Nickelback, Buble vie for Juno glory
TORONTO (CP) - Neil Young is set to face off against Arcade Fire. Simple Plan will duke it out with Celine Dion. And it'll be Divine Brown against Jully Black.
But with a leading six nominations, Alberta rockers Nickelback will be the act to beat on Sunday when the country's music elite gather in Halifax for the Juno Awards. "They've got a really good shot to sweep the whole thing," said Cameron Carpenter, director of talent development for satellite radio service XM Canada.
"With each successive album, they gain more and more respect . . . and keep winning people over."
Perennial favourites who have taken home Juno hardware seven times, Nickelback had a phenomenal year in 2005 with their multimillion-selling album, All the Right Reasons, featuring the No.1 hit Photograph.
Close on Nickelback's heels is torch singer Michael Buble, whose ballad-filled It's Time was the country's top-selling CD last year by a Canadian artist.
Buble, of Vancouver, had a major hit with Home, a sentimental track about feeling homesick.
He said the song has inspired many fans to write him personal stories, including U.S. troops fighting in Iraq.
"It's amazing that something I wrote that, for me, was autobiographical means so much to so many," Buble said during a conference call with Canadian media earlier this week.
"I would be lying if I said it wasn't a trip almost every day to hear that it's affected people."
The balladeer's five Juno nominations follow a Grammy nod earlier this year. Buble lost out to legend Tony Bennett at those awards.
"It's really great to be recognized," said the crooner, who will be bringing his British actor girlfriend Emily Blunt to Sunday's awards. "It's a kick, man."
Jazz siren Diana Krall tied Buble's five nominations. Young is up for three awards, as is buzz act Arcade Fire and Canadian Idol champ Kalan Porter.
But some think the real winners of the night will be the little known acts who get to share a national, prime-time stage with the megastars.
Francophone singer Boom Desjardins is a huge celebrity in Quebec, but his name barely registers in the other provinces. That'll change when viewers hear his name called among the nominees in two major categories - artist of the year and best pop album, which are typically dominated by English acts.
Bedouin Soundclash, a three-piece outfit formed in a dorm room at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., should also benefit from the Juno exposure.
Nominated for two awards, the group found success with its catchy single, When The Night Feels My Song, which was first used in a Zellers commercial.
The reggae-rock trio, however, are still not recognizable stars, said Carpenter.
"They crossed over quite a bit but not everyone knows who they are yet," he said.
Bedouin is up for best single as well as best new group - a category they should easily win, mused fellow nominees Pocket Dwellers, a seven-piece jazz-tinged, hip hop group from Toronto's suburbs.
But they aren't complaining. Drummer Marco Raposo said he's just happy the Junos have finally noticed his group, which has been together a decade and released three albums.
"We've never been a high profile band," he said. "We've always been simmering in the underground. I guess it goes to show that there are industry people that do know what we're doing."
Other interesting races include the songwriter's category, where Arcade Fire, Ron Sexsmith, Kathleen Edwards, Joel Plaskett and Young will compete.
There's also a real dogfight in the alternative album category where hipster acts Broken Social Scene, Metric, Hot Hot Heat, Tegan & Sara and the New Pornographers are nominated.
Sunday night's TV show, hosted by bombshell actress Pam Anderson, will only feature seven of the 39 awards.
The remainder of glass statues will be distributed at an industry-only gala dinner on Saturday night.
Some key Juno categories:
Fan Choice: Celine Dion; Diana Krall; Michael Buble; Nickelback; Simple Plan.
Single of the year: When the Night Feels My Song, Bedouin Soundclash; Inside and Out, Feist; Man I Used To Be, k-os; Home, Michael Buble; Photograph, Nickelback.
Album of the year: Christmas Songs, Diana Krall; 219 Days, Kalan Porter; It's Time, Michael Buble; All The Right Reasons, Nickelback; Under The Lights, Rex Goudie.
Artist of the year: Boom Desjardins; Diana Krall; Kalan Porter; Michael Buble; Rex Goudie.
New artist of the year: Daniel Powter; Divine Brown; Jonas; Martha Wainwright; Skye Sweetnam.
New group of the year: Bedouin Soundclash; Boys Night Out; Hedley; Pocket Dwellers; Silverstein.
Songwriter of the year: Arcade Fire for Wake Up, Rebellion (Lies), Neighborhood 3 (Power Out), co-writer Josh Deu, from Funeral by Arcade Fire; Joel Plaskett for Happen Now, Natural Disaster, Lying on a Beach from La De Da by Joel Plaskett; Kathleen Edwards for In State, Copied Keys, Back to Me, co-writer Colin Cripps from Back To Me by Kathleen Edwards; Neil Young for The Painter, When God Made Me, Prairie Wind from Prairie Wind by Neil Young; Ron Sexsmith for Listen, One Less Shadow, Lemonade Stand from Destination Unknown by Sexsmith & Kerr.
Country recording of the year: Waitin' On The Wonderful, Aaron Lines; Amanda Wilkinson, Amanda Wilkinson; Hey, Do You Know Me, Lisa Brokop; Life Goes On, Terri Clark; The Road Hammers, The Road Hammers.
Rap recording of the year: Boy-Cott-In The Industry, Classified; It's Called Life, Eternia; Fire & Glory, Kardinal Offishall; The Dusty Foot Philosopher, K'Naan; United We Fall, Sweatshop Union.
Alternative album of the year: Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene; Elevator, Hot Hot Heat; Live It Out, Metric; So Jealous, Tegan & Sara; Twin Cinema, The New Pornographers.
Vocal jazz album of the year: Twenty For One, Cadence; Christmas Songs, Diana Krall; Rock Swings, Paul Anka; Just You, Just Me, Ranee Lee; Sophie Milman, Sophie Milman.
Kidman Moves Into Action Mode for Fox
Fox hopes to develop a female version of the 'Bourne' franchise for Nicole Kidman
Regency Entertainment and 20th Century Fox have their eyes on a spy thriller being developed to star Nicole Kidman.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Simon Kinberg ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith") will write the untitled project, which is described as being Kidman's equivalent of the "Bourne" franchise.
Kidman will produce through her Blueprint Films banner. Laurence Mark and Jonathan King are also on board as producers.
Film fans with good memories will recall that Kidman was originally supposed to star in "Smith," but had to depart the smash hit due to scheduling conflicts. Kinberg then had to rewrite his female protagonist for new leading lady Angelina Jolie.
Kidman, an Oscar winner for "The Hours," has completed work on the sci-fi/horror thriller "The Visiting" and on the biopic "Fur." She's already lined up leads in the next dramedy from Noah Baumbach ("The Squid and the Whale") and in an untitled drama from Baz Luhrmann set to co-star Russell Crowe.
Other credits for Kinberg include Fox's upcoming "X-Men: The Last Stand."
Simon Ready To 'Surprise' With Eno
After several years of work, Paul Simon is finally ready to share his long-awaited collaboration with producer Brian Eno (U2, Talking Heads) with the listening public. The 11-track project, dubbed "Surprise," will be released May 9 in North America via Warner Bros. and a day earlier internationally.
Among the songs set to appear on "Surprise" are "Sons and Daughters," "How Can You Live in the Northeast," "Outrageous" and "Father and Daughter," Simon's contribution to 2002's "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" which was nominated for the best original song Academy Award.
Guest appearances include guitarist Bill Frisell, drummer Steve Gadd and pianist Herbie Hancock, whose 2005 album, "Possibilities," featured a new recording with Simon of the latter's "I Do It for Your Love."
"Surprise" is Simon's first studio album since 2000's "You're the One," which debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200 and has sold more than 505,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The lone live date on Simon's schedule at present is a May 7 appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. A small-venue show in London is in the works to coincide with the new album's release date but details have yet to be announced.
According to a spokesperson, tours are in the works for both summer and fall. Simon will also perform on the May 13 episode of NBC's "Saturday Night Live."
Here is the track list for "Surprise":
"How Can You Live in the Northeast"
"Everything About It Is a Love Song"
"Outrageous"
"Sure Don't Feel Like Love"
"Wartime Prayers"
"Beautiful"
"I Don't Believe"
"Another Galaxy"
"Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean"
"That's Me"
"Father and Daughter"
Friends Reunion Latest
We've all wished they'd just get on and do it but a Friends reunion is no closer to happening right now.
And apparently it's all down to one of the three lads.
Rumours of a reunion were fired up after Kathleen Turner - who played the transvestite dad of Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) - revealed she had been approached about appearing in more episodes.
American TV network NBC later nixed the stories of a one-off reunion show.
However, Lisa Kudrow has now revealed it was all true - but sadly, still not on the cards.
And it's Matthew, Matt Le Blanc or David Schwimmer who's to blame, she reckons - not Jennifer Aniston, as had been rumoured.
"There is an opportunity for the rest of us to do a reunion show but one member has said no," Lisa said.
"It's one of the guys. I'm gutted."
Lisa's new venture, The Comeback, a satire of reality shows, has not been as successful as she had hoped.
There's been a Friends-shaped hole in our TV schedules for almost two years now.
The series ran for 10 years and 240 episodes and made gazillion-dollar fortunes for its six stars.
No sour grapes for Romijn
CALABASAS, Calif. If Rebecca Romijn seems generously candid, chalk it up to her deep personal happiness and fun new role as a super-snoopy investigative reporter in WB's Pepper Dennis (premieres Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET/PT).
"I do have more sympathy for reporters than I ever had before," acknowledges Romijn, 33, a former supermodel who was host and reporter for MTV's House of Style in the 1990s. "You've got to get the story, and I totally get that."
Fresh from a 13-hour catch-up sleep marathon, Romijn is having a breakfast of huevos rancheros. She has arrived at a cafe near the ranch house she shares with 32-year-old fiancι Jerry O'Connell (Crossing Jordan) and is bursting with bright colors.
The 5-foot-11 fashion queen is dressed in a striped peach rugby shirt, gold headband and necklace, a turquoise ring, a mammoth 6-carat yellow diamond engagement ring, a bright orange wallet, and toenails painted with a pink hue called "I Need a Vacation." Because her reporter character is single, she takes off her ring during scenes and replaces it with a set of yellow diamond earrings also given to her by O'Connell.
The 1999 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition cover girl, who posed on the sand alongside other top cover models for the 2006 cover, will hit the beach again soon for a vacation in the Bahamas with O'Connell. The previous evening, she fell asleep in his arms "around 8" somewhere between watching rentals of A History of Violence and The Squid and the Whale.
She calls O'Connell "the most solid guy. I don't know what I would do without him."
On their grounds are the beginnings of a winery: O'Connell followed up a romantic getaway to California wine country by planting 800 Merlot and Cabernet grapevines. She calls the gesture "the most romantic gift."
It's now a favorite spot. Romijn spends weekends in the vineyard with her rocking chair, two poodles and two German shepherds to read scripts, while O'Connell shoots off golf balls or tends to the vines. As a nod to the history of their home it was a 1930s brothel called The Wagon Wheel Ranch they plan to eventually bottle Wagon Wheel Wine.
But also sitting behind their home is a giant letter "D" part of the Disneyland sign that ex-husband John Stamos (Jake in Progress, ER) purchased after he and Romijn had their first date at Disneyland. She says Stamos eventually will come and collect the "D" and the other nine letters she has in storage, but in the meantime, she prefers to think the "D" stands for her character, Dennis.
News of her split from Stamos after six years of marriage broke the day before she walked the red carpet at the April 2004 premiere of her film The Punisher. "We just got outed" by the tabloids, Romijn says. "We had split up quite a while before, but John and I had decided we were just going to keep it between us because we had work to do and I didn't want to be dealing with all that.
"But we were forced to come clean, so I put on a brave face."
Of Stamos, she says, "We don't have a regular relationship anymore." She's hurt by media reports that the couple split because he wanted to start a family and she didn't. Romijn says vehemently that those accounts are wrong. She adds, "Whether or not I wanted to have kids had nothing to do with it. We were together for 10 years, and the reasons (for the divorce) are complicated. I can't wait to have kids. I'm at a point in my life where when I see a pregnant woman, I get tears in my eyes."
She and O'Connell, who she says shares her desire to start a family, plan to wed this summer after she wraps up promoting her third stint as the blue-hued Mystique in X-Men 3: The Last Stand, in theaters May 26. (She has two other films in the can: June's The Alibi, with her X-Men co-star James Marsden, and the upcoming Man About Town, in which she plays the wife of Ben Affleck.)
Her wedding will "not be a big event. I did that a long time ago. We might do it on a vacation and include just our close family."
Oh and unlike what she did with her name for her previous marriage, she won't be changing her name to Rebecca Romijn-O'Connell.
"I'm probably just going to take the O," the actress jokes. "Rebecca O'Romijn."
Series Two Date, Titles and More News
The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, reaching subscribers today, has confirmed rumors that Series Two will debut on Saturday, April 15 at 7:00pm.
Widely rumored as the target date by fans and even the press as early as last November, this is the first official confirmation anywhere of the date of transmission of the first new episode, "New Earth".
Also revealed in the issue are the final three titles for the season. The Impossible Planet is the name of episode 8, the first half of the two-part story taking place on an alien world which is followed up by episode 9, "The Satan Pit". Fear Her is the title for episode 11, written by "Life on Mars" writer Matthew Graham. Finally, the magazine confirms the title Love & Monsters (using the ampersand, in fact, not the word "and"), which was reported last week in various newspapers during the episode's filming.
Additionally, DWM has revealed that, following each broadcast, Doctor Who Confidential - the documentary series about the making of the program - will air on BBC with writer Mark Gatiss ("The Unquiet Dead," "The Idiot's Lantern") narrating the documentary series, replacing last year's narrator Simon Pegg.
Finally, a few miscellaneous items of note about series two: writer Marc Platt, who wrote the Big Finish audio "Spare Parts" which inspired the Cyberman two-parter being seen this year, will receive a fee but the producers stress the story is not a rewrite. Also, "In the interview with Julie Gardner and Phill Collinson, they state that they are in their busiest period now, and that the script for the final episode is awesome. There is also a quote in the news section that allays the fears of the Barbara Windsor and Trisha Goddard cameos stating they are 'clever.'"
Sirius' hefty talent deals are "scary": CEO
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. CEO Mel Karmazin said Tuesday it was "scary" paying huge amounts to secure Howard Stern, the NFL, NASCAR and other high-profile programming, but still well worth it.
"It's scary how much they cost, but I would rather have them and find a way to make money with them rather than compete against them," Karmazin said at the Sports Business Journal's annual World Congress of Sports event.
Stern's deal is worth $500 million over five years. Despite the big bucks, Karmazin said he met with Stern on Monday to try to get him to extend his term with similar pay structure.
"He wasn't interested," Karmazin said. "He'll take his chances when the contract is up."
Karmazin joined Sirius in 2004 after a long career in traditional radio that culminated in a turn as president and chief operating officer of Viacom Inc. In that time, he has seen Sirius' subscriber base grow and snagged Stern from Viacom's CBS unit.
Stern's old employer recently sued the shock-jock, his agent Don Buchwald and Sirius for alleged breach of contract and fraud stemming from his much-ballyhooed move to satellite in January. The suit, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, was described by Stern as "a personal vendetta" launched by CBS chief Leslie Moonves in response to the network's sagging radio fortunes since Stern left.
Karmazin said the lawsuit only served to put Stern back on the front page.
"The last thing I would want to talk about today is Howard Stern," Karmazin said. "But I'm sure CBS had its reasons."
Karmazin was interviewed onstage at the Pierre Hotel event by noted media journalist-analyst Jack Myers.
He said that sports, along with Stern, are a major driver of subscriptions to satellite radio.
While Sirius and its bigger competitor, XM Satellite Radio, are locked in a battle for subscribers, Karmazin said the more important battle is for the entire field of satellite radio.
"This is not about us vs. them," he said. "It's about satellite radio."
He said terrestrial radio would be good for free cash flow. "It's just not going to grow much," he added.
Sirius, based in New York, reported a widened net loss of $311.4 million in the fourth quarter, due to a surge in promotional costs for the holiday season in the weeks before Stern's arrival. Revenue tripled to $80.0 million.
Unfortunate Development for "Arrested"
A new development may keep Arrested Development off the air for good.
Series creator Mitch Hurwitz announced his decision to quit the Emmy-winning comedy Monday, dealing a blow to fans still holding out hope that the canceled Fox show might be revived on another network, Daily Variety reports.
The move by Hurwitz was not entirely unexpected. E! Online's TV columnist Kristin Veitch reported last month that the executive producer was "hesitant" about sticking with the series, despite a tentative deal in place to move it to Showtime.
Though series producers 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine Television had hammered out an agreement with the cable network, it was forged on the understanding that Hurwitz would be continuing to script the various misadventures of the Bluth family.
However, the writer told Variety he had reached the end of the line as far as Arrested Development was concerned.
"I've given everything I can to the show in order to try to live up to [the fans'] expectations," Hurwitz told the trade. "I finally reached a point where I felt I couldn't continue to deliver that on a weekly basis."
He said he held off on making a final decision to give 20th Century Fox and Showtime time to reach a potential deal but ultimately had to move on due to a combination of creative and financial concerns.
"Of course, if there was enough money in it, I would have happily abandoned the fans' need for quality. But as it turns out, there wasn't," he said.
Hurwitz said he had briefed most of the show's cast and writers about his decision. He said executive producer Ron Howard asked him to consider serving as a consultant on the show if 20th Century Fox and Imagine figured out a way to continue it without him.
"I said I'd be happy to do that, but that as showrunner, I've gone as far as I can go," he told Variety.
The tragically underrated series about a dysfunctional Orange County, California, family debuted in 2003 to critical acclaim but never registered with viewers, despite winning the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2004.
Last month, only 3.3 million viewers tuned in for what Fox billed as a season finale, but what was most likely the series finale for Arrested Development.
Despite his defection from the show, Hurwitz left fans with one final straw to grasp, hinting to Variety that he may still be interested in adapting the series to the big screen.
It's Apple Vs. Apple in British Court
LONDON - Two legendary companies in the music industry are to meet Wednesday in a London courtroom to fight it out over what might be the world's most recognizable logo: A simple piece of fruit.
Apple Corps Ltd., the Beatles' record company and guardian of the band's musical heritage and business interests, is suing Apple Computer Inc., claiming the company violated a 1991 agreement by entering the music business with its iTunes online music store.
The case will be heard by Judge Martin Mann, who said during pretrial hearings that he was the owner of an iPod digital music player, which is used with the iTunes music store.
At issue is a 1991 pact that ended a long-running trademark fight between the two Apples in which each agreed not to tread on the other's toes by entering into a "field of use" agreement over the trademark.
Apple Computer said in a statement that "unfortunately, Apple and Apple Corps now have differing interpretations of this agreement and will need to ask a court to resolve this dispute."
Apple Corps founded in 1968 and owned by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the widow of John Lennon and the estate of George Harrison is seeking both an injunction to enforce the 1991 agreement and monetary damages for the alleged contract breach.
The computer company's logo is a cartoonish apple with a neat bite out of the side; the record company is represented by a perfect, shiny green Granny Smith apple.
Apple Computer had asked to have the case heard in California, where it is based, but Mann rejected that application in 2004 and ordered the case be heard at the stately Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Computer was formed in 1976, when two college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak filed partnership papers on April Fools' Day. Their goal was to build and sell personal computers, and their first product was a build-it-yourself computer kit. In 1984, the Apple Macintosh was introduced. Their ubiquitous iPods first came out in October 2001.
The iTunes music store first opened for business in the United States in April 2003; it is now available across Europe, in Australia, Japan, and Canada. About 3 million songs are downloaded every day from the service. In the United States, a song costs 99 cents; in the U.K, they fetch 79 pence ($1.38). Not available on the service are Beatles' songs, which haven't been licensed for downloading.