David Lee Roth axed from radio gig
NEW YORK (AP) - Well, that didn't take long.
Rocker-turned-radio host David Lee Roth, who accepted the no-win task of replacing ratings king Howard Stern in January, was bounced from the airwaves Friday after barely three months on the air in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and four other markets.
"I was booted, tossed, and it's going to cost somebody," Roth said on his last show, intimating that his lawyers would go after CBS Radio for the full compensation due from his reported $4 million contract. The timing of the move was interesting: It arrived just days before the Roth show's first Arbitron numbers.
CBS Radio spokeswoman Shavonne Harding said the company would have an announcement soon on its plans. She declined any other comment, and would not say who will replace the former Van Halen front man on Monday's morning drive time shift.
Roth said he was only told about the syndicated show's demise while riding in a car to the WFNY-FM studios in Manhattan.
His replacements, in a hiring fraught with bizarre subplots, will be shock jocks Greg (Opie) Hughes and Anthony Cumia - currently available only to the 6.5 million listeners on XM satellite radio.
"Apparently we can talk about it now. So much for keeping a lid on this," the pair said Friday on their show's website. "The Opie and Anthony show will be replacing David Lee Roth in several markets on CBS Radio Free-FM stations."
Opie and Anthony's syndicated show was yanked from terrestrial radio in August 2002 after airing a live account of listeners having sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral. The company that silenced the duo was the same one that just hired them back, CBS Radio.
It also puts the pair in the slot long dominated by Stern, who feuded with Opie and Anthony for years before leaving for Sirius Satellite Radio. And it reverses the trend of satellite looting traditional radio for talent. Instead, CBS Radio is reaching out to satellite radio for syndicated programming.
"What they're doing is switching to a proven act," said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade publication Inside Radio. "This is a group with a pedigree. I would think the stations involved are very happy about this."
There is no word on when the Opie and Anthony show will debut on CBS Radio. The Associated Press was told the pair will do three hours on both XM and CBS, and two additional hours exclusively for the satellite audience.
In addition to New York, Boston and Philadelphia, Opie and Anthony will reportedly air in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Dallas.
Further proof of how strange the O&A move was: Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, who demanded the pair's dismissal after the St. Patrick's scandal, issued a statement wishing the pair well.
"(They've) made it clear they regretted the St. Patrick's stunt," said Donohue, who appeared as a guest on the pair's XM show. "In short, the Catholic League hopes Opie and Anthony have a great run on CBS Radio."
Waters Bringing 'Dark Side' To North America
As expected, Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters will tour North America this fall and will be performing the band's classic 1973 album "Dark Side of the Moon" in its entirety. Beforehand, Waters will spend the summer touring Europe, beginning June 2 at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon.
The North American tour, Waters' first since 2002, will get underway Sept. 6 in Holmdel, N.J., and hit arenas and outdoor amphitheatres. The band will include longtime sidemen Andy Fairweather Low and Snowy White on guitar, drummer Graham Broad and Waters' son Harry on Hammond organ.
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason will make a guest appearance at Waters' July 14 show in Nevers, France, but at deadline is not confirmed to join the band at any additional shows.
Sans Waters, Pink Floyd performed "Dark Side of the Moon" in full for the first time during its 1994 tour in support of "The Division Bell." With Waters back in the fold, the band performed the "Dark Side" tracks "Breathe" and "Money" as part of its four-song set at Live 8 last summer.
Here are Roger Waters' North American tour dates:
Sept. 6: Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center)
Sept. 8: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center)
Sept. 12-13: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Sept. 15: Wantagh, N.Y. (Jones Beach)
Sept. 16: Camden, N.J. (Tweeter Center)
Sept. 18: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Sept. 20: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Sept. 21: Montreal (Bell Centre)
Sept. 24: Burgettstown, Pa. (Post Gazette Pavilion)
Sept. 27: Cleveland (Gund Arena)
Sept. 29: Chicago (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre)
Sept. 30: Noblesville, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
Oct. 3: Phoenix (Cricket Pavilion)
Oct. 5: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)
Oct. 8: Las Vegas (Theatre Under the Stars)
Oct. 10: Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)
Oct. 12: Seattle (Key Arena)
Travolta, JLo to Star in 'Dallas' Movie
LONDON - British director Gurinder Chadha announced Friday that she would direct John Travolta and Jennifer Lopez in a big-screen version of 80s TV show "Dallas."
The "Bend it Like Beckham" director said she had signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to direct the film, which will star Travolta as villainous oil magnate J.R. Ewing and Lopez as his wife Sue Ellen.
In a statement, Chadha said her appointment meant that the sort of South Asian-themed British films that made her name had "huge credibility and respect in Hollywood."
Chadha, who gave Jane Austen a Bollywood twist in last year's "Bride and Prejudice," is also involved with adapting another TV hit, 60s sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie." She said that film "is still in the pipeline, but there is still some way to go on the script."
Filming on "Dallas" is due to start in October, with the movie slated for a late 2007 release.
"Star Trek" franchise set for 2008 revival: report
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than three years after the last "Star Trek" movie crashed at the box office, the venerable sci-fi franchise is being revived by the director of the upcoming "Mission: Impossible" sequel, Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition.
The as-yet-untitled "Star Trek" feature, the 11th since 1979, is aiming for a fall 2008 release through Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc. unit looking to restore its box-office luster under new management, the trade paper said.
The project will be directed by J.J. Abrams, whose Tom Cruise vehicle "Mission: Impossible III" will be released by Paramount on May 5. Abrams, famed for producing the TV shows "Alias" and "Lost," will also help write and produce.
Daily Variety said the action would center on the early days of "Star Trek" characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer-space mission.
The paper described "Star Trek" as Hollywood's most durable performer after James Bond, spawning 10 features that have grossed more than $1 billion and 726 TV episodes from six series.
The 10th film, "Star Trek: Nemesis," bombed at the box office on its December 2002 release, earning just $43 million in North America. Last year, Viacom-owned broadcast network UPN pulled the plug on the low-rated series "Star Trek: Enterprise" following a four-season run.