," and Seinfeld is asked "where's Kramer?"

So what does Richards get?

"Wish you were back."

Bono Says His Music Will Last 100 Years

NEW YORK - Bono says he'd rather be remembered for his music than his activism.

A dedicated lobbyist for the world's poor and AIDS-stricken, the U2 frontman told CBS' "60 Minutes" that "I think my work — the activism — will be forgotten.

"And I hope it will. Because I hope those problems will have gone away," he said in an interview that aired Sunday.

Since 1999, Bono has helped persuade Republicans and Democrats, presidents and lawmakers, to provide millions to help end the scourge of AIDS, eliminate poverty in Africa and forgive Third World debt.

The Irish rocker also predicted that his music will still be around in 100 years, explaining that his songs occupy "an emotional terrain that didn't exist before our group did."

And Bono said he has no intention of slowing down. He noted that people in rock 'n roll burn out at age 40, and said he wanted to see if his band could continue making "extraordinary" music.

"You know I'm still hungry," said the 45-year-old winner of 14 Grammy awards. "I still want a lot out of music."

Copy-protection turning fans off buying music: retailers

TORONTO (CP) - It's becoming a regular occurrence in CD shops across the country: an irate customer comes in complaining the CD they bought won't play on their computer, and worse yet, they can't transfer the tunes to their IPod.

The culprit is copy-protected or copy-controlled CDs - something many Canadian music retailers say they would like to see pulled from store shelves.

"This is just another really, really ridiculous way of telling our customers, 'We don't want your business,' " said Tim Baker of Sunrise Records, which has 31 shops in southern Ontario.

"It's so stupid."

The issue was underscored last week with news that the anti-piracy technology used on about 50 Sony BMG titles released in the United States and 37 in Canada secretly left spyware behind on people's computers.

The software - developed as a way to fight music piracy - made the machines susceptible to viruses and hackers. And trying to remove the software disabled CD drives.

Needless to say, the technology irked consumers. Thousands flocked to the web to vent, using blogs and online petitions to encourage people to boycott Sony products altogether.

"There's still plenty of work to be done if we are to achieve our goal of being treated like the music lovers we are rather than the criminals that (Sony) assumes us to be," read one posting on www.boycottsony.us.

Sony BMG said Friday that about 120,000 of the 4.7 million faulty CDs were sold in Canada.

They are not the only company to issue copy-protected CDs in Canada.

EMI has been releasing select albums - including the latest Nickelback album, All The Right Reasons - this way for about three years. The company intends to ship out all its releases with the technology by year's end.

The EMI discs use different software than Sony BMG, and have yet to cause any computer troubles.

Labels say they need the technology in order to stop people from sharing music with those who haven't paid for it.

Still, retailers say such technology is punishing those who are actually willing to fork over cash for music - an ever-dwindling group as it is.

"Consumers are not liking it," says Leslie Purchase, assistant manager at CD Plus in the Halifax Shopping Centre. "People are getting very frustrated by (copy-protected CDs)."

She's noticed an increase in customers who put CDs down after noticing the "copy-controlled" or "copy-protected" label.

"A lot of customers won't buy them now. They say 'I don't want it'," she said.

The copy controls are possible through digital rights management technology, or DRM. It lets labels restrict the number of times a CD can be shared - meaning burned or copied.

More controversial is the ability to control which programs consumers can use to playback their music. With EMI and Sony BMG discs, for instance, the music is compatible only with Windows Media Player but not with ITunes (for PC users).

That means people with IPods can't add the newly purchased CD to their playlists without some complicated steps.

CDs with this technology are marked with a warning on the back, usually in a black box.

EMI and Sony openly admit its copy protection measures have upset and annoyed some of its music fans - specifically IPod users. They've even provided websites outlining ways to override the controls, www.emimusic.info and cp.sonybmg.com respectively, in order to get the songs on IPod players.

Complaints even trickled down to the actual musicians, who subsequently posted ways to circumvent the protection measures on their own websites. Bands include Dave Matthews and the Foo Fighters.

The grumbling doesn't come as a surprise, says Terry Millar, director of manufacturing at EMI Canada.

"People have had the freedom to give 10 friends a copy of a disc. For anybody that's used to doing that, all of a sudden they're limited," he said.

"We're going to get complaints. We know that people are used to a certain thing. The thing about it is that it's not the right thing to be doing."

He expects other labels, like Universal and Warner, will eventually follow with similar technology.

But at least one label says it's vehemently opposed to the content protection practice saying it unfairly punishes the music buying public.

"It's backwards thinking. It's protectionism," said Terri McBride, president of Vancouver-based Nettwerk, whose roster includes the Be Good Tanyas. "The average consumer who's not tech-savvy is going to buy the CD, thinking that they can load it onto their IPod . . . They're going to be royally pissed off."

He added: "Why do you want to piss off the people who buy?"

Koppel Exits 'Nightline'

It won't be the same without him, since Ted Koppel and "Nightline" have been so intertwined for so long.

The much-honored journalist leaves the 25-year-old program -- and ABC News, after 42 years overall -- with the show's Tuesday, Nov. 22, telecast. Evolved from a nightly series of specials about U.S. hostages then held in Iran, "Nightline" will continue with a trio of anchors: Martin Bashir, Cynthia McFadden and Terry Moran, who assume their new roles Monday, Nov. 28. Still, a "Nightline" without Koppel may be hard for longtime viewers to grasp, if not for Koppel himself.

"Look," he says, "the same was said of 'The Tonight Show' when Steve Allen left, then when Jack Paar left, then when Johnny Carson left. I think Jack Paar only did it for three years, but it was very difficult for people to imagine there could ever be another Paar. Well, there wasn't; there was a Carson. When he left, Jay [Leno] had a hard time the first couple of years ... understandably, because he had big shoes to fill, but he's done a brilliant job."

Koppel assesses his soon-to-be-former franchise in terms of "the kinds of programs 'Nightline' has done. Sometimes, those are subject-related, as with AIDS and our prison system and race relations. Those are topics we've come back to again and again. Sometimes, they're event-related. You can hardly talk about 'Nightline' without talking about the hostage crisis in Iran, and I find it hard to think about the program's evolution without the week we spent in South Africa in the mid-'80s, or the week we spent bringing Palestinians and Israelis together in the Middle East.

"There was a slogan some bright person in the P.R. department came up with for 'Nightline' many years ago: 'Bringing people together who are worlds apart.' In many respects, 'Nightline' did that when nobody else did, before CNN existed." Which isn't to say Koppel doesn't have a certain affinity for the cable news network: One of his three daughters, Andrea, is among its veteran international correspondents.

In an era of ever-increasing television news options -- some 24/7 -- Koppel and "Nightline" have kept distinguishing themselves, as with the "Day in the Life" profiles and the controversial 2004 broadcast, "The Fallen." That roll call of more than 700 U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq war prompted one station group to order its ABC affiliates not to carry the episode. Koppel takes particular pride in approaches unique to "Nightline," although he concedes some concepts were born out of necessity.

"The top correspondents at ABC News really didn't want to stay up that late," he muses, "so we were always looking around for reporters to cover stories for us. The first ranks were always too busy; the second ranks were not that easy to find, either; and the third ranks, we didn't want, so we created new styles of covering television news."

Declining to specify his plans until he has left ABC, Koppel is a bit bittersweet about his departure, which comes shortly after the death of longtime friend and colleague Peter Jennings. "Sam Donaldson and Barbara Walters and Charlie Gibson and I are really sort of the last old-timers here," he reflects. "Most of the people I grew up with and admired when I came here as a young man have passed on, quite literally, so it's not quite as traumatic as if I'd left here 20 years ago."

Underwood Aims For Crossover

Unlike the winners before her, current "American Idol" champ Carrie Underwood is gunning for success in not only the pop format, but the country arena too.

Thus, Arista Nashville, a division of RCA Label Group, is partnering with 19 Recordings and J Records in New York to work Underwood's Nov. 15 debut, "Some Hearts."

Underwood has already scored with "Inside Your Heaven," this year's best-selling retail single. The song -- which has sold 434,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan -- topped The Billboard Hot 100 in July because of its strong sales. Now she will try to earn fans at country radio.

"It's a dual approach," says RCA Label Group chairman Joe Galante, who says his Nashville office will handle country radio promotion for Underwood's single "Jesus, Take the Wheel," as well as other marketing and promotion efforts in the country community. The J Records staff is working the album's title track to top 40 and AC radio as well as taking the record to retail.

Underwood is depending on both labels to shepherd her efforts. "They know what they're doing," she says. "I'm a country singer, but because of my exposure on 'American Idol,' I might tend to cross over naturally."

"Jesus, Take the Wheel" is off to a great start at country radio, debuting at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and already up to No. 23. It is the first time a newcomer has debuted in the top 40 on that chart with a track from a debut album since Billboard adopted Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems' monitored airplay information as the basis for its radio charts in 1990.

"I'm not preaching," Underwood says of the tune. "It's just a beautiful song I figured a lot of people could relate to whether they believe in God or not. Everybody has had a time in their life when they needed help with something."

In recording the album with producers Mark Bright and Dann Huff, the Checotah, Okla., native says it was important to "keep things as country as possible." Her manager, Simon Fuller (who heads the 19 imprint) suggested she meet with Nashville writers. That turned into a weekend retreat that resulted in one of her co-writes, "I'm Not in Checotah Anymore," making it onto the record. She is buying a home in Nashville and looks forward to more co-writing opportunities.

"Everybody seems to have their arms wide open to me, so that's been great," says Underwood, who admits her first Nashville experience was not so positive. At 15, she was pitched to labels on Music Row and turned down.

Confirmed appearances for Underwood include the Country Music Association Awards, "Dateline," the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, "Dr. Phil," "The View," "Today," "Live With Regis and Kelly," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "Late Show With David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

Underwood has also gotten exposure through her spokeswoman deals with Skechers and Hershey's. She appears in Skechers print ads and Hershey's TV ads.

'Rent' veterans turn musical into lively movie

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Rent" is one of the best film musicals in years -- exuberant, sexy and life affirming in equal measure.

Jonathan Larson's 1996 Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, based upon Puccini's opera "La Boheme," makes an electrifying move to the screen as director Chris Columbus and choreographer Keith Young push the singing and dancing out into New York streets and subways.

Stylized action in real locations doesn't always work in movies, but it does here perhaps because six of the eight actor-performers from the original Broadway show return for the movie version. These actors know their roles down to the grit in their fingernails, so the film feels loose and real, unfettered by a proscenium and opened up in an almost spiritual way.

"Chicago" proved that American audiences can still, on occasion, embrace a genre that has largely gone out of style. But what will mainstream audiences make of a musical about AIDS, drug addiction, homelessness and drag queens? "Rent" will be strong in major markets but needs crackerjack marketing to draw a broad young audience to the film.

"Rent," which Larson, its author and composer, did not live to see became a worldwide success, focuses on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians, struggling to survive in New York's East Village neighborhood in the 1980s under the shadow of AIDS. "Rent" shares with "La Boheme" an affirmation of the bohemian lifestyle, of creativity and art over anything as mundane as earning a living or paying the rent.

The reason, of course, is these lives might be short. Drugs and HIV inflict several characters. Each feels a pressing need to create a legacy, one in which whom you love is at least important as what you create. You live your art -- and life -- with a metaphorical gun to your head.

Roger ( Adam Pascal) is a handsome yet melancholy songwriter coming off a long bout with heroin. Downstairs neighbor Mimi ( Rosario Dawson), a spectacularly beautiful exotic dancer, has a definite eye for Roger, but he is emotionally shut down and understandably wary of her drug habit. What eventually brings them together, for a moment at least, is the realization that both are HIV-positive.

Roger's roommate Mark ( Anthony Rapp), a struggling filmmaker, starts to document life around him, starting with his circle of friends. He also carries the torch for mercurial performance artist Maureen ( Idina Menzel), who left him for -- the indignity of it all -- a woman, Harvard-trained attorney Joanne (Tracie Thoms).

Returning to the circle of friends is Tom ( Jesse L. Martin), a former professor and computer whiz who is jobless. Moments after getting mugged outside his former digs, Tom meets the love of his life, Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), a drag queen street musician. These two also are HIV-positive.

The outsider of the group is Benjamin Coffin III ( Taye Diggs). Benny married the landlord's daughter and, despite a vow to keep his former roommates in the loft rent-free, has become the "enemy," a capitalist who wants to transform the 'hood by evicting everyone and building a headquarters for a cyberspace enterprise.

The threat of eviction ostensibly gives the story its dramatic impetus: Maureen means to stage a one-woman show in protest, Benny pressures Roger and Mark to stop her and so on. But the real dramatic propulsion comes from love. Tom and Angel fall hard for one another and revel in that love as their time together will be short. Mimi and Roger share an equally profound passion, but Roger refuses to acknowledge it. Mark still pines for Maureen, whose open behavior with men and women sparks doubt and jealousy in Joanne.

The film spills out of the cold-water lofts into nearby streets, bars, restaurants, performance spaces and churches in a celebration of the bohemian life. Stephen Goldblatt's camera is constantly in motion, and Young's dances have a athletic dynamism that energizes the screen. Some dialogue has been added in Steve Chbosky's adaptation, but like the stage show the story is told in musical numbers that flow smoothly one into another. Meanwhile, Larson's music honors a host of traditions, ranging from rock and blues to gospel, soul and even tango.

Columbus managed the complicated logistics of the first two " Harry Potter" movies but never put his own stamp on those huge productions. Something in "Rent," though, hooked him emotionally for the movie represents his best work -- confident of the material inherited from Larson, true to that legacy yet willing to make changes and expand the possibilities for the screen.

Nearly every big movie has its set pieces around which the film develops, but "Rent" is all set pieces. Each requires ingenuity and sweat to get the best out of a super-talented cast. That each succeeds on its own terms yet flows together so easily is a tribute to Columbus' passion for the material.

Howard Cummings' interior sets, the location work, Aggie Guerard Rodgers' vibrant costumes, the terrific dances and adventurous cinematography all add up to pure pleasure.

Revolution Studios presents in association with 1492 Pictures a Tribeca production

CAST:

Mimi: Rosario Dawson

Benny: Taye Diggs

Angel: Wilson Jermaine Heredia

Tom: Jesse L. Martin

Maureen: Idina Menzel

Roger: Adam Pascal

Mark: Anthony Rapp

Joanne: Tracie Thoms

Director: Chris Columbus; Screenwriter: Steve Chbosky; Based on the play by: Jonathan Larson; Producers: Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan; Executive producers: Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Allan S. Gordon, Lata Ryan; Director of photography: Stephen Goldblatt; Production designer: Howard Cummings; Music and lyrics: Jonathan Larson; Choreographer: Keith Young; Costumes: Aggie Guerard Rodgers; Editor: Richard Pearson.

Bowie ponders 'Prestige' thriller

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Rock star David Bowie is in talks to play inventor Nikola Tesla in "The Prestige," a thriller from "Batman Begins" director Christopher Nolan.

The cast also includes Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine in a tale of rival magicians in early 20th century London. The Tesla character is based on the real-life Serbian-American who discovered the rotating magnetic field.

The script, on which Nolan is working, is based on Christopher Priest's 1996 novel and was adapted by Nolan's brother, Jonathan, who also wrote the short story on which Nolan's breakout movie, "Memento," was based.

The movie is scheduled to shoot in January with a budget in the $40 million range. Disney will distribute the film domestically, and Warner Bros. internationally.

Bowie's acting credits range from 1976's "The Man Who Fell to Earth" to 1983's "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," 1966's "Basquiat" and, most recently, 2000's "Mr. Rice's Secret."

CBC, CTV share Gemini honours

TORONTO (CP) - The Eleventh Hour, a program already cancelled by CTV after its third season of low ratings, won the 2005 Gemini Award as Canada's best dramatic series.

Michael Riley and Cara Pifko of CBC's legal drama This Is Wonderland were named best drama series actor and actress.

The results were announced Saturday night at a black-tie gala, the finale of three successive nights of Gemini events marking the award's 20th anniversary.

"I believe that's why they invented the word bittersweet," said Eleventh Hour producer Peter Simpson, who was reluctant to blame the network for the show's cancellation.

"In terms of audience, we were on life support for a long time."

Simpson said they just couldn't hustle the ratings.

"We were very proud of our quality, the problem was we didn't know how to whore ourselves enough to get the numbers."

The Gemini telecast, airing for the first time on Global TV, got off to a rocky technical start but soon picked up steam with a sketch that featured a wide variety of Canadian TV entertainers past and present, from 8-year-old kids' show host Daniel Cook to veteran comic Dave Broadfoot, who turns 80 in a few weeks.

Best dramatic miniseries was CBC's Sex Traffic, an intense story about the modern-day international slave market. Nominated for 14 Geminis, it won seven.

In comedy, CTV's runaway hit sitcom Corner Gas was voted the best, although the Brent Butt series was not nominated in other key categories. Conversely, that other popular comedy, Showcase's Trailer Park Boys, was not nominated in the best comedy series category this year but won for best ensemble performance.

Best lead actor in a dramatic program or miniseries was Brendan Fletcher for his chilling performance as a psycho killer in The Death and Life of Nancy Eaton. It was his second win out of four nominations. Kristen Thomson won best actress in a drama or miniseries for CBC's I, Claudius.

"My mom is going to be so happy," said Fletcher, 23, who confessed he was so nervous he forgot to go to the washroom.

"Can you say holy crap on TV?" blurted an excited Pifko in accepting her statue.

The Eleventh Hour, which dealt with life behind the scenes at a fictional TV newsmagazine show, went into the Gemini weekend with a leading 15 nominations. On Friday, it won four other awards, for best direction (David Wellington), writing (Semi Chellas and Tassie Cameron), makeup (Marilyn O'Quinn) and guest actor (Henry Czerny).

In a departure from tradition, Global's Kevin Newman - who already has two Emmys - won the best news anchor Gemini, although Global News did not win in the best newscast category at Thursday's non-televised gala.

"I want to thank you for giving me the Peter Mansbridge award," he said, referring to the usual winner in that category.

"We are blessed in this country with three fabulous newsrooms," the former ABC-TV newsman said. "Canadians have a good choice in this country. I think we should be very proud of that."

Newman called Global National a "small guerrilla team" that works hard to be worth viewers' support.

The nod for best writing in a comedy or variety show went to Ken Finkleman for The Newsroom on CBC while best drama program or miniseries writing went to Alan DiFiore and Chris Haddock for CTV's gritty street crime drama The Life.

"The best thing about writing is you don't have to thank anyone," is all the droll Finkleman said in accepting his award.

Best sports host or interviewer honours went to Scott Russell of CBC Sports Saturday and the Gemini Viewers' Choice award went to Marilyn Denis of Cityline on CHUM's Toronto-based Citytv.

Denis conceded she felt like the Susan Lucci of Canadian TV, a reference to the much-nominated U.S. soap actress. Denis was nominated five times in the past but this was her first win.

"I'm so happy for our show," she declared, noting she had been doing it for 17 years.

Here are some of the key winners at the 2005 Gemini Awards:

Best Dramatic Mini-Series

Sex Traffic

(Big Motion Pictures Ltd., Granada Television, in association with the CBC)

Wayne Grigsby, Michele Buck, David MacLeod, Derek Wax

Best Dramatic Series

The Eleventh Hour

(Norstar Filmed Entertainment)

Ilana Frank, Semi Chellas, Daphne Park, Ray Sager, Peter Simpson, David Wellington

Best Comedy Program or Series

Corner Gas

(Prairie Pants Productions II Inc)

Brent Butt, Mark Farrell, Paul Mather, David Storey, Virginia Thompson

Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program

Runaway Grooms

(ASLI Films Inc.)

Ali Kazimi

Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series

Chris Abraham - I, Claudia

Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series

Alan DiFiore, Chris Haddock - The Life

Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series

Ken Finkleman - The Newsroom Season III - Baghdad Bound

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series

Brendan Fletcher - The Death and Life of Nancy Eaton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series

Kristen Thomson - I, Claudia

Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role

Michael Riley - This Is Wonderland - Episode 213

Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role

Cara Pifko - This Is Wonderland - Episode 212

Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series

John Paul Tremblay, Cory Bowles, Lucy Decoutere, Barrie Dunn, Sarah Dunsworth, John Dunsworth, Jeanna Harrison-Steinhart, Michael Jackson, Garry James, Tyrone Parsons, Pat Roach, Mike Smith, Shelley Thompson, Jonathan Torrens, Robb Wells - Trailer Park Boys: Season 4 - Working Man

Best News Anchor

Global National with Kevin Newman

(Global National)

Kevin Newman

Best Host or Interviewer in a Sports Program or Sportscast

Scott Russell - CBC Sports Saturday

Gemini Viewers' Choice Award

Marilyn Denis - Cityline

A complete list of winners is available at www.geminiawards.ca

Aguilera Reportedly Marries Music Exec

NEW YORK - Christina Aguilera has found out what a girl wants, and now she's married him. The 24-year-old pop singer tied the knot with music executive Jordan Bratman in a Saturday evening ceremony at Staglin Family Vineyard in northern California's Napa Valley, Us Weekly reported on its Web site.

Sources told the magazine that Aguilera, her hair decorated in jewels and pulled back in a bun topped by white flowers, walked down the aisle in a Christian Lacroix gown. The couple exchanged rings in front of about 130 guests.

Aguilera and Bratman arrived in Napa Valley on Wednesday to kick off wedding festivities, with a Japanese-themed rehearsal dinner Friday night at the Auberge Du Soleil resort, Us Weekly reported.

Bratman, 28, proposed to Aguilera in February while on vacation in Carmel, Calif. Their hotel room was filled with rose petals, balloons and gift boxes.

"When I got to the last box, there was a ring in it," Aguilera told People magazine. "He got down on one knee and said 'Will you do me the honor of being my wife?' I've been floating ever since."

'Harry Potter' Dominates Box Office

LOS ANGELES - The bespectacled boy wizard has worked his biggest box-office magic to date.

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" grossed $101.4 million in its debut weekend, the best results yet for the franchise, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

The latest Potter movie led a lineup that helped reverse the Hollywood box-office slump, with the top 12 films raking in $171 million, up 19 percent from the same weekend last year when "National Treasure" was No. 1 with $35.1 million.

"Goblet of Fire" was the fourth-best, three-day opening weekend ever, behind "Spider-Man" at $114.8 million in 2002 and "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" and "Shrek 2," at $108 million apiece.

The fourth installment of the adventures of Harry and his curious classmates at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the first Potter film to earn a PG-13 rating for its fantasy violence and special effects. But that did not deter audiences.

"The Potter franchise is just irresistible to moviegoers," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "The combination of the Potter books and the love audiences have for the movies conspired a big opening weekend."

Debuting in second place was the Johnny Cash film biopic "Walk the Line," which took in $22.4 million. The film chronicles the early musical career of Cash, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and also stars Reese Witherspoon as Cash's lifelong love, June Carter. Phoenix and Witherspoon do their own singing.

Disney's computer-animated film "Chicken Little," which held the top spot last week, slipped to No. 3 with $14.8 million. Jennifer Anniston's thriller "Derailed" ranked fourth with $6.5 million and the sci-fi fantasy "Zathura: A Space Adventure" rounded out the top five with $5.1 million.

Based on the best-selling books by J.K. Rowling, "Goblet of Fire" follows 14-year-old Harry, who unwillingly competes against three older wizards in a dangerous Triwizard Tournament. The movie features a dramatic face-off between Harry and Lord Voldemort — He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named — the dark warlock who killed Harry's parents and who tried to kill him when he was a baby.

Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros., which released "Goblet of Fire," said the results exceeded the studio's expectations. The third Potter film, "Prisoner of Azkaban," premiered last year at $93.7 million.

"As the audience has gotten older in time, faithful readers of the Potter books will remain faithful to the movies," Fellman said.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," $101.4 million
2. "Walk the Line," $22.4 million
3. "Chicken Little," $14.8 million
4. "Derailed," $6.5 million
5. "Zathura," $5.1 million
6. "Jarhead," $4.8 million
7. "Get Rich or Die Tryin," $4.4 million
8. "Saw II," $3.9 million
9. "Legend of Zorro," $2.3 million
10. "Pride and Prejudice," $2.1 million

Trio Punches Clock for "24"

Jack is back. And he's bringing some friends with him.

The Fox hit 24 is dusting off the welcome mat for three more veteran actors this season, with Peter Weller, JoBeth Williams and Julian Sands joining the ever-revolving cast, the network announced Friday.

When viewers last saw Kiefer Sutherland's rogue agent Jack Bauer, he was dropped off south of the border, handed a new identity and warned not to return to the U.S.

The new season, Day 5 in Bauer-land, kicks off 18 months later, with national security once again "brutally breached."

The presumed-dead Bauer has taken up a new life with his girlfriend and her son, played by previously announced newcomers Connie Britton and Brady Corbett, respectively. Which is where the series' latest additions come in.

While Fox is remaining mum on any plot details, it has confirmed that Robocop thesp Weller has signed on as federal agent Christopher Henderson, the man responsible for recruiting Bauer to the CTU more than a decade ago. Three-time Emmy nominee, and recent Fever Pitch actress, Williams plays his wife.

As for veteran British actor Sands, of Time Code and A Room with a View fame, producers have simply tagged him "billionaire bad guy" Vladimir Bierko.

But the cozy threesome aren't the only new faces popping up on the prime-time hit this season.

Earlier this year, Fox announced several high-profile new additions to the time-sensitive drama.

In addition to Britton and Corbet, erstwhile Hobbit Sean Astin joins the clock-ticker as a regular this season, playing a fellow Counter Terrorist Unit agent.

Former Designing Woman Jean Smart rounds out the new ensemble as the first lady.

24's fifth day kicks off with a four-hour, two-night premiere Jan. 15 and 16 on Fox, which will mark the series' 100th episode.

CBC-TV documentary lets viewers listen to Mulroney audio tapes

TORONTO (CP) - It's one thing to read them.

But it's quite another to actually hear the words of Brian Mulroney in those audio tapes compiled by author Peter C. Newman and which formed the basis of Newman's provocative summertime book The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister.

On Monday night, CBC-TV airs a feature-length documentary version, and for the first time Canadians will actually hear the former PM in all his profanity-laced glory, usually in phone calls to Newman in which he appears to be trying to dictate his own place in history while summarily denouncing his political rivals.

"I was a fly on the wall for the conversations," says producer-director Mike Sheerin about listening to the tapes early this past summer. "It creates a mood. It's theatre of the mind, even though it's television."

The listener is struck first by the breadth of the obscenities, not always provoked by passion but clearly a staple of the rhetoric of a private personality far different from the public one.

But Sheerin doesn't think Mulroney swears all that much, or that it's a big deal.

"He uses it to punctuate certain sentences here and there. I do that. ... It's just sort of normal talk."

The former prime minister displays a loathing for members of the parliamentary press gallery, who trigger the strongest obscenities during the 90-minute film.

Beyond that, the tapes prove equally remarkable for revealing Mulroney's apparent disdain for his opponents, from Pierre Trudeau to Jean Chretien, and even for his own party colleagues, from Joe Clark to Lucien Bouchard, who he insists did not quit the Tory cabinet in 1990 as history has recorded.

"I fired him," Mulroney says bluntly, although the revelation was not included in Newman's book. Sheerin doesn't know why except that Newman may simply have forgotten with the mountain of material he had to work with.

The sound clips, chosen from hundreds of hours of phone calls and in-person interviews taped over two decades, are married to relevant newsreel clips of the day, interspersed with on-camera comments by Newman himself. There is no narration.

Sheerin says he befriended Newman two years ago when he was producing a CBC Life & Times biography on him. He was one of only a handful of people who were aware at the time that Newman was working on his book, and that led to Sheerin assembling this companion documentary in secrecy under the rather melodramatic code name Project X.

"I don't feel I betrayed Brian Mulroney," Newman declares in the film, conceding, however, that he was seen as the prime minister's "pet journalist."

But when the book was published in September, news reports said Mulroney felt devastated and betrayed, and that he had been unaware he was being taped in most of his conversations with Newman. The phone calls were supposed to be off the record, said Mulroney's spokesman Luc Lavoie.

Mulroney was not planning any legal action over the book, Lavoie said at the time. And last weekend he said Mulroney would be unlikely to comment on the tapes.

Sheerin says the friendship between the two men soured in 1995 when Newman wrote a book that was harsh on Mulroney's legacy.

At 76 and his reputation established, Newman himself may not care that he comes across in the documentary as a fawning yes man to the leader of the country, there to apply salve to his political wounds during late-night phone calls that Newman insists were not off the record.

Still, in terms of the traditional media-politician arm's-length relationship, there's something unseemly about the Newman-Mulroney relationship as it evolves on tape.

"Mr. Newman? The prime minister is on the line ..." the voice of the PMO operator says, and from there it's Brian and Peter and evidence of an intellectual cosiness that went back for decades.

Sheerin says it's an oral history as told by Mulroney and there's no attempt to portray a black hat or a white hat.

"This isn't a political film. This is a character film. We don't judge at the end of the day. The viewer will have those biases and judgments already.

"I don't think it's going to change your opinion, at least it's not designed to change your opinion of Brian but just to get a better sense of who he was as a character, as a human being."

On Tuesday Newman was served with a statement of claim from Conrad Black alleging that the writer libelled him in his 2004 book Here Be Dragons.

Sheerin says no attempt was made to contact Mulroney for the documentary due to the secret nature of the project, but he does not expect any legal challenges against himself or Newman for broadcasting the tapes.

Top 25 DVDs

Peter Travers from Rolling Stone magazine picks the year's best

It's official. Thanks to DVDs, the wow factor has passed from the multiplex to the home. Movie attendance in 2005 is down eight percent. Why? Because fans want to show off their home-theater systems with DVDs, especially the ones packed with bonus features. Here's the pick of the crop.

1. Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith

Even a Jedi mind meld couldn't convince me that Revenge of the Sith -- the sixth and last entry in George Lucas' Star Wars saga -- is anything but a corporate product with the warmth of stainless steel. That is, until the last half-hour, when Lucas remembers what he started in 1977 with A New Hope and lets messy human emotions invade his cold digital universe. It's enough to make Sith one of the best DVDs of the year. What makes it the very best, besides a resplendent DVD transfer, is its standing as the last in a landmark series: Finally, we can watch all six Star Wars films in chronological order. If that means we must begin with the juvenilia of The Phantom Menace and end with those damn cuddly Ewoks from Return of the Jedi, so be it. If that means we have to endure hearing Hayden Christensen's wooden Anakin Skywalker discuss his dull marriage to Padme (a Stepford-ized Natalie Portman), it's still worth the price. As Anakin loses his limbs and his conscience and takes on the evil mantle of Darth Vader, Sith takes hold. Suddenly we're connected to a saga that began when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) joined with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to defeat the Death Star. Lucas' grand dream transformed pop culture into pop art. With apologies to Rob Zombie, who insists Lucas peaked with his first volley, I think 1980's The Empire Strikes Back is the best of the bunch. This is the one with Darth Vader telling Luke (in the powerful tones of James Earl Jones), "I am your father" -- the line that sends a slam-bam space adventure into Freudian hyperspace. The moment is doubly shattering after you watch the Emperor (the great Ian McDiarmid) work over Luke's daddy in Sith. Watch all thirteen hours of the Star Wars sextet, and the light dawns: This is what Lucas had in mind all the time.

Hot Bonus: A unique documentary, "Within a Minute," details every element it took to produce a mere forty-nine seconds from the light-saber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) on the lava planet Mustafar.
Killer Scene: As Anakin nearly melts in lava, only to be put back together, Frankenstein style, by the Emperor, Lucas intercuts Padme giving birth to the twins Luke and Leia. It's a link to genuine feeling at last.

2. War of the Worlds

Any complaints you had with Steven Spielberg's update of H.G. Wells' 1898 alien-invasion novel at the multiplex -- no bonking, too much Dakota Fanning, the sap-happy ending -- disappear when you take it home in this double-disc Limited Edition. Unlike the campy 1953 film rendition with its primitive Martians, Spielberg's War is set in a real world seized by a terrorist attack. Tom Cruise aces the role of divorced dad Ray Ferrier, a New Jersey dock worker and all-around screw-up with his daughter (Fanning) and his teen son (Justin Chatwin). So when huge, hostile alien Tripods rise out of the ground during an electrical storm and start laying waste, Ray grabs the kids and runs. That road trip, by car and foot, inspires Spielberg to create extraordinary images of a frayed family in a frayed civilization. The 9/11 parallels are unmistakable as the next threat comes without reason or mercy. Spielberg's technical mastery, especially with the Tripods -- aliens as nasty as E.T. was sweet -- is evident in every frame of this superior transfer.

Hot Bonus: The inside dish about the creation of the Tripods is film-geek nirvana. Cruise keeps jawing about how he and Spielberg are buddies, but one off-camera moment shows the director looking clearly annoyed as his playful brat of a star punches him in the arm while he's trying to set up a shot.
Killer Scene: For state-of-the-art FX and digital rumble, you can't beat the Tripods busting out from the ground, not from the air, where the cliche would put them.

3. King Kong

The king of creature features took forever to find its way to DVD as Warner worked on the black-and-white restoration (it could still use improvement) and Kong freak Peter Jackson, whose 2005 remake reflects a fan's passion, prepared his "Production Diaries." You can buy the two-disc edition of King Kong with a great collection of lobby cards, or a two-disc set including The Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young -- all done by the same special-effects team. But the joy is seeing the 1933 original, complete with Max Steiner's classic score and once-censored scenes, such as the love-besotted Kong daintily pulling off Fay Wray's clothing with his hairy paw.

Hot Bonus: The "lost" spider-pit sequence is restored and serves as another tribute to the stop-motion animation genius of Willis O'Brien.
Killer Scene Kong atop the Empire State Building, putting down Wray after one last romantic sniff and swinging at fighter planes that shoot him down. Or did they? As the last line insists, "It was beauty killed the beast."

4. Batman Begins

A two-disc Deluxe Edition of the prequel that grounds the Batman legend in reality. Memento director Christopher Nolan shows us what rich kid Bruce Wayne (a terrific Christian Bale) was doing before he put on Bat drag, accessorized with lethal toys and learned to kill like a vigilante. Gotham looks lived in, not art-directed, and Bale creates a hero of haunted fire.

Hot Bonus: The ninety minutes of bonus materials on the Deluxe Edition is heaven for comic-book geeks, even if you have to suffer through a lame Jimmy Fallon parody from the MTV Movie Awards.
Killer Scene: The birth of the Batmobile. Bruce asks if it comes in black, and whoosh, we're off.

5. Sin City: Recut and Extended

Don't bother with the earlier DVD. This two-disc, unrated, balls-out Deluxe Edition is the keeper. It makes your eyes go boing. Shot by director Robert Rodriguez in black and white with the occasional splash of color, the film captures the dazzling monochrome of Frank Miller's graphic novels. There are three overlapping stories, and Bruce Willis and Clive Owen do fine by theirs. But Mickey Rourke is flat-out sensational as an ex-con with a Frankenstein jaw line.

Hot Bonus: I loved being able to access the three tales separately.
Killer Scene: Rourke waking up next to a dead hooker and vowing to send a soul "screaming into hell."

6. Cinderella Man

If there's any justice, DVD will rescue this rousing drama from shocking box-office indifference. Director Ron Howard does justice to the true story of James J. Braddock (a brilliant Russell Crowe), the washed-up Irish boxer from New Jersey whose comeback gave hope to Depression-era America.

Hot Bonus: Fascinating material on the real Braddock.
Killer Scene: Braddock going a punishing fifteen rounds against the brain-crushing heavyweight champ Max Baer (Craig Bierko).

7. The Big Lebowski

This Achiever's Edition, complete with a bowling towel, is a hoot. But the prize in this Coen brothers 1998 goodie is still Jeff Bridges as the potbellied, ponytailed, pot-smoking Dude. He bowls with his buddies until kidnapping, erotic art and German nihilists intervene.

Hot Bonus: The Coens speak. As usual, the info they offer is useless. As usual, it's hilarious.
Killer Scene: A hood pees on the Dude's rug, forcing its removal and saddening the Dude: "That rug really tied the room together."

8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp take Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka for a twisted ride. The colors on the two-disc DVD are tempting and toxic. Dahl would approve.

Hot Bonus: A segment on how Burton turned actor Deep Roy into dozens of Oompa-Loompas.
Killer Scene: The nut-sorting.

9. Saw: Uncut Edition

Maybe it takes seeing the scare-free sequel to appreciate the original. So grab the new two-disc DVD and watch a pair of strangers (Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell) get trapped in a dungeon by a killer who wants to see them saw off their body parts to escape. First-time director James Wan and screenwriter Whannell have a way with splatter. Better duck.

Hot Bonus: There's an Easter Egg hidden in the "Dissection" bonus feature starring the evil puppet.
Killer Scene: The surprise ending holds up to repeat viewings.

10. Oldboy

Korean movies rarely get wide distribution in the U.S., so the DVD is a great chance to catch this explosively exciting revenge drama from Park Chanwook. Choi Min-sik is a hell-raising wonder as Oh Dae-su, a skirt-chasing "oldboy" who is locked in a hotel room for fifteen years. His release sets off a series of rampages that spray the screen with blood and shocking secrets.

Hot Bonus: Director's commentary that is fierce and funny. It seems all the suspects on Oh Dae-su's list are the names of the director's filmmaking colleagues.
Killer Scene: At a sushi bar, Oh Dae-su chomps down on some live, wiggling squid. Yuck.

11. Crash

Racism collides with its targets during one thirty-six-hour period in Los Angeles. Director Paul Haggis and co-writer Bobby Moresco weave many stories (too many) into the narrative. But the rage sticks, as do the emotions underlying it. Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton and Sandra Bullock head a standout cast.

Hot Bonus: Potent commentary from Haggis and Cheadle.
Killer Scene: Newton and Howard being shaken down by cops Dillon and Ryan Phillippe.

12. The Val Lewton Horror Collection

What a bonanza. Five discs that cover nine movies from the criminally underrated Val Lewton, a producer of scare flicks (Cat People, The Leopard Man, I Walked With a Zombie, The Seventh Victim, The Ghost Ship, The Curse of the Cat People, Isle of the Dead, The Body Snatcher, Bedlam) from the Forties, which can hold their own against the best of today's imitations.

Hot Bonus: A doc on Lewton's legacy, Shadows in the Dark.
Killer Scene: The deserted indoor pool in Cat People.

13. Astaire and Rogers: The Collection Vol. 1

Watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in five musical gems (Top Hat, Swing Time, Follow the Fleet, Shall We Dance and The Barkleys of Broadway) if you want a definition of poetry in motion.

Hot Bonus: Commentary by Astaire's daughter, Ava, adds just the right personal touch.
Killer Scene: "Never Gonna Dance," from Swing Time, is the most erotic dance number in which the team ever participated.

14. Titanic

Since 1997, fans of the Oscar-winning Best Picture, which grossed $600 million to become the biggest box-office success of all time, had to be content with a single-disc DVD with no extras. Now director James Cameron -- the self-proclaimed "King of the World" -- has opened the floodgates with a three-disc Special Collector's Edition that looks and sounds as perfect as digital technology will allow. Titanic junkies will be able to utilize a branching feature that allows you to access "making of" features at the exact moment the scenes occur on-screen. Cameron offers audio commentary, and so does a much welcome and much sassier Kate Winslet. Leonardo DiCaprio has once again distanced himself from the epic that made him both a star and a victim of teen idolatry. (Can you blame him?)

As for the movie itself, you know the story: DiCaprio and Winslet fall in love. The ship sinks. He dies. She lives. And Celine Dion sings about a heart that will go on and on. No one cares anymore that Cameron's poet's eye for spectacle is almost blinded by his tin ear for dialogue. Titanic is simply the greatest romantic epic since Gone With the Wind, and everyone with a DVD player is going to own this Special Edition.

Hot Bonus: They are all hot -- especially if seeing a deleted scene of Leo and Kate playing tonsil hockey under a shooting star turns you on -- but I could have done without the nine-minute alternate ending.
Killer Scene: The ship goes down. Rank out the love story all you want, but the film's technical achievement is monumental. And the sequence with the drowned bodies floating like ghosts in the night is truly haunting.

15. Airplane!

The "Don't Call Me Shirley!" Edition supersedes the old DVD and reminds you why this 1980 parody of disaster flicks is timelessly wacky. On a flight from L.A. to Chicago, nearly everyone is poisoned by their fish dinners. PASSENGERS CERTAIN TO DIE! reads one remarkably timely newspaper headline. You are certain to laugh.

Hot Bonus: Deleted scenes crack up the film's three directors.
Killer Scene: Peter Graves is a riot as a pederast pilot. ("Joey, do you like gladiator movies?")

16. The Wizard of Oz

Long available on DVD, but never like this dazzling digital reproduction of the original Technicolor. Many claim this classic looks better than it did in 1939 -- the new clarity reveals a never-before-seen pimple on Judy Garland's lip and maybe a few drunken Munchkins.

Hot Bonus: A newly restored transfer of the 1925 silent version of Oz starring Oliver Hardy.
Killer Scene: The simplest. Garland by a haystack -- in glorious black-and-white -- singing "Over the Rainbow" to Toto.

17. Office Space

They're calling this DVD a "Special Edition With Flair!" Whatever you call Mike Judge's 1999 cult comedy hit about office politics and too-long-suppressed rage at the boss, the new disc has eight deleted scenes to up the fun quotient, which was already high.

Hot Bonus: Judge leads the cast down memory lane in a documentary retrospective.
Killer Scene: Can anyone forget Milton and the Swingline stapler or the way the boss (Gary Cole at his smarmiest) asks his employees, "So, what happening?"

18. Rize

Here's a documentary from photographer David LaChapelle that explodes with color and vitality on DVD. The subject is krumping, a hip-hop dance phenom so kinetic that the frames of the film seem speeded up (they're not). Started in South Central Los Angeles in 1992, the year of the Rodney King riots, krumping became an expression of sex, anger, need, competition and cultural identity. It's all eye-popping.

Hot Bonus: Extended dance numbers that really kick in.
Killer Scene: The Battlezone krump competition.

19. The 40-Year-Old Virgin

How do you resist a DVD that allows you repeated access to a virginal office drone (a big shout-out here to Steve Carell) as he wakes up with morning wood and pees in his own face, talks to his collectible action figures and fakes macho with his co-workers (Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Romany Malco)? You don't.

Hot Bonus: Know how I know the deleted scenes on this disc are funny? I can't stop watching them. Proof positive that Carell and director Judd Apatow are top writers. It's one joke stretched hard, but it doesn't break.
Killer Scene: Carell getting the hair yanked off his chest with hot wax. He did it for real. Yikes.

20. The Devil's Rejects

Scuz has never looked this defiantly appealing on DVD. Thank director Rob Zombie for getting us to wallow in the fun and fright of psycho clown Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) and his satanic serial-killing family on their torture/killing spree through the back roads of Alabama.

Hot Bonus: Zombie gives good audio commentary, but the second disc on this set is a two-and-a-half-hour documentary, 30 Days in Hell, that could serve as a course in indie filmmaking.
Killer Scene: Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" playing over the blood-soaked finale.

21. 7 Men From Now

You've probably never heard of Budd Boetticher, a great director who is ripe for rediscovery after the DVD release of this lean, mean 1956 film starring Randolph Scott as an ex-sheriff out to avenge his wife's murder.

Hot Bonus: The Special Collector's Edition is the first Boetticher Western ever on DVD.
Killer Scene: Scott's first kill is as chilling as any in Unforgiven.

22. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan

Director Martin Scorsese catches the young Bob Dylan in the act of inventing himself. The result is a two-disc DVD documentary -- made up of home movies, concert clips and fresh interviews -- that is worthy of a time capsule.

Hot Bonus: A feature that allows you to go directly to the musical moments in the film.
Killer Scene: With 1965's "Like a Rolling Stone," Dylan goes electric and shocks his fans.

23. Pickpocket

Nobody restores classic films to DVD glory like Criterion, which outdoes itself with Robert Bresson's hugely influential 1959 film about a Parisian thief (Martin LaSalle, superb) who lives through his obsession with the art and sin of crime.

Hot Bonus: The cast and crew are interviewed about Bresson, whose comment ("I'd rather that people felt a film before understanding it") cuts to the heart of his unsparing directing style.
Killer Scene: It's impossible not to think of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver as LaSalle practices putting on the faces he will wear when attempting to commit a crime.

24. Gladiator

On this bonus-crammed three-disc package you get the Best Picture Oscar winner in an extended version with about twenty minutes of deleted scenes. Let critics whine about the digitalized battle scenes. It works, and Russell Crowe in the title role has never been better.

Hot Bonus: Ridley Scott remains a model for how to do director's commentary. And this time he's joined by Crowe. Plus, the "making of" doc is a lulu.
Killer Scene: Crowe in the ring with the tigers is the kind of moment that makes your home-theater system sit up and roar.

25. March of the Penguins

Why argue with the multitudes who have turned this small, magnificently photographed documentary about the emperor penguins of Antarctica into a giant hit (it grossed an astounding $77 million)? They never saw the early version of the film, presented at the Sundance Film Festival, in which the penguins talked about falling in love -- in French, yet. Before the film's commercial release, director Luc Jacquet wisely replaced the mushy stuff -- more like Disney wish fulfillment than nature's plan -- with sturdy narration from Morgan Freeman. The result is the popular favorite for the year's best documentary. The smart money is betting that Academy voters can't resist a cute waddle.

Hot Bonus: A look at how they got all those amazing shots. Cinematographers Jerome Maison and Laurent Chalet really earned their pay.
Killer Scene: After the penguins hatch their eggs, they watch their chicks confront the perils of starvation and attack birds, and then face death from leopard seals. That's what I call uplifting family entertainment.

Ferrell, Heder Skate to 'Glory'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)- If there's anything funnier than figure skating terminology like "lutz" and "salchow," then it's bound to be the results of Will Ferrell and Jon Heder attempting to perform a triple lutz or a triple salchow.
Ferrell and Heder are in talks to co-star in "Blades of Glory," a figure skating comedy set up at DreamWorks.

Josh Gordon and Will Speck are making their feature directing debuts on "Blades," which will be produced by Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld of Red Hour Films.

The comedy focuses on a pair of skating rivals who are banned from singles competition after a brawl at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Savvy gents that they are, they recognize that they haven't been banned from doubles and they decide to pair up.

According to the industry trades, Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite") and Ferrell ("Night at the Roxbury") would play those mismatched rivals. Will Arnett ("Arrested Development") and Amy Poehler ("Saturday Night Live") are in place as the pairs rivals of the other rivals.

Oscar's Penguin Domination?

It's shaping up to be the year of the penguin at the 2006 Academy Awards.

The shortlists in the Feature Animation and Documentary Feature Oscar categories have been released, with the penguin-centric 'toon Madagascar and doc March of the Penguins making the initial cut in the respective races.

Madagascar, the celeb-laden DreamWorks pic that has banked $193 million domestically since its opening in May, has some stiff competition in the animation category.

Among its high-profile, big-money-making competitors are the Zach Braff-voiced Chicken Little, the Robin Williams vehicle Robots, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, the twisted take on Little Red Riding Hood tale Hoodwinked (due out Dec. 23) and the clay-animated Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which has been tabbed the early favorite by the Internet oddsmakers. The Wallace & Gromit shorts have already accounted for two Oscars.

The other films jockeying for a nomination are Gulliver's Travel, Howl's Moving Castle, Steamboy and Valiant.

The Best Animated Feature award has been around for five years, and at least eight films must pass muster in order for the category to be activated.

To qualify, a film must be a minimum of 70 minutes, contain more than 75 percent animation and utilize one of three styles: traditional cel drawing, stop-motion or computer-generated animation. The film must also open theatrically in Los Angeles prior to Dec. 31. Of the 10 'toons announced Thursday, three will ultimately vie for Oscar when nominations are unveiled Jan. 31.

Meanwhile, while March of the Penguins was passed over by France for consideration for Best Foreign-Language Film, the U.S. version, featuring narration by Morgan Freeman, is among the favorites for Best Documentary.

The feel-good flick, which has grossed a staggering (for a documentary) $77 million domestically, will face off against another feel-good flick, Mad Hot Ballroom, about underprivileged Manhattan kids learning to dance. Also making the cut were the critically acclaimed Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Murderball, which follows a violent sport played by wheelchair-bound athletes. All told, 82 documentaries were deemed eligible, and 15 of those will compete to be one of the five finalists.

The other remaining contenders are: After Innocence, The Boys of Baraka, Darwin's Nightmare, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Favela Rising, Occupation: Dreamland, On Native Soil: The Documentary of the 9/11 Commission Report, Rize, Street Fight, 39 Pounds of Love and Unknown White Male.

While there were no major snubs in the Animated Feature race, there were a couple of eyebrow-raising omissions in the Documentary field, notably Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man, about an animal-rights activist's fatal encounter with the bears he loved, and the dirty joke-dropping The Aristocrats.

Last year, The Incredibles beat out Shark Tale and Shrek 2 in the Animated Feature category. Born Into Brothels was named Best Documentary Feature.

And if the prognosticators are correct, expect to see the tuxedoed birds waddle down the red carpet at the 78th Annual Academy Awards Mar. 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

All hail king 'Harry' the fourth

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - With the fourth " Harry Potter" film opening across North America Friday, the beloved franchise doesn't show any sign of losing momentum.

Energized with an older-skewing PG-13 rating and excellent reviews, Warner Bros. Pictures' "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is set to open in the same phenomenal $85 million-$90 million range as its predecessors.

From "Four Weddings and a Funeral" director Mike Newell, the film is sure to decimate everything in its path, including Sony's lackluster "Zathura" and Walt Disney Pictures' "Chicken Little," which has enjoyed two "Potter"-free weeks atop the box office. Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox will try its luck with the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line."

"Goblet of Fire" will open in more theaters (3,858) than any other "Potter" film. The fourth installment, which essentially follows Harry Potter's transformation into adulthood, also boasts the second-longest run time (156 minutes) and the first theatrical appearance of much-talked-about villain Lord Voldemort ( Ralph Fiennes).

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, now 16, as Harry, the film deals with such themes as death and teenage love. The story is set primarily during the Triwizard Tournament, a competition that pits Harry against three young challengers and a slew of dangerous tasks. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise their roles as Harry's pals Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively. Miranda Richardson joins the cast as Rita Skeeter, a nosy journalist out to get Harry.

"Goblet of Fire," like the first three "Potter" films, also will be shown in Imax theaters. The first film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," directed by Chris Columbus, opened to $90 million in 2001, while the second, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," bowed to $88 million in 2002. The third and only film to be released in the summer, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," opened in June 2004 to $94 million. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, "Azkaban" was the best-reviewed of the three.

Hoping to attract "Potter's" aging readership, "Goblet of Fire's" more sophisticated PG-13 rating could boost grosses.

Fox's "Walk the Line," meanwhile, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the late Man in Black, has most been compared to Universal Pictures' Oscar-winning Ray Charles biopic "Ray," which opened to $20 million in October 2004. Also rated PG-13, "Line," which focuses on Cash's early career and his love affair with June Carter ( Reese Witherspoon), might not be as widely accessible as "Ray." Industry insiders peg the film's opening in the $18 million-$20 million range. James Mangold ("Cop Land") directs.

Universal Pictures will rerelease its box office disappointment "Cinderella Man" in five theaters as a reminder to Oscar voters. From director Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, the well-reviewed film generated $62 million when it bowed in early June.

In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics will open Neil Jordan's "Breakfast on Pluto." Starring Cillian Murphy as an Irish transvestite who is arrested after the bombing of a London disco, the R-rated "Pluto" aims to shock as much as Jordan's "The Crying Game" did in 1992.

Triumph the Dog to Perform on TBS Special

NEW YORK - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog doesn't just bark out zingers and smoke cigars — he worries about global warming. So the R-rated hand puppet will be one of the performers for TBS' two-hour "Earth to America" special 8 p.m. EST Sunday.

Robert Smigel, the heavy hand up Triumph's behind, recently talked to The Associated Press in character, explaining that this isn't the first time he's been politically active. He says he's also very passionate about "declaring cats second-class citizens."

Organized by Larry David's wife, Laurie David, the program will also feature Will Ferrell, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robin Williams and Leonardo DiCaprio among others.

The special is being taped in Las Vegas, which is also the home to a big comedy festival this weekend.

Smigel, 45, has distinguished himself among his comic brethren with not just Triumph (a character born on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien") but with his "TV Fun House" cartoons on "Saturday Night Live."

Smigel's (and Triumph's) shining moment, however, was likely outside the Ziegfeld Theater in New York before the release of "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones" in 2002. His berating of the fans still reverberates.

Even now, Triumph says, "When the nerds see me, they go running."

Sartorial 'Seinfeld' latest in DVD marketing

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As the market for TV series repackaged on DVD becomes a bigger and bigger chunk of the overall home video business -- it's now at 25%, or about $4 billion a year in consumer spending -- studios are upping the ante in packaging and marketing as well.

Complete-season sets of the original "Star Wars" trilogy come in specially crafted plastic containers built to look like the TriQuarters used in the films. For Season 6 of "The Simpsons," 20th Century Fox ditched the customary cardboard box in favor a plastic case shaped like Homer's head. Warner Home Video has begun staging gala launch parties for DVDs of such classic TV shows as "Gilligan's Island" and "Dallas." And in September, a "Desperate Housewives" DVD release party was canceled only at the last minute because of media coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

The latest: Sony Pictures is offering consumers Seasons 5 and 6 of "Seinfeld" in an elegant $120 gift set that includes a copy of a handwritten script and a miniature replica of the famed "puffy shirt" that triggered Jerry Seinfeld's notorious whine, "But I don't want to be a pirate."

The gift set, which arrives in stores Tuesday, is the latest in a series of extravagant trappings for the celebrated series' DVD rollout that began last fall with an elegant launch party at New York's Rainbow Room and continued the next day with the real puffy shirt's enshrinement in the Smithsonian.

"We're essentially treating 'Seinfeld' the same as we do big theatricals because it's become an integral part of American culture," Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president Benjamin Feingold said. "Everyone knows 'Seinfeld."'

What's next for Seasons 7 and 8, which will be released in tandem in November 2006?

"We're on the boards now," said "Seinfeld" executive producer Howard West, who with partner George Shapiro oversees the DVD production and marketing. "We have to go back and examine all the episodes, but rest assured it will be big."

'This Is Your Life' Host Edwards Dies

LOS ANGELES - Broadcasting pioneer Ralph Edwards, who spotlighted stars and ordinary people as host of the popular 1950s show "This Is Your Life," died Wednesday of heart failure. He was 92.

Edwards, whose career as producer and host included "Truth or Consequences" and "People's Court," died in his sleep in his West Hollywood home, publicist Justin Seremet said.

Edwards first hit it big in radio in 1940 with "Truth or Consequences," a novelty show in which contestants who failed to answer trick questions — the "truth" — had to suffer "the consequences" by performing some elaborate stunt.

Then came television. The Federal Communications Commission approved commercial broadcasts beginning on July 1, 1941, after a few years of experimental broadcasts, and NBC's New York station was the first to make the changeover.

"Amazingly enough, I did 'Truth or Consequences' on television in July 1941. It was the first commercial show for NBC," Edwards recalled.

"A 10-second commercial was $9," he said.

The United States' entry into World War II five months later disrupted TV's progress. "Truth or Consequences," which prospered on radio in the interim, returned to television in 1950.

Earlier that same year, the citizens of little Hot Springs, N.M., voted 1,294-295 to change the town's name to Truth or Consequences. Edwards had promised to broadcast the radio show from the town that agreed to the change.

"In those days, nothing seemed impossible," he once said.

"Truth or Consequences" later launched the career of Bob Barker, tabbed by Edwards as master of ceremonies in 1956. Barker, who went on to host "The Price Is Right," on Wednesday hailed Edwards as "one of the finest men I have ever met and a gentleman about whom I have never heard a word of criticism."

"This Is Your Life" also was born on radio and then migrated to television, running on NBC-TV from 1952 to 1961. It featured guests, many of them celebrities, who were lured in on a ruse, then surprised by Edwards announcing, "This is your life!" Relatives and old friends then would be brought on to reminisce about the guest.

Among the people he caught unaware were Marilyn Monroe, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Bob Hope, Andy Griffith, Buster Keaton, Barbara Eden, Bette Davis, Shirley Jones, Jayne Mansfield and Carol Channing.

But not all guests were entertainers. A 1953 episode profiled Hanna Bloch Kohner, a survivor of the Holocaust.

"At least half of our guests were ordinary people," Edwards said. "In the beginning we didn't use celebrities at all. But when we did, I think it humanized the stars and gave them more appeal."

Edwards said he and his staff used all kinds of subterfuge to surprise guests. Some would run away and be pulled back, all in fun, but broadcaster Lowell Thomas made headlines when he refused to play along on a 1959 show.

"He saw instantly what was going on, and nobody puts anything over on Lowell Thomas," Edwards recalled years later. "He tore the show apart. I said, 'You're going to enjoy this,' and he said, 'I doubt that very much.'"

"His third-grade teacher said he knew every rock and rill in the Rockies. And he said, 'Yeah, and I knew every saloon, too,'" Edwards recalled. "The rating kept going up during the show as people called their friends to tune in."

According to the reference book "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," one person was off limits for the surprise treatment: Edwards himself. He told staff members he would fire every one of them if they put him on.

Both "Truth" and "This Is Your Life" have periodically returned to television in syndicated form.

Just last week, it was announced that a new version of "This is Your Life," with Regis Philbin ("Live with Regis and Kelly") as host, is planned by ABC. Philbin previously was host of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" for the network.

Over the years, Edwards kept himself busy as a producer.

Edwards had a hand in other shows, producing or creating "Name That Tune," "Cross Wits," "Superior Court," "It Could Be You," "Place the Face," "About Faces," "Funny Boners," "End of the Rainbow," "Who in the World," "The Woody Woodbury Show" and "Wide Country." In the '80s, Ralph Edwards Productions' show "The People's Court" made a star of retired Judge Joseph A. Wapner.

"We've seen many changes and enjoyed them all," Edwards said in a 1999 interview. "I still find 'live' the most exciting, particularly for my type of shows."

Edwards broke into radio in 1929 in Oakland as a 16-year-old high school student.

He worked at KROW and KFRC in San Francisco while attending college at the University of California at Berkeley.

"The changes in both radio and television are mind-boggling," Edwards said. He recalled that until 1948 his radio version of "Truth or Consequences" was done twice each Saturday, once for the east coast and again three hours later for the West Coast.

"We would use the same script, but all new contestants," he said.

Edwards said he went back to Truth or Consequences, N.M., dozens of times over the years.

Besides changing the name, townspeople made Edwards an honorary member of the Sheriff's Posse. The name continues a half-century later. Periodic efforts to reverse the change failed.

"I am truly proud of my namesake city and have enjoyed a wonderful association throughout the years," he said.

He also appeared in several motion pictures: "Seven Days Leave," "Radio Stars on Parade," "Bamboo Blonde," "Beat the Band," "I'll Cry Tomorrow," "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" and "Radio Stars of 1937."

Edwards' wife, Barbara, died in 1993 after 53 years of marriage. Their children are a son, Gary, who worked with Edwards; and two daughters, Christine and Laurie.

A memorial service was set for Dec. 1.

AFI celebrates top 100 films that inspire

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In response to the nation's uneasy climate, the American Film Institute is looking to inject some cheer into its ninth annual celebration of American movies.

The organization said Wednesday that the theme for this year's top 100 list will be "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies."

"We're doing this at this point in time for a very specific reason," AFI director and CEO Jean Picker Firstenberg said. "We seem to be in troubled times -- terrorism, natural disasters, war, we're very divided politically. It seemed to us appropriate to look to the movies for inspiration. These movies are really about touching us and inspiring us."

The 100 films, as chosen by experts from the motion picture community, will be unveiled during a three-hour primetime broadcast in June on CBS.

Previous AFI top 100 themes have included "100 Years ... 100 Movies" (1998), " ... 100 Stars" (1999), " ... 100 Laughs" (2000), " ... 100 Thrills" (2001), " ... 100 Passions" (2002), " ... 100 Heroes & Villains" (2003), " ... 100 Songs" (2004) and " ... 100 Movie Quotes" (2005).

People Names McConaughey 'Sexiest Man'

NEW YORK - Matthew McConaughey has been named the "sexiest man alive" by People magazine. The actor is pictured on the cover of People's annual issue, on newsstands Friday.

For the 36-year-old McConaughey, it's a clear sign that his career is in the midst of an upturn — and that his girlfriend, Penelope Cruz, may be rubbing off on him.

"Now I've made it," he told the magazine. "Wait until you see the roles I could take after this. You're going to see my gut hanging over, plus 22 (pounds). It'll be a whole new kind of sexy!"

McConaughey is the 20th "sexiest man" for People, who first bequeathed the honor to Mel Gibson in 1985. The magazine credited McConaughey's "heaping helping of Texas's finest Southern charm" for the choice.

But he says the part of the title that he's proud of isn't "sexiest": "I like the `alive' part."

The actor, whose career began with "Dazed and Confused" and "A Time to Kill," starred this year in the action flick "Sahara" and alongside Al Pacino in "Two for the Money."

Plot tangles on 'Lost'

Wednesday's extended episode of Lost focuses on the "tailies" (the passengers in the back of the plane). After the show ends, send us any clues about them or the original group of crash survivors.

Among potential hints (or red herrings) spotted so far:

Nov. 16

Last week, a wet Walt appeared again on Lost. Before Shannon was shot, he spoke unintelligibly to her. But when Walt's words are played backwards, is he saying: "They're coming, and they're close"?

Also last week, in the hospital where Shannon's dad died, you see Jack hurrying by in his scrubs. Was Jack's future wife - who was in the hospital after an auto accident - the driver of the SUV that killed him?

We probably won't get answers Wednesday in the extended episode (9-10:05 ET/PT) that focuses on the tail-section survivors.

Incidentally, more than 15,000 readers voted online last week: 21% felt the producers had picked the right character to kill; 34% said they would have preferred Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) to die.

Nov. 9

• It's the number of stitches on a major-league baseball. (This ties into the Yankees' retired-number theories covered earlier.)

• It's a sacred number in Buddhism; a prayer strand traditionally has 108 beads. (This ties into the name of the mysterious island project, the Dharma Initiative.)

• It's approximately the number of minutes some satellites take to circle Earth.

Then there is the overriding theme of fatherhood, with close examinations of the complex and troubled relationships of Jack, Sawyer, Jin and Sun, and Locke with their respective fathers - and, of course, Michael's rebuilding of his relationship with Walt.

October 27

•The teddy bear. What's the significance of one of the Others carrying a tattered stuffed toy as he or she walked by Eko and Jin, hidden in the brush? It could be a literary reference to the Lost Boys of Peter Pan. That person could be Alex, Danielle's child, who was taken as a baby 16 years ago. Or it could be the same teddy bear that was on Desmond's bunk in the hatch. (Lost and Found)

•Those digits. The magic numbers - 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 - have all been retired by the New York Yankees, worn by Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra/Bill Dickey, Thurman Munson, Whitey Ford, Don Mattingly and Jackie Robinson, respectively. (Of course, that doesn't account for 3, 5, 37 and 44 - Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Casey Stengel and Reggie Jackson - among others.)

•That swan. One of last week's clues was in error: The shark and the wall in the other survivors' bunker did have Dharma Initiative logos, but they weren't the "swan" logos found in the hatch. They were similarly shaped, but - as viewed quickly and in dim light - had different symbols. (Everybody Hates Hugo)

October 19

• The shark that chased Sawyer and Michael on the raft had a Dharma Initiative mark on its fin. Another apparent Dharma logo was at the compound where the new group of survivors was found. (Adrift)

• The actor who played Hurley's boss, Randy (Billy Ray Gallion), played Locke's boss, too - also named Randy. (Everybody Hates Hugo)

• The numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 total 108, which is the number of minutes the computer operator has to reset the counter. (Man of Science, Man of Faith)

The Couch Potato Report - November 16th, 2005

This week The Couch Potato Report features some good, some bad, and some very funny penguins!

With the holiday season fast approaching the home entertainment industry continues to release strong titles for your gift giving consideration.

The latest animated film the industry is hoping you will pick up is MADAGASCAR.

Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer lend their voices to - respectively - Marty the Zebra, Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, Melman the Giraffe.

They are four friends who all live in the New York City Zoo.

Marty the Zebra decides that he wants to know what is outside of the walls he's surrounded by and he escapes. The friends realize that they have to rescue him so they escape as well to try and bring him back.

Their escape and eventual capture leads to a public outcry about the state of mind of animals in captivity and the friends find themselves back in the wild.

I know, it all sounds a bit boring, doesn't it?

I love animated films, but when MADAGASCAR opened in theaters back in May I didn't go see it because that synopsis, and the film's trailers, didn't make the film look remotely entertaining.

Yet when I finally sat down last week and watched the film, I found it very entertaining.

Especially all of the scenes involving the penguins!

This group doesn't need Sidney Crosby to be it's savior, they score all on their own!

The plot in MADAGASCAR isn't superb, the story isn't anything you haven't seen before, and the animation isn't as good as what you've seen in THE INCREDIBLES, FINDING NEMO, or even CHICKEN LITTLE, but for some reason MADAGASCAR works.

And those penguins are tremendous!

I also use that word - tremendous - when I talk about the TV show SCRUBS.

SCRUBS is situation comedy that gives us an interns'-eye view of hospital life and the torturous, tragic, and triumphant route to becoming a doctor.

The show has a great cast and is exceptionally written.

SEASON TWO of the show features the continuing development of the characters of JD, Turk, Elliot, Carla, and Dr. Cox and the Janitor!

I already said that I find the show tremendous, but I feel just as comfortable describing it as hilarious, poignant, and just plain entertaining!

There won't be new episodes of the show airing on TV until January. In the interim SCRUBS - SEASON TWO is a 3-disc box set with all of the 22 hilarious episodes from SCRUBS sensational second season. And it is available right now!

Plus, it is tremendous, hilarious, poignant...did I mention that already?

I did? Well, let me just move on to THE SKELETON KEY then.

This film is a mildly entertaining supernatural thriller that takes place in rainy, mild Louisiana.

Kate Hudson from ALMOST FAMOUS plays a compassionate caregiver who takes a job in the rural plantation home of a woman and her invalid husband.

The place is creepy and in all of the house's rooms are secrets, especially in the rooms that no one goes in.

Ohhhhh!!!!

I like Kate Hudson, and I usually enjoy supernatural thrillers, but this one just has too many scenes that have nothing going for them other than a stereotypical scary movie music score.

The main spell in the film only effects you if you believe it. I didn't believe it, so the film didn't effect me.

If you don't expect much, maybe you will enjoy THE SKELETON KEY more than I did.

Finally this week, I want to compare a brand new film that has just been released to this week's "leftover."

Both HAPPY ENDINGS - the new film - and CRASH * the "leftover" - are ensemble dramas with large casts.

Both tell many stories with one or two things that happen that tie everyone and all their stories together.

But both aren't successful in keeping you engaged as a viewer.

CRASH does, HAPPY ENDINGS does not.

Let me start with the latter.

HAPPY ENDINGS features three main stories. Lisa Kudrow from FRIENDS is having an affair with a masseuse when a wannabe filmmaker blackmails her to get a movie made.

Her gay stepbrother believes that his boyfriend may be the father of the child of a lesbian couple.

And a homeless, gold-digging karaoke singer tries to make her life better.

Even re-reading those story points, I think it would make a great film. But they don't.

HAPPY ENDINGS is interesting, but it just isn't engaging enough to hold your attention. It certainly didn't hold mine.

The film's characters are interesting, but their situations are not.

The result can only be described as a disappointment.

Now CRASH on the other hand is engaging from start to finish!

CRASH is an intelligent, completely engaging and moving exploration of the interlocking lives of a dozen Los Angeles residents.

Those residents include a politically nervous white district attorney and his wife who get car-jacked by two black youths; a rich black T.V. director and his wife who get pulled over by a white racist cop; and a black detective who is investigating a white cop who shot a black cop.

Normally I would never focus on a character's race in a review, but CRASH is a film that demands it.

Canadian writer/director Paul Haggis spins his characters in unpredictable directions, and refuses to let any one of them become a stereotype.

CRASH is a film that will anger you, entertain you, enrage you, and make you smile, but most of all it will make you think.

The cast of CRASH includes many well known actors, including Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillippe, Jennifer Esposito, Terrence Howard, and rap star Ludacris, but it is the writing and the film itself that make it worth seeing.

HAPPY ENDINGS is an ensemble picture that doesn't work at all, CRASH is one that does.

Both films are available now at a store near you. So are MADAGASCAR, SCRUBS - SEASON TWO and THE SKELETON KEY.

Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report

The summer blockbuster WAR OF THE WORLDS is Steven Spielberg's take on H.G. Wells science fiction classic. Tom Cruise and Tim Robbins star.

Tom Hanks is the star of the animated film version of the classic book THE POLAR EXPRESS. He voices five characters in this heartwarming story about a group of children are taken to the North Pole to meet Santa.

Three television shows from different eras are new releases on DVD. I'll talk about LEAVE IT TO BEAVER - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON, SEINFELD - SEASON 5 and SEASON 6 and A DIFFERENT WORLD - SEASON ONE is our final "leftover."

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!

'Metropolis' film poster sells for record $690,000

LONDON (Reuters) - A poster for the classic German 1920s film "Metropolis" has been sold for a world record $690,000 to a private collector from the United States, the London gallery which arranged the sale said on Tuesday.

The sale beat the previous record for a movie poster of $453,500, set in 1997 by a poster for the 1932 film "The Mummy," the Reel Poster Gallery said.

Graphic artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm designed the sepia-colored poster featuring the futuristic skyline which helped make Fritz Lang's film famous.

The art deco poster is one of only four known copies in existence. The Museum of Modern Art in New York and Berlin's Film Museum have one each while another is in a private collection.

The poster was bought by California-based collector Ken Schacter from British businessman Andrew Cohen, chairman of mail order firm Betterware, a spokeswoman for the gallery said.

Angelina Jolie Unhappy Over Role Offered For "Casino Royale"

007 movie producers are apparently trying to make Angelina Jolie happy, in hopes of snagging her as the next Bond girl.

According to Bang media, Casino Royale filmmakers have their sights set on the Oscar winning actress for the role of Russian agent Vesper Lynd, however the 30-year-old actress isn't thrilled about the character.

Although Jolie recently admitted to a "lifetime ambition" of playing a 007 villain but after reading the script for the upcoming film, the Tomb Raider star feels the female character isn't fierce enough. One insider says, "Angelina would rather play a baddie than eye candy."

"March of the Penguins" on Oscar list

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The March of the Penguins" and "Mad Hot Ballroom," two documentaries that drew impressive lines at box offices, are among 15 documentaries that made the cut for Oscar consideration, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Tuesday.

The 15 were chosen by the Academy's Documentary Branch Screening Committee from 82 films. The list will be narrowed to five when Oscar nominations are announced on January 31. The 78th annual Oscars will be presented on March 5.

The French-made "March of the Penguins," a nature tale that humanizes the life of penguins, became a U.S. box office phenomenon by grossing $77 million in domestic ticket sales, second only to 2004's "Fahrenheit 9/11," the all-time top grossing documentary with $119 million in domestic receipts.

"Mad Hot Ballroom," a heartwarming tale of New York City schoolchildren competing in a dance contest, earned critical raves plus $8 million in ticket grosses. Critics have called 2005 an exceptional year for documentaries, thanks in part to the success of "Penguins" and "Ballroom."

Among the 13 other films making the short list are "After Innocence," about three convicted men freed by DNA evidence, "The Boys of Baraka," about 12-year-olds from Baltimore going to school in Kenya, "Darwin's Nightmare" about fishing for a predatory fish in a lake in Tanzania, "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," about a tormented musical genius, and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," about the collapse of the company.

Also on the list are "Favela Rising," about slums outside of Rio de Janeiro, "Murderball," a film about quadriplegics who play a form of wheelchair rugby, "Occupation: Dreamland" about the Iraqi war, "On Native Soil: The Documentary of the 9/11 Commission report," "Rize" about a Los Angeles dance movement, "Street Fight," about one man's campaign to become mayor of Newark, "39 Pounds of Love," about a man unable to move any part of his body and "Unknown White Male" about a man who woke up with total amnesia.

Lennon Killer Says He Was Unstoppable'

NEW YORK - The man who murdered John Lennon 25 years ago says "nothing could have stopped" his twisted quest to track down and assassinate the ex-Beatle.

"I was under total compulsion," killer Mark David Chapman says in a segment to be aired at 8 p.m. EST Friday on "Dateline NBC."

"It was like a train, a runaway train, there was no stopping it."

Chapman fatally shot Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980, as the musician and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned home from a night in a Manhattan recording studio. Chapman's comments came from audiotapes made in 1991-92 and first used as part of a British documentary.

Chapman recalled waiting for Lennon that night, then reacting as he saw a limousine pull up outside the ex-Beatle's home.

"I heard a voice in my head saying, `Do it, do it,'" Chapman recounted. "And as he passed me I pulled out the gun, aimed at his back and pulled the trigger five times in succession."

Chapman recalled that his desire to kill Lennon began one day in his apartment in Hawaii, where he was sitting on the floor and looking at the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. His animosity soon began to consume Chapman.

"There was a successful man who kind of had the world on a chain, so to speak, and there I was, not even a link of that chain, just a person who had no personality," Chapman said. "And something in me just broke."

Chapman, 50, is eligible for parole again next year. Ono has repeatedly argued against Chapman's release, and his bids for freedom were already rejected three times by the state parole board.

Lee Ann Womack Earns Three CMA Awards

NEW YORK - The CMA Awards held its first shindig in New York with its country twang intact Tuesday night, as Madison Square Garden was transformed into the Grand Ole Opry with rootsy performances from Lee Ann Womack, Gretchen Wilson, Sara Evans and Rascal Flatts.

Appropriately, Womack emerged as the leader with three wins, including album of the year for "There's More Where That Came From." The album marked her return to more traditional country music after a detour through pop-infused material.

"Oh my God, I love country music!" Womack shouted as she accepted her award for single of the year for "I May Hate Myself In the Morning," a bittersweet ballad. Earlier in the evening, she won for best musical event for her duet with George Strait, "Good News, Bad News."

Backstage, she said she hoped her wins would encourage more of her kind of country music.

"Sometimes I think we are scared of real country music but a message like what was in that song, that transcends any boundaries, and a great song is a great song," said Womack of "I May Hate Myself."

The Country Music Association uprooted the awards show from its traditional home in Nashville to shine in New York's international spotlight at one of the city's most famous venues.

Although New York's skyline was the visual backdrop for the show and the ceremony had appearances by such non-country names like Billy Joel, Bon Jovi and Norah Jones, Nashville's influence wasn't diluted in the process.

Country music has been criticized in years past for drifting more toward pop, but it seemed the evening's performers were determined to "keep it country" in the Big Apple. Even country's most mainstream couple, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, seemed retro with their performance of "Like We Never Loved at All."

The show kicked off with a fitting performance by Big & Rich, who have shaken up country by mixing various genres, including hip-hop, in their music. The pair performed "Comin' to Your City," crooning: "We're comin' to New York City, we're gonna play our guitar and sing you a country song."

The show's highlights included a performance by Garth Brooks in the middle of Times Square. In front of frenzied fans, Brooks sang "Good Ride Cowboy," a tribute to his friend and fellow country singer Chris Ledoux, who died of liver cancer this year.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared, and other comments and quips also helped infuse the city in the show. Vince Gill did his best Bronx accent when he joked, "There's like a rule here in New York, that you can't do a show without a guy named Vinnie."

But it was mainly a Nashville party, which pop's stars joined as well. Jones played piano while Willie Nelson sang "Still Crazy After All These Years," and Paul Simon joined the pair and sang "Crazy." Even Elton John conformed to country, singing "Turn the Lights Out When You Leave" with Dolly Parton. The pair also sang John Lennon's "Imagine."

Womack and Brad Paisley led all award nominees with six each, though Paisley went home empty-handed.

Keith Urban was a dual winner, winning entertainer of the year and male vocalist of the year. Toby Keith won music video of the year for "As Good As I Once Was"; Wilson won best female vocalist. And Dierks Bentley won the Horizon Award for emerging artists.

Jon Randall and Bill Anderson won song of the year for "Whiskey Lullaby," sung by Alison Krauss and Paisley.

"I've probably been writing songs in Nashville longer than anybody. My first co-writer was Andrew Jackson," Anderson joked.

The CMA show's move was designed to raise its profile in New York City. While country generates plenty of multiplatinum superstars and New York is one of its top markets in terms of album sales, it lacks a major presence here, including a radio station devoted to the genre.

The move was a one-time stint; the show will return to Nashville for its 40th anniversary next year.

'Live With Regis and Kelly' Hosts One-Hour Exclusive 'Seinfeld' Cast Reunion

November 23, 2005 will be a big day for Regis Philbin, the world's biggest "Seinfeld" fan. Philbin and co-host Kelly Ripa will host the four stars of his favorite hit series in an exclusive, one-hour "Seinfeld" edition of "Live with Regis and Kelly."

Stars Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards reunite on "Live" to talk about the release of the DVDs Seinfeld: Season Five and Seinfeld: Season Six. It's their only joint appearance in support of this latest release of "Seinfeld" episodes, and the first time "Live" has devoted a full show to the cast of another program.

In addition to showing favorite clips and outtakes, Regis and Kelly invite the cast members to share memories and behind-the-scenes stories from their days on the set of the hit show. Seinfeld, Alexander, Louis-Dreyfus and Richards also reveal their favorite episodes, and talk about the on-going impact the show continues to have on fans today.

Seinfeld: Season Five and Seinfeld: Season Six DVDs, available in stores Nov. 22 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, feature classic episodes including Jerry's Today show appearance in the now infamous Puffy Shirt; George's "shrinkage"; Jerry's deaf date who could read lips; George's new job with the Yankees' George Steinbrenner and Elaine's admission that she "faked" 'em all. A special Seinfeld Giftset includes both seasons plus an exclusive reproduction of Jerry Seinfeld's hand-written script and a unique Puffy Shirt Collectible.

Revamped Maclean's revives current affairs format

A redesigned Maclean's magazine will begin arriving in mailboxes and hitting newsstands Monday.

The weekly magazine, scheduled to celebrate its 100th anniversary Tuesday, is undergoing what editors call its most significant redesign and repositioning since it became a newsweekly in 1978.

Publisher and editor-in-chief Ken Whyte is promising a return to a current affairs emphasis and a significantly thicker magazine with more to read. The tagline, "Canada's weekly newsmagazine," has been dropped and the first issue is 80 pages.

The cover story of the redesigned magazine is a "special investigation" of the way data brokers, most of them in the U.S., are accumulating private and personal information about Canadian citizens.

To prove the vulnerability of Canadians' private information, national correspondent Jonathon Gatehouse bought the phone records of Canada's privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart.

This is a foretaste of the new style – breaking stories instead of following them – that Whyte hopes will make the venerable magazine more relevant to readers.

"People often say that the 24/7 news environment makes weeklies a dinosaur in the field of current affairs. I frankly disagree entirely," he said in an interview with CBC News.

"I think the more the world goes to instant headlines and minute-to-minute updates, the more need there is for a weekly like us to stand apart and look at what's really important out there and what isn't."

The redesigned cover features a full-page photo of Stoddart, looking startled, and five throw boxes pointing to stories inside. In the future, cover photos will be "candid," Whyte says. Also, a maple leaf has replaced the apostrophe in Maclean's.

These are tough times for generalist magazines that focus on news and Maclean's has seen both ad revenue and circulation slip over the past decade.

"There was a danger that the old model wasn't working and if we didn't make substantial change, we were just going to drive it into the ground," Whyte said .

Whyte, who took over the magazine six months ago, is promising more original reporting and an increase in investigative stories. Both national and international reporting will be expanded, with reestablishment of foreign bureaus in Washington, Europe and the Middle East.

He aims to make the magazine "more provocative" and has promised regular columns from Barbara Amiel, Joseph Boyden who writes on Canadian affairs, Linda Frum, Paul Wells, Scott Feschuk and Kate Fillion.

Stories in the current issue include "Here comes another nasty election campaign" and "Why France is worse than it looks."

The arts and culture pages have a new look with a major piece planned for each issue, a double-page spread on people, and the writing of Brian Johnson, who has long been the magazine's senior entertainment writer and film critic.

Whyte, who helped launch the National Post in 1998, credited his predecessors with beginning a turnaround at the magazine. He has tried different tactics, including trying to attract more readers by following the successful model of entertainment weeklies, like People and Us.

"I thought we should test and just see what would happen when we threw a couple of celebrities on the cover – what kind of response we'd get – and they bombed," he says.

Maclean's now is promising personalities "covered for their newsworthiness, rather than their celebrity status."

"This is not the end of the story," Whyte says. "The magazine will continue to evolve significantly over the next several months as we continue to refine our pages as well as make further announcements about new staff at Maclean's."

ABC Says Good Night to 'Stalker'

ABC is turning out the lights on its freshman series "Night Stalker," pulling the plug after six episodes that struggled to find audiences up against TV's top-rated series, "CSI."

Show creator Frank Spotnitz ("The X-Files") announced the cancellation on his blog (Biglight.com/blog) Sunday (Nov. 13), and ABC confirmed Monday that the show was being pulled, effective this week. An expanded edition of "Primetime" will fill its 9 p.m. Thursday spot this week, with previously scheduled movies set for the two Thursdays after that.

"While I'm disappointed the series has come to an end, I am enormously grateful for the experience and the opportunity given me by the network and Touchstone Television," Spotnitz writes. After thanking the show's cast and crew, he adds, "It was a blast."

The news doesn't come as a big surprise -- "Night Stalker" was one of many series that have struggled on ABC's Thursday schedule in recent years. In its six weeks on the air it averaged just 5.2 million viewers and also struggled in the key adults 18-49 demographic.

Any show facing CBS' "CSI," which draws 28 million viewers each week, is fighting an uphill battle. But "Night Stalker," an update of the 1970s series that stars Stuart Townsend as ghoul-hunting reporter Carl Kolchak and Gabrielle Union as his skeptical colleague, couldn't break free from the pack behind NBC's "The Apprentice." Last week, it finished in a virtual tie with FOX's "Reunion" and only beat The WB's "Everwood" by a couple hundred thousand viewers.

Nine episodes of "Night Stalker" were filmed. At the moment, ABC has no plans to air the three that haven't been seen yet.

...Outkast's 'Idlewild' Bumped To Next Year

Originally planned for release earlier this year and then bumped to December, the soundtrack to the OutKast film "Idlewild" has now been removed from LaFace/Jive's 2005 schedule. Group member Big Boi said over the weekend at the Vibe Awards that it would appear sometime during the first quarter of 2006, but a label spokesperson says there is no confirmed date.

"We're trying to pick the single right now. It's all about a gut instinct," Big Boi said at the Vibe Awards.

The change in the soundtrack's release date has apparently had a corresponding affect on the roll-out of the movie, which HBO Films was eyeing for early January. A company spokesperson says a new date has yet to be nailed down.

"Idlewild" is set in the 1930s, and Big Boi says that period in history has rubbed off on some of the music. "In our own little way," he told Billboard.com earlier this summer. "Just with the Ragtime feel. It's hip-hop. It's OutKast. It is what we've been doing for years. Some songs have a little more piano or whatever, but the whole project was a natural progression from a double CD. It was like, where do we go from here?"

Big Boi stressed, "This is an OutKast album. It isn't like a soundtrack where we go get this person or that person."

The Boss in all his glory days

Bruce Springsteen fans will have a tough time deciding what to do first with the Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition box set: Play the remastered CD or slip in one of the set's two revealing DVDs.

The three-disc set out today (Sony, $40) is a treasure-trove about the 1975 classic album that vaulted Springsteen and the E Street Band into superstardom:

• The set has a booklet with a written introduction by Springsteen and dozens of photos unpublished until now.

• Then-and-now studio footage of Springsteen appears in Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run, a 90-minute documentary that features interviews with current and past E Street Band members. Also included are three songs recorded live in Los Angeles in 1973, Spirit in the Night, Wild Billy's Circus Story and Thundercrack.

• The set's crowning jewel is a Nov. 18, 1975, performance at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The two-hour, 10-minute performance, restored and remixed in surround sound, is the only full-length concert film released from the band's first 25 years.

NEW CD RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER 15, 2005

Askeleton (Happy) Album (Goodnight)

Autolect Every Mans Universe (City Hall)

Backyard Tire Fire Barroom Semantics (O.I.E.)

Big $ Rich Comin' to Your City (Warner Bros.)

Bolt Thrower Those Once Loyal (Metal Blade)

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Summer in the Southeast (live album) (Sea Note)

Bound Stems The Logic of Building the Body Plan (Flameshovel/Southern)

Bowling for Soup Goes to the Movies! (includes covers of TV themes and original songs that appeared on various soundtracks; w/cover of Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time") (Jive)

Bright Eyes Motion Sickness: Live Recordings (Team Love/Saddle Creek)

Jimmy Buffett Live at Fenway Park (two CDs w/bonus DVD) (Mailboat)

Caliban Shadow Hearts (Lifeforce)

Calico System They Live (Eulogy)

Mariah Carey The Emancipation of Mimi - Platinum Deluxe Edition (CD/DVD combo) (Def Jam)

The Crimson Jazz Trio The King Crimson Songbook Volume One (Voiceprint)

Dave's True Story Simple Twist of Fate EP (Bob Dylan covers) (BePop)

DJ Irene Live (two CDs) (Moist)

Ghislain Poririer Breakupdown (Chocolate Industries/Southern)

Ginuwine Back II Da Basics (DualDisc same day) (Epic)

GoGoGo Airheart Rats! Sing! Sing! (Gold Standard Labs)

Gravity Propulsion System Get Destroy (Ascetic)

Green Day Bullet in a Bible (CD/DVD combo; UMD same day; live 2005 London performance w/interviews and behind-the-scenes footage) (Reprise)

The Gris Gris For the Season (Birdman)

Guttermouth Beyond Warped (DualDisc) (Immergent)

Ham1 (members of Olivia Tremor Control) Ham1 (Team Clermont)

Hawnay Troof Community EP (Retard Disco)

Honeybrowne Something to Believe in (Compadre)

ILS Soul Trader (DualDisc) (Immergent)

Infected Mushroom IM the Supervisor (Hypnotic)

The Jai-Alai Savant Thunderstatement EP (Gold Standard Labs)

Elton John Peachtree Road (Collectors' Edition) (CD/DVD combo) (Universal)

Andreas Kapsalis Trio Andreas Kapsalis Trio (O.I.E.)

Kem Album II (DualDisc) (Universal Motown)

Cast King Saw Mill Man (Locust 74)

Mike Ladd Presents Father Divine (ROIR)

Lady Sovereign Vertically Challenged (w/bonus DVD) (Chocolate Industries/Southern)

The Lone Catalysts Good Music (guests Masta Ace, Wordsworth and more) (BUKA Entertainment)

Lords of Altamont Lords Have Mercy (Gearhead)

Machine Men Elegies (Magick)

Madonna Confessions on a Dancefloor (Warner Bros.)

Hilken Mancini & Chris Colbourn (of Buffalo Tom) Hilken Mancini & Chris Colbourn (guest J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.) (Kimchee)

Jesse McCartney Live - The Beautiful Soul Tour (Hollywood)

Moody Blues Lovely to See You, Live (two CDs; 2005 performance at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre) (Image)

Odyssey Band with James Blood Ulmer Back in Time (Pi)

P.O.D. The Warriors EP, Vol. 2 (Atlantic)

Pitbull M.I. Still A.M.I. (Money Is Still a Major Issue) (CD/DVD combo; compilation of remixes, guest appearances and previously unreleased tracks) (TVT)

Kelley Polar Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens (Environ)

Puerto Muerto Songs of Muerto County (Fire)

The Reavers (w/members of Cannibal Ox, Killarmy and more) Terror Firma (Nature Sounds/Green Streets Entertainment)

Roma 79 The Great Dying (Ascetic)

The Roots Home Grown! Beginner's Guide to Understanding Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Geffen)

Martin Sexton Camp Holiday (Christmas album) (Kitchen Table)

Isaiah Sharkey & the Family Tree Skyliner (O.I.E.)

Shiny Toy Guns We Are Pilots (SideCho)

Snapper and Mad Glock Click No Warning Shots (PR)

Soltero Hell Train (Three Ring)

SpongeBob Squarepants The Yellow Album (BMG Heritage)

Rod Stewart The Great American Songbook (box set; includes all four volumes of series) (J Records)

The Syn (members of Yes) Syndestructible (Umbrello/ADA)

Totally Radd!! Shark Attack Day Camp (Retard Disco/Southern)

The Trio Real (Concord)

Catherine Tuttle What They Will Find (Candid/Zone 7/City Hall)

Carrie Underwood (2005 American Idol winner) Some Hearts (Arista Nashville)

Unearth Our Days of Eulogy (Eulogy)

Upper Class Trash Favoring Blurred Lines (School Night/Undecided)

Vaz The Lie That Matches the Furniture (Narnack)

VonFrickle Mission 4.9 (O.I.E.)

Wilco Kicking Television - Live in Chicago (CD/DVD combo) (Nonesuch)

A Wilhelm Scream Benefits of Thinking Out Loud (Jump Start)

Bill Wyman & His Rhythm Kings Live (Fuel)

Yellow Note We Love Everybody... You're Next!!!! (DualDisc) (Myutopia)

VA A Different Shade of Green: A Green Day Tribute (2003 album) (Skunk-Ape)

VA Hipowermusic.com II (Thump)

VA Le Pop 3: Les Chansons de la Nouvelle Scéne Française (French pop compilation) (Le Pop Musik/Groove Attack)

VA MySpace Records Vol. 1 (Interscope)

VA Taste of Christmas (Warcon)

VA XXL Raps Volume 1 (w/50 Cent, Eminem, Lloyd Banks, Fat Joe and more) (Razor & Tie)

OST Aeon Flux (live-action adaptation of animated series w/Charlize Theron) (Lakeshore)

OST Cry Wolf (w/songs from Bloc Party, Cake, Low, Sage Francis and more) (Lakeshore)

OST Destroy All Humans (w/Junkie XL, Timo Maas, Meat Beat Manifesto and more) (Lakeshore)

OST Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros.)

OST I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon) (Wind-Up)

OST In the Mix (romantic comedy starring Usher; w/songs by Usher, Anthony Hamilton, Christina Milian and more) (J Records)

OST Pride and Prejudice (new update of Jane Austen novel) (Decca)

OST Screaming Masterpiece (documentary on the Icelandic music scene; w/songs by Björk, Sigur Rós, Múm and more) (One Little Indian)

OST Stargate: Atlantis (score by Joel Goldsmith) (Varèse Sarabande)

OST Sueño (John Leguizamo film) (Lakeshore)

OST The Ice Harvest (John Cusack/Billy Bob Thornton film) (Lakeshore)

OST The O.C. Mix 5 (songs from the Fox TV show; w/songs by Kaiser Chiefs, LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz and a new version of Phantom Planet's theme song) (Warner Bros.)

DVD All Access DVD Magazine: The Remix Edition Volume One (performances, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage w/Jay-Z, Fat Joe, the Diplomats and more) (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Hip Hop 411 (interviews w/Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Pharrell and more) (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Slip N Slide Memorial Weekend - Volume 1 (Miami Beach parties w/Trick Daddy, Trina, Ja Rule and more) (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Armor for Sleep A Comprehensive Guide to Touring (Equal Vision)

DVD Caravan 35th Anniversary Concert (two DVDs; 2003 London concert) (Music Video Distributors/Chrome Dreams)

DVD Embrace A Glorious Day (Eagle Rock)

DVD Brian Eno 14 Video Paintings (Rykodisc)

DVD Peter Gabriel Still Growing Up: Live and Unwrapped (two DVDs; includes material from 2003's "Growing Up Live," plus many other previously unreleased tracks and documentary) (Rhino)

DVD Guided by Voices The Electrifying Conclusion: The Final Concert, New Year's Eve 2004 (band's final show in Chicago) (Plexifilm)

DVD Happy Mondays Live in Barcelona (2004 concert w/exclusive interviews) (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Santana A&E Live by Request (Arista)

DVD Sugarcult Back to the Disaster - A Film About (documentary w/live performances, music videos and behind-the-scenes footage; includes bonus CD, "Live at the Starland Ballroom") (Artemis)

DVD U2 Vertigo// 2005: Live from Chicago (deluxe edition available same day; from four-night stand in spring, 2005) (Interscope)

DVD Zao The Lesser Lights of Heaven (two DVDs; documentary on the band's career plus three live concerts) (Ferret)

DVD VA AMP Magazine: Video Archive for the Ages - Volume 2 (w/Avail, Horrorpops, the Black Dahlia Murder and more) (Music Video Distributors)

Actress Brooke Burns Hospitalized

LOS ANGELES - Actress Brooke Burns was hospitalized after diving into her backyard pool and hitting her head, her agent said Monday.

Burns broke a bone in her neck and required "minor surgery," said Paradigm spokeswoman Jennifer Glassman.

The former "Baywatch" star and host of "Dog Eat Dog" has been hospitalized since Friday, Glassman said. She is expected to be released Tuesday.

"There's no permanent damage," Glassman said. "She will begin work as scheduled in January."

Burns will co-star with Rebecca Romijn in the new WB television series, "Pepper Dennis."

'Doonesbury' still feisty after 35 years

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Not long after the dust settled from the Iraqi explosion that took Doonesbury comic strip character B.D.'s left leg last year, the Pentagon was on the phone.

The frequent target of Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau, the Defence Department offered the satirist extensive access to soldiers wounded while fighting in Iraq and the doctors and caregivers trying to put their bodies - and psyches - back together.

"There are so many ways to get it wrong," Trudeau said of portraying the soldiers' struggles accurately during a recent meeting of the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors. "They figured, correctly, I could use all the help I could get."

It also spoke to the fact that Doonesbury, an often funny, sometimes frustrating and frequently controversial comic strip born in syndication 35 years ago, is still considered weighty enough to get the government's attention.

Over the years, the strip - which started as a cartoon that Yale graduate Trudeau, 57, wrote for the college paper - has used humour and biting commentary to address a broad sweep of society, from race relations and AIDS to same-sex marriage and stem cells.

His huge cast of characters have aged along the way: Mike Doonesbury, the strip's lead character, has gone from idealistic college student to befuddled dad of a college-age daughter; Zonker Harris, the former professional tanner is now a nanny; Uncle Duke, the Hunter S. Thompsonesque mercenary, ran for the presidency in 2000 and, until recently, was serving as mayor of the fictional Iraqi city of Al-Amok.

But he's always come back to raw politics, taking a page of Walt Kelly's Pogo, which pioneered the use of poking fun at politicians on the funny pages. Most recently, he has relentlessly hammered the war and U.S. President George W. Bush, who's depicted as an asterisk wearing an increasingly battered Roman helmet.

"Well, it's a humour strip, so my first responsibility has always been to entertain the reader," Trudeau said in response to e-mailed questions from the Associated Press. "But if, in addition, I can help move readers to thought and judgment about issues that concern me, so much the better."

Many times, those efforts have landed him in trouble with newspaper editors who have pulled or edited his strips because of salty language, uncomfortable images or controversial subjects.

Last fall, 20 newspapers objected to a strip that had Vice-President Dick Cheney using a profanity as he remotely coached Bush through a press conference. The strip married two real-life controversies - a similar profanity Cheney used on the Senate floor and rumours denied by the White House that a mysterious bulge under the president's suit jacket was an audio receiver, designed to help him through a debate.

His subjects often claim he's unfair and trying to score political points for liberals.

In 1984, a week of Doonesbury strips depicting then-vice-president George Bush placing his "manhood in a blind trust" so he could serve in the Reagan White House led to this Bush retort: "Doonesbury's carrying water for the opposition. Trudeau is coming out of deep left field."

In a column last year criticizing the B.D. story line in Doonesbury, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly said Trudeau was using "someone's personal tragedy" to generate opposition to the war. He led off the column with an anecdote about Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels using images of fallen soldiers to encourage war against Poland.

Trudeau, who describes his politics as "stone dull moderate," said he's supported Republicans in the past but has felt compelled to go after "mindless ideologues like the ones who've had a stranglehold on power the past five years."

Some observers say the war has given Doonesbury a new energy, one that they say was largely absent during the 1990s, when American politics and culture didn't deliver the high-stakes issues that experts say satire needs to thrive.

"I think Doonesbury was really of the Vietnam generation and became a voice of the Vietnam generation, and what's interesting to me is that decades later (Trudeau) tapped into that exact same thing with the Iraq war," said Matt Davies, a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist for The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. "Because of his reputation and perhaps his infamy, he rose to the challenge with the Iraq war and was back throwing barbs on the comics page. He's still got it. He's still an angry young man."

Of course, Doonesbury is no longer the oddity it once was. In the 1970s, the idea of using humour to skewer the political and social issues of the day was still rare in popular culture.

"Those were very self-serious times," said Trudeau, who won a Pulitzer in 1975. "The end of the Vietnam War changed all that. The nation exhaled, Saturday Night Live hit big, and satire really took off."

Christopher Lamb, an associate professor of communication at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, dedicated a chapter to Doonesbury in his book Drawn to Extremes: The Use and Abuse of Political Cartoons.

"He rides the cultural, political and social waves," said Lamb. "He's a heck of an observer."

Reason magazine Managing Editor Jesse Walker, on the other hand, said the strip has become more Democrat polemic than satire.

"Ultimately what happened to Trudeau was he got older, no longer had his finger on the pulse and started writing as an outsider," Walker said.

Another Grim Development for 'Arrested'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) "Arrested Development" has escaped the cancellation ax through two award-winning but low-rated seasons, but the show's future looks more tenuous than ever now.

Earlier this week, FOX bumped the Emmy-winning "Arrested" (along with its Monday-night mate, "Kitchen Confidential") from its schedule for the remainder of November sweeps. Now comes word that the network has cut the show's episode order from a full season of 22 to 13, which a source close to the show confirms.

The reduced order, and the schedule commitments FOX already has for midseason -- most notably "American Idol" and "24" -- could well mean that "Arrested Development" is on its final legs at FOX. The network hasn't officially said the series is done, but the c-word -- cancellation -- has already popped up in news reports about the reduced order.

The series hasn't found many new viewers in its Monday-night home, averaging only 4.3 million viewers per week so far this season. In its first two seasons, it drew about 6 million viewers per episode as part of FOX's Sunday lineup.
"Arrested Development" has won six Emmys, including the award for outstanding comedy series in 2004. It and "Kitchen Confidential" are scheduled to return to FOX Monday, Dec. 5.

The latter show may not be long for the world either. It hasn't aired since the first week of October and generated little ratings heat in the brief time it was on.

Brooks Boxed Set Details Revealed

Country superstar Garth Brooks, who retired from music in 2001, will be back in the spotlight later this month with the release of the "Limited Series" boxed set. As first revealed here in August, it will be available exclusively through Walmart and Sam's Club stores, as well as Walmart.com.

Due Nov. 25, the project rounds up three prior albums, a previously unreleased DVD and a disc of never-before-heard songs from the Brooks vaults. In addition to 1997's "Sevens," the following year's "Double Live" and 2001's "Scarecrow," the box sports the 90-minute "All Access" DVD, consisting of interviews, videos and live performances from throughout Brooks' career.

Fans will be most pleased by "The Lost Sessions," which includes 11 songs Brooks handpicked from his archives. Among them is the Chris LeDoux tribute "Good Ride Cowboy," which is No. 6 this week on Billboard's Top Country Songs chart. Brooks had not had a new single on the radio since 2003's "Why Ain't I Running," which reached No. 24 on the same tally.

Because it is not available to all retailers, "Limited Series" will not be eligible for The Billboard 200 album chart, but is eligible for the Billboard Comprehensive Albums chart, which appears on Billboard.com. However, it appears that wholesalers Anderson Merchandisers and Handleman, which supply CDs to Walmart, may not report sales of the box to Nielsen SoundScan.

Brooks has recently been answering questions from fans about the deal on Walmart's Web site and hinting at future releases, including the DVD debuts of his prior home video titles.

"One of the greatest gifts of the Wal-Mart deal is that it allows me to bring something to the people and stay at home with my children," he said. "One of the other great things about the deal is it will bring us out of VHS and take us into the DVD era. But again, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's talk Christmas 2006."

He also said he'd love to make a duets album with his fiancee, fellow country star Trisha Yearwood, something that would not have been possible when he was signed to Capitol.

"It took me forever to ask Miss Yearwood to marry me. I won't wait that long to ask her to do a duet record with me," he said. "My red tape ... is gone. However, she is her own artist and has her own contractual agreements to abide by. Only time will tell, but if the opportunity comes along, I'd love to do it ... for my sake."

Costello, Toussaint Teaming For New Album

Elvis Costello is slated to head into the studio the week of Thanksgiving to begin a collaboration with songwriter/arranger/pianist Allen Toussaint. Joe Henry will produce the album for Verve Records.

Henry likens the project to Costello's 1998 pairing with Burt Bacharach, "Painted from Memory" (Mercury/Universal). "That project was a very legitimate collaboration between the two artists, and this will feature Elvis as a singer doing both classic songs that Allen has written as well as new material [the two are writing]," Henry tells Billboard.com.

New Orleans veteran Toussaint recently performed with Costello at a number of New York benefits for the victims of hurricane Katrina. Toussaint, who has written such songs as Dr. John's "Right Place, Wrong Time" and Lee Dorsey's "Workin' in a Coal Mine," appeared as a pianist on some of Costello's early 1980s albums.

"Elvis, like a lot of people, re-committed himself to the importance of the legacy of [New Orleans] music," Henry says. "I was talking to Allen about doing a solo record, and Elvis had appeared with Allen on stage at various benefits in New York, and the wheels were turning."

Henry, who has toured with Costello in support of his own solo releases, recently produced Bettye LaVette's "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" for Epitaph's Anti- imprint, as well as the multi-artist "I Believe to My Soul" for his newly formed Work Song label. The latter was released via a partnership with Rhino Records and Starbucks' Hear Music, and features Toussaint, Billy Preston, Mavis Staples, Ann Peebles and Irma Thomas.

Henry says he and Costello have discussed working together for a few years now, and Henry had been prodding Toussaint to record a solo effort for Work Song. "Elvis and I talked off and on about working together," Henry says. "He's been a big booster of 'I Believe to My Soul' and he's a big a Bettye LaVette fan. After the hurricane, it brought home to him how significant that relationship with Allen was."

Barenaked Ladies Enjoying Indie-pendence

After officially leaving Reprise following its 2003 release "Everything to Everyone," the members of the Barenaked Ladies are finding the indie world to be filled with new opportunities for releasing music. The group is now aligned with Nettwerk Music Group via its own imprint, Desperation Records.

Singer/guitarist Ed Robertson tells Billboard.com the band is currently working on 30 new songs and fans should expect to hear them all sooner rather than later, or never.

"We're not whittling it down to what we think are the 12 or 14 songs that are going to be the next record," Robertson says. "We're recording everything and we're going to put out everything. And not a big double or triple album, but [we'll] put out an album and go out on tour. And the next tour leg, put out an EP, another five or six songs, and just keep putting stuff out because I think that keeps us fresh and it keeps the fans interested and aware of what we're doing. It's just a new era."

Robertson is most excited about new tracks "Down to Earth" and "Everything Had Changed," He says these could be among the many unreleased songs that receive stage time on the band's upcoming holiday run, which begins Nov. 21 in Montreal.

Speaking of which, the quintet known for its quirky live shows is giving fans full access to concert recordings via its Web site as well as Apple's iTunes Music Store, which is selling more than 30 concerts.

"Another function of what we do these days is we record all of our shows on a full Pro Tools rig and mix them the next day," Robertson says. "We bring an engineer on the road with us, then those shows are uploaded and available for fans to get."

Robertson says the band may do some touring in the late spring or summer of 2006, with a full outing to coincide with the release of BNL's next, still untitled, album, due in about a year. As for where the group is headed sonically, he says, "I think we're going rawer, less slick sounding and more rock. We really want the record to sound like the band and not like this magical moment that happened in the studio and can never happen anywhere else. We want people to hear the five of us playing a rock song."

"Chicken" Rules Roost

The sky didn't fall on Chicken Little.

For the second straight weekend, the Disney 'toon remained the top draw at the megaplex, feathering its news with a very big egg: $32 million from Friday through Sunday, according to estimates from Exhibitor Relations.

The G-rated update of the classic fable, with Zach Braff voicing the lead clucker, only dropped 20 percent from its opening weekend and has now earned an estimated $80.7 million.

With Chicken Little earning a lot, the weekend's major newcomers had to wrestle over the crumbs.

Opening in second place was Sony's PG-rated Zathura with $14 million--on par with studio expectations. A sequel of sorts to Jumanji, this F/X-heavy tale about a pair of brothers who get sucked into a sci-fi fantasy world via a magical board game stars Tim Robbins and is directed by Jon Favreau.

Derailed, the Weinstein Co.'s R-rated thriller starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen as an imperiled adulterous couple, never got fully on track, opening with $12.8 million in third place. The studio says the film pulled in a solid female audience.

Get Rich or Die Tryin', the semi-authentic 50 Cent biopic, had the best per-site figures of all the three wide-release newcomers: $7,567. But at just 1,652 theaters, the action drama about the gangsta rap world, directed by Jim Sheridan and costarring Terrence Howard and Viola Davis, only drummed up $12.5 million in fourth place. The film played mainly to young urban audiences, but opened slightly below industry epectations, perhaps impacted by the fatal shooting at a Pittsburgh theater. Since its Wednesday debut, the R-rated Paramount film has earned $18.2 million.

In limited release, Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley as the Jane Austen's heroine, had a whopping $13,043 per-site average at just 215 theaters to open with $2.8 million--good enough for tenth place on the weekend list. The PG Focus Features release also features Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy and ensemble that includes Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone and Tom Hollander.

In contrast, Chicken Little averaged $8,755 at 3,658 locations; Zathura, $4,344 at 3,223 sites; and Derailed, $5,250 at 2,441 sites.

In really limited release--at just 21 sites--the PG-13 Fox Searchlight release Bee Season, starring Richard Gere and Juliette Binoche as the emotionally and spiritually conflicted parents of a spelling bee champ, averaged $6,039 for $126,811.

Meanwhile, in its second week, Jarhead dropped 56 percent to $12.3 million, retreating from second to fifth place. The Universal release has grossed $47.1 million.

Still in limited release but gradually expanding, the critically acclaimed biopic Capote, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, earned $1.3 million at 264 theaters. That's up 31 percent from last week. Now in its seventh week of release, the Sony Pictures release has totaled $6.6 million.

Also gaining more exposure and bigger business was Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, the satirical pulp fiction mystery starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer. Adding 89 sites to play at 169, the Warner Bros release earned $830,000--up 109 percent--to bring its four-week gross to $2.1 million.

The overall box office continued its yearlong downward trend. The top 12 movies grossed $114 million, down 4 percent from last weekend and 15 percent from last year, when The Incredibles was reining. Hollywood is hoping for a jolt next weekend with the opening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Here's a recap of the top 10 films, based on studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations (final figures are due Monday):

1. Chicken Little, $32 million
2. Zathura, $14 million
3. Derailed, $12.8 million
4. Get Rich or Die Tryin', $12.5 million
5. Jarhead, $12.3 million
6. Saw II, $9.4 million
7. The Legend of Zorro, $6.6 million
8. Prime, $4 million
9. Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, $3.8 million
10. Pride & Prejudice, $2.8 million

'WWE Smackdown!' Star Guerrero Dies

MINNEAPOLIS - A World Wrestling Entertainment star was found dead in his hotel room Sunday in Minneapolis, where he was scheduled to appear that evening in a WWE show.

Eduardo Gory Guerrero, 38, didn't respond to a wake-up call Sunday morning, authorities said. His nephew, fellow WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero, and hotel security at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center forced their way into the room and found him.

There were no apparent signs of foul play, police said. An autopsy was planned to determine how Guerrero died.

His nephew said Guerrero was open about past drug and alcohol abuse but had been sober for four years. Guerrero was married and had three children.

"This is a huge loss," said WWE chairman Vince McMahon. "Eddie was a wonderful, fun-loving human being. Eddie was a consummate performer."

Guerrero was a featured star on the UPN series "WWE Smackdown!" and son of Mexican wrestler Gory Guerrero. Last year, he became the second wrestler of Hispanic heritage to be WWE champion, though he lost the title four months later.

UPN also aired a special last year on his life, "Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story." The program chronicled Guerrero's childhood and his struggle with drug addiction that almost cost him his job, family and life.

Springsteen Reflects on 'Born to Run'

NEW YORK - In the summer of 1975, Bruce Springsteen was nobody's Boss.

His nascent career was crumbling, just another over-hyped "new Dylan" about to get dumped by his label. Two of his band members had recently quit. The bearded bard of the boardwalk was wrestling with his third (and last?) album, obsessively rewriting the lyrics and rearranging the music, spending an outrageous six months on a single song.

Yet Springsteen remained sustained by a lonely but ambitious vision, convinced he could recreate the little symphonies echoing through his head for an audience of millions around the world.

He was right.

"Born to Run" was released in August 1975, a rock 'n' roll masterpiece that assumed near mythic proportion. Thirty years later, as a special anniversary edition of the album was readied for release come Tuesday, Springsteen recalled how making the record consumed his young life.

"Everything I knew and dreamed about was packed into those songs," Springsteen told The Associated Press. "I had the desire to be great, to do something passionate, to capture something about living that I was yearning for myself.

"I wanted the whole thing."

He got it, from the opening notes of "Thunder Road" to the album-closing epic "Jungleland." But little came easy as he chased an elusive sound that was part Roy Orbison, part Phil Spector, and all Bruce Springsteen.

For Clarence Clemons, sax player for Springsteen's E Street Band, that meant 16 straight hours creating the magnificent solo that anchors "Jungleland." For "Born To Run," the single that announced the album's arrival, sessions stretched out over half a year.

"I was 25 years old, with no place to go and nothing to do — that helped," Springsteen said of his slavish musical devotion. "We worked, and worked, and worked. It was very frustrating. But in the end, luckily, all of everything we did ended up in there."

In a documentary DVD accompanying the remastered "Born to Run," band members offer their recollections of the often fruitless recording sessions.

"Everyone remembers the experience quite truly," Springsteen said with a laugh. "And everyone was centered around this thing, that we suffered. No one forgot that. Everyone had that in common."

They all shared another thought: Springsteen, child of the Jersey shore arcade, was going for the brass ring this time.

"I knew, because I knew the songs, that this album was going to be phenomenal," said "Born to Run" co-producer Jon Landau, who eventually became Springsteen's manager. "I knew Bruce Springsteen's determination. I knew there was no way it was going to miss in achieving its musical goals."

Even if, in Springsteen's mind, those goals often remained unreachable despite hundreds of hours in the studio.

"My obsessive/compulsive nature, which crippled me through much of the rest of my life, does come in handy once in a while," said a chuckling Springsteen. "And it came in handy at that moment. I wanted something unique that you couldn't hear in the live show."

The process produced some laughs, too. The "Wings for Wheels" DVD offers a full recitation of how Springsteen pal Little Steven Van Zandt, dressed like a New Jersey gangster in a zoot suit and fedora, walked into the studio and sang all the horn parts on "Tenth Avenue Freezeout" to acclaimed session musicians Randy and Michael Brecker.

Album engineer Jimmy Iovine recalled not even knowing who Van Zandt was, but thinking that Steven "was dressed like a guy" who knew about horn players.

The anniversary package also includes extraordinary rare footage of live shows by Springsteen and the band: a full gig from London's Hammersmith Odeon show in 1975, and three songs done live in 1973 by an early incarnation of the band in Los Angeles.

After "Born To Run," Springsteen wound up in a protracted legal battle with his first manager; his follow-up album, "Darkness On the Edge of Town," didn't appear until three years later. By then, the sprawl and bombast of "Born to Run" was in Springsteen's rearview mirror, never to return on record.

Springsteen, in fact, confessed that he hadn't listened to the album in two decades until earlier this year. When he finally did hear it again, the setting was perfect: driving in his car, at night, through the New Jersey landscape immortalized on the record.

"I thought I knew exactly how it would sound, but it surprised me," Springsteen said. "It was a nice moment driving back from the city, and it caught me by surprise again. There's no other record (of mine) quite like it ... I never made another one."

Sony BMG pulls CD software 35 minutes ago

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Music publisher Sony BMG said on Friday it would stop making CDs that use a controversial technology to protect its music against illegal copying.

"As a precautionary measure, Sony BMG is temporarily suspending the manufacture of CDs containing XCP technology," it said in a statement.

The decision follows the discovery on Thursday of the first virus that uses Sony BMG's CD copy-protection software to hide on PCs and wreak havoc.

A hacker had mass-mailed e-mail with an attachment, which when clicked on installs malware. The malware hides by using Sony BMG software that is also hidden -- the software would have already been installed on a computer when consumers played Sony's copy-protected music CDs.

The malware, a trojan program which appears desirable but actually contains something harmful, tears down a computer's firewall and gives hackers access to a PC.

Sony BMG provided a patch to protect computers against the virus, which is available on its Web site.

"We also intend to re-examine all aspects of our content protection initiative to be sure that it continues to meet our goals of security and ease of consumer use," Sony BMG added.

The firm provided software to remove the "cloaking element," which enables the virus to hide inside the computer, but the patch does not disable the copy protection itself.

The music publishing venture of Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony and Germany's Bertelsmann AG is distributing the copy-protection software on a range of recent music compact disks (CDs) from artists such as Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan, according to user groups on the Web.

Sony BMG did not say which CDs or how many CDs were equipped with its software. "The XCP software is included on a limited number of Sony BMG content-protected titles," it said.

The Sony copy-protection software does not install itself on Macintosh computers or ordinary CD and DVD players.

When the CD is played on a Windows personal computer, the software first installs itself and then limits the usage rights of a consumer. It only allows playback with Sony software.

The software last week sparked a class action lawsuit in California against Sony, which claimed that Sony had not informed consumers that it installs software directly into the "root" of their computer systems with rootkit software, which cloaks all associated files and is dangerous to remove.

British anti-virus company Sophos on Thursday offered a tool to disable the copy protection software. ZoneAlarm, a product of Check Point, also protects against the software.

Sony BMG said it stands by content protection technology "as an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists."

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. Here is the story of the making of that poem:
Although he had been a doctor for years and had served in the South African War, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, the screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and heard enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime.

As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating from the University of Toronto, had spent seventeen days treating injured men -- Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans -- in the Ypres salient.

It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote of it:

"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."

One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell burst on 2 May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain.

The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the Canal de l'Yser, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. The major was no stranger to writing, having authored several medical texts besides dabbling in poetry.

In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook.

A young soldier watched him write it. Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two year old sergeant-major, was delivering mail that day when he spotted McCrae. The major looked up as Allinson approached, then went on writing while the sergeant-major stood there quietly. "His face was very tired but calm as we wrote," Allinson recalled. "He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave."

When McCrae finished five minutes later, he took his mail from Allinson and, without saying a word, handed his pad to the young NCO. Allinson was moved by what he read:

"The poem was exactly an exact description of the scene in front of us both. He used the word blow in that line because the poppies actually were being blown that morning by a gentle east wind. It never occurred to me at that time that it would ever be published. It seemed to me just an exact description of the scene."

In fact, it was very nearly not published. Dissatisfied with it, McCrae tossed the poem away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England. The Spectator, in London, rejected it, but Punch published it on 8 December 1915.

BORN AGAIN

'The album became a monster. It just ate up everyone's life."

That's Bruce Springsteen talking about "Born to Run," which 30 years ago catapulted him from a cult artist with a small but rabid East Coast following into a superstar.

Looking back on the eve of the release of the "Born to Run" 30th anniversary box set, which The New York Post got an exclusive sneak peek at this week, it's easy to say that "Born to Run" is a watershed moment - a record with unstoppable force and charisma that established Bruce as the premiere musical icon of his generation.

But in the summer of 1975, it was turning into something of a nightmare.

Bruce wasn't an unknown at the time - a local legend on the Jersey Shore and a journeyman working the Eastern Seaboard club circuit, he'd made two records for Columbia, "Greetings From Asbury Park" and "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle." Wordy, Dylan-influenced and freewheeling, they'd helped expand his following, but they hadn't exactly set the world on fire. When he went to make his third record, the writing was on the wall.

"If this record didn't make it, it seemed obvious to us that this was going to be the end," says E Street Band guitarist "Miami Steve" Van Zandt, in "Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run," a documentary on the making of the record that's included in the anniversary box, along with a 1975 show at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The set hits stores Tuesday.

Live, Bruce was a force of nature, who dependably slayed audiences and won rabid converts. But that energy wasn't translating to the records, and everyone knew it.

"The record company was confused," Bruce later said. "The kids in the audience were going nuts, but the record wasn't selling. It got obvious that we needed a rock 'n' roll record."

CBS wanted him to record with session musicians, but he insisted on working with the E Street Band, fellow Jerseyites who'd cut their teeth in clubs along the shore. Constant gigging had turned the band into a high-performance machine, and Bruce had come up some magnificent songs. But the recording sessions were stumbling, and things were getting desperate.

Begun in the winter of 1974-75, and derailed initially by technical problems, the sessions were still going when summertime came, as Bruce, a near-pathological perfectionist who knew the unfolding record's potential, endlessly tweaked arrangements, rewrote lyrics and re-recorded tracks.

"The thing about Bruce is that he has a very hard time letting go of things, and that's especially true of things he knows are good, because if it's good it can get better," says Dave Marsh, the veteran rock journalist and Springsteen biographer. "I would hear the tracks and my reaction was basically, 'It don't get no better,' and Bruce's reaction was, 'I think I can do this better.'"

Meanwhile, a single version of the title song had been sent out to radio stations and was creating heavy-duty buzz around the upcoming record, even as Bruce and company were pulling their hair out trying to finish it, working until dawn every morning at the Record Plant on West 53rd Street.

"The record was legendary before it was even finished," Marsh says.

Right up until the end, making the record was like pulling a molar with pliers - when it came time to master the disc, a process that involves taking the recorded tapes and turning them into an actual record, Bruce rejected one attempt after another. At one point he even decided to scrap the whole thing and release a live record instead.

Hearing this, Jon Landau, now Bruce's manager but then a co-producer, went ballistic. After he read Bruce the riot act, Springsteen relented and the release date was set for October 1975. To generate some pre-release buzz, Columbia had Springsteen do a five-night stand, two shows a night, at the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village, and flew in journalists and tastemakers from around the country. It was a publicity masterstroke - Bruce killed, and the buzz grew into a deafening roar.

"Everybody who saw those shows had a sense that history was being made," says Allan Pepper, the Bottom Line's co-owner. "For weeks afterward, every artist who played the club - and I'm talking about some formidable artists - paled in comparison to that guy. It was in the walls of the club. It hung in the air for weeks and weeks afterward."

When "Born to Run" was released two months later, the verdict was unanimous: Springsteen had delivered a classic.

"Born to Run" "shuts down every claim that has ever been made for him," wrote Greil Marcus in Rolling Stone, likening it to "a '57 Chevy running on melted-down Crystals records."

Other rave reviews, platinum sales, expanding crowds and the famous (or infamous) twin cover stories in Time and Newsweek followed. The Boss was born, and the rest, as they say, is history.

FOX Sweeps Away 'Arrested,' 'Kitchen'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Time to restart those vigils for "Arrested Development." And while you're at it, light a candle for "Kitchen Confidential" too.

The two FOX comedies have been shelved for the remainder of sweeps -- "Kitchen Confidential," in fact, hasn't aired since the first week of October -- in favor of repeats of "Prison Break," which have performed better in the 8 p.m. Monday hour than either "Arrested" or "Kitchen" this season. The network says the comedies will return Dec. 5, following the close of sweeps.

Starting Monday (Nov. 14), the previous week's "Prison Break" will air at 8 p.m. ET, followed by a new episode at 9. That pattern will continue through Nov. 28, when the show has what FOX is calling its "fall finale." The remainder of the season will air sometime next year, although it hasn't been scheduled yet.

The scheduling change comes a few days after "Arrested Development" returned to meager ratings from an October hiatus driven by the baseball playoffs. Back-to-back episodes of the show drew a little more than 4 million viewers, a little below its season average. In the previous two weeks, repeats of "Prison Break" had averaged 5.9 million viewers in the 8 p.m. hour.
The underwhelming lead-in also hurt Monday's "Prison Break," which had its weakest showing since late September.

Five episodes of "Arrested Development" have aired thus far this season, while "Kitchen Confidential" has run just three times. Neither show was part of the midseason lineup FOX presented to advertisers last spring.

Robocop Gets a Re-Make

It seems no past money-making movie is going to be left untouched in Hollywood's re-make race, as Sony preps Robocop for a re-deux. Moviehole.net says Michael De Luca (Zathura) is working on re-telling the story about a police officer who gets upgraded to law-enforcement machine, after being gunned down in the line-of-duty. The original 1987 film's starred Peter Weller and its box-office success prompted two sequel films, a handful of television movies and an animated series. Some of the original film's crew are even said to be taking part in the Robo-remake that will see the story re-set to the beginning, no doubt with hope for lucrative follow-up films.

"Housewives" Drama at People's Choice

Desperate Housewives is a drama--the people insist.

For the second year running, the campy ABC soap has earned a People's Choice nomination in a category reserved for grownup talk. This time around, the fashionable Housewives will go up against CBS' gruesome CSI and NBC's brutal Law & Order: SVU for honors as Favorite TV Drama.

Overall, Angelina Jolie nabbed the most nominations, three, as the field for the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards was announced Thursday in Hollywood.

Regularly tabbed in the tabloids as the woman who pushed Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's marriage off a cliff, Jolie remains in high regard among the People's Choice public (a sampling of men and women aged 18-54, whose likes determined the nominations). Jolie is among the top three finalists for Favorite Female Movie Star, Favorite Female Action Star and Favorite On-Screen Match-Up, a nomination shared with Pitt for Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Pitt also was nominated for Favorite Leading Man. Aniston, who didn't launch any new product during the survey period, wasn't nominated for anything.

Meanwhile, back on Wisteria Lane, the rivalries can become more entrenched now that Teri Hatcher, and only Teri Hatcher, has been nominated among the residents. Hatcher, who lost out on Emmy night to costar Felicity Huffman, must merely dispatch with Jennifer Garner of ABC's dying Alias and Jennifer Love Hewitt of CBS' sapling Ghost Whisperer to claim her trophy as Favorite Female TV Star.

At the Emmys and the Golden Globes, Hatcher and the Housewives company competed in the comedy categories, where ABC thought the show matched up better. It was not known how or why the drama queens ended up in the drama race at the People's Choice Awards, but the classification was not without precedent. Last year, the show was honored as Favorite New TV Drama.

To be sure, the Favorite TV Comedy race is not the power category at the coming People's Choice Awards. Underscoring the broadcast networks' inability to mount many recent sitcom hits, the three nominated shows are either dead (CBS' late Everybody Loves Raymond), old (Fox's That '70s Show, eight seasons and running) or really, really old (Fox's The Simpsons, 17 seasons and running).

Help for the genre may be on the way in the form of the nominees of the Favorite New TV Comedy race: UPN's Everybody Hates Chris; CBS' How I Met Your Mother; and, NBC's My Name Is Earl. Then again, Joey didn't exactly usher in a golden sitcom era after it was the people's pick in this race last season.

Up for Favorite New TV Drama: ABC's Commander in Chief, the fall's most-watched new show; CBS' surging Criminal Minds; and, Fox's Prison Break.

Not making the cut in any category: Anything or anyone on the WB; ABC's breakout hits Lost and Grey's Anatomy; Julia Roberts, who laid low in 2005 after winning Favorite Female Movie Star in January; and, Tom Cruise, who self-immolated after scoring a Favorite Male Movie Star nomination last year.

Categories falling out of favor with show producers were two music ones, Favorite Remake and Favorite Combined Forces (a cute name for a duet or trio). Both were in play at last year's show.

Winners will be determined by Internet voting at www.pcavote.com. The virtual polls opened Thursday. On Nov. 28, eight more categories, including Favorite Movie, will be added to the online ballot.

The results will be announced in a CBS telecast on Jan. 10--a Tuesday, the better to avoid a Sunday confrontation with Desperate Housewives. The Late Late Show's Craig Ferguson will host.

Here's a rundown of the nominees for the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards:

Film

Favorite Female Movie Star: Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman
Favorite Male Movie Star: Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Samuel L. Jackson
Favorite Leading Lady: Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon, Renée Zellweger
Favorite Leading Man: Jamie Foxx, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler
Favorite Female Action Star: Jennifer Garner, Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Favorite Male Action Star: Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt, The Rock
Favorite On-Screen Match-Up: Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt in Mr. and Mrs. Smith; Chris Rock & Adam Sandler in The Longest Yard; Vince Vaughn & Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers

Music

Favorite Female Performer: Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill, Gwen Stefani
Favorite Male Performer: Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Usher
Favorite Group: The Black Eyed Peas, Destiny's Child, Green Day

Television

Favorite New TV Comedy: Everybody Hates Chris, How I Met Your Mother, My Name is Earl
Favorite New TV Drama: Commander In Chief, Criminal Minds, Prison Break
Favorite TV Comedy: Everybody Loves Raymond, That '70s Show, The Simpsons
Favorite TV Drama: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order: SVU
Favorite Reality Show (Competition): American Idol, Fear Factor, Survivor
Favorite Reality Show (Other): Extreme Makeover, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny
Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host: Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien
Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host: Ellen DeGeneres, Regis Philbin & Kelly Ripa, Oprah Winfrey
Favorite Female TV Star: Jennifer Garner, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Love Hewitt
Favorite Male TV Star: Ray Romano, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland

Miscellaneous

Favorite Funny Female Star: Drew Barrymore, Ellen DeGeneres, Queen Latifah
Favorite Funny Male Star: Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Will Smith

Ray Romano headed back to CBS in guest spot

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Six months after his hit Emmy-winning TV comedy ended its run, "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Ray Romano will return briefly to prime time in a guest spot on fellow CBS show "The King of Queens," the network said on Thursday.

Romano, once U.S. television's highest-paid sitcom star, will reprise his "Everybody Loves Raymond" role as sports writer and family man Ray Barone on an episode of "The King of Queens" slated to air on November 28, near the end of Nielsen's ratings "sweep."

Romano made three previous "cross-over" guest appearances on "King of Queens" while his old show was still on the air, according to CBS. His Barone alter ego is a buddy of Doug Heffeman, the lead character on "Queens" played by Romano's real-life pal and fellow comic, Kevin James.

On the upcoming episode, Raymond joins Doug for a boy's night out when Doug's wife, Carrie ( Leah Remini) takes a trip with her father.

James has made guest appearances on "Everybody Loves Raymond" in the past, but not as his "King of Queens" character, a CBS spokesman said.

"Raymond" was the top-rated comedy in prime time when it left the airwaves in May after nine years on CBS. The show twice won an Emmy Award as television's best comedy series, in 2003 and again in 2005.

"King of Queens" is nowhere near as popular as "Raymond" was, but it consistently finishes first in its Monday night time slot, averaging nearly 10.5 million viewers a week.

Leftover 'Chicken' still tempting at box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Zathura," "Get Rich or Die Tryin"' and "Derailed" will try to knock "Chicken Little" off its perch at the box office this weekend, but Disney's computer-animated hit will likely fend off the challengers.

After bowing to $40 million last weekend, the first homegrown film from Disney's animators should drop less than 50% its second week in theaters, giving it a $22 million-$23 million weekend gross and the top spot for its sophomore session. The G-rated film also might take a bite out of Sony Pictures' highly regarded family film "Zathura," from director Jon Favreau.

"Zathura" -- a PG-rated sci-fi adventure adapted from a Chris Van Allsburg book, as was 1995's "Jumanji" -- has benefited from strong reviews and attendance at sneak previews during the past few weeks. Unfortunately, the film is in the unenviable weekend spot between "Chicken" and next week's sure-to-be-monster-hit " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." That might not bode well for "Zathura," a movie that relies more on old-fashioned filmmaking than the usual special effects extravaganzas.

Starring Tim Robbins and a cast of young, unknown actors, the movie revolves around two brothers who are propelled into space while playing a mysterious board game they discover in the basement of their old house.

"Zathura" will likely open in the $12 million-$14 million range, though prognosticators hope that a film with this much heart will catch on with family audiences and stick around through Thanksgiving.

Paramount Pictures' "Get Rich" debuted Wednesday, grossing an estimated $3.6 million. Based loosely on Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's life as a gangster-turned-rapper, the film, from director Jim Sheridan, bowed to weak reviews, but that might do little to dissuade its primary audience from seeking it out.

"Get Rich" is looking to follow in the steps of Eminem's "8 Mile," which was a resounding success. The film is unlikely to gross anywhere close to the $51 million "8 Mile" attracted in its opening weekend in 2002, more likely scoring in the $12 million-$14 million range over the three-day weekend and getting into the $20 million range for its first five days.

Former Miramax Films chiefs Bob and Harvey Weinstein are looking to capitalize on Jennifer Aniston's star power for "Derailed," the first wide release under their new Weinstein Co. banner.

The $22 million film, from Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom, centers on an adulterous couple, played by Aniston and Clive Owen ("Sin City"), who are blackmailed and tortured after being caught together in a hotel room. The R-rated thriller might cross into the low-teen millions for the weekend.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight will bow "Bee Season," starring Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche and newcomers Flora Cross and Max Minghella. The PG-13 film, from directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel, is based on the book by Myla Goldberg that revolves around a dysfunctional family caught up in the daughter's efforts to become a spelling bee champion. "Bee Season," which played at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals, has drawn mixed reviews. It opens in five markets.

Focus Features will debut the most recent Jane Austen adaptation, "Pride & Prejudice," from director Joe Wright. Starring Keira Knightley, the film, which already has scored big in the U.K., will open in 215 sites in the U.S. The PG-rated film already has been the beneficiary of largely positive reviews.

Cash's Daughter Upset With Mom's Portrayal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Kathy Cash, one of Johnny Cash's five children, was so upset about how her mother is portrayed in the upcoming movie "Walk the Line" that she walked out of a family-only screening — five times.

She thinks the movie, which opens nationwide Nov. 18, is good and that performances by Joaquin Phoenix as her dad and Reese Witherspoon as her stepmother, June Carter Cash, are Oscar-worthy.

But she also said the film unfairly shows her mother, Vivian Liberto Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife, as a shrew. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin plays her in the movie.

"My mom was basically a nonentity in the entire film except for the mad little psycho who hated his career. That's not true. She loved his career and was proud of him until he started taking drugs and stopped coming home," Kathy Cash said.

Vivian Liberto Distin died earlier this year as a result of complications from lung cancer. She and Cash were married 13 years and had four children together. He pledged to remain faithful to her in his song "I Walk the Line."

Kathy Cash also said the movie fails to include any meaningful scenes with the children or show the pain she and her three sisters endured during their father's fight with drugs and their parents' divorce. She says it portrays Johnny Cash's father too negatively.

"Anyone who wants a good sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll movie is gonna love it," she said. "I'm anticipating dyed-in-the-wool fans objecting to a lot of stuff."

John Carter Cash — Johnny and June's only child together and an executive producer for "Walk the Line" — says his half-sister's criticisms have merit. But he says it's OK to take some license and that, in the bigger picture, the movie succeeds in telling his parents' love story.

"I'm compassionately understanding," he said, adding, "the point of the film is my parents' love affair."

Connery Honored by American Film Institute

LOS ANGELES - Sean Connery will receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, its highest honor for a career in film, the institute announced Thursday.

The award will be presented to the Scottish actor June 8 in Los Angeles.

Howard Stringer, chairman of the AFI Board of Trustees, called Connery "an artist of the highest order."

"Though best remembered for creating one of the great film heroes of all time, his talents transcend typecasting," Stringer said. "His body of work not only stands the test of time, but illuminates a career more extraordinary than James Bond himself."

Connery portrayed agent James Bond in six films from 1962 to 1971. He appeared in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" in 2003.

Connery is the 34th recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award, which was established in 1973.

Past recipients include Orson Welles, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep and George Lucas.

Mandy Scrubs In

Zach Braff's real-life squeeze is putting on her Scrubs. Mandy Moore makes a guest appearance on two episodes of the NBC sitcom as a patient's grandniece who is set up on a blind date with J.D. (Braff). The show is slated to return to NBC's schedule in midseason.

Spoiled Daddy's Girl Gets Killed on 'Lost'

NEW YORK - It would seem to be lights out for Shannon on "Lost." The spoiled Daddy's girl was apparently killed off Wednesday night as the ABC thriller made good on its promise to eliminate one of its characters.

Hyped by the network as the episode that "people will be talking about all year long," it had indeed spurred lots of chatter even before it aired. Despite mighty efforts by the series' producers to keep secret the victim's identity beforehand, bloggers and other "Lost" sleuths seized on Shannon Rutherford weeks ago as the castaway most likely to be "lost forever."

Even so, the episode put forward another possible candidate: fellow refugee Sawyer (Josh Holloway). Feverish and weakened from a bullet wound, he fell into unconsciousness during a grueling hike through the jungle interior.

It seemed he was a goner. Or just a red herring? At last sighting, he was being carried on a makeshift stretcher by others in his party. His condition seemed grave. "Lost" can be a tease.

But by all indications short of a death certificate, the bell tolled for Shannon. Pushing through the thick jungle growth in frantic pursuit of Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), the vanished child whose image keeps haunting her, Shannon was mistaken for one of the demonic Others and shot by trigger-happy Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

Wounded and bloody, Shannon collapsed into the arms of Sayid (Naveen Andrews), who had just professed his love for her — and told her that, by golly, he had seen Walt's vision, too.

It was just another day on the uncharted tropical island where Shannon and dozens more airline passengers crashed last fall — at the same time launching "Lost" into a hit.

Played by Maggie Grace, Shannon had been depicted as a sexy brat whose checkered past included seducing her stepbrother Boone Carlyle, a fellow island refugee until his death last season in a freak accident. Shannon was left reeling by that loss.

On Wednesday's episode, Boone (played by Ian Somerhalder) made a guest appearance in a flashback. He was seen comforting teenage Shannon upon the sudden death of her father, after which her stepmother rudely cut off her funds.

Then trust-fund Boone betrayed Shannon when he announced that Mom had offered him a well-paying job.

No wonder Shannon wrestled with abandonment issues.

"I know when we get out of here, you're just gonna leave me," she tearfully told Sayid moments before she was shot.

"I will never leave you," he said.

His devotion seemed to be a "Lost" cause.

McCready's Grand Troubles

"This is going to ruin my career. Please don't do this to me."

So pleaded Mindy McCready as she tried to talk cops out of arresting her for alleged drunken driving, a police officer testified Tuesday in Nashville, according to the Nashville Tennessean.

As the police blotter shows, McCready's reputed lobbying effort failed. The troubled country singer, whose career has stalled as personal and legal troubles have mounted, was booked May 6 on suspicion of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.

A passenger, James Shell, also was arrested, the Tennessean said. He was dinged, in part, for allegedly allowing McCready to get behind the wheel.

Following Tuesday's court hearing, the case was turned over to the grand jury of Davidson County, Tennessee. It'll be up to the panelists to decide if McCready is to be indicted on DUI charges. If she is, and if she's found guilty, the Associated Press said, she'll face at least two days in jail and nearly one year on probation.

McCready, who turns 30 on Nov. 30, already is in hot water for allegedly violating the terms of her probation in a drug case handed down in Williamson County, Tennessee. A court hearing on that matter is scheduled for Monday.

Nearly a decade ago, McCready was a rising teenage star with a hit album, Ten Thousand Angels, and a number one single, "Guys Do It All the Time."

Today, McCready is three years and counting between new albums and a cautionary tale fit for The Oprah Winfrey Show, which she appeared on last week to talk about the boyfriend, William McKnight, who allegedly almost choked her to death. The happy couple--McCready told Winfrey she's still in love with McKnight--are currently expecting their first child.

Other recent McCready hits include: the time she was accused of using a fake prescription to score OxyContin; the time she OD'd in a suicide attempt; the time she faced charges for allegedly sort-of stealing a pickup truck (she said she was trying to help police catch the real criminal--the case was dismissed last week); the other time she OD'd in a second apparent suicide attempt; and the time she was jailed for an alleged probation violation.

"You are truly messed up. You really are," Winfrey told McCready on the talk-host's show. "You are truly messed up."

Concurred McCready: "It's true."

New Line makes Dumb a little Dumber

New Line Home Entertainment has just unveiled plans that a new version of the hilarious Farelly Brothers comedy Dumb And Dumber is coming to DVD in January, featuring an Unrated cut of the film with 6 minutes of additional, never-before seen footage inserted back into the movie.

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are too lame to live - and too dense to die - as a pair of deliriously dim-witted pals on a cross-country road trip to return a briefcase full of cash to its rightful owner. Along the way they'll confound cops, kidnappers and anyone and everyone who had the misfortune of crossing their paths in this comic caper for every idiot in the family!

The 2-disc Platinum Series release will feature an anamorphic widescreen transfer of the film, complete with a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital track in English and a number of extras, such as 3D Animated Menus and 2 Alternate Endings. Also included on the release are 9 Deleted Scenes as well as a new Retrospective Documentary. Further the DVD will contain a selection of Trailers, TV Spots and Fake Trailers.

Scheduled for release on January 3, “Dumb And Dumber: Unrated” will carry a $19.97 suggested retail price.

The Corpse Bride rises

Tim Burton's return to the world of creepy puppets comes to DVD early next year with the arrival of The Corpse Bride from Warner Home Entertainment.
Set in a 19th century European village, this stop-motion, animated feature follows the story of Victor, a young man who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious Corpse Bride, while his real bride, Victoria, waits bereft in the land of the living. Though life in the Land of the Dead proves to be a lot more colorful than his strict Victorian upbringing, Victor learns that there is nothing in this world, or the next, that can keep him away from his one true love.

The disc will come in seperate fullscreen and anamorphic widescreen versions, both in Dolby Digital 5.1 EX. Extras on the disc include the three documentaries Tim Burton: Dark vs. Light, Voices from the Underworld and Danny Elfman Interprets the Two Worlds, the featurettes Making Puppets Tick and Inside the Two Worlds, interviews, art galleries and an isolated score.

With a $29.98 suggested retail price, the DVD arrives on the 31st of January.

Nick Plans 20 More Spongebob Episodes

NEW YORK - Pull up for another meal at the Krusty Krab.

Nickelodeon has ordered 20 more episodes of "SpongeBob SquarePants."

That will make for a total of 100 adventures for the animated sea creature — or cash cow as they know him at Nickelodeon — when the new episodes finish airing in 2007.

"It just doesn't feel like we should stop yet," said Cyma Zarghami, Nickelodeon's chief executive.

Nickelodeon stopped making new episodes while the "SpongeBob SquarePants" feature film was in production, and there was some question at the time whether the series would start up again — then 20 episodes were ordered last year and are airing now.

It's the kid-oriented network's most popular show. Last week, for example, the 4.5 million people who watched "SpongeBob" on Saturday morning made it the most popular event on cable after football. Four episodes of the cartoon ranked among Nielsen Media Research's top 15 cable shows.

"SpongeBob SquarePants" is the most widely seen show in Nickelodeon parent MTV Networks' history; a recent deal to air it in China means it's shown in 25 different languages around the world.

It has also generated nearly $4 billion in merchandise sales since its 2000 premiere. Much of that is adult-sized; about a quarter of regular "SpongeBob" viewers are adults, more than double the typical Nickelodeon show, Zarghami said.

"`SpongeBob' came at a time when the country was maybe a little bit blue, and SpongeBob was an endlessly optimistic character that came along and gave us a boost," she said, trying to explain its popularity. "And maybe it's just because he's plain funny."

Nick is going all out to promote this Friday's special "Where's Gary?" in which SpongeBob's pet snail runs away after feeling neglected. Nick has enlisted skateboard king Tony Hawk in the "search," and more than 700,000 youngsters have already played an online game keyed to the special.

The special is "very entertaining and it's also creepy and disturbing — like all good cartoons should be," said Tom Kenny, the voice actor who portrays the porous yellow creature.

Kenny, who said he's delighted that he'll be working for 20 more episodes, has one of entertainment's ultimate undercover jobs, providing a voice that is recognizable to millions yet retaining anonymity when he walks out in public.

Not that he hasn't had any fun with that. Kenny occasionally finds himself walking in a park where he'll see a cluster of kids having a "SpongeBob" birthday party, complete with an adult dressed up in the character's costume.

"It's very tempting to walk by and say, `Hey, have a great birthday,'" he said, adopting SpongeBob's voice.

Collection Shows Isaac Hayes' Career

NEW YORK - It's a difficult image to conjure: Isaac Hayes struggling to overcome a nasty case of stage fright.

Not the hippest guy in the room, the epitome of cool.

Not the genius behind the soundtrack for "Shaft."

Not the voice of Chef on "South Park."

And yet it happened.

It was back in the late '60s, at the Masonic Temple in Detroit. Hayes was making his first-ever live appearance, sharing the bill with the established Staple Singers, and he wasn't sure how the audience would greet him.

"I had on some hippie-type outfit," says Hayes, his deep laugh rumbling at the recollection. "I had on red, white and blue pants, and moccasins. A purple shirt, and a terrycloth floppy hat. I was dressed weird, you know?"

Then Hayes made a joke, and the audience laughed. He removed the hat, revealing his shaved head, "and the ladies screamed," Hayes said.

Goodbye, stage fright. Hello, career.

Hayes, calling from his home base in Memphis, is reminiscing about his 1969-75 run at Stax Records — a memorable era captured on the new 2-CD collection "Ultimate Isaac Hayes — Can You Dig It?"

The collection, released Nov. 1, runs the gamut of Hayes' amazing output at the time, from hits like "Theme from Shaft" to the gospel sounds of "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" to a rarely heard duet with Dionne Warwick.

"Shaft," with its indelible hi-hat cymbal riff, earned Hayes a pair of Grammys. The soundtrack album stayed on the charts for 60 weeks, and changed the way that movies treated music. Movie soundtrack albums became a money-making genre, with artists from Curtis Mayfield ("Superfly") to Marvin Gaye ("Trouble Man") following Hayes' lead.

Hayes was one of the pioneers in breaking other traditional music business boundaries, whether by mixing his funk with a string section or stretching out on a 12-minute cover of the Warwick hit "Walk on By."

"I felt what I had to say musically could not be said in two minutes and thirty seconds," Hayes said. "So I did my thing. If it was a hit, great. But I just did what I wanted creatively."

The 63-year-old Hayes was a presence on the musical scene before his debut album, "Presenting Isaac Hayes," was released in 1969. With partner David Porter, he wrote the hits "Soul Man," "I Thank You" and "Hold On, I'm Coming" for Sam and Dave. He was in great demand as a session player and producer.

But it wasn't until his second solo album, "Hot Buttered Soul," that the music was given the full Hayes treatment. His earlier songs, Hayes said, were limited by Stax owner Jim Stewart's "meat and potatoes" approach to recording.

Hayes had something different in mind.

"I'd been hearing things in my head for a long time, but I'd been restricted," Hayes said. "Now I did what I felt. ... When I had the opportunity to do my own thing, that's when I thought about strings and different chords."

By the time of his album "To Be Continued," he was in the studio with violins, trumpets, French horns and flutes. And he became regarded as a brilliant interpreter of other writers' songs — sort of the Sinatra of soul.

Coming up with often outrageous arrangements for music by Jimmy Webb, Burt Bacharach, Al Green and Kris Kristofferson was as rewarding for Hayes as writing his own tunes.

"I like to see how people responded," said Hayes. "I liked that. It was a big validation."

Even bigger was meeting with Bacharach and Webb, who each expressed their admiration for Hayes' covers.

These days, Hayes is keeping himself plenty busy. He's working on a children's book, and promoting a cookbook aimed at helping people fight hypertension (the ailment claimed his grandfather, his father and good friend Barry White). And he's still rolling with the cast from "South Park," playing school cafeteria kingpin Chef.

He's doing a local radio show. And he's working on a new album — his first since 1995's dual release, "Branded" and "Raw & Refined" — with veteran drummer Steve Jordan.

As the conversation continued, Hayes recalled another live performance, when he was long past his struggle with stage fright.

He was in a place called the Tiki Bar, sharing the stage with R&B greats the Bar-Kays. Hayes planned to play a song by Glenn Campbell — that's right, Black Moses doing a cover of the Rhinestone Cowboy.

There was chatter in the crowd, and Hayes started talking as the band vamped, telling the story of a jilted lover's lonely life. And then he began to sing: "By the time I get to Phoenix ..."

"The audience said, `Whoa,'" Hayes remembered. "When I finished the tune, there were maybe a few dry eyes in the house — but not many. I got a standing ovation."

Review: 'Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic'

Sarah Silverman tells jokes about the Holocaust and 9/11, AIDS and slaves, Jesus Christ and her dying grandmother.

She refers to Asians as "chinks" and anyone Hispanic as a Mexican. She is equal opportunity in the relentlessness of her remarks: No one emerges unscathed.

Silverman is also undeniably cute and irresistibly likable, with a big smile and bright eyes and an almost childlike enthusiasm in her little-girl voice.

And therein lies the paradox of her shtick, on full display in her quasi-concert film/musical, "Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic."

Silverman's humor is not so much observational but confrontational. She forces you to confront your own foibles and prejudices, as well as the rampant political correctness designed to change such attitudes, by energetically embracing them. Unlike some comics who draw their laughs through self-deprecation, Silverman comes off as a shameless, radiant narcissist.

"I don't care if you think I'm racist," she says toward the end. "I just want you to think I'm thin."

It's all a put-on, of course. But her timing is so perfectly deliberate, she's bound to fool many people who are too literal-minded to be in on the joke. If these comments came out of anyone else's mouth, they'd be considered inexcusably offensive. Taking that risk — assuming that you can figure out for yourself whether she's kidding or not — shows that she's fearless, and that's incredibly exciting to watch.

At least for a while, anyway. One weakness Silverman and director Liam Lynch reveal in "Jesus is Magic" is that a little bit of the gimmick goes a long way. Many of her jokes are breathtakingly funny in their wrongness ("I was raped by a doctor, which is a bittersweet experience for a Jewish girl"). But after less than an hour the motif feels redundant, worn-out, and the interspersed musical numbers, ostensibly intended to break up and enliven the traditional concert-film structure, only drag the pacing to a halt.

The intentionally campy songs (which Silverman wrote and performs, and the girl can sing) are high-energy but surprisingly low in creativity. In one, she holds up various ethnic stereotypes — "I love you more than Jews love money ... I love you more than Asians love math" — while dressed as a go-go dancer and playing the guitar, but she goes for the obvious cliche, providing no sharp insight. A couple of fake backstage conversations (with her sister, actress Laura Silverman, and fellow comedians Bob Odenkirk and Brian Posehn) also feel a bit forced.

Silverman herself is so bewitching, though, you want to like the movie more. Her appearance in "The Aristocrats" is one of the funniest segments in a film populated by eclectic, talented comics, and she consistently brings the house down during the annual Friars Club roasts.

Seeing her in any form — even in a film that's flawed — is magical in itself. She's easily one of the most compelling, clever comics working today — male or female.

"Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic," a Roadside Attractions release, is not rated. Running time: 72 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Donny and Marie - I'm a Little Bit Country, I'm a Little Bit DVD...

R2 Entertainment, the folks behind such great nostalgic TV-DVD releases as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - The Ultimate Carson Collection, This Is Your Life - The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1, Tony Orlando and Dawn - The Ultimate Collection and The Sonny & Cher Ultimate Collection, are going down that path once more. This time, though, the subject is Donny and Marie Osmond, as R2 is prepping the entire run of their 1976-79 variety show!

All 72 hours of Donny and Marie will eventually come to DVD if sales warrant it, but the initial release planned for April 2006 will be a collection of the best segments, running about 9 hours on (probably) 3 DVDs. Donny Osmond is personally involved in choosing the material which will appear on this first set, and has agreed to host an infomercial which will promote the release (fans will be able to buy this set via the infomercial if they choose to, but it will also be available through regular retail channels both in stores and online). This week Osmond is at the "TV-DVD 3" Conference, which TVShowsOnDVD.com owner Gord Lacey is participating in out in L.A. He (Donny, not Gord) hosted the 2005 TV-DVD Awards last night.

Over the years, Donny & Marie included a lot of guest stars, including their complete family act The Osmonds (who were a staple the first year, but were seen less often later on as the show focused on the brother-sister combination which was so popular to the viewers), Farrah Fawcett, Barbara Eden, Andy Gibb, Lucille Ball, Ray Bolger (playing the Tin Man in a Wizard of Oz sketch!), Cheryl Ladd, Florence Henderson, Andy Williams, Redd Foxx (as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a Star Wars sketch!), John Wayne, and Bob Hope...just to name a scant handful. It's hard to imagine the monumental task of deciding which portions of the show to select to include in that first "best of" release. But one thing we can pretty much guarantee will be in it is at least one version of the famous brother-sister act singing, "I'm a little bit Country / I'm a little bit Rock-and-Roll"...the duet which became their standard!

There is still lots more information to come as this release begins to come together, so stay tuned and we'll bring you more details, plus cover art, just as soon as R2 makes it available.

Kiss Keeps Rocking With Live DVD

Make-up clad rock icons Kiss will on Dec. 13 release a double-disc concert DVD, "Rock the Nation Live!," via Image Entertainment. Although there are countless Kiss home videos and DVDs on the market, "Nation" sets itself apart with an abundance of rare songs, the "Kiss Powervision/Select-A-Kiss" option to hone in on an individual member and candid behind-the-scenes vignettes.

Taped in summer 2004 in Washington, D.C., and Virginia Beach, the DVD features core members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons flanked by guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer. "We were playing a lot of songs that Kiss hadn't played in years, or haven't played at all," Thayer tells Billboard.com. "One day, Doc McGhee, the manager, came into the dressing room, and said, 'We really need to film and record this show, because it's so good. It's probably the best Kiss performance I've seen.' So we said, 'OK.' That was the spark that got the whole thing going."

"At any moment, a viewer can choose what they want to see, and use different camera angles," Stanley adds. "So if you happen to have the good taste to see me, you can watch pretty much solely that. It's really your mix and your version of the show. I don't think we can forget that the band is really in peak form, and that's really shown on this DVD."

Stanley admits he was thrilled to air out such Kiss oldies as "Christine Sixteen," "She" and "Parasite" during the tour. "To be able to go out and play every and any Kiss song was very freeing," he enthuses. "We reached a point where a lot of the tours after the reunion tour were virtually the same set list, and it wasn't because we didn't want to play other songs. Once Tommy and Eric came in, on any given night, we could change the show, and really dig deep into our catalog. A band that's been together this long not only should be able to play 'Rock and Roll All Nite' and 'Love Gun,' but [also] 'Two Timer' or 'Got To Choose.'"

Still, fans continue to await a vault-clearing visual release, a project that Stanley acknowledges is closer to reality than ever before. "Yesterday was the beginning of planning really the ultimate Kiss experience," he says. "That Scorsese/Dylan piece ['No Direction Home: Bob Dylan'] was eye opening, at least to me, in terms of how you can be immersed in a time capsule, and not only see the music and be part of the crowd, but also get a sense of who Dylan was then. There are times when I'm much more interested in actual footage of somebody in the moment than somebody reminiscing 20 or 30 years later. It's fascinating to see where somebody was at, and what their mindset was in the midst of storm, as opposed to looking back on it. That set a really high bar, and I think that is more likely our approach at this point."

For now, it is unknown when Kiss may return to the road. "There's definitely talk," Stanley acknowledges. "I had a hip replacement a year ago, and that unfortunately didn't go as well as it should have, and they did it again, and that also didn't go as well as it should have. So the recovery from that has been longer, although about six weeks ago we did a corporate show for 15,000 people, in Columbus, Ohio. The band is as good and ready to go as ever. The difference is that I have to make sure that I can commit 100% of my energy for a tour, and not just a show."

Here is the track list for "Rock the Nation Live!":

Disc one:
"Love Gun"
"Deuce"
"Makin' Love"
"Lick It Up"
"Christine Sixteen"
"She"
"Tears Are Falling"
"Got To Choose"
"I Love It Loud"
"Love Her All I Can"
"I Want You"
"Parasite"

Disc two:
"War Machine"
"100,000 Years"
"Unholy"
"Shout It Out Loud"
"I Was Made For Lovin' You"
"Detroit Rock City"
"God Gave Rock & Roll to You II"
"Rock and Roll All Nite"

CBS Orders More Editions of 'Survivor'

LOS ANGELES - CBS has ordered more editions of "Survivor" for next season but it remains uncertain whether host Jeff Probst will stay with the reality series.

The network said Tuesday it will air the 13th and 14th versions of "Survivor" in the 2006-07 season. The contract with Probst, who has been with the show since it started in summer 2000, extends through the "Survivor" now in production.

That 12th version, being filmed at an undisclosed location, will be broadcast next spring. "Survivor: Guatemala" is currently airing.

Probst, 43, told People magazine last month that he is mulling renewal of his "Survivor" contract.

"There's the inevitable point where you go, `Do I want to do other things?'" he says. "But ... I'll never have as good a job as `Survivor.'"

Negotiations on a new contract have yet to begin.

The show from executive producer Mark Burnett remains a consistent top 10 ratings performer and a key part of the Thursday night lineup, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said.

"Revenge" Is Sweet on DVD

As Yoda might say, sales are strong with this one.

After just one week on sale, the DVD for Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith and LucasArts' latest videogame, Star Wars Battlefront II, generated a Hutt-sized $210 million in combined worldwide sales, according to figures released Tuesday by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Fox and Lucasfilm did not release the exact units sold for the DVD and videogame or how much money each made separately. But Jim Ward, senior vice president of Lucasfilm and president of LucasArts, said the numbers were mind-boggling.

"The phenomenal sales underscore the enduring strength of the series," said Ward. "In many territories, DVD and game sales were nearly double what we initially expected."

The long-heralded prequel, the last installment of George Lucas' epic six-part space saga, has been the biggest moneymaker of 2005, setting box-office records on its way to grossing $848 million in worldwide ticket sales. It was released on DVD in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Australia and Latin America on Nov. 1.

And, in a strategy choreographed with the precision of a 501st Legion maneuver, the Lucas Empire decided to debut the latest Star Wars videogame on the same day as the two-disc Sith set. Battlefront II, in which players can reenact the greatest battles in the movies, is poised to surpass last year's original to claim the title of best-selling Star Wars videogame of all time, with copies selling at a 40 percent higher clip than its predecessor.

In September 2004, LucasFilm and Fox released the DVD box set of the original Star Wars trilogy (with some minor, if controversial alterations) at the same time it put out the first Battlefront game, generating $115 million in first-day sales between them.

"Amid all this humdrum about disappointing box office and underwhelming CD and DVD sales, no one seems to mention the billions...of dollars Obi-Wan and company took to the bank in 2005," says Mike Destaino, columnist and reviewer for DVDfile.com. "Then again, Star Wars is just about the surest sale in the world: Even if the movie was called Star Wars: Episode III:--Jar Jar Binks Goes to Candyland, Lucasfilm would sell 3 trillion copies."

But some industry analysts took issue with Fox's boastings.

"There's no way to know based on that release how it stacks up against anything, which is I'm sure why they put it out the way they did and refuse to break out any numbers for DVD versus videogame, or U.S. Sales versus selected international territories," grouses Scott Hettrick, editor of the trade paper Video Exclusive. "That leaves no possible way to create an apples-to-apples comparison."

Hettrick did say that initial U.S. figures show Sith sold at least 5 million copies, besting Warner Bros.' Batman Begins DVD.

"Star Wars DVDs are never the biggest sellers of the year and never break any records," Hettrick says. "The same will be true this year with Sith. [But] because there is such a weak slate of competing titles and no Spider-Man or Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, it will almost certainly be the top-selling live-action DVD title of the year and may wind up as the second biggest DVD seller well behind The Incredibles.

Nonetheless, the Star Wars marketing machine is still a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Not only were characters from the space opera the most popular Halloween costume line this year, with Darth Vader leading the way, but Star Wars toys are outselling its closest rivals two-to-one, claiming 9.1 percent of the U.S. toy market. And the brand is expanding rapidly.

This Thursday, Donald Trump will host a special Star Wars-themed version of Apprentice. Promotional spots airing on TV and the Web show the Donald saying "you're fired" to a briefcase-toting Chewbacca and reprimanding Darth Vader for shoddy construction work on the Death Star. The Apprentice teams will compete to see who can put up the best Battlefront II display at Best Buy stores.

Lennon Catalog To Make Digital Debut

John Lennon's solo catalog will be made available digitally for the first time beginning this week with the release of the retrospective "Working Class Hero." The balance of Lennon's solo work will arrive digitally via as-yet-unannounced services on Dec. 5 in the United Kingdom and a day later in North America. A handful of unspecified tracks will also be available for download on mobile devices.

"I am very happy that John's music is now available to a new generation of music fans," says Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. "New technology is something he always embraced and this is something he would have loved. I always say that he would have been very excited by all the opportunities offered by the development of new means of communication."

However, the artist's music will not be sold via Apple's iTunes Music Store, which is embroiled in a lawsuit with Apple Corps Ltd., the Beatles' former record label. The latter company sued the computer giant earlier this year, claiming the iTunes store breaches a 1991 agreement involving the use of the Apple trademark for any works "whose principal content is music and, or performances."

That disagreement is one of many reasons the Beatles' music remains unavailable in digital form. Even Paul McCartney recently acknowledged the complexity of an online foray for the legendary rock quartet.

"I must say, I don't really get involved too much in that stuff, because it's all a little bit political," he told Billboard in September. "It's EMI, it's [the publishing company] Northern Songs, it's Apple; there's an awful lot of people involved. I get involved in stuff I can actually control and do something about. There's a lot of strangeness in those areas, and I tend to keep out of them."

"Something will happen," he added. "At some point, somebody will make the right move and it'll all happen. But at the moment, people aren't making the right move, so I just keep out of it. I stay on the edges of these things and just notice them with mild surprise."

New Order Gathers Up 'Singles'

Rhino will on Dec. 6 release a double-disc collection of New Order's "Singles," touted as the first career-spanning album featuring this material in chronological order. The North American edition of the project features a bonus track of the Secret Machines' remix of "Temptation."

Beyond such staples as "Blue Monday," "Bizarre Love Triangle," "True Faith," "Regret" and "Ceremony," the set features a Rich Costey radio edit of "Waiting for the Sirens' Call" (the title cut from New Order's latest studio album) and the 7-inch version of "Turn."

Meanwhile, New Order will return to live duty in the coming days for a Thursday (Nov. 10) show at London's Brixton Academy and a Nov. 14 gig in its Manchester hometown. The latter show will feature support from A Certain Ratio, marking the first time the two bands have played together since 1988.

Two days later, New Order will be inducted into the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in London and is expected to perform at the ceremony.

Meanwhile, "Guilt Is a Useless Emotion" has been tapped as the latest North American club single from "Waiting for the Sirens' Call" and will be released digitally on Nov. 29. Earlier singles "Jetstream" and "Krafty" both peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Here is the track list for "Singles":

Disc one:
"Ceremony"
"Procession"
"Everything's Gone Green"
"Temptation"
"Blue Monday"
"Confusion"
"Thieves Like Us"
"Perfect Kiss"
"Sub-Culture"
"Shellshock"
"State of the Nation"
"Bizarre Love Triangle"
"True Faith"
"1963"
"Touched by the Hand of God"

Disc two:
"Blue Monday '88"
"Fine Time"
"Round and Round"
"Run 2"
"World in Motion"
"Regret"
"Ruined in a Day"
"World (Price of Love)"
"Spooky"
"Crystal"
"60 Miles an Hour"
"Here To Stay"
"Krafty"
"Jetstream"
"Waiting for the Sirens Call" (Rich Costey radio edit)
"Turn" (7-inch version)
"Temptation" (Secret Machines remix)

Rick Mercer's Report is back

Rick Mercer's topical report shifts to Tuesday night on the CBC

Mercer drops out of the sky tonight as The Rick Mercer Report returns for a third CBC season (8 p.m.) A few weeks ago, the comedian humped it up to the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ont., for a little aerial acrobatics. "It was terrifying," Mercer told the Sun last week on the phone.

The comedian, who has twice entertained Canadian troops in Afghanistan, had become chummy with fellow Newfoundlander Rick Hillier, who just happens to be Canada's chief of defense staff. "He's the only Newfoundlander who has his own army," Mercer cracked.

Hillier challenged Mercer to skydive with Canada's elite paratroopers. Before he could say "Geronimo," Mercer was hurtling toward the Earth at 150 miles an hour.

Then again, some people will do anything to promote the shift of their show from Monday to Tuesday night. Mercer had to junk heaps of Rick Mercer's Monday Report hats, T-shirts and mugs in the move, but feels confident his audience will find him on this new night.

He has no plans to goof on CBC's recent lockout. "It's too inside and it's over," he says. The labour dispute pushed his season launch a week or two, but Mercer's just glad to be back at work.

The show will remain topical, with Mercer travelling from one end of the country to the other in search of comedy gold. "It's very much me talking to Canadians," he says. Former Buzz stooge Daryn Jones files the odd field report, including tonight's take on the Canadian Classic Bodybuilding Championships.

Also on tonight's opener, Mercer pedals around T.O. on a bicycle built for two with New Democratic Party leader and potential government plug puller Jack Layton. It is part of a new weekly "riding through My Riding" segment.

Even though Report now airs on Tuesday, it still tapes on Friday. Doesn't the four-day delay kinda take the steam out of the headlines? Look how fast that whole Gomery deal blew over.

Mercer insists that the new schedule can work. When pushed he simply responds with a prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

ALSO TONIGHT: Scott Thompson is the queen of the scene on Pop Up Royals (8:30 p.m., CBC). It's the latest initiative from CBC's Retro Production Department, a group assigned to come up with inventive new ways to use old CBC footage (as they did with the wonderfully silly summer series Jimmy Macdonald's Canada).

As host, Thompson dusts off his tiara and frumpy frock as Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. He makes with the shtick as clips roll of the various members of the Royal Family parading around Canada throughout the 20th century.

Billed as "an affectionate look at a dysfunctional family," it's more of a wacked history lesson, with info-bites about Liz and Phil and all their nutty progeny popping up on screen just like on Pop Up Video. (Example: which Royal brought his mistress with him to Canada?)

Sounds promising, except Thompson and Co. don't ever take off the kid gloves. This needed a chatty and catty Joan Rivers, can-we-talk approach. Instead of a Royal roast, this is a bland sop to Coronation Street fans. Pity.

The Couch Potato Report - November 8th, 2005

This week The Couch Potato Report features a movie remake, a TV show spinoff, and Live 8 on DVD.

The first movie I ever saw in a theatre was WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, a film based on Roald Dahl's book CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.

Admittedly, I don't remember much about my first cinematic experience, but I will never forget the film.

Gene Wilder was brilliant as the title character, and the sights and sounds that fed my senses inside the chocolate factory were overwhelming!

To this day, when I hear the words "come with me, and you'll be, In a land of pure imagination," I am instantly taken back inside Willy Wonka's world.

And I love it there!!!

I love it there so much, that when I heard that director Tim Burton was going to do his own version of the film, it didn't bother me. I was also okay with Johnny Depp taking over as Willy Wonka.

To their credit, Burton and Depp did a great job and there are many things to enjoy in their film.

However, I like my original version better.

That isn't necessarily because one version is better than the other, after all it is Roald Dahl's original story that is the basis for both, but I still prefer the original.

And I bet thirty-four years from now, when they inevitably make another film version, there will be someone who proclaims the 2005 version to be the preferred one because it was the first film they saw.

Whichever film you prefer, the story will always be the same unique tale of Charlie Bucket, a poor boy who is fortunate enough to receive one of only five golden tickets that grant the holder exclusive entry into recluse Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, and they will get to experience the wonders with.

Once inside, due to the winners' unfortunate personality traits, they eventually disappear until only one ticket holder remains.

That person is in store for a wonderful gift, if he can accept it.

And of course, if you haven't read the book, or seen either movie, I don't want to give anything away.

However, the book and the newest film are called CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.

But I digress.

It might not be my preferred version of this classic story, but Depp and Burton's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is very entertaining. Specifically, Depp does an incredible job playing a very, very unlikable character. His Wonka is actually very mean at times, but in a good way.

I say just think of this as a guilty pleasure and enjoy it.

Another guilty pleasure this week is the DVD set for A DIFFERENT WORLD - SEASON ONE.

IN 1987 the show debuted as a spin off of THE COSBY SHOW. Daughter Denise was sent off to college to find out that there was "a different world" awaiting her outside the Huxtable house.

In addition to Lisa Bonet as Denise, this first season of the show stars the young, and always beautiful, Marisa Tomei, who would eventually go on to win an Academy Award for her work in MY COUSIN VINNY.

Denise, Maggie, Whitley, Dwayne Wayne, Ron. They are all still attending Hillman College on this new 4-DVD box set.

Another 4 disc box set that is now available is the LIVE 8 BOX SET.

On July 2nd some of the biggest names in the music industry- including Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Sarah McLachlan, Bryan Adams, Black eyed Peas, Jet, Elton John, The Who, Sting, Paul McCartney, U2 and a re-formed Pink Floyd - took part in a series of concerts around the world. Two decades after he gave the world LIVE AID Bob Geldof staged an even more ambitious series of continent-spanning concerts dedicated to raising funds and public consciousness about international debt relief.

This Box Set focuses on the two biggest concerts that took place in London and Philadelphia. Sadly, even though there were a series of shows there is very little from them in this set.

That is the bad, but there is plenty of good on the LIVE 8 BOX SET. In addition to the concerts themselves there is also a backstage documentary and the entire performance from Pink Floyd and their pre-concert rehearsal.

Now if you are interested in the individual concert DVDs from Toronto, Paris, Rome or Berlin, they are also available as single discs.

However it is the Box Set that is most worthy of your time.

Plus, royalties from sales of the set will go to the Band Aid Trust for the relief of hunger and poverty in Africa.

From LIVE 8, we go now to this week's "leftovers."

Up first is the superb 2001 TV show UNDECLARED about Steve Karp and his fellow freshman dorm-mates.

They are all about to embark on one the greatest experiences of their lives...unfortunately for Steve, the girl he slept with last night has a boyfriend, and his lonely and recently divorced father is tagging along for the ride.

If you were a fan of the under appreciated FREAKS AND GEEKS then you will enjoy the humour and honesty that is front and centre in UNDECLARED.

And now UNDECLARED- THE COMPLETE SERIES is now available in an incredible 4-disc box set with an array of extras.

I declare that I love UNDECLARED, and I am quite pleased that I now own THE COMPLETE SERIES on DVD.

I am just as pleased that I now own a movie version of Douglas Adams' classic book THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.

After almost twenty years development THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY was finally turned into a movie this year.

For those unfamiliar with the story, everyman Arthur Dent wakes up one morning to discover that the entire planet of Earth is about to be destroyed for an interplanetary bypass.

Dent is saved by his best friend, and alien-in-disguise Ford Prefect and that sets the stage for a series of interesting and goofy trips across the galaxy, accompanied - of course - by the trusty Hitchhiker's Guide.

Many of my friends revere Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" book, and the BBC television series. Many of them were subsequently disappointed in this film adaptation.

But I enjoyed it. The cast seems to be having a good time, and the result is a fun, breezy movie that is a treat to watch.

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY movie might not be as good as the book, or the series, but it is an entertaining film nonetheless!

And it is available now at a store near you, along with CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, A DIFFERENT WORLD - SEASON ONE, the LIVE 8 BOX SET and UNDECLARED.

Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report

The funny film MADAGASCAR features four zoo animals who end us shipwrecked outside of their friendly confines.

SCRUBS - SEASON TWO is the 3-disc box set with all of the 22 hilarious episodes from SCRUBS sensational second season.

THE SKELETON KEY is the title and the item that reveals the secrets of an old mansion.

And our "Leftover" is the 2005 version of CRASH. In this exceptional film several stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles involving a collection of inter-related characters.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!

The Top Selling TV Shows on DVD

IN case you are curious, or just love useless facts, here they are!

Rank Title Units sold in millions Revenue in millions

1. Chappelle's Show: Season 1 Uncensored 3.68 $95.6
2. Family Guy, Volume 1 3.21 $120.4
3. The Simpsons: The Complete First Season 2.96 $110.8
4. Seinfeld First and Second Seasons 2.55 $95.6
5. Chappelle's Show: Season 2 Uncensored 2.51 $94.3
6. Band of Brothers 2.25 $180.2
7. Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell 2.13 $25.5
8. Sex and the City: The Complete First Season 2.07 $77.5
9. Family Guy Volume 2 2.06 $53.6
10. The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season2.03 $76.1M

Source: Home Media Retailing through Oct. 31

NEW CD RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER 8, 2005

The Alchemist The Instrumentals (Koch)

Lotte Anker, Craig Taborn and Gerald Cleaver Triptych (Leo)

Appareil Judas Kiss (Hit Thing)

Atomic Betty Atomic Betty (Koch)

AZ AWOL - Version 1.5 (Koch)

Bell Orchestre (w/members of Arcade Fire) Recording a Tape the Color of the Light (Rough Trade)

Brave Combo Holidays (Rounder)

Thomas Brinkmann Lucky Hands (MaxErnst)

Kate Bush Aeriel (two CDs) (Columbia)

Sylvain Chauveau & Ensemble Nocturne Down to the Bone (An Acoustic Tribute to Depeche Mode) (DSA)

Kenny Chesney The Road and the Radio (BNA)

Diane Cluck Countless Times (Touch and Go)

Comet Gain City Fallen Leaves (Kill Rock Stars)

D4L Down for Life (Asylum/Atlantic)

The Dansettes Oh My! EP (Hammondbeat)

The Dials Flex Time (Latest Flame)

Neil Diamond 12 Songs (formerly self-titled; produced by Rick Rubin) (Columbia)

DJ Morpheus I Can't Live Without My Radio (Tigersushi)

Dogs of Winter Cut Down to the Quick EP (Exotic)

The Dolls The Dolls (Huume)

Paul Duncan Be Careful What You Call Home (Hometapes)

Fenix TX Purple Reign in Blood - Live (includes b-sides, previously unreleased songs and covers) (Drive-Thru)

Floetry Flo'Ology (guest Common) (Geffen)

Robert Fripp Love Cannot Bear (Innerknot)

Peter Gallagher (actor from Fox's The O.C.) 7 Days in Memphis (covers of Stax Records soul classics; w/Steve Cropper, Betty Wright and members of Joss Stone's band) (Epic)

Ghost Writers Do You Believe in Ghosts? (Heavy Hitta)

Glass Joe Glacious (Felonious)

GREATDAYFORUP Flores de Sangre (Small Stone)

Grizzly Bear Horn of Plenty (two CDs; re-release of 2004 album w/bonus remixes) (Kanine)

Masashi Harada/Mat Maneri The Soul with Longing for Dim Hills (Leo)

Harvey Danger Cream and Bastards Rise EP (Kill Rock Stars)

Headlights The Enemies EP (re-release of 2004 EP) (Polyvinyl)

Hella Concentration Face/Homeboy (CD/DVD combo) (Kill Rock Stars)

Il Divo The Il Divo Gift Pack (Columbia)

Jarboe The Men (two CDs; duets w/ members of Low, the Bad Seeds, Legendary Pink Dots, Bauhaus, Ministry and more) (Atavistic)

Knut Terraformer (Hydra Head)

Cyndi Lauper The Body Acoustic (w/Sarah McLaughlin, Shaggy, Jeff Beck, Ani DiFranco and more; new versions of classics plus two brand-new songs) (Epic)

Lil' Romeo Romeo! TV Show (The Season) (soundtrack to Nickelodean show) (Koch)

The Fil Lorenz Soul-tet Stinky Stinky EP (Hammondbeat)

The Lounge Art Ensemble Music for Moderns (Leo)

Harry Manx Mantras for Madmen (Dog My Cat)

The Mars Volta Scabdates (live album from 2003-2005 tours) (GSL/Universal)

The No Neck Blues Band Qvaris (Kill Rock Stars)

Novatone (ex-members of Pearl Jam, Green Apple Quickstep and Harvey Danger) Time Can't Wait (Wax Orchard)

Mark O'Leary/Tomasz Stanko/Billy Hart Levitation (Leo)

The Primeridian Da All Nighta (Touch and Go)

The Rah Bras WHOHM (Lovitt)

Relient K Apathetic EP (Capitol)

Reverend Glasseye Our Lady of the Broken Spine (Music for Cats)

Ruts DC Meets Mad Professor Rhythm Collision Vol. 1 (Echo Beach)

Sheek Louch (of the Lox) After Taxes (Koch)

The Tah-Dahs (w/ex-Polyphonic Spree's Roy Ivey) Le Fun (Undeniable)

Tape Rideau (Hapna)

Tarantella (ex-members of 16 Horsepower and Blood Axis) Tarantella de La Morte (Alternative Tentacles)

Tarantula A.D. Book of Sand (Hollywood)

These Green Eyes House of Glass (Martyr)

The Marshall Tucker Band Carolina Christmas (featuring all surviving members of original line-up; includes standards and new songs) (Shout! Factory/Ramblin' Records)

Twista The Day After (Chopped & Screwed) (Atlantic)

Steve Tyrell Quite Frank: The Songs of Sinatra (Hollywood)

Pep Ventura The Environmental Sounds of Crawford Texas (Koch Nashville)

The Very Foundation Small Reserves (guest members of the Decemberists and Stockholm Syndrome) (Velvatonic)

Western Addiction Cognicide (Fat Wreck Chords)

Windy & Carl The Dream House/Dedications to Flea (two CDs; includes rare, limited-edition EP) (Kranky)

Wolf, Coleman, Mejer, Unternahrer Momentum 4: Rising Fall (Leo)

Young Quon Doin' It Movin' (B-Storm Enterprises)

Zu The Way of the Animal Powers (Xeng)

Zu vs. Mats Gustafsson How to Raise an Ox (Atavistic)

VA Asian Lounge (w/Nitin Sawhey, Deepak Chopra and more) (Putumayo)

VA Big Boi Presents...Got That Purp? Vol. 2 (w/Goodie Mob, Bubba Sparxxx, Killer Mike, Sleepy Brown and more) (Purple Ribbon/Virgin)

VA Brownswood USA: Gilles Peterson Digs America (new and rare soul, funk and jazz tunes from the DJ's personal collection) (Luv N' Haight/Ubiquity)

VA Hip Hop Helps: After the Storm - The Rap Compilation for Hurricane Relief (w/new tracks by Young Buck, Lil Flip, Paul Wall, Yo Gotti and more) (Hip Hop Helps)

VA SpongeBob Rocks (BMG Heritage)

VA Stand-ins for DeciBels: A Tribute to the dB's (w/Don Dixon and members of Hootie and the Blowfish, the Smithereens, Brian Wilson's band and more) (Paisley Pop)

VA Thrasher Magazine Presents: Skate Rock Vol. 12 - Eat the Flag (DualDisc; w/the Alkaline Trio, Turbonegro and more) (Volcom Entertainment)

OST Beauty and the Beast: Of Love and Hope (TV show) (Rykodisc)

OST Cronicas (John Leguizamo/Alfred Molina thriller) (Palm Pictures)

OST Doom (score by Clint Mansell) (Varèse Sarabande)

OST Duma (score by John Debney and George Acogny) (Varèse Sarabande)

OST Firefly (score by Greg Edmonson) (Varèse Sarabande)

OST Get Rich or Die Tryin' (50 Cent's biographical film; w/first single, "Window Shopper" and songs by Nate Dogg, Mase, M.O.P. and more; original score by Quincy Jones) (Interscope)

OST Smallville: The Metropolis Mix (WB TV show; w/the Dandy Warhols, Depeche Mode, Stereophonics and more) (Hollywood)

OST Water (score by Mychael Danna) (Varèse Sarabande)

DVD Drive-Thru Records, Volume III (Drive-Thru)

DVD Reefer Madness - The Movie Musical (inspired by classic 1936 film; w/Neve Campbell, Alan Cumming and more) (Showtime)

DVD 30 Odd Foot of Grunts featuring Russell Crowe Soundstage Presents (guest Kris Kristofferson) (Koch)

DVD 50 Cent Refuse to Die (documentary) (New Line)

DVD Coheed & Cambria Live @ Starland Ballroom (Columbia)

DVD The Charlie Daniels Band Live (Koch Nashville)

DVD Sage Francis Life Is Easy (live performances w/interviews and behind-the-scenes footage) (Epitaph)

DVD Hall & Oates Our Kind of Soul Live (live performance w/bonus acoustic tracks and interview) (Image)

DVD Hellogoodbye OMG HGB DVD ROTFL (w/music videos, interviews, performance footage and more) (Drive Thru)

DVD Ute Lemper Blood & Feathers - Live from the Café Carlyle (w/two bonus tracks not included on CD version) (Koch)

DVD VA Live 8 (four DVDs) (Capitol/EMI)

SHE’S A SHUE-IN

New Line has tapped Elisabeth Shue to star opposite Jim Carrey on thriller "The Number 23," directed by Joel Schumacher.

Shue's most recent credits are "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story" and "Hide and Seek."

Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson of Contrafilm will produce the pic, written by Fernley Phillips. Carrey will portray a man who becomes obsessed and haunted upon reading a book that seems to be about his life but ends with a murder. The number 23 is woven throughout the plot.

New Line's Richard Brener, Keith Goldberg and production prexy Toby Emmerich oversee the project for the studio. Brooklyn Weaver, who manages the writer, is exec producing.

Cruise Control Shifts Gears

Tom Cruise is "restructuring."

Hollywood's leading leading man has dumped sister Lee Anne De Vette as his publicist and enlisted power publicity firm Rogers & Cowan.

The moves come in the wake of Cruise's endless summer in which he talked up War of the Worlds, vitamins and exercise, and Katie Holmes--not necessarily in that order.

In the tradition of Hollywood divorces, the Rogers & Cowan-for-De Vette swap was announced on Friday. And in the tradition of press releases about Hollywood divorces, the statement accentuated the positive.

Technically, the release wasn't about De Vette's dumping. Rather, it was about her being tapped to "exclusively oversee the day to day operations of Tom Cruise's philanthropic activities."

Cruise, 43, praised De Vette for having done a "wonderful job" as his personal publicist. De Vette, for her part, was "thrilled" with her new duties. There was no mention of Cruise and De Vette choosing to remain friends, but it was understood they would remain siblings.

As part of Cruise's staff "restructuring," as the statement put it, Rogers & Cowan also will handle publicity for the star's production shingle, Cruise-Wagner Productions. The company's upcoming projects include Mission: Impossible 3, due out next summer.

Rogers & Cowan, PR home to stars such as John Travolta, said on Monday it was not representing Holmes. Cruise's with-child fiancée recently ditched her own longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, for De Vette.

De Vette succeeded Pat Kingsley as Cruise's publicist last year. Under Kingsley, Cruise cemented his status as the world's top movie star. With De Vette, Cruise enjoyed his biggest box-office hit ever (War of the Worlds) and suffered his worst publicity ever.

A recent report by Genius Insight, a New York-based marketing and research firm, found that Cruise's likeability sunk among 13- to 49-year-olds as the actor jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch to declare his love for Holmes, took Matt Lauer to task for being "glib," prescribed vitamins and exercise for Brooke Shields and other women coping with postpartum depression, and generally became an outspoken advocate for Scientology. Per the study, Cruise went from the 11th most liked celebrity in the spring, to the 197th most liked celebrity in the summer. Worse, he joined David Spade, Pauly Shore and Tom Green as one of the five most polarizing stars. (Ashton Kutcher rounded out the group.)

To Ann Gabriel, a public relations expert who testified at Michael Jackson's molestation trial about the PR debacle the singer faced in the wake of the 2003 Martin Bashir documentary, Living with Michael Jackson, Cruise's summer was a 15 on the PR Disaster Scale of 1-10, with 10 supposedly being the most disastrous. (On the stand, she said Jackson's Bashir problem rated a 25.)

"I think it was off the scale," Gabriel said of Cruise. "I think if he's truly happy with his life there were probably some ways he could have better chosen to portray his newfound happiness."

Gabriel, who briefly worked for Jackson in 2003, said Cruise and the pop star are similar in that both lost touch with the public.

"I'm sure Michael didn't perceive his actions would be scrutinized the way they were or possibly misinterpreted," Gabriel said. "And I don't believe Tom Cruise believed his comments about postpartum depression would be as scrutinized."

Cruise's publicity firm shakeup is a sign to Gabriel, for one, that "he understands that he may have overstepped some of those boundaries."

In short, maybe next time sit on the couch.

NBC, CBS to offer shows on demand for 99 cents

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC and CBS unveiled separate plans on Monday to make some of their hottest prime-time shows available for viewers to watch at their leisure -- without commercials -- for 99 cents an episode, throwing open the door to "on-demand" television.

The back-to-back announcements from NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., and Viacom Inc.-owned CBS, came weeks after Walt Disney Co.'s ABC began offering commercial-free Internet downloads of its biggest hits, "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," for $1.99 a piece.

The two latest deals add CBS and NBC shows such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" to the mix of programs networks are clamoring to deliver outside conventional broadcasts.

All three ventures highlight growing efforts by the major commercial networks to shake up "old media" models and expand their avenues of distribution.

On-demand viewing -- enabling audiences to order up shows when they feel like watching instead of according to a preset program schedule -- has been commonplace on pay-cable networks for some time.

A number of broadcasters have dabbled in this area lately, and personal digital recorders such as TiVo Inc.'s popular device already allow viewers to record and play back their favorite shows while skipping through commercials.

But the NBC and CBS ventures are the first to give viewers access to several prime-time broadcast offerings on a next-day, on-demand basis through their television sets, as opposed to a personal computer or portable digital device like iPod. And viewers do not record the shows themselves.

Both services launch early next year, with NBC programs distributed through satellite broadcaster DirecTV Group and CBS via cable giant Comcast Corp..

"This has the chance to make our networks even stronger," NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker told Reuters. "It provides more exposure to the shows and gives the viewer the ability to watch the episodes on their own timetable."

NBC narrowly beat CBS to the punch by announcing its tie-in first. Under its plan, select shows from NBC Universal's flagship network, NBC, and its cable networks will be made available for on-demand viewing to homes equipped with a new DirecTV digital video recorder (DVR).

NBC's initial offerings will include the two spinoffs of its "Law & Order" franchise -- "SVU" and "Criminal Intent," as well as workplace comedy "The Office" and sea monster thriller "Surface." Two cable shows also will be part of the mix -- USA Network's "Monk" and Si Fi channel's "Battlestar Galactica."

Hours after those shows first air on the network each week, they will be "pushed" to DirecTV Plus DVRs, where they will be stored digitally and available the next morning for customers to select and play at their convenience for 99 cents.

The DVR devices can be obtained by DirecTV subscribers from retail outlets for free after a $100 mail-in rebate.

The CBS venture will initially make four of the network's biggest prime-time hits -- "CSI," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" -- available to Comcast digital cable customers in markets served by CBS-owned TV stations. Those areas include Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Baltimore and some outlying suburbs of New York City.

Comcast already offers digital cable customers some 3,800 on-demand titles, mostly movies, children's shows, sports and music, at no extra charge. Comcast has logged more than 1 billion program views this year, as of last month.

Like NBC's shows, CBS on-demand programs will be sold for 99 cents per episode, the same price online music sites typically charge for downloads of a single song.

In October, Disney began offering next-day Internet downloads of its biggest ABC hits, "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," and some other shows for $1.99 per episode via Apple Computer Inc.'s online iTunes music store.

Author Albom tapped for 'Nightline' finale

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - For his last "Nightline" on November 22, ABC's Ted Koppel won't take a comprehensive look back at his career, but will instead feature an interview with "Tuesdays With Morrie" author Mitch Albom talking about one of Koppel's favorite interview subjects, Morrie Schwartz.

"Nightline" executive producer Tom Bettag said Friday that there wouldn't be a collection of Koppel's "greatest hits" during that last show. Instead, it will be an interview with Albom interspersed with clips from interviews Koppel did with the college professor in 1995, when Schwartz was dying of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

"It's Ted and Mitch talking about what Morrie taught them and intercut with the best of Morrie," Bettag said. The interview was done several months ago; it's still not clear how long Koppel's final "Nightline" will last.

"We can have more than a half-hour. I'm not sure we'll take it. What we want to do is do it right," Bettag said. "It's not the length, it's nailing it just right."

It was Koppel's conversations with Schwartz that led Albom, a sportswriter and Detroit Free Press columnist, into getting back in touch with his mentor, who taught history at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., when Albom attended. That reconnection -- and Schwartz's lessons about life and grace in the face of death -- led to the 1997 best-seller and later an ABC movie.

Bettag said that some of Koppel's favorite interviews had always been his shows with Schwartz, which "Nightline" aired in three separate installments in March, May and October 1995. Schwartz died November 4, 1995.

Bettag and Koppel were adamant about not having a retrospective of his years on the show, where his interview subjects have ranged from Henry Kissinger, Desmond Tutu and Kermit the Frog to people dying of AIDS, soldiers in the war in Iraq and the people in the path of Hurricane Katrina.

"The notion of Ted Koppel coming on and saying, 'Here's my greatest hits,' doesn't feel right," Bettag said. "This is a retrospective. It's not talking about Ted, it's talking about someone who Ted admires."

Red Green says goodbye to Possum Lodge

Don your plaid and get out the duct tape! The final Red Green Show will be taped before a live audience in Toronto on Saturday.

The sold-out show marks the end of 15 years of Canadian TV history; it's the last instalment of the final season of the show, which airs Friday nights on CBC TV.

Comedian Steve Smith originally created the Red Green character for a CHCH series out of Hamilton, Ont., Smith and Smith. It starred Smith and his wife, Morag.

The show, about the handyman with the philosophy "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy" moved from one network to another before finding a home on CBC.

Behind the Scenes: Red Green Show
It attracts about one million viewers a week and is taped at Harbourside studios in Toronto before a live audience where fans often wear plaid shirts and carry a roll of duct tape to fit in with the Possum Lodge atmosphere. A fan club boasts about 100,000 members.

The show created a host of memorable characters, including his straight-man nephew Harold, played by Patrick McKenna, and the light-fingered Mike Hamar, played by Wayne Robson.

Red Green's greatest legacies may be the thousands of uses he has found for duct tape, and the Possum Lodge Man's Prayer: "I'm a man...But I can change...If I have to...I guess."

Smith says that after 300 episodes and 9,500 pages of script, he's not going to miss being Red Green.

"I won't miss him, not even slightly," he said in an interview with the Hamilton Spectator. "It's been so great, honestly. It's all positive memories for me, and if I felt sad, it would be kind of like I'm greedy, that I wanted more of that. I don't think there is more. I don't think there could be more and I sure don't need more or expect more."

Smith, a resident of Hamilton, plans to continue writing and running S&S Productions, which produced the Red Green Show.

He is a script consultant on the upcoming CTV comedy Jeff, Ltd. and plans to get more involved in the S&S animated program, Sons of Butcher for the Comedy Network.

Smith revealed that the final episode will give fans a video glimpse into what the future holds for the characters who hung around Possum Lodge with Red.

"It will be a kind of where-are-they-now thing where we fast forward 10 years ahead," Smith says. "I really want the fans to feel satisfied and know what happened to the characters and that everybody's OK and the lodge still exists somewhere. It's just not on TV anymore."

The final show will air in March.

'Wyrd Sisters' cannot stop Harry Potter

An Ontario judge has dismissed a motion by a Winnipeg band that would have blocked the release of the new Harry Potter movie in Canada.

Winnipeg folk group the Wyrd Sisters was in court Friday asking for an injunction to block the Nov. 18 release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The group argued in court that they've owned the trademark to the name in Canada since 1990, and that release of the movie with a band purporting to have the same name will ruin their reputation.

In the J.K. Rowling book, there is a band called the Weird Sisters, a term taken from Shakespeare. A band also appears in the movie, played by members of Radiohead and Pulp; however, references to the band's name have been removed.

That doesn't matter, argued Kimberly Townley Smith who represents the Winnipeg group. She said the fact that people could confuse the two groups is damaging to the group's founder.

"The problem is, she's first. She has the right to use it. She's the Wyrd Sisters and now, when she goes out, people are going to think that she's them and worse, who is this person ripping off Harry Potter?"

Harry Potter-related merchandise is using the group's name and could create still more confusion, she said.

But Justice Colin Campbell ruled the public wouldn't confuse three characters from the film with the real-life band.

The injunction application is part of a $40-million US lawsuit the band filed in September against Warner Brothers — the studio distributing the film — and the three famous British musicians acting in the movie: Pulp's frontman Jarvis Cocker and Radiohead's guitarist Jonny Greenwood and drummer Phil Selway.

Warner says it tried to reach a deal with the Juno-nominated group to use the name, but they were unable to come to an agreement.

Websites for Radiohead and Potter fans are calling the court case nothing more than a publicity stunt. But Wyrd Sister Kim Baryluk says it is about protecting her life's work.

"We're Canadian citizens. We have a business. We have a right to use that business name how we see fit. And the way WB approached us was to effectively say we don't have that right and they've made life very difficult for me," she said.

Baryluk said she would be satisfied if Warner Bros. added a line in the credits of the movie saying: the real Wyrd Sisters live in Canada.

Scott, Grace locked on 'Cockblocker'

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Seann William Scott and Topher Grace are attached to star in a comedy with the MPAA-challenged title of "Cockblocker."

The Paramount Pictures story follows a guy (Grace) who meets the girl of his dreams, only to find out that her best friend happens to be her ex-boyfriend (Scott).

The studio beat out three other studios for the project, which will be written by Greg Coolidge, whose only produced credit is Disney's "Sorority Boys." Sources say his deal was worth a $1.25 million advance against a $1.85 million payout if the film is produced.

The intent is to shoot "Cockblocker" next year in partnership with Paramount's sibling studio MTV Films.

Scott was last in theaters with "The Dukes of Hazzard." Grace, best known for his role as Eric on Fox's "That 70's Show," is gearing up to star in "Spider-Man 3."

Anne Hathaway Turns Romance Novelist in "Becoming Jane"

Anne Hathaway, most recognized from The Princess Diaries, is about to play celebrated author Jane Austen, in Becoming Jane. Empire Online reports the actress, who turns 23 next weekend, will star as the British writer who has had many of her novels become films, such as Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. "I'm attached to it and we're trying to get financing for it," says Hathaway. "Jane Austen is one of the most special literary figures. I don't want to short change her in any way." The movie will focus on a part of Austen’s life which inspired the epic romance found in her writing.

McCready Gets Some Good News

Mindy McCready has one less problem to worry about.

Prosecutors in Arizona dismissed two criminal charges against the singer Friday that stem from a June incident involving an allegedly stolen pickup truck. McCready had been slapped with charges of hindering prosecution and unlawful use of means of transportation.

Although few details of the case have publicly released, police had said McCready and a man had taken a pickup truck from a woman without permission. The case also involved an attempt to purchase two speedboats worth more than $1 million.

All along, McCready blamed the incident on a con man, claiming she was actually trying to help police catch him.

Though she no longer has to contend with those charges, McCready still has plenty of issues to resolve.

The "Guys Do it All the Time" singer is due back in court on Nov. 14 for a probation violation hearing.

McCready was jailed in Florida in August after a warrant was issued for her arrest following her second violation.

The singer was previously busted on a DUI charge in May and was convicted of fraudulently obtaining prescription painkillers in November 2004.

On top of her legal problems, McCready has attempted suicide twice in the past several months by overdosing on a mixture of pills and wine.

The singer revealed that she initially tried to kill herself after learning that she was pregnant with her on-again, off-again boyfriend William McKnight's baby.

McKnight was charged with attempted murder after he beat and almost choked McCready to death after ambushing her in her home, just days after her drunken driving arrest.

Despite the violent attack that almost ended her life, McCready claims she still loves McKnight and is unwilling to give up on their relationship.

During an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show Thursday, she admitted to spending time with him on several occasions since learning she was carrying his child, though they are technically not supposed to see each other.

McCready attributed McKnight's violence to drug use, but said she did not expect him to hit her again. However, she said she was bothered by his lack of remorse over the attack.

"I wanted him to take responsibility for it," she said. "I wanted him to be extremely sorry for it."

But because McKnight, in McCready's words, "doesn't think that he's done very much wrong," she said that she has had trouble recovering emotionally from the incident.

"As long as I live, I will never get over it," she told Winfrey. "I will never forget it. And I will forever be haunted by it."

Phil Collins says open to Genesis reunion

TEL AVIV, Israel (Reuters) - British singer and songwriter Phil Collins said on Sunday he would be open to a reunion of his old band Genesis, a day before he is set to perform in Israel as part of his what he calls his final tour.

"I'm open for it," said Collins, 54, the most prominent international music star to perform in Israel since the start of a Palestinian uprising more than five years ago.

"I'm happy to sit behind the drums and let Peter (Gabriel) be the singer. If (a reunion) happens, I'll be there. If it doesn't happen ... it would just be because there are too many things in the way," Collins told reporters in Tel Aviv.

Collins' concert on Monday in Jaffa, a quarter of Tel Aviv, is part of his "First Final Farewell Tour." He said that he would stop touring "soon" in order to be able to spend more time with his family, but would like to continue to record music.

Collins said he wasn't afraid in Israel, where Israeli-Palestinian violence has raged for more than five years, although attacks have largely decreased during the past year since a February truce. He performed in Lebanon a day earlier.

"I wish it wasn't like this," Collins said of the conflict. "I sit and watch stuff on the television, I think, 'Why, why, why."'

Groups like progressive rockers Jethro Tull, boy band Westlife and metal bands Megadeth and the Scorpions, have performed in Israel during the uprising. Other artists, such as Madonna, have canceled planned concerts, though she visited Israel last year on a Kabbalah pilgrimage.

The progressive rock group Genesis formed in 1967 and were internationally successful for more than 30 years. Collins, the band's first drummer, took over as singer after Gabriel quit the group in 1975 to become a solo artist.

Collins left in 1996 to concentrate on his own solo career having already scored solo hits in the 1980s with "Against All Odds" and "In the Air Tonight."

After a shuffle of band members, including an Israeli drummer, Genesis finally called it quits in 1998.

Fab Four uncovered in hefty tome

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In the beginning there was John, the scruffy rebel who dazzled the good burghers of Liverpool with song and story. Then came Paul, the doe-eyed champion of all things bright and chirpy. Then there were George, the quiet one, and Ringo, who was -- well, Ringo.

The four looked out onto the world and saw that it needed righteous noise, and they provided it in great abundance so that all could be well.

Nearly half a century after the Fab Four first came together, the story of the Beatles has passed into something like mythology, a hero cycle for moderns, legendary history from the distant days before the iPod.

Bob Spitz's vast biography of the band, called, simply enough, "The Beatles," has its worshipful moments as befits a story with its world-changing moments and larger-than-life players. It also ventures into iconoclasm at times, so much so that some of the faithful in blogland may be calling for his head. George not a saint? Paul an egomaniac? John a junkie? Is this guy a Blue Meanie or what?

At its best moments -- and there are many good ones -- Spitz's book focuses on moments that everyone of a certain age can remember and adds depth and detail to them, reminding us that pivotal events often are born of accident. The band, for instance, had good reason to be tired of touring when they quit the road in summer 1966. The official explanation that they did so to concentrate on mastering studio recording doesn't acknowledge their close brushes with death at the hands of deranged fans and detractors, malfunctioning aircraft and Imelda Marcos' soldiers, all of which Spitz covers in detail.

Everyone knows, too, that the Beatles were rebels who changed the world; Spitz lends a few particulars to the trope, noting that, for another instance, the pre-Fab Quarrymen braved howling mobs of traditional jazz fans when they dared play rock 'n' roll at the Cavern -- a place now enshrined in their tale but up until then hostile to anything that smacked of a rock-steady beat.

Everyone might not know what Spitz reveals: that the band was on the verge of breaking up many times before the foursome finally got around to doing so, the result of titanic power struggles that make the whole Beatles enterprise all that much less innocent.

Spitz, a veteran of the business side of entertainment, has a learned appreciation for matters of the bottom line. The Beatles' arrival in New York in 1964 has come to be seen as a triumph of transnational culture, of the moptops' conquering a needful America; it puts the moment in a somewhat different perspective to know that the 707 crossing the water was full of merchandisers who "had booked seats on Flight 101 in order to corner the Beatles with far-fetched pitches" and to ink exclusive deals to manufacture more junk -- lunchboxes, bobblehead dolls, fright wigs -- to cash in on Beatlemania. John Lennon, Spitz writes, may have been the worst of the four in handling money -- the working-class hero spent it without regard for consequence -- but he also was quick to sign off on such income-producing embarrassments.

"The Beatles" has a few puzzling moments, mostly when Spitz crosses from commerce into criticism. How, one might wonder, is "Baby's in Black" a "pretentious, image laden-song?" ("Eleanor Rigby," maybe, but . . .) Were the band's pre-1965 compositions characterized by "standard progressions, rheumy lyrics, and simplistic arrangements?" Does it really serve no purpose "trying to dissect the songs to determine who contributed what?" (If so, what will legions of Beatleologists do with their free time?) And why pick on Yoko Ono, anyway?

Readers wondering what all the fuss was about in the first place might be better served by first looking into Hunter Davies' there-at-the-time biography "The Beatles" and Mark Hertsgaard's "A Day in the Life," which focuses on what really matters -- namely, the music. But for collectors, completists, latter-day Beatlemaniacs and students of recent cultural history, Spitz's book -- though debatable at points -- is a welcome arrival.

Armstrong Says His Celebrity Puzzles Him

CINCINNATI - Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has never felt comfortable with the celebrity he achieved. In fact, it puzzles him.

"Friends and colleagues, all of a sudden, looked at us, treated us slightly differently than they had months or years before when we were working together," the Apollo 11 astronaut told "60 Minutes" in an interview to be broadcast Sunday. "I never quite understood that."

Armstrong, 75, rarely grants interviews. He agreed to one last month just before his only authorized biography, "First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong," hit bookstores.

The interview will air on CBS, which, like the book's publisher, Simon & Schuster, is owned by Viacom.

Author James R. Hansen, an Auburn University professor and former NASA historian who wrote the biography, was allowed more than 50 hours of recorded interviews with Armstrong in his suburban Cincinnati home.

On July 20, 1969, Armstrong, then 38, stepped onto the moon with the famous words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

In the years since, he has taught at the University of Cincinnati and served on corporate boards, all the while rejecting interview requests.

In an e-mail response to The Cincinnati Enquirer, Armstrong said he reluctantly agreed to the book deal.

"Many individuals whose opinions I value have urged me to find a way to put my story in print," Armstrong said. "I concluded a biography would be superior to an autobiography.

"I believed the author should have access to my recollections and thoughts although he would not be bound to use or accept them."

'Chicken Little' flies high at box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Chicken Little," the first fully computer-animated movie produced by Walt Disney Co., exceeded industry expectations by selling $40.1 million in tickets in North American in its first three days of release, the company said on Sunday.

Film industry observers had expected the new box office champion to pass the $30 million mark, despite scathing reviews.

The film is considered a key test of the ability of Disney, whose fortunes were built on hand-drawn cartoons such as Bambi and The Little Mermaid, to succeed in the world of computer animation without help from the blockbusters made by its production partner Pixar Animation Studios Inc.

Disney's partnership with Pixar, in which it has shared box office grosses of $3.2 billion since 1995 from movies like the "Toy Story" series and "Finding Nemo," expires next year.

The two companies are in talks to renew the pact, although Pixar is pursuing a deal under which it would pay a flat fee for distribution and keep the profits for itself, in much the same way as George Lucas contracts with 20th Century Fox to distribute his "Star Wars" films.

Under former Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner, relations between Disney and Pixar deteriorated, but new Disney CEO Robert Iger is working to restore harmony.

The project revolves around the age-old tale of a chicken that thinks the sky is falling. In Disney's adaptation, no one believes the chicken (voiced by "Scrubs" star Zach Braff) when he warns of a greater peril.

Critics were generally appalled by the movie, though industry observers say bad reviews generally mean nothing to parents looking to keep their children quiet for a few hours.

Yoko Ono Apologizes for McCartney Remark

NEW YORK - Yoko Ono has apologized to Paul McCartney for insinuating that his songs are trite.

Accepting an award on behalf of John Lennon last month, Ono said Lennon had sometimes felt insecure about his songs, asking "why they always cover Paul's songs and never mine."

"I said, `You're a good songwriter, it's not June with spoon that you write.'"

After reports of the apparent slight circulated, Ono apologized in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, now on newsstands.

"I certainly did not mean to hurt Paul, and if I did, I am very sorry," she says.

McCartney has sometimes clashed with Ono, Lennon's widow.

She objected when McCartney reversed the traditional "Lennon-McCartney" songwriting credit on his 2002 album, "Back in the U.S." Ono's spokesman accused him of attempting to "rewrite history."

McCartney had earlier complained that Ono wouldn't let him take credit for "Yesterday," a song written entirely by McCartney.

Nelly Furtado Cuts Loose

Timbaland, Pharrell, Scott Storch lend beats to Canadian crooner's latest

"The first day we were jamming, the speaker actually caught fire -- seriously," says Canadian songbird Nelly Furtado, who jetted down to Miami to record Loose, the follow-up to 2003's Folklore, with hip-hop hitmaker Timbaland.
Timbo, who ended up producing more than half of the record's fourteen tracks, is just one of several stars Furtado recruited for the disc (due this spring), a group that also includes Pharrell Williams, Scott Storch and Shakira producer Lester Mendez, who worked on the Spanish-language reggaeton-style "No Hay Igual."

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin stopped by the studio in August when he was in town for MTV's Video Music Awards to add vocals to "All Good Things Come to an End." "He loves Timbaland, and Timbaland loves Coldplay," says Furtado. "It was like a match made in heaven. The two of them just looked like two kids in a candy store."

The potential first single is "Promiscuous Girl," a club track with a Timbaland beat and Furtado flipping rhymes about celebrating your inner slut. "This phase in my life is all about feel," says Furtado, describing the song's sexy, slow-jam vibe. "I'm more in touch with my emotions and my body, so the music is really dance-oriented."

Furtado, who isn't currently in a relationship, attributes this newfound body-consciousness to her daughter, Nevis, who was born in 2003: "I think when you first become a mother, you reclaim your body a little bit."

Peter Gabriel Plugs In

New studio effort will deal with "birth and death, with sex in the middle"

Peter Gabriel tends to take a long time between projects. His last release, 2002's Up, took nearly a decade to record. "A mere lightning flash for a snail," quips Gabriel. With a wide array of projects in the works nowadays -- from a live DVD and documentary to the new studio album, I/O -- Gabriel seems to be picking up that pace.

First up is the second DVD to document his 2002-2003 Growing Up World Tour.

This new release features an entirely different track listing than the first, 2003's Growing Up Live, including rarities such as "San Jacinto" and the new track "Burn You Up, Burn You Down." The set also features the documentary Still Growing Up Unwrapped, filmed by his daughter Anna, about Gabriel's life on the road with his two daughters and then-newborn son Isaac. "It took a few weeks for him to get used to having a camera in his face all the time," Anna says of shooting some twenty-eight hours of footage of her father. "It was a very easygoing tour -- I wanted more drama!"

Also in the works is a new album called I/O, which stands for input/output. "At the moment, I'm trying to write principally about birth and death, with the sex in the middle," Gabriel says. He has been working steadily over the last few months on the new songs with a minimal crew, including longtime engineer Richard Chappel and percussionist Ged Lynch. This time around he's chosen to produce the sessions himself. "My mental process is so slow," he says, "that it's not really fair to take that time out of anyone else's life."

Among the 150 tracks Gabriel has in various stages of gestation is a reworking of the 1986 B side "Curtains," which he decided to revisit after the song received thousands of votes on an online poll to determine his last tour's set list. "I had pretty much forgotten about it," he explains. "So I pulled it out, found stuff I liked and did it again."

In a break from tradition, Gabriel is contemplating taking the new songs on the road before laying down their final versions. "What I've always wanted to do is finish the songs, get them arranged for the band, tour for a month or so, then record them," he says. "That would give me a different type of immediacy -- because sometimes when I work and work on stuff, people feel that it loses some of its flair."

His next tour may be a significantly more stripped-down affair than prior ones: "I would like to try maybe just me and a percussionist, or a percussionist and bass. It's good sometimes to let go of your crutches."

King Kong Back Online

If you want to see how good he looks visit Universal's official King Kong website without delay and enjoy!

Titanic: Special Collector's Edition

Paramount Home Entertainment has included three hidden features on the Special Collector’s Edition of James Cameron’s blockbuster epic 'Titanic.'

Insert disc 3 from the DVD set and from the Main Menu access the 'Marketing' section. On the following sub-menu, highlight the entry 'Fox TV Special: Titanic – Breaking New Ground' and then press the 'Down' arrow key on your remote control. This will highlight the life preserver on the right side of the screen.

Press the 'Enter' key and you will see the skit from the 1998 MTV Movie Awards with Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, and James Cameron.

Next, go to the 'Deleted Scenes' section and select the 'chapter' menu entry. On the following screen, highlight 'Chapter 29,' the extended Carpathia sequence, and then press the 'Down' arrow key on your remote. This will highlight the couple at the bottom of the screen. Press 'Enter,' and you will see the Saturday Night Live 'Titanic' skit featuring Bill Paxton.

Finally, go to the 'Special Features' section and select 'Still Galleries.' On that section’s sub-menu, highlight 'Production Artwork.' This will take you to the box on the right side of the screen. Highlight 'View Entire Gallery' and then press the 'Up' arrow key on your remote control to highlight the arrow in the middle of the screen. Press 'enter' now and you will see the short animated film 'Titanic in 30 Seconds with Bunnies.'

Ever hopeful, Universal returns 'Cinderella Man' to theatres

Universal Pictures is taking another stab at promoting its film Cinderella Man in theatres.

The film was a disappointment at the box office when it was released in June. A money-back promotion failed to attract audiences. Now after showcasing the film abroad, the studio is taking the unusual action of re-releasing Cinderella Man in North America, hoping to grab some attention as Hollywood prepares for its awards season.

The movie will re-open in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto on Nov. 18, less than three weeks before its scheduled to be released on DVD, and during the period when films are considered for awards such as the Oscars and the Golden Globes.

The Ron Howard film, about the dramatic comeback of a down-on-his-luck boxer, is based on the life of U.S. boxer Jim Braddock. It was first released in early June, in what some called a "counter-programming" move during the summer blockbuster season.

Though many deemed the film another typically sentimental film from Howard, some critics praised the performances of Russell Crowe, who played Braddock, and Paul Giamatti, who portrayed fight manager Joe Gould.

The film did poorly at North American box offices and, less than a month after it opened, theatre chain AMC introduced a U.S.-only promotional campaign hoping to boost interest. In newspaper ads and on its website, AMC offered viewers a full refund of the price of their movie tickets if they watched and disliked the film.

Amazon to serve up books by the page

Book buyers will soon be able to buy books by the page in a new service from Amazon.com.

The Amazon Pages service will let customers buy portions of a book online, as little as a single page.

The cost for most books would be a few cents a page, though it might be higher for more specialized works.

Amazon's announcement came on the day that Google Inc. began creating online links for entire contents of books that are in the public domain.

Google is involved in a copyright battle with writers and publishers over how much material can be scanned and indexed from major libraries.

Amazon also plans to offer a second program, Amazon Upgrade, with access to the full text of traditional works.

Under Amazon Upgrade, anybody purchasing a paper book could also look at the entire text online, at any time, for a "small" additional charge.

Both services are expected to begin next year.

"We see this as a win-win-win situation: good for readers, good for publishers and good for authors," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday.

Because it plans to show only snippets from copyrighted books, Google argues its scanning project constitutes "fair use" of the material.

Amazon had statements of support from some publishers and an expression of confidence from the U.S. authors' guild.

The Amazon programs are the way copyright is supposed to work," the guild's executive director, Paul Aiken, said Thursday. "You provide access to readers and some compensation flows back to rights holders. It seems like a positive development."

'Born' DVDs Capture Exuberant E Street Band

When Bruce Springsteen handed over a wealth of unlabeled concert film footage from a 1975 show at London's Hammersmith Odeon to editor Thom Zimny in 2004, neither party knew for sure what was inside. But after a year of painstaking restoration, the full show will be seen for the first time on Columbia's 30th anniversary edition of Springsteen's classic album "Born To Run," due Nov. 15.

"Slowly but surely, we pieced it together song by song," Zimny said of the footage last night (Nov. 2) during a screening in New York. Zimny spent months synching up silent film from a four-camera shoot with the 24-track audiotapes from the concert, the E Street Band's first on English soil.

"This was a young band that just finished a new album," Zimny said. "The energy comes across in the film. 'Born To Run' is not an anthem yet -- it's in the middle of the set." Indeed, dressed in colorful suits and hats, Springsteen and company are beyond exuberant on stage, storming through favorites like "Rosalita," "It's Hard To Be a Saint in the City" and "She's the One."

Although footage from several other notable shows during this era (including a stint at New York's Bottom Line) has circulated in bootleg form for years, Zimny says the Hammersmith film "is the best representation of 1975" that exists. The DVD also includes three songs from a 1973 show in Los Angeles, the original film of which was in such bad shape that it required frame-by-frame retouching in Photoshop.

Described by Springsteen as an album intended to capture the feeling of "one endless summer night," "Born To Run" also features a revealing documentary about its genesis, including newly shot footage of Springsteen explaining the songs at the piano interspersed with recollections from current and former E Street Band members.

"The whole score is made up of outtakes and demos," Zimny said. "Even the DVD menus have outtakes of them talking in the studio."

Present-day Springsteen is shown listening in wonder to the basic instrumental track that was recorded of "Born To Run," as well as other aborted versions of the song that included a string section and multi-tracked backing vocals.

Noting that the band spent six months hemming and hawing over a final take of the tune, guitarist Steven Van Zandt observes with a laugh, "A song should take three hours, not six months!"

In related news, having already been bumped once due to after-effects from Hurricane Wilma, Springsteen's planned Sunrise, Fla., concert has been moved to Nov. 19 in Hollywood, Fla. The show was originally scheduled for tonight (Nov. 3) at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, then postponed to Sunday, but that plan has been scotched by the city, citing public safety concerns.

Tickets can be exchanged for the newly scheduled show at the point of purchase beginning tomorrow and through 3 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 8). All remaining tickets will go on sale Tuesday at 5 p.m. through Ticketmaster and the venue box office.

Beach Boys Feud Feud Feud

So much for good vibrations.

Beach Boys member Mike Love has filed a lawsuit against former band mate Brian Wilson over Smile--the famously unfinished Beach Boys opus that Wilson completed and released on his own last year to much acclaim, and at Love's expense.

The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that the promotional blitz by Wilson "shamelessly misappropriated Mike Love's songs, likeness, and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the Smile album itself," per court papers obtained by City News Service.

Wilson, the Beach Boys' principal songwriter and general mastermind, scrapped Smile at the height of the seminal surf band's popularity in 1967, a few weeks before the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The lost sessions became the stuff of music legend; based on the surviving songs and snippets, some music aficionados argued Smile would have rivaled Sgt. Pepper's in the pop pantheon. Per rock history, it was Love who fought against the release of Smile because it differed dramatically from the Beach Boys' standard surf sound.

Love, who cowrote and sang lead on many early Beach Boys classics, alleges that the publicity campaign for Wilson's solo Smile negatively affected sales of Beach Boys albums. Particularly aggrieving Love was Wilson's decision to give away more than 2.6 million copies of a Beach Boys' compilation disc in an edition of Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper.

Love's suit seeks damages amounting to "millions of dollars in illicit profits," claiming the campaign diluted the Beach Boys' brand name, and addition $1 million-plus for international advertising "designed to correct the effects of its unfair competition and infringing uses." Other defendants include the Mail on Sunday and Sanctuary Records Group.

Reps for Wilson and Love could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Smile, which features the classic "Good Vibrations," was among the most critically hailed albums of 2004. It also earned Wilson his first competitive Grammy.

Love, who cofounded the band with cousins Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, and friend Al Jardine, is the only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame quintet to continue using the Beach Boys moniker.

As Brian Wilson, the most talented and reclusive of the bunch, managed to overcome decades-long depression and launched a successful solo career, both his brothers have died. Dennis Wilson drowned in 1983, while Carl Wilson succumbed to cancer in 1998.

The three surviving members--Love, Wilson and Jardine--each own a share of the Beach Boys corporation, Brother Records. However, due to legal wrangling through the years, Love is the only member allowed to use Beach Boys name for touring purposes.

Wouldn't it be nice if they all just got along? Jardine tried touring under the name "Beach Boys Family and Friends" with Brian Wilson's daughters Wendy and Carnie, but an appeals court barred him from doing so.

Despite the infighting, the Beach Boys are in synch on one legal matter.

Brother Records notified London auctioneer CooperOwen last week that 28 memorabilia items about to be put up for bid, including original sheet music by Brian Wilson and Love, were actually stolen, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

No suspect has been publicly named in the theft of the mementos, but Brother Records says it will file a civil suit on behalf of the Beach Boys against CooperOwen and the individual seller of the memorabilia, as well as anyone who purchases the items.

DVDs Now a Bigger Revenue Draw Than Theaters

A study of British DVD buyers has concluded that they have more than offset the decline in box-office ticket sales. In the case of some low-budget comedies, horror films, well-reviewed dramas, and foreign films, the study observed, DVD sales exceed box-office earnings. The study, conducted for the London Times by the Populus poll, also concluded that consumers who buy DVDs generally do not attend movie theaters, are older than filmgoers, and are likely to be female. In addition, the study suggested that these consumers have generally concluded that studio executives have given up trying to cater to adult tastes and that the DVD market, despite the enormous revenue that it currently generates, does not influence the types of films currently being made

Box office banking on 'Chicken' coup

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hollywood is looking desperately for its next box office hero, and all eyes this weekend are on "Chicken Little," Walt Disney Studios' first homegrown computer-animated film.

Universal Pictures also will be out in full force with the R-rated war picture "Jarhead," from Oscar-winning "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes.

"Chicken Little," which has been marketed to the hilt, should top $30 million, while "Jarhead" is expected to open in the $16 million-$18 million range. Last weekend's champion was the gruesome thriller "Saw II," with a better-than-expected bow of $31.7 million in its first three days.

Featuring the voices of Zach Braff, Garry Marshall, Don Knotts, Amy Sedaris and others, "Chicken Little" is expected to have broad appeal, attracting families craving another animated film after getting a taste last month of DreamWorks' "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."

The movie, from director Mark Dindal ("The Emperor's New Groove"), applies a new twist to the "sky is falling" story when a real piece of sky lands on a chicken with an already tarnished reputation.

Disney is under pressure to perform strongly with the movie, given its difficult relationship with Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the supplier of such hits as the "Toy Story" franchise and "The Incredibles." It also will bow in select engagements as a new 3-D technological experience advertised as offering moviegoers something different.

"Jarhead," set during the first Gulf War, might benefit from its timeliness as the current conflict in Iraq comes under increasing scrutiny. The film attempts to humanize the experience of a young Marine sent to the Middle East. Based on Anthony Swofford's memoir, "Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles," the movie has been preceded by a slick ad campaign and talk about performances from a cast featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard.

"Jarhead" is skewing male, but women also are interested in the story of a trained sniper (Gyllenhaal) who is sent to Saudi Arabia. Filled with testosterone, "Jarhead" is a rare war film in that it features no combat.

In limited release, Strand Releasing will open "The Dying Gaul," from writer-director Craig Lucas ("The Secret Lives of Dentists"). The R-rated film starring Patricia Clarkson, Sarsgaard and Campbell Scott centers on a grieving screenwriter (Sarsgaard) who is offered millions for his script on the condition that his personal story inspired by his lover who died of AIDS be changed to feature a female character. Having bowed at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the intense "Gaul" will open in 11 theaters.

ThinkFilm will release "I Love Your Work" on two screens in Los Angeles. The R-rated film from director Adam Goldberg centers on a movie star ( Giovanni Ribisi) who, finding his life falling apart, begins stalking a young film student who reminds him of what life was like before he became famous.

Sirius Canada announces 100-channel lineup

Sirius Canada, one of the two groups proposing new Canadian satellite pay-radio networks, has unveiled the channel lineup for its upcoming launch.

The company, a joint venture between Sirius Satellite Radio from the U.S. and Canadian partners CBC/Radio-Canada and Standard Broadcasting, says it is set to launch 100 radio channels – 60 dedicated solely to music and 10 specifically Canadian channels.

"Canadians will be able to experience Sirius in time for the holidays," company president and CEO Mark Redmond said in a statement.

Six of the 10 Canadian channels will be provided by the CBC and Radio-Canada:

- CBC Radio One: English-language news, current affairs and documentaries.
- Première Plus: French-language news and current affairs.
- Infoplus: French-language news from Radio-Canada and public broadcasters worldwide.
- RCI Plus: Radio-Canada International programming in eight languages, including English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin.
- CBC Radio 3: English-language independent music and culture.
- bandeapart: Francophone music.

The remaining four will be provided by Standard, Astral and Score Media:

- Hardcore Sports Radio: Canadian sports news and talk.
- Iceberg Radio: Commercial-free rock music.
- Rock Velours: French-language channel dedicated to soft rock.
- Energie: French-language station playing French and English pop, rock and urban music.

Music channels on Sirius Canada's lineup will include U.K. music from BBC Radio 1, Stephen Van Zandt's Underground Garage, Jimmy Buffet's Radio Margaritaville and Eminem's Shade 45.

Sports channels will include three dedicated play-by-play stations for NHL, NBA and NFL games as well as ESPN News.

News services include National Public Radio Now, Bloomberg Radio, CNN and BBC World News.

Martha Stewart Living Radio, Laugh Break, Maxim Radio and E! Entertainment Radio are among the other offerings.

The network will offer "a new platform that'll cover every corner of the country – on the road, a boat, at home, etc. – and vastly enhanced reach for our radio services, which so many listeners at home and abroad have already come to know, trust and love," read a message from Radio de Radio-Canada vice president Sylvain Lafrance, CBC Radio vice president Jane Chalmers and Michel Tremblay, vice president of CBC strategy and business development.

In June, the CRTC granted satellite radio licences to two groups – Sirius Canada Inc. and Canadian Satellite Radio Inc. (CSR), which is partnered with U.S. satellite radio company XM.

Following the broadcast regulator's decision, several groups – including some Liberal MPs and a number of cultural groups – pushed for these licences to be overturned or sent back because they felt the Canadian content regulations were too low in the initial proposals.

However, both CSR and Sirius eventually revised their proposals to offer more Canadian channels and, in September, the federal government upheld the CRTC's decision to issue the licences.

November sweeps: Day by day

Prepare to be swept away. Starting today, we'll be engulfed by the November sweeps, one of those quarterly ratings periods that the networks stuff with specials, stunts and guest-star stints.

We help you plan your sweeps time (all times ET/PT):

Thursday, Nov. 3
Smallville (WB, 8 p.m.)
Taking that Good Old Boys theme song to heart, Tom Wopat joins John Schneider for a mini-Dukes reunion. With Catherine Bach missing, one of them will have to wear the shorts.

Sunday, Nov. 6
The Simpsons (Fox, 8 p.m.)
The annual "Treehouse of Horror" faces West Wing's live debate (NBC, 8 p.m. ). But the real terror is CBS' two-part Category 7: The End of the World (9 p.m.). Think of it as last season's Category 6 storm with delusions of grandeur.

Monday, Nov. 7-Thursday, Nov. 11
Here's a pretty picture: It's Next Top Model week on UPN, with contestants from the first five editions on every show except Everybody Hates Chris.

Monday, Nov. 7
CSI: Miami (CBS, 10 p.m.)
What would sweeps be without a goofy crossover? For November, Miami folks trade places with CSI: NY (Wednesday, 10 p.m.). For Miami, that's slumming.

Wednesday, Nov. 9
Lost (ABC, 9 p.m.)
TV's best series returns from a brief break with an episode that reshapes the fate of one of the castaways. That's all I'm saying.

Saturday, Nov. 12
MADtv (Fox, 11 p.m.)
And they said it wouldn't last. The late-night comedy celebrates its 250th episode with host Pamela Anderson.

Sunday, Nov. 13
SNL in the '80s: Lost and Found (NBC, 9 p.m.)
A day after Mad's celebration, its older Saturday rival gets a special of its own. The same writer/director did last season's Live from New York, one of the year's best specials.

Tuesday, Nov. 15
Vibe Awards (UPN, 8 p.m.)
Choose your music: The hip-hop awards air opposite CBS' Country Music Association Awards (8 p.m.). Or wait till Wednesday for CBS' I Walk the Line: A Night for Johnny Cash (8 p.m.).

Wednesday, Nov. 16
That '70s Show (Fox, 8 p.m.)
In probably the biggest guest-star get of the sweeps, '70s teams Ashton Kutcher with Bruce Willis for reasons that are obvious to anyone who has ever seen a celebrity column.

Sunday, Nov. 20
The Poseidon Adventure (NBC, 8 p.m.)
Is it possible to remake without Shelley Winters? Maybe, but can those new Poseidonites survive a far graver threat than a flipped ship: a wedding on ABC's Desperate Housewives (9 p.m.)?

Monday, Nov. 21
Medium (NBC, 10 p.m.)
What's the goofiest stunt of the sweeps? A 3-D episode of a show that's usually lucky to achieve 2-D.

Tuesday, Nov. 22
The American Music Awards (ABC, 8 p.m.)
Cedric the Entertainer hosts one of the season's more reliably popular specials. Boomers take note: The Stones will perform live.

Sunday, Nov. 27
Silver Bells (CBS, 9 p.m.)
What would November be without at least one sappy CBS movie? This year, it's a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie for Anne Heche and Tate Donovan.

Monday, Nov. 28
Prison Break (Fox, 9 p.m.)
Don't miss the "fall finale," after which Break takes a break until May. Which is an odd way to treat folks who love you.

Tuesday, Nov. 29
Felicity/American Girl Adventure (WB, 8 p.m.)
It's valley of the dolls time on WB. Meanwhile, the new commander at Commander in Chief (ABC, 9), Steven Bochco, brings NYPD Blue's Mark-Paul Gosselaar aboard.

FAN PARTICIPATION

ThinkFilm acquiring worldwide rights to Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That, a Beastie Boys documentary shot mainly by fans at Madison Square Garden using handheld cameras, per the Hollywood Reporter.

D'oh! "The Simpsons" Got Game

America's favorite four-fingered family is coming to a videogame console near you.

Twentieth Century Fox Television and Gracie Films have sealed a long-term licensing agreement with Electronics Arts that will give the world's biggest videogame maker exclusive rights to develop multiple games based on The Simpsons.

Financial details of the pact were not disclosed. But it calls for EA to closely collaborate with show producers and writers for original content featuring Bart and the gang. The games will also feature vocal contributions from The Simpsons cast.

"This is a great opportunity for our talented development team to collaborate with the brilliant minds of The Simpsons to bring original Simpsons material to videogame fans," Nick Earl, vice president and general manager of EA's Redwood Shores Studio, said in a statement. "This is something EA's been interested in for years and now game development and technology is at a place where The Simpsons characters and world will really come alive in these games."

Simpsons' executive producer James L. Brooks had more pressing reasons for going forward with the arrangement.

"I think this is a great opportunity for us, primarily because it brings with it the possibility of free EA games," he said, tongue firmly in cheek.

The joint venture is the first between Fox and EA. Simpsons videogame rights were previously held by Vivendi Universal which scored a couple of commercial hits with such titles as The Simpsons: Hit & Run and The Simpsons: Road Rage.

It's expected that EA will bring the same eye-popping CGI-wizardry to Springfield as it's currently doing with titles inspired by other popular entertainment properties, including: the just-released James Bond game From Russia with Love; The Lord of the Rings: Tactics, hitting stores Nov. 8; The Godather, due out in the first quarter of 2006; and longtime favorites like Tiger Woods PGA Tour '06 and The Sims.

The company also recently announced it is joining forces with Steven Spielberg to develop three original games the Oscar-winning filmmaker may eventually turn into movies.

As for The Simpsons, the Fox staple is now in the middle of its 17th season and continues to post solid ratings, consistently ranking number one in its Sunday time slot for the adverister-coveted 18-49 demo.

The show has also become the longest running comedy in TV history and an economic juggernaut for the studio, earning more than $1 billion in licensing and merchandising-related deals. Production is now underway on The Simpsons' 18th season and the long-awaited movie version.

Top-flight titles target post-holiday DVD rush

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Although the jury is still out on the ultimate strength or weakness of the fourth quarter, studio DVD marketers are charging ahead with plans for next year.

Already, three big theatrical features -- one a certifiable blockbuster -- have been slotted for January release. "The Wedding Crashers" (New Line) will arrive in stores January 3 with a $207.8 million theatrical pedigree. A week later comes "Red Eye" and "Transporter 2."

Other likely January titles include "Flightplan" and "The Constant Gardener," which is generating a lot of buzz in awards circles.

Contenders for February DVD releases include " Tim Burton's Corpse Bride," "Just Like Heaven" and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," and "A History of Violence"

"It's a fantastic time for home video," Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders said of the January-February time period. "That's why New Line has 'Wedding Crashers' and we had 'Troy' in that same slot last year. We were very pleased with the results."

Sanders credited the booming gift-card market, which according to Deloitte & Touche USA Llp. grew 20% last year and boosted retail sales by an estimated $18 billion.

"As gift cards become bigger and bigger retail items, we have a greater opportunity to sell DVDs after the holiday period," Sanders said.

It's not just new releases, either. Dozens of classics have been slotted for January and February release, including Warner's "Oscar Classics Collection," consisting of seven Academy Award-winning films that never before have been available on disc. Arriving in stores January 31: best picture winner "Cimarron" (1931), "The Champ" (1931), "Captains Courageous" (1937), "The Good Earth" (1937), "Kitty Foyle" (1940), "Johnny Belinda" (1948) and 1956's "Lust for Life."

The Couch Potato Report - November 2nd, 2005

This week The Couch Potato Report features a classic end to a classic saga and three leftovers.

It is amazing what memories we keep with us from our childhood.

For some, there are the memories of lying under a tree on a summer day, looking up at the clouds.

Others have memories of trips to the city to go shopping with siblings and mom and dad.

I have those memories, and many more as well from my childhood. Many of them remain vivid to this day.

One more very vivid memory that I have kept from my childhood is the way I felt back in 1977 when I first saw a movie called STAR WARS.

I was simply overwhelmed!

The intervening years have seen that film changed, "updated", and renamed STAR WARS - A NEW HOPE, but every time I see the film, or think of that summer 28 years ago when I first saw it, I feel like a kid again and I remain overwhelmed.

The release of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in 1980 and THE RETURN OF THE JEDI in 1983 only cemented my passion.

When prequels to those films came out in the late nineties, my passion remained.

There were many people who's passion for STAR WARS diminished after the release of STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE in 1999 and STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES in 2002, but I wasn't one of them.

With every STAR WARS film, I felt like a kid again.

A kid sitting in a darkened movie theatre with a drink and some Maltesers getting ready to be taken to a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

Now, with this week's release of STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH on DVD the saga is complete.

It is the sixth and final film in the series and Lucas has said that he will do no more movies. Yes, he will tinker with the six he has already created, but he won't be making any new ones.

But if it had to end, I am glad it ended with REVENGE OF THE SITH, because tis is one superb film.

A film that gives us the final piece of the puzzle in the story of the rise, fall, and redemption of Darth Vader.

There are terrific battle scenes, inside jokes and treats for longtime fans, and a well written dramatic arc...

Umm,...okay, that last part isn't true.

Lucas has never been known for his writing skills, and REVENGE OF THE SITH does suffer from his penchant for bad dialogue from time to time.

Nevertheless, even if it is poorly written in places, the reality is that Lucas is still a great overall storyteller.

Now, the tale of a galaxy long ago and far away is complete.

And I, for one, am glad I was able to see how it played out.

Should you be asking if you will like this film if you haven't seen any of the others, well, here's the answer.

Take the time and watch them all! You won't even have to wait for 28 years to see how it ended, like I did!

STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH is now on my shelf beside the other films. It will stay there forever.

THE INTERPRETER is also sitting on my shelf, but it will not be there forever.

In the film Nicole Kidman plays an interpreter for the United Nations who overhears a possible assassination plot one night as she returns to collect her things.

Sean Penn is the Secret Service agent who believes her at times, and doesn't at others.

Come to think of it, that is the overlying theme of the whole movie.

Sometimes you will believe THE INTERPRETER is a great film, other times you won't.

The first hour is almost all believable, but after that director Sydney Pollack doesn't let his film have very much focus.

Should we believe Kidman's character? Should we not?

The film never shows us what she is thinking or feeling, so it is hard. Penn is his usual reliable self, but THE INTERPRETER is a leftover this week that is best looked over as you walk by it on the shelf.

At best, I would call it a mediocre thriller.

At its best SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE was one of the funniest shows on TV.

Many consider its best to have been during the show's first five years.

Should you count yourself one of those people, or you are curious to see how great the show used to be, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner and al of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players all star is SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: LIVE FROM NEW YORK - THE FIRST FIVE YEARS.

Just don't expect full skits as this is not a best of DVD.

This is a documentary that features many of the cast and crew who worked on the show during those first five years.

Even if you don't think the show's best years were from 1975 to 1980, this is still a fascinating documentary on what it took to get the show on the air in the first place.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: LIVE FROM NEW YORK - THE FIRST FIVE YEARS is a 154 minute look back at how some of the comedy we enjoy today was created, and I completely enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed ALF, the TV show about the alien life form from the planet Melmac who crashed landed on earth and lived with a human family.

In fact, it is something else I have fond memories of from my childhood.

Our final leftover this week is ALF - SEASON TWO.

Originally released on August 23rd, this four disc set includes a wide array of laughs, plus cameos by the cast of GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, plus Alf hosts the David Letterman show.

I don't know if the fact that I enjoyed watching the whole second season means that I am living in the past, or that the show is still funny.

Who knows, maybe it means both.

Either way, ALF - SEASON TWO is available now at a store near you, along with SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: LIVE FROM NEW YORK - THE FIRST FIVE YEARS, THE INTERPRETER and STAR WARS: EPISODE III - Revenge Of The Sith.

Coming up in the next Couch Potato Report

Johnny Depp takes over as Willy Wonka in director Tim Burton's 2005 version of Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.

In 1987 TV's Denise Huxtable left THE COSBY SHOW for A DIFFERENT WORLD, and now SEASON ONE of that show is available on DVD.

On July 2nd some of the biggest names in the music industry took part in a series of concerts around the world. Now there is a 4-DVD LIVE 8
BOX SET.

Our "Leftovers" next week are the superb 2001 TV show UNDECLARED and the movie version of Douglas Adams' classic book THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE
TO THE GALAXY.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in
seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!

Grandpa Is Sued Over Grandson's Downloads

MILWAUKEE - A 67-year-old man who says he doesn't even like watching movies has been sued by the film industry for copyright infringement after a grandson of his downloaded four movies on their home computer.

The Motion Picture Association of America filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Fred Lawrence of Racine, seeking as much as $600,000 in damages for downloading four movies over the Internet file-sharing service iMesh.

The suit was filed after Lawrence refused a March offer to settle the matter by paying $4,000.

"First of all, like I say, I guess I'd have to plead being naive about the whole thing," he said.

"I personally didn't do it, and I wouldn't do it. But I don't think it was anything but an innocent mistake my grandson made."

Lawrence said his grandson, who was then 12, downloaded "The Incredibles," "I, Robot," "The Grudge," and "The Forgotten" in December, without knowing it was illegal to do so.

The Racine man said his grandson downloaded the movies out of curiosity, and deleted the computer files immediately. The family already owned three of the four titles on DVD, he said.

"I can see where they wouldn't want this to happen, but when you get up around $4,000 ... I don't have that kind of money," Lawrence said. "I never was and never will be a wealthy person."

Kori Bernards, vice president of corporate communications for MPAA, said the movie industry wants people to understand the consequences of Internet piracy. She said the problem is the movies that were downloaded were then available to thousands of other users on the iMesh network.

"Basically what you are doing when you use peer-to-peer software is you are offering someone else's product that they own to thousands of other people for free, and it's not fair," Bernards said.

Illegal downloading costs the movie industry an estimated $5.4 billion a year, she said.

Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith

On Lucasfilm’s release of 'Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith' the studio has also added some hidden features, as expected. Trust the Force and you shall find them, or alternatively just read one for our instructions.

As previous Star Wars releases, the DVD features three different menu themes that are selected at random when you insert the first disc of the set in your player.

If you wish to directly select one of these themes you can do so too, of course.

Simply insert the first disc of the DVD set in your player and wait for the FBI screen to show up. Here, press either the '1', '2' or '3' key on your remote control to directly select each of the menu themes.

Now, go to the disc’s Main Menu and highlight the THX logo on the screen using your remote control. Now press the numbers '1','1', '3' and '8' on your remote control and you will have access to a very cool clip of Yoda rapping - courtesy of ILM’s Rob Coleman - followed by the DVD’s production credits.

Alternatively you can simply access title #3 directly on the DVD to see the clip as well. Since accessing titles is handled differently by each player, please consult your user manual to see how to do it on your particular model.

Simpson Busts Out with Best Cleavage

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Forget about Jessica Simpson's purported rocky marriage. There are a couple other things on people's minds now.
The pop/movie star's bosom has been named the Best Cleavage, according to a hard-hitting Hollywood poll by In Touch Weekly.

"With a pair of perfect double Ds, Jessica sets the standard for busty bombshells," declares the celebrity publication.

Despite the negative media attention for her princess-like behavior on "Newlyweds" and rumors of her troubled marriage with Nick Lachey, Simpson has generally received positive attention for her rack. Even dad/manager Joe Simpson once voiced his appreciation for his daughter's assets: "She just is sexy. If you put her in a T-shirt or you put her in a bustier, she's sexy in both. She's got double Ds! You can't cover those suckers up!" Okay, eww.

For her big-screen debut in "Dukes of Hazzard," she covered the song "These Boots Are Made for Walking," and sings about her double-Ds -- referring to the Daisy Duke initials of course.

Runners-up on the busty poll include Latin beauty Salma Hayek, Carmen Electra, actress/mother/activist Angelina Jolie, "Monster's Ball" star Halle Berry, "Ghost Whisperer" sensitive Jennifer Love Hewitt, "Lost in Translation's" Scarlett Johansson, diva Maria Carey, the 59-year-old Susan Sarandon and "Desperate Housewives" star Nicollette Sheridan.

Simpson, 25, appeared with her husband on "Newlyweds" and on variety and USO specials on ABC. She made her silver screen debut as Daisy Dukes in this summer's "Dukes of Hazzard."

NEW CD RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER 1, 2005

3 Wake Pig (Metal Blade)

7th Octave The Se7enth Degree (Slam Jamz)

Ryan Adams 29 (Lost Highway)

Akron/Family & Angels of Light Akron/Family & Angels of Light (split CD; includes cover of Bob Dylan's "I Pity the Poor Immigrant") (Young God)

Altamont (w/the Melvins' Dale Crover) The Monkees' Uncle (AntAcidAudio/Ipecac)

Amandine This Is Where Our Hearts Collide (Fat Cat)

The Amino Acids Destroy the Warning Sun (Amino Acids)

Trey Anastasio Shine (DualDisc; produced by Brendan O'Brien; featuring backing band 70 Volt Parade) (Columbia)

Burt Bacharach At This Time (Columbia)

Ballerz Ink Tha Hustle (Thump)

Bobby Bare The Moon Was Blue (produced by Bobby Bare, Jr.) (DualTone)

Bauls of Bengal Bauls of Bengal (Empire)

Greg Behrendt Is Uncool (Warner Bros.)

Birdman Fast Money (Chopped & Screwed) (Universal)

The Black Angels The Black Angels EP (Light in the Attic)

Brian Blain Overqualified for the Blues (NorthernBlues)

Bril Airless Alarm (Kirtland)

Cantoma Cantoma (Quango)

Terri Clark Life Goes on (Mercury Nashville)

The Cops Get Good or Stay Bad (Mt. Fuji)

Cruna A Hustla's Love Story (Reprise)

Deep Purple Rapture of the Deep (Eagle)

Ed Gein Judas Goats and Dieseleaters (Blackmarket/Metal Blade)

Fatlip (ex-Pharcyde) Theloneliest Punk (CD/DVD combo) (Delicious Vinyl/The LAB)

Fielding Fielding (The Militia Group)

Fire Engines Codex Teenage Premonition (Domino)

John Fogerty The Long Road Home: Ultimate John Fogerty Creedence Collection (Fantasy)

Garaj Mahal Blueberry Cave (Harmonized)

Goldfrapp No. 1 EP (Mute)

The Happy Bullets The Vice and Virtue Ministry (Undeniable)

Zac Harmon The Blues According to Zachariah (Bluestone/33rd Street)

Richie Hawtin DE9: Transitions (CD/DVD combo) (Mute)

The Hong Kong The Hong Kong EP (Sanctuary)

Hooker Hall Ranaldo (w/Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo) Oasis of Whispers (Alien8/Southern)

Imogen Heap Speak for Yourself (RCA Victor)

The Impossibulls Slave Education (Slam Jamz)

Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque Seven Boats (re-release of 2004 album) (Proteus)

Freddie Jackson Personal Reflections (Artemis)

Diana Krall (featuring the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) Christmas Songs (Verve)

Lagwagon Resolve (Fat Wreck Chords)

Lokote Dia de los Muertos (Thump)

Brian McBride When the Detail Lost Its Freedom (Kranky)

Mel Melton & the Wicked Mojos Papa Mojo's Roadhouse (Louisiana Red Hot)

Mi and L'au Mi and L'au (produced by Michael Gira of Swans) (Young God)

Moonlight Towers Like You Were Never There (Spinster)

The Negatones The Negatones (Skylab)

O.C. Smoke and Mirrors (Hiero Imperium)

Ozzy Osbourne Under Cover (DualDisc same day; covers album; part of box set, "Prince of Darkness") (Epic)

Panic Division Versus (The Militia Group)

Sista Monica Parker Can't Keep a Good Woman Down (Mo Muscle)

Peasall Sisters Home to You (DualTone)

Princess Princess (Sickroom/Southern)

Public Enemy New Whirl Odor (available exclusively at Best Buy from 10/4-11/1, after which it goes to regular retail) (Slam Jamz)

Santana All That I Am (w/Mary J. Blige, Outkast's Big Boi, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Los Lonely Boys and more) (Arista)

Kokanko Sata Kokanko Sata (Astralwerks)

Signaldrift Set Design (Consumers Research & Development)

Slipknot 9.0: Live (two CDs; includes one previously unreleased track) (Roadrunner)

Sun Kil Moon (w/Mark Kozelek) Tiny Cities (all covers of Modest Mouse songs) (Caldo Verde)

Rob Swift War Games (CD/DVD combo; guests Large Professor, the Beatnuts' Psycho Les and more) (Caroline)

Tangiers The Family Myth (w/ex-Guided by Voices drummer Jon McCann) (FrenchKiss)

Test Icicles Boa Vs Python EP (Domino)

Transplants Haunted Cities (Chopped & Screwed) (Atlantic)

Lobi Traore Lobi Traore Group (Astralwerks)

Truco & Zaperoko Musica Universal (Universal)

The Vacancies A Beat Missing or a Silence Added (co-produced by Joan Jett) (Blackheart)

Kenny Vance & The Planotones Lover's Island (Varèse Sarabande)

Vaux Beyond Virtue, Beyond Vice (Lava/Atlantic)

John Wackerman Drum Duets Volume 1 (w/Steve Gadd, Josh Freese, No Doubt's Adrian Young and more) (Eyeperian)

Western Jubilee Artists Christmas Trail (DualTone)

White Ghost Shivers Live on the Radio (Chicken Ranch)

Wilco Kicking Television - Live in Chicago (CD/DVD combo) (Nonesuch)

VA Christmas Eclectic (Burn and Shiver)

VA Gilles Peterson Presents the BBC sessions (two CDs; previously unreleased performances from the Roots, Beck, Björk, Jamie Cullum and more) (Ether Music)

VA I Like It, Vol. 2 (tracks selected by DJ/producers Richard Dorfmeister, Trevor Jackson, Pole and Trickski) (Compost)

VA NOW 20 (Universal)

VA Verve Remixed - Complete Deluxe Box (four CDs) (Verve)

OST According to Jim (ABC TV series; w/the Blues Brothers) (Hollywood)

OST Brokeback Mountain (Heath Ledger/Jake Gyllenhaal drama) (Verve)

DVD Caribou Marino (Domino)

DVD Tommy Castro Whole Lotta Soul (Blind Pig)

DVD Cher Extravaganza Live (Eagle Rock)

DVD DMX The Smoke Out Festival Presents (Eagle Rock)

DVD Duran Duran Live from London (deluxe edition CD/DVD combo same day; includes performances from 2004 shows at London's Wembley Arena) (Coming Home Studios/Rounder)

DVD R. Kelly Trapped in the Closet Chapters 1-12 (includes documentary, behind-the-scenes footage and Kelly's commentary) (Jive)

DVD Yngwie Malmsteen Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra (Eagle Rock)

DVD Youssou N'dour Live at Montreux 1989/1995 (Eagle Rock)

DVD Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers Big Blues Party (Blind Pig)

DVD Straylight Run Live at the Patchoque Theatre (Victory)

UMD Classic Albums: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (Spitfire)

'Star Wars': Entirely on DVD

Star Wars fans with a spare 13-plus hours (not counting extras) can now watch the groundbreaking saga from start to finish.

With Tuesday's release of Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, all six films are on DVD.

"People will be able to watch it as one linear story, which was George's original intention," says Hayden Christensen. He played Anakin Skywalker in this year's Sith and 2002's Attack of the Clones.

Sith grossed $380.3 million as it lured back some of the audience lost by 2002's Clones, which earned only $310.7 million, a big drop from $431.1 million for 1999's Phantom Menace.Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) was the saga's biggest at the box office with $461 million.

In this week's battle of the heavyweight DVD releases, Lucas' Sith is likely to beat Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and be among the year's top sellers, says Scott Hettrick, home entertainment editor for DVD Exclusive magazine. Sith, he says, "is the final chapter in the saga that anyone who has ever been a fan of Star Wars will want to own."

As with Menace and Clones, the DVD for Sith offers lavish extras:

•Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III, a 78-minute segment, chronicles the 70,441 hours it took to create 60 seconds of Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber duel. "It's rather extraordinary, the separate departments and number of people whose skills are involved to make this one minute," says Ian McDiarmid, who plays Supreme Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious.

• Among the six deleted scenes is Yoda's arrival on Dagobah, where Luke Skywalker finds him in The Empire Strikes Back.

• There are two levels of the Xbox version of the Star Wars Battlefront II video game and an Easter egg that shows Yoda dancing to a hip-hop beat.

Muppets Become Victims of Computerized Animation

Computerized animation may have made the intricate puppetry that went into the production of the Muppet characters as obsolete as hand-drawn animation, one of the original Muppet creators indicated today (Tuesday) in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. Promoting the latest Star Wars DVD, which went on sale today, Frank Oz, who created the Yoda character for the films and provided the voice, said that in the original films, operating the puppet involved "hard, sweaty, down-and-dirty work in the pit." He disclosed that it took four people to operate Yoda. In Episodes I and II, however, Yoda was created by computer animators, and now, he said, "the actual puppet can't work" in filmmaking any longer. "Those days have gone by -- we're in a digital age," Oz told the Tribune. "That puppet would look archaic. But he'll always have a place in my heart."

Woody Allen would do it all again

NEW YORK (AP) - Woody Allen says his relationship with wife Soon-Yi Previn, which has a "more paternal feeling," is "one of the truly lucky things that happened to me in my life."

Allen, a two-time Oscar winner, married Previn in 1997. She is the adopted daughter of Andre Previn and Mia Farrow, Allen's former girlfriend.

In 1992, Allen was discovered to be having an affair with Previn, then 22, while he was dating Farrow. He and Previn have two daughters, ages five and six.

"I'm sure there are things that I might have done differently," he says in an interview in Vanity Fair magazine, on newsstands Nov. 8. "Probably in retrospect I should have bowed out of that relationship (with Farrow) much earlier than I did."

But Allen, who will be 70 on Dec. 1, says age hasn't brought wisdom.

"I've gained no wisdom, no insight, no mellowing. I would make all the same mistakes again, today," he tells the magazine.

Despite the calamitous beginnings of his relationship with Previn, he says, "It was just completely fortuitous. One of the truly lucky things that happened to me in my life."

"I don't ever feel that I'm with a hostile or threatening person. It's got a more paternal feeling to it."

Though his separation and subsequent custody battles with Farrow over their three children was bitter, Allen says he wanted to cast her in his 1995 film, Mighty Aphrodite. Casting director Juliet Taylor talked him out of it, and the part went to Helena Bonham Carter.

"I'm just not the kind of person that thinks, 'Well, you did a terrible thing to me in my life, and so I'm not working with you,' " he says. "I mean, there's a line that you draw. I wouldn't put, you know, Hermann Goring in a part, but short of Nuremberg crimes ..."

Allen will release his latest film, Match Point, in December, a thriller starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. It has been acclaimed as a return to form for Allen, who won Oscars for 1977's Annie Hall and 1986's Hannah and Her Sisters.

His screen credits also include Interiors, Manhattan, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Deconstructing Harry.

"I'm made, oh, perfectly decent films," he says. "But not 8 1/2, not The Seventh Seal, The 400 Blows or L'Avventura - ones that to me really proclaim cinema as art, on the highest level. If I was the teacher, I'd give myself a B."

HOMER GIVES AT 'OFFICE'

Attention Homer Simpson: you may have already lost your beloved Marge to British comedic icon, Ricky Gervais.

The creator, writer and star of the original BBC version of "The Office" says Fox is putting the finishing touches on an episode of "The Simpsons" that he wrote and appears in as a guest star.

The soundtrack and voices for the show are done, Fox sources say, but the episode will spend the next few months being animated.

In "Homer Simpson: This is Your Wife," expected to air next spring, the Simpson family visits Fox's California studios.

At the Fox studio lot, the Simpsons see things like a Mischa Barton statue, and Homer gets to meet Dan Castellaneta from "The Tracey Ullman Show." Castellaneta has been the voice of Homer since "The Simpsons" first appeared as short animated sketches on "Tracey Ullman" in the late 1980s.

Then at Fox, Homer and Marge wind up on a reality show called "Disparate Housewives" to try to win money for a big-screen TV.

Homer gets saddled with a nasty, belittling Yale professor who is married to Gervais' character, Charles.

Meanwhile Marge is shipped off to Connecticut to live with Charles. There, he falls in love with her and tries to woo her with his mediocre guitar skills — reminiscent of Gervais' character, David Brent, who had musical aspirations on the BBC sitcom "The Office."

Gervais told a British newspaper that after his experience with "The Simpsons" and other American projects, he has a deeper bond with American TV shows than he does with British TV.