Soul legend Isaac Hayes treated in hospital for exhaustion
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Isaac Hayes was being treated at a Memphis hospital Tuesday for exhaustion, his longtime songwriting partner said.
"He's just overworked and had been in Atlantic City performing, the D.C. area performing and in Tunica (Miss.) a couple of nights ago," David Porter told the Commercial Appeal newspaper. "He was just overworked. He's doing much better," Porter added. It was not immediately known which hospital the soul singer had checked into. Calls to his agents were not returned.
Hayes, 63, is best known for his 1971 No. 1 hit Theme From Shaft, from the Richard Roundtree film. The soundtrack won the Oscar for best musical score.
More recently, he was the voice of the character Chef on the TV show South Park.
During his time as a backup artist at Stax Records in Memphis, he established a songwriting partnership with Porter and in the 1960s they wrote such hits for Sam and Dave as Hold On, I'm Coming and Soul Man.
"X-Files" Creator Sues Fox
The cash is out there, and Chris Carter wants to find it.
The X-Files mastermind's latest conspiracy theory, put forth in a recent lawsuit, accuses 20th Century Fox Television of screwing him out of millions of dollars in residuals related to the show's profitable syndication agreement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The suit, filed in December in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Fox's TV production arm breached a 1998 contract with Carter--signed when the company's corporate sibling, Fox Broadcasting, brought back The X-Files for a sixth and seventh season--because the financial terms turned out to be "too favorable" to the creator at the expense of the studio.
Carter says his deal called for him to be paid a "profit guarantee" when the studio licensed reruns of the paranormal drama to a domestic cable network. However, the suit accuses 20th Century TV of cutting a sweetheart deal with in-house cable net FX. The bargain-bin price, Carter says, effectively cheated him out of a substantial windfall if The X-Files had been put up for bid on the open market.
Carter says when he was negotiating for a ninth season of The X-Files, he pushed the studio to scrap its licensing deal with FX and go after a bigger payday with another network.
Further, Carter claims he was supposed to be paid a "cable advance" that could have totaled $300,000 per episode.
Carter says the studio approached him in 2001 and requested he voluntarily agree to a lower advance because, as he writes in his complaint, it "would result, in their view, in too large a benefit to plaintiff, and too small a benefit to Fox Television." He declined.
Ultimately, 20th Century TV ended its agreement with FX and struck a subsequent syndication deal with USA Network and TNT. Carter says he was again shortchanged.
Neither Carter's lawyer, Larry Stein, nor Fox reps returned phone calls seeking comment.
Not so coincidentally, Stein represented X-Files star David Duchovny in a similar suit the actor brought against Fox, claiming he was cheated out of $25 million when the reruns were sold to--you guessed it--FX and other Fox outlets. Duchovny also accused Carter of conspiring to aid Fox in exchange for millions of dollars in "hush" money and a new TV development deal. The suit was eventually settled out of court for nearly $20 million.
The X-Files ended its run in 2002 after nine seasons. There's been no word whether Carter will ever move forward with his long-rumored sequel to 1998's X-Files movie. The current lawsuit might be a ploy to jumpstart a movie deal--or just the final nail in the franchise's coffin.
Fox ending "Malcolm," "That '70s Show" in May
PASADENA, California (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox's veteran comedy "Malcolm in the Middle" will end its seven-season run May 14, while "That '70s Show," now in its eighth season, will bow out four days later, the network said Tuesday.
For the homestretch, "Malcolm" will return to Sundays beginning January 29, opening the night at 7 p.m., a slot generally occupied by cartoon reruns.
Meanwhile, Fox is in conversations with former "That '70s Show" stars Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace to return for the show's finale, Fox entertainment president Peter Liguori said during the network's portion of the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour.
While the end for "Malcolm" and "That '70s Show" comes after long, successful runs, the untimely exit of the network's Emmy-winning but low-rated comedy "Arrested Development" after three seasons -- two of them abbreviated -- brought up a lot of questions.
Although the network touts airing the two-hour block of the final four episodes of "Arrested's" current order on February 10 as "season finale," Liguori stressed that a future return of the show to Fox is "highly unlikely."
"Arrested's" producers, Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV, are fielding offers from two networks, Showtime and ABC, which are interested in picking up the acclaimed series.
With no strong new comedy additions in the past couple of seasons ready to fill the void left by the departing comedies, the network's brass are putting a lot of muscle behind the rollout of its midseason comedies "Free Ride" and "The Loop," using the network's best launching pad, the blockbuster "American idol," to help their chances.
The partially improv "Free Ride" is slated for a March 1 preview, following a special 90-minute episode of "Idol," and "Loop" is getting a preview March 15, leading out of an "Idol" results show. On March 12, "Free Ride" moves into its regular Sunday 9:30 p.m. slot, temporarily replacing "American Dad," while "Loop" will relocate to its regular Thursday 8:30 p.m. period March 16.
Fox also is taking another look at two comedies that have been off the schedule for a while.
"King of the Hill," which is not in production but has never been officially canceled, might come back as early as January 2007 if discussions with the series' producers are successful, Liguori said.
Meanwhile, there haven't been any active negotiations to revive "Futurama," which, much like "Family Guy" before it, is enjoying a second life on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" late-night block. But Fox executives are keeping a close eye on the series' newfound success.
Shatner Sells Kidney Stone for Charity
LOS ANGELES - An online casino has a piece of Capt. Kirk. Actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for $25,000, with the money going to a housing charity, it was announced Tuesday. Shatner reached agreement Monday to sell the stone to GoldenPalace.com.
"This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How much is a piece of me worth?" he said in a telephone interview.
GoldenPalace.com is noted for its collection of oddities, which includes a partially eaten cheese sandwich thought to contain the image of the Virgin Mary.
"This is a bold new addition to our fleet," GoldenPalace.com Chief Executive Officer Richard Rowe said in a statement.
The money will go to Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the needy.
"This would be the first Habitat for Humanity house built out of stone," joked Darren Julien, president of Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions, which handled the sale.
Shatner, who played Kirk on the original "Star Trek" TV show and won an Emmy for his role on "Boston Legal," passed the stone last fall.
The stone was so big, Shatner said, "you'd want to wear it on your finger."
"If you subjected it to extreme heat, it might turn out to be a diamond," he added.
Shatner said the idea of selling the stone came up after "Boston Legal" raised $20,000 for Habitat for Humanity. With the money for the stone, Shatner said there is about enough funding to build half a house.
GoldenPalace.com originally offered $15,000 for the stone but Shatner turned it down, noting that his "Star Trek" tunics have commanded more than $100,000. His counteroffer was accepted.
The Couch Potato Report - January 17th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report includes a LORD OF WAR and we'll say GOOD MORNING VIETNAM, once again.
In this day and age of constant coverage of every film that comes out, I always like it when a movie comes out and doesn't get very much publicity.
For the filmmakers that usually means the movie doesn't do too well at the box office, but for me it sometimes affords the opportunity to watch a movie with no expectations.
And I like that.
I also liked Nicolas Cage's new film LORD OF WAR, but more of my thoughts in a moment.
First, let me tell you what the movie is about.
Primarily LORD OF WAR is about Yuri Orlov. Yuri is a person who has always dreamt of a better life outside his Ukrainian village in New York.
Soon his dreams come true when he begins selling guns to local mobsters.
Through hard work and good fortune he eventually becomes one of the most successful arms dealers in the world.
One of Yuri's most successful relationships is with an African warlord and his psychotic son.
Unfortunately, the relationships he has with his younger brother, his wife, and the federal agent who is determined to bring him down, aren't as successful, or as lucrative, and he soon starts to confront the morality of his work.
LORD OF WAR only made about $25 million at the box office. By comparison the unwatchable remakes of BEWITCHED and HERBIE THE LOVE BUG each made over $60 million.
But no matter how much money it did, or didn't make, it is a film worth seeing.
Nicolas Cage's performance is perfect and the movie contains just the right number of anti-war sentiments, along with a good dose of humour.
You also get a crash course in international arms dealing, but that is beside the point.
LORD OF WAR is an interesting, underexposed film, and because I didn't know too much about it before I pressed play, I enjoyed it and I think you will too!
Back in 1999 I enjoyed an underexposed film called AMERICAN PIE, about three friends who make a pact they hope to complete before graduation.
Two years later, I enjoyed AMERICAN PIE 2 a little bit less that the first one, and two years after that, I am not sure I even enjoyed AMERICAN PIE 3: AMERICAN WEDDING.
These are the type of films that get less interesting with each sequel as the original cast and crew depart for other work.
And now, some of the people who brought you AMERICAN PIE present BAND CAMP. In fact, the actual name of this movie is AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS BAND CAMP.
Sadly, the only people left this time around are Canadian comedic icon Eugene Levy, as Jim's Dad, and the guy that played "The Sherminator", and they only have supporting roles.
Instead, we get a whole new cast of kids, lead by Steve Stiffler's brother Matt. Steve Stiffler was one of the characters from the first three films and he remains a great movie character.
The brother is just a pale imitation of the original, and so is this whole movie.
In the film Matt Stiffler is sentenced to a summer at Band Camp. He plans on taking it easy, and following in the path of his older brother, who is now making GIRLS GONE WILD-like videos, but once he arrives he finds out that he is expected to work hard and contribute.
Along the way, he falls in love, and he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time more than once.
The movie isn't great, but it isn't horrible either. If you liked the original three AMERICAN PIE films, or the PORKY'S movies, then you might enjoy the adult language and situations in AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS BAND CAMP. Otherwise, skip this one.
I doubt I will ever watch it again, but I am not disappointed I've seen it once.
Two films that I have seen more than once over the years are DEAD POET'S SOCIETY and GOOD MORNING VIETNAM.
Both of them star Robin Williams and both of them are now available as SPECIAL EDITION DVDs!
In DEAD POET'S SOCIETY Williams stars as English professor John Keating. He works hard to entertain and inspire his students to form a love of poetry, and more importantly to "seize the day."
The SPECIAL EDITION DVD features a commentary by Director Peter Weir, a collection of uncut, deleted scenes, a look back at the making of the film and more.
DEAD POET'S SOCIETY remains a superb film seventeen years after it's release, but if we are talking about superb Robin Williams films, and we are, that list will always feature GOOD MORNING VIETNAM at the top of it!
In that film Williams plays real life person Adrian Cronauer, an unorthodox and irreverent radio announcer who breathes life into the stale and stiff US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam.
He does the type of things on his show I would love to do!
The GOOD MORNING VIETNAM SPECIAL EDITION DVD includes a thirty-four minute production diary, six behind-the-scenes features, and the real Adrian Cronauer explains how he created the "Good Morning Vietnam" sign on.
There is also about thirteen minutes of raw Williams performance footage, from which many of the movie's best comedic moments were taken.
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM remains one of my favourite movies of all time, and this SPECIAL EDITION is a great addition to my movie library.
It is available now at your favourite local video store along with the SPECIAL EDITION of DEAD POET'S SOCIETY, AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS BAND CAMP and the underrated, but very good film LORD OF WAR.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
Jodie Foster returns to movies in the thriller FLIGHTPLAN; THE ARISTOCRATS features one hundred big name comedians telling the exact same joke, each in their own unique way; And the classic 1981 Albert Brooks comedy MODERN ROMANCE is being released on DVD for the very first time!
Plus, Al Pacino, Rene Russo and "The Sexiest Man Alive" Matthew McConaughey topline TWO FOR THE MONEY a film about bookies in the sports-gambling business.
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 time on The Couch!