'Batwoman' revived as a lesbian
NEW YORK (AP) - Years after she first emerged from the Batcave, Batwoman is coming out of the closet.
DC Comics is resurrecting the classic comic book character as a lesbian, unveiling the new Batwoman in July as part of an ongoing weekly series that began this year. The five-foot-10 superhero comes with flowing red hair, knee-high red boots with spiked heels, and a form-fitting black outfit.
"We decided to give her a different point of view," explained Dan DiDio, vice-president and executive editor at DC. "We wanted to make her a more unique personality than others in the Bat-family. That's one of the reasons we went in this direction."
The original Batwoman was started in 1956, and killed off in 1979. The new character will share the same name as her original alter ego, Kathy Kane. And the new Batwoman arrives with ties to others in the Gotham City world.
"She's a socialite from Gotham high society," DiDio said. "She has some past connection with Bruce Wayne. And she's also had a past love affair with one of our lead characters, Renee Montoya."
Montoya, in the 52 comic book series, is a former police detective. Wayne, of course, is Batman's true identity - but he has disappeared, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, leaving Gotham a more dangerous place.
The 52 series is a collaboration of four acclaimed writers, with one episode per week for one year. The comics will introduce other diverse characters as the story plays out.
"This is not just about having a gay character," DiDio said. "We're trying for overall diversity in the DC universe. We have strong African-American, Hispanic and Asian characters. We're trying to get a better cross-section of our readership and the world."
The outing of Batwoman created a furor of opinions on websites devoted to DC Comics. Opinions ranged from outrage to approval. Others took a more tongue-in-cheeck approach to the announcement.
"Wouldn't ugly people as heroes be more groundbreaking?" asked one poster. "You know, 200-pound woman, man with horseshoe hair loss pattern, people with cold sores, etc.?"
DiDio asked that people wait until the new Batwoman's appearance in the series before they pass judgment.
"You know what? Judge us by the story and character we create," he said. "We are confident that we are telling a great story with a strong, complex character."
DiDio spent most of the morning fielding phone calls from media intrigued by the Batwoman reinvention.
"It's kind of weird," he said. "We had a feeling it would attract some attention, but we're a little surprised it did this much."
Dixie Chicks dominate album charts
The Dixie Chicks' latest disc took a short cut to No. 1 on the Canadian album charts this week.
The trio's seventh album, "Taking the Long Way," debuted in the top spot with sales of just under 40,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
"Long Way," the Dixie Chicks' first No. 1 album in Canada, topped the first-week sales of the previous studio disc "Home," which checked in at No. 2 with 21,000 in sales back in September of 2002.
The Dixie Chicks also grabbed the No. 1 spot south of the border, selling 525,000 copies of "Long Way" in the U.S. They are now the first female group to have their first three albums premiere at the top of the charts stateside.
Back in Canada, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Stadium Arcadium" (15,000) was relegated to the No. 2 position, while former Blink-182 singer Tom DeLonge's new band Angels & Airwaves came in at No. 2 with their debut effort, "We Don't Need To Whisper" (14,000).
Shakira's "Oral Fixation Vol. 2." remained at No. 4, James Blunt's "Back to Bedlam" slipped two notches to No. 5, Tool's "10,000 Days" sank four to No. 6, and Rihanna's "Girl Like Me" dropped from 5-7.
Gnarls Barkley's "St. Elsewhere," buoyed by the mad success of their single "Crazy," made their first top 10 appearance at No. 8, Michael Buble's "It's Time" occupied the No. 9 position, and Crazy Frog's "Crazy Hits" moved from No. 11 to No. 10.
Other notable debuts included the WWE compilation "Wreckless Intent" at No. 11, Def Leppard's covers disc "Yeah!" at No. 13, and the American Idol collection "Season 5" at No. 14.
In the U.S., Disney's "High School Musical" placed second (175,000), followed by the American Idol collection in third, Angels & Airwaves in fourth, and the Chili Peppers in fifth.
'Superman' Will Fly Into Theaters Early
Superhero flick opts for Wednesday premiere
This news many not necessarily change your end-of-June plans, but Warner Brothers has bumped up the release of "Superman Returns" by two days.
Instead of taking flight on movie screens everywhere on Friday, June 30, Bryan Singer's reboot of the superhero franchise will now open on Wednesday, June 28, extending the potential franchise pic's release through the protracted July 4th weekend.
"We were always considering this an option," Dan Fellman, WB's president of domestic distribution tells Variety. "I'm glad that we are in position to do it and take advantage of the summer holiday playtime."
The trade paper reports that the studio had long hoped to have "Superman Returns," which stars Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey and newcomer Brandon Routh, in theaters by the Wednesday, but there had been some internal questions regarding the completion of prints, particularly those for the movie's IMAX run.
Now, though, "Superman Returns" is set up for an open playing field from the end of June through the July 4th holiday, which falls on a Tuesday. For that period, "Superman" will face only counterprogramming from Fox's "The Devil Wears Prada."
More competition is expected on July 7th with the release of Sony's "Little Man," as well as "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" from Disney.
FEY'S DAYS AT 'SNL' UNCERTAIN
Tine Fey may not have a future on "Saturday Night Live."
An "SNL" spokesman said yesterday that Fey "has not yet made a decision" on whether she'll stay with the show as head writer and co-anchor of "Weekend Update" - or leave to focus on her new sitcom, "30 Rock," premiering this fall on NBC.
Fey created "30 Rock" and will co-star with Alec Baldwin, "SNL" alum Tracy Morgan and current "SNL"-er Rachel Dratch.
She'll also executive-produce and write the show, leaving her precious little time to devote to her weekly gig anchoring "Weekend Update."
Us Weekly reports in this week's issue that Fey will leave "SNL" to focus on "30 Rock" - and quotes a source confirming her departure from NBC's late-night comedy franchise.
"That's why she wore the T-shirt that said 'Thank You' during the closing credits of the [May 20] season finale of 'SNL,' " the source tells Us Weekly.
"She wore it. That's about it," the show's spokesman said regarding Fey's T-shirt.
NBC has high hopes for "30 Rock," one of its two fall shows - along with Aaron Sorkin's drama, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" - that will examine life behind-the-scenes on a network TV show.
On "30 Rock," airing Wednesdays, Fey will play Liz Lemon, the head writer of a New York-based TV variety show ("The Girly Show"), who's dealing with unpredictable co-stars and a "demanding" network boss (played by frequent "SNL" host Baldwin).
"In this bold, star-studded comedy, anything can happen!" trumpets NBC on its Web site.
Fey, 36, joined "SNL" in 1997 and was made head writer in 1999 - the first woman in the show's history to hold that title.
She's been anchoring "Weekend Update" with Amy Poehler, who re placed Jimmy Fallon in 2004.
Fey, who's married to musician Jeff Richmond, took some time off from "SNL" last season after giving birth to the cou ple's first child, Alice.
Wiseman Says "Die Hard 4?"
Yippee-ki-yay, Len Wiseman?
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the director of the fantasy-horror thriller Underworld and its sequel, Underworld: Evolution, is in talks to take the helm of Die Hard: 4 for 20th Century Fox.
Bruce Willis is once again set to reprise his role as wise-cracking New York cop John McClane, stuck in yet another impossible situation. This time around, the plot will find our aging tough-as-nails action hero coming out of retirement to battle terrorist baddies looking to wreak havoc on the Internet.
The script, written by Mark Bomback and Doug Richardson, was originally called Die Hard 4.0, but is expected to receive a new title in the vein of the third installment, 1995's Die Hard With A Vengeance.
Per the trade, producer Arnold Rifkin was looking for up-and-coming talent to revive the franchise and Wiseman fit the bill, having made his directing debut with 2003's stylish Underworld, which told the nightmarish tale of a war between vampires and werewolves. Both the film and its follow-up starred Kate Beckinsale, whom Wiseman married.
A rep for Fox was unavailable to comment on the report and there's no word on additional casting yet. The studio has remained tightlipped about development on Die Hard 4 since the project was first revealed back in 2002.
For his part, the 51-year-old Willis previously vowed never to do another sequel, jokingly asking during media interviews for the last chapter how much misery McClane can take as he gets himself mixed up with one diabolical criminal conspiracy after another.
1988's Die Hard, directed by John McTiernan and considered one of the defining action movies of the '80s, saw the character take on terrorist mastermind, Hans Gruber ( Alan Rickman), and stop him from robbing the vaults of a Japanese corporation in a Los Angeles skyscraper.
1990's sequel, Die Hard 2: Die Harder, helmed by Renny Harlin, saw McClane foiling a plot by mercenaries to take over an airport to free a drug dealer.
And finally, Die Hard With a Vengeance, with McTiernan at the reigns again, put McClane in a cat-and-mouse game with Gruber's bomber brother, Simon, around New York as he attempts to rob the federal bank.
All told, the combined worldwide gross of all three films have topped $1 billion, not including millions more raked in from video and DVD sales.
If all goes well, Die Hard 4 could hit the big screen by summer 2007.
Dixie Chicks return to No. 1 on charts
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Despite a cool reception from country radio, the Dixie Chicks returned to No. 1 on the pop and country charts with their first album since publicly criticizing the president three years ago.
The album "Taking the Long Way" took the top spot on country albums chart and the Billboard 200 overall chart — which are based on sales rather than radio airplay — with 526,000 units sold in its first full week.
For the year, the Chicks' first-week showing is behind only Rascal Flatts' "Me and My Gang" (722,000 units), according to Wade Jessen, director of Billboard's country charts.
The new album hit stores May 23, and its first-week sales are the trio's best since "Home" sold 780,000 units in its first week of release in September 2000.
First-week sales on "Taking the Long Way" were better than Toby Keith's "White Trash With Money" (330,000) and Tim McGraw's "Greatest Hits Vol. 2: Reflected" (242,000).
Country radio programmers have been slow to embrace the group since lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 on the eve of the war in Iraq that the group was ashamed President Bush was from their home state of Texas.
Back in the U.S., their music was boycotted and the Chicks said they received death threats, leading them to install metal detectors at their shows.