New Releases, July 18: Sammy Hagar, Tom Petty, Michael Franti, New York Dolls
Sammy Hagar "Livin' It Up!"
The Red Rocker is set to release his fifth set of all-new material since he first split from Van Halen in 1996. The first single from the album--which features Hagar's current band, The Wabos--is "Sam I Am."
The album title and Hagar's current tour share the same name--"Livin' It Up." For these shows, the vocalist/guitarist will lead The Wabos through an opening set that consists of both his recent solo material and classic hits, stretching back to his '70s-era days fronting Montrose. In the second set, Hagar will take the stage with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Wabos-drummer David Lauser and guitarist Vic Johnson--a quartet dubbed The Other Half--to perform Van Halen numbers.
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Tom Petty "Highway Companion"
The celebration of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' 30th anniversary continues with the release of this highly anticipated new CD. Ironically, the new record is not a band effort--it's Petty's third solo collection.
The singer/songwriter/guitarist did call on some old pals to help him with the disc; Jeff Lynne--who was Petty's mate in the Traveling Wilburys--produced the set with help from Heartbreaker guitarist Mike Campbell. The album's first single is "Saving Grace," which was world-premiered last month in front of 20-million people on ABC-TV's NBA Finals.
Petty is supporting "Highway Companion" with a lengthy, multi-leg tour--which, the singer told Rolling Stone magazine, could be his last. The next leg of the trek starts with three dates in Washington. Such artists as Trey Anastasio, John Mayer, Frank Black and The Strokes are pulling opening duties.
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Michael Franti and Spearhead "Yell Fire!"
Like most everyone else in the United States, Franti got his first dose of information about the troubles in Baghdad, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip by watching TV news. Back in 2004, however, the guitarist/vocalist decided he wanted more and embarked with a team to visit those spots.
From those journeys, Franti created the documentary "I Know I'm Not Alone" and a reflective batch of original songs entitled "Yell Fire!" (The documentary will also be released on DVD July 25.) These new songs, which Franti has been road-testing in concert for several months, mix folk, jam-rock, reggae and hip-hop styles.
Michael Franti and Spearhead are currently scheduled to make a handful of North American appearances in support of the album. Notably, the band will perform as part of Northern California's huge Reggae on the River festival on Aug. 6.
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The New York Dolls "One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This"
The New York Dolls, inarguably one of the most influential American rock bands of all time, are set to release their first collection of new tunes since 1974's "Too Much Too Soon."
The 13-track disc features surviving founders David Johansen (vocals) and Sylvain Sylvain (guitar), as well as guitarist Steve Conti, drummer Brian Delaney, bassist Sami Yaffa and pianist Brian Koonin. The CD also features guest appearances by Iggy Pop and Michael Stipe.
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Raul Malo "You're Only Lonely"
Malo, the vocalist for the highly acclaimed country-roots-rock band The Mavericks, returns with a follow-up to 2004's "The Nashville Acoustic Sessions." The album features a diverse array of cover material, including the Everly Brothers' "So Sad" and The Bee Gees' "Run to Me." Malo also duets with country vocalist Martina McBride on the album's closing track, "Feels Like Home."
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Flogging Molly "Whiskey on a Sunday"
This live package, which includes a 10-song CD as well as a DVD, captures the L.A.-based Irish-punk darlings during a sold-out hometown gig at the Wiltern Theater. Always a raucously entertaining live band, Flogging Molly performed such fan favorites as "Black Friday Rule" and "Drunken Lullabies" at this show.
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Various Artists "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man"
This soundtrack to the Lian Lunson-directed "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" film, which hit theaters on July 14, features several notable singers covering the great songwriter's tunes. Artists include Martha Wainwright, Nick Cave, Teddy Thompson, Rufus Wainwright and Beth Orton.
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More new releases:
Randall Bramblett, "Rich Someday" (New West)
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, "Stranger Things" (Fantasy)
Boy Kill Boy, "Civilian" (Island)
Gaelic Storm, "Bring Yer Wellies" (Megaforce)
Bruce Hornsby, "Intersections 1985-2005" (RCA)
Jurassic 5, "Feedback" (Interscope)
LeToya, "LeToya" (Capitol)
Toby Lightman, "Bird on a Wire" (Lava)
Midlake, "The Trials of Van Occupanther" (Bella Union)
Pharrell, "In My Mind" (Star Trak/Interscope)
Pimp C, "Pimpalation" (Rap-a-Lot)
Puffy AmiYumi, "Splurge" (Tofu)
The Rippingtons, "20th Anniversary Celebration" (Peak)
Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy, "Adieu False Heart" (Vanguard)
Silversun Pickups, "Carnavas" (Dangerbird)
Vienna Teng, "Dreaming Through the Noise" (Zoe)
Ali Farka Toure, "Savane" (Nonesuch)
Various Artists, "Buzz Ballads" (Razor & Tie)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Miami Vice" (Atlantic)
"Fletch" lives as "Scrubs" duo eye comedy revival
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The creator of "Scrubs" is writing and directing a prequel to the '80s feature franchise "Fletch," and if he has his way, the show's star Zach Braff will take over Chevy Chase's title role.
The Weinstein Co. has signed Bill Lawrence to adapt Gregory Mcdonald's 1985 comic-mystery novel "Fletch Won," which follows the irreverent detective from his early days as a ne'er-do-well junior newspaper reporter to his partnership with a crime reporter to solve a murder.
Mcdonald's best-sellers were brought to the screen in 1985's "Fletch" and 1989's "Fletch Lives."
"Zach is perfect for the role," Lawrence said in an interview from his Los Angeles office, where Braff sat laughing in the background. "I'm going to use all my pull trying to make him do it."
Filming is expected to start in April once the current season of "Scrubs" completes filming. No cast members have been signed yet.
Braff helped bring Lawrence on board by suggesting his boss to Weinstein principal Harvey Weinstein, leading to talks between the pair over the past six months.
"Zach knows I can recite the original 'Fletch' movie line for line," said Lawrence, who also has read all of Mcdonald's "Fletch" novels.
The director is well aware of the cult surrounding the books and films, which seems to weigh heavily on him. "My closest friends from high school don't care about my career," he said. "This is the only job I've ever gotten where every one of them said, 'Congratulations,' and then said, 'Don't f--- it up."'
Lawrence plans to make his "Fletch" with a bit more edge. "There were definitely broader, sketchier parts in the earlier films," he said. "I'd compare this one more to 'Beverly Hills Cop,' where there was a sense of real jeopardy. Like 'Batman Begins,' I (also) think people will enjoy seeing how Irwin Fletcher became Fletch."
"Fletch" lives as "Scrubs" duo eye comedy revival
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The creator of "Scrubs" is writing and directing a prequel to the '80s feature franchise "Fletch," and if he has his way, the show's star Zach Braff will take over Chevy Chase's title role.
The Weinstein Co. has signed Bill Lawrence to adapt Gregory Mcdonald's 1985 comic-mystery novel "Fletch Won," which follows the irreverent detective from his early days as a ne'er-do-well junior newspaper reporter to his partnership with a crime reporter to solve a murder.
Mcdonald's best-sellers were brought to the screen in 1985's "Fletch" and 1989's "Fletch Lives."
"Zach is perfect for the role," Lawrence said in an interview from his Los Angeles office, where Braff sat laughing in the background. "I'm going to use all my pull trying to make him do it."
Filming is expected to start in April once the current season of "Scrubs" completes filming. No cast members have been signed yet.
Braff helped bring Lawrence on board by suggesting his boss to Weinstein principal Harvey Weinstein, leading to talks between the pair over the past six months.
"Zach knows I can recite the original 'Fletch' movie line for line," said Lawrence, who also has read all of Mcdonald's "Fletch" novels.
The director is well aware of the cult surrounding the books and films, which seems to weigh heavily on him. "My closest friends from high school don't care about my career," he said. "This is the only job I've ever gotten where every one of them said, 'Congratulations,' and then said, 'Don't f--- it up."'
Lawrence plans to make his "Fletch" with a bit more edge. "There were definitely broader, sketchier parts in the earlier films," he said. "I'd compare this one more to 'Beverly Hills Cop,' where there was a sense of real jeopardy. Like 'Batman Begins,' I (also) think people will enjoy seeing how Irwin Fletcher became Fletch."
"Lost" Lands New Star, Reveals Numbers
Lost has added another bad guy to the island mix. Or, actually, he could be a good guy. Really, the odds are 50-50 either way.
Rodrigo Santoro, the South American import dubbed by press as the "Brazilian Tom Cruise"--a reference to his heartthrob status only and not to any off-screen antics--is joining the cast of the Emmy-snubbed drama next season.
It's unknown whether Santoro, who acted as theatrical eye candy opposite Laura Linney in Love, Actually and Demi Moore in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, will be a regular addition to the cast or simply a recurring character, though neither would be a guarantee of his character's longevity.
Show producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof remained characteristically mum on the details of the 30-year-old actor's role, confirming the casting to TVGuide.com, but refusing to divulge whether Santoro's alter ego will be an Other, part of a character's flashback or a member of the off-island world.
"We don't really want to be at all specific about what we're doing with the character or what he's going to play," Cuse told TVGuide.com. "Part of the surprise and the enjoyment of watching the show is sort of getting a chance to meet a new character and see how his role is going to unfold in relation to the rest of the cast."
Still, says Cuse, Santoro, who is so critically lauded in his native country that "Brazilian Tom Hanks" may be a more accurate nickname, will play against the expectation of his character, at least in terms of his pinup-worthy looks.
"The ladies like it when he takes his shirt off--not to say he'll be competing with Sawyer in that category," Lindelof told the Website. "On Lost, what you see is never what you get."
Despite his more than established career abroad, Lindelof said Santoro's relative anonymity Stateside made him an ideal match for the show.
While the producers clammed up about the show's new character, they did shed some light on what's coming up for some of the old ones.
The writer-producers spoke about the upcoming third season at San Diego's Comic-Con Saturday.
Cuse said the run-up to the season's first hiatus--the show takes a 13-week break after the airing of its first six episodes--"will look a little like a miniseries." Lindelof added, "Something happens midway through the year that will fry everybody's brain."
The Lost masterminds also said that they'll be amping up the adventure elements of the show this season and will revisit the off-island world they tapped into with the season finale.
"We're laying the seeds for a whole new element," Cuse said.
As for the characters themselves, Desmond, played by lone Lost Emmy nominee Henry Ian Cusick, will return. Lindelof also promises that the two-seasons-strong love triangle among Kate ( Evangeline Lilly), Jack ( Matthew Fox) and Sawyer ( Josh Holloway) will have a resolution.
"Within the first six episodes, she'll be officially making her selection," he said.
Meanwhile, fans of Hurley ( Jorge Garcia) will be happy to know that the lovelorn island dweller will be getting some extra face time, albeit on the very small screen.
Producers will be rolling out 13 two-minute mobisodes--i.e., mobile phone episodes--through Verizon this fall titled The Lost Diaries. The series will focus on Hurley as he finds a video camera--that Dharma Initiative really did think of everything--and chronicles different events on the island.
"It has been hard to get it off the ground because we don't want them to be...lame," Lindelof said.
It's proving to be a banner week for Lost fans. As if details of the new season spilling out weren't enough, one of the show's most-hyped mysteries will soon be solved.
The Lost Experience, the online interactive game launched last spring to give fans clues to the island, will spill the meaning behind Hurley's lottery numbers--4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42--which are prevalent throughout the show. Their importance will be revealed to gamers who complete the third phase of the challenge.
The show's third-season premiere, "A Tale of Two Cities," airs Oct. 4.
Oasis to release hits compilation
Manchester bad boys Oasis are set to release a greatest hits compilation "Stop the Clocks" on November 20, NME reports.
The 18-track double album will be culled from their album and single releases.
"Unlike most albums of this nature, Oasis have sat down and undertaken the almost impossible job of picking what they consider to be their finest moments ever," the band said in a statement.
Some of the tracks will include "Supersonic," "Wonderwall," "The Importance of Being Idle" and the popular B-sides "Acquiesce" and "Half a World Away."
One new track, "Stop the Clocks," a leftover from 2005's "Don't Believe the Truth" recording sessions, is expected to be included as well.
The rest of the songs have yet to be revealed.
Elizabeth Hurley to star in Jordache ads
NEW YORK - Elizabeth Hurley stars in new print ads for Jordache, the company that became famous during the 1970s designer-label jeans craze.
The ads, shot by Michael Thompson, show the 41-year-old model-actress wearing the Jordache Vintage line, sold in high-end retail stores, and the new Jordache Legacy line, launching exclusively at Macy's stores across the country this fall.
Jordache said the first ad will run in national publications beginning in September and will continue through the holiday season.
In one ad, Hurley is shown with the signature Jordache horse. Another shows her with riding gear.
"With success as an actress, model, businesswoman and mother, Liz represents everything the Jordache brand is about," said Liz Berlinger, president of Jordache Enterprises, in a recent statement. "We chose her because she is the true modern woman."
Brittany Murphy, whose movie credits include "Sin City" and "8 Mile," starred in a series of Jordache jeans print ads last year.
Stones to roll into Halifax, Regina and Vancouver
After weeks of rumours, the Rolling Stones have confirmed that they will play their first-ever concerts in Regina and Halifax this fall as part of their current world tour.
In Halifax, the Stones will perform Sept. 23 at Halifax Common, the large city park where 80,000 people gathered for a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1984.
The veteran British rockers then move on to Taylor Field in Regina, where they will play Oct. 8.
The tour also includes a stop in Vancouver's B.C. Place on Nov. 3.
Speculation in Regina and Halifax about the concerts was finally put to rest Tuesday at a news conference in Germany.
The Stones have played for 4.5 million fans on the A Bigger Bang tour, which has taken them to China, Rio and Australia. Last year, they performed in Moncton for the first time, before a crowd of some 80,000 people at Magnetic Hill.
The tour, which is currently in Europe, was temporarily stalled when guitarist Keith Richards underwent emergency brain surgery after falling from a tree in Fiji earlier this year. Fifteen concerts were cancelled while he recovered, but the tour still took in £79.7 million ($159 million) in the first six months of this year.
The band returns to North America Sept. 20 with a date in Boston and will go on to Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Halifax, Regina and Vancouver are the only Canadian dates confirmed so far.
"Most of the shows are going to be on the big stadium stage, with fans in the balconies behind us," said singer Mick Jagger, who turns 63 on Wednesday.
"We're going to play many cities we didn't get to before and also return to some of our favourite places."
Rumours of the Stones coming to Regina and Halifax had been swirling for weeks.
Asked about those rumours Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert would only say that a Stones concert would be a big deal for his province.
"Never before in the history of the province have we been able to attract the largest show on earth," Calvert said.
"This is the largest show on earth."
Stones rumours were ignited in Halifax earlier this month after a closed-door meeting of city councillors. They voted to spend $100,000 on an outdoor rock concert to be held Sept. 23 by a band that they did not identify.
The money is for extra policing and cleanup of the outdoor concert area in central Halifax. Moncton's Stones concert cost $1.2 million for crowd control and cleanup.
VIP tickets for the shows in Halifax and Regina go on sale Wednesday, while tickets will be available to the general public starting July 31.
Young contemporary artists will open for the Stones, but their names have yet to be announced.
The Couch Potato Report - July 29th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on some amazing stories, an incredible hulk, the Beastie Boys and a Frenzy.
To paraphrase Gershwin's immortal lyrics; “it’s summertime, and the livin' is easy.”
When it comes to The Couch Potato Report summertime means that the movie studios aren’t releasing their biggest titles of the year because they know most people - including me - aren’t sitting at home watching movies. We are enjoying ourselves outside because it is summertime and the livin' is easy.
But even though studio releases are down, and my time spent outdoors is up, I do still have some reviews for you this week.
The most notable is the 4-DVD box set for the first season of the classic 1980s television series AMAZING STORIES.
This superb anthology show ran from 1985 to 87 and it was produced by Steven Spielberg, who by 1985 had been responsible for the box offices hits JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and E.T. - THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. Spielberg also came up with many of the show’s story ideas, especially in this first season.
Each week on the show there was a new, separate, very interesting and usually "amazing" story. These stories ran the gamut from hilariously weird to fantastic fantasy to awe inspiring.
And because each week had a separate story - not unlike THE TWILIGHT ZONE - some of the best filmmakers in the business worked on the show. In today’s world filmmakers work on TV all the time, but in the 1980s that was almost unheard of.
Danny DeVito, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Robert Zemeckis, Burt Reynolds, Timothy Hutton, Steven Spielberg himself, Harvey Keitel, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Tim Robbins, Kevin Costner and John Lithgow are just some of the people who helped make AMAZING STORIES a show to look forward every week.
Now, AMAZING STORIES - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is available on DVD! It includes all 24 episodes from the series’ 1985-86 season and over twenty minutes of deleted scenes.
Admittedly, not every single episode is actually amazing, and when the show is bad it is truly bad, but for the most part they are AMAZING STORIES.
From the 1985 to 1987 TV series AMAZING STORIES, lets rewind back a bit farther to the 1978 to 82 show that was made out of THE INCREDIBLE HULK comic books.
If you are unfamiliar with Stan Lee’s classic comic book character, well, I am not.
After being accidentally exposed in his laboratory to a massive dosage of gamma radiation, David Banner - as he is called in the TV show - finds out that once angered, he turns into the Incredible Hulk, a huge, powerful seven foot greenish, manlike monster of immense strength and primitive passions.
Don’t get him angry. You wouldn’t like him when he is angry!
The mild mannered Banner can't remember what happens once he becomes The Hulk so he begins traveling around the country in search of a cure for his affliction as well as an escape from a prying reporter.
In THE INCREDIBLE HULK - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON you get all ten first season episodes, plus the two original feature-length films.
In my mind THE INCREDIBLE HULK was one of the best adaptations of a comic book, but before I sat down to watch this new 4-DVD Box Set it had been years since I had seen the show.
In reality, now that I have watched them again, it remains one of the best. I really enjoyed this set!
If you are familiar with THE INCREDIBLE HULK but you were never a fan of the show, well just don’t tell David Banner. That might get him angry. And wouldn’t like him when he is angry!
No one is angry in the new concert film AWESOME...I SHOT THAT from the Beastie Boys. In fact, everyone on screen seems to be having the time of their lives!
The place is New York’s Madison Square Garden. The date is October 9, 2004.
Prior to the show 50 fans who have seats in various parts of the Gardens are given Hi-8 cameras to shoot the band in concert and they are told that once the show starts they should not turn the camera off.
And they don’t. At one point we even get to witness one fan's bathroom break.
I’ll be the first to admit that the Beastie Boys’ music isn’t for everyone, and neither is this concert film, especially if you don’t like to see footage shot with shaky hands by excited fans.
But if you know who Mike D, Adrock, MCA and Mix Master Mike are then it is for you because the Boys always put on a great show, and the concept is so unique that there are so many things to see, in addition to the group of guys on stage.
The BEASTIE BOYS - AWESOME...I SHOT THAT is one of the most unique concert films of all time, and I highly recommend it, even though I am fully aware that it isn’t for the majority of people who are reading this right now.
But then again, the films of Alfred Hitchcock aren’t for everyone either, and they have done extremely well over the years.
In the early 1970s, after the box office failure of MARNIE, TOPAZ and TORN CURTAIN, Hitchcock decided to go back to London to make his next film.
FRENZY was the director's first film shot in the UK since he left during the 40's and it was a huge success.
In the film a serial killer is raping women and strangling them with ties.
After his ex-wife turns up murdered, the police start to suspect Richard Blaney. Blaney is innocent and he turns to his friend Rusk for help.
As more of Blaney's acquaintances turn up strangled, the pressure turns up on him to find the real killer.
FRENZY is a very interesting murder mystery, even if - at times - it doesn't feel like a Hitchcock movie.
Still, I am happy that this summer’s tribute to ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S FILMS ends on a high note with the very entertaining FRENZY.
In fact, FRENZY also ends this week’s Couch Potato Report!
FRENZY, the BEASTIE BOYS - AWESOME...I SHOT THAT, THE INCREDIBLE HULK - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON and the superb AMAZING STORIES - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON are all now available on DVD.
Coming up on August 19th in the next Couch Potato Report
The also superb INSIDE MAN is director Spike Lee’s film about a cop who is trying to talk a bank robber into surrendering, but in the end he might not be a bank robber after all. Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster star in one of 2006’s best films.
SCARY MOVIE 4 isn’t one of the year’s best films, but if you need a laugh, the latest film in the series will give you at least one or two.
Or you can just watch THE SIMPSONS - THE COMPLETE EIGHTH SEASON and laugh a lot!
I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in twenty-one 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!
Madonna tops MTV's list of groundbreaking videos
The controversial 1989 video for Madonna's hit song Like a Prayer, which drew criticism for its use of burning crosses and use of Catholic imagery, has topped MTV's list of groundbreaking videos.
The U.S.-based youth culture and music network released a list Monday of the Top 10 "videos that broke the rules," compiled in advance of the channel's 25th anniversary celebrations set for August 1.
Madonna beat out her junior pop star collaborator Britney Spears, who placed second for her naughty school girl debut Baby One More Time.
Michael Jackson, the self-proclaimed King of Pop, placed third for his monster-movie video epic Thriller, which was directed by John Landis (director of An American Werewolf in London) and — at a total length of 13 minutes — currently holds the record for the longest music video.
Condemned by Vatican
"Featuring burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus, [the Like a Prayer video] even brought condemnation from the Vatican for its use of religious imagery," MTV said, according to Reuters.
The controversial video was directed by Mary Lambert, who also directed the videos for Madonna's Borderline, Like a Virgin, Material Girl and La Isla Bonita.
Two other songs by the headline-grabbing Madonna also made it into the Top 10: the techno-influenced dance track Ray of Light placed fourth, while Vogue, in which Madonna brought the gay subculture dance form to the mainstream, placed fifth.
Considered among MTV's early icons, Madonna has frequently courted controversy with her videos, including for her songs Justify My Love, Erotica and What It Feels Like For a Girl.
Robbie Williams, Spice Girls make list
Others who made the cut include:
- Robbie Williams's Rock DJ, a special effects-laden video in which the Britpop singer begins peeling off his clothing and then continues by tearing off his flesh, muscles and organs.
- The Spice Girls hit Wannabe, which simulates one continuously shot video clip following the manic pop quintet as they cause mischief in a hotel.
The full list is as follows:
1) Madonna, Like a Prayer (1989)
2) Britney Spears, Baby One More Time (1999)
3) Michael Jackson, Thriller (1983)
4) Madonna, Ray of Light (1998)
5) Madonna, Vogue (1988)
6) Michael & Janet Jackson, Scream (1995)
7) Robbie Williams, Rock DJ (2000)
8) Eric Prydz, Call on Me (2004)
9) Jamiroquai, Virtual Insanity (1997)
10) Spice Girls, Wannabe (1996).
More than 10,000 viewers voted in the poll. As part of its anniversary broadcasts on Aug. 1, MTV will air its Top 100 videos as well as a new 20-minute video by British rapper Mike Skinner (also known as The Streets) that is poised to break Jackson's Thriller record for video length.
Will Whedon's "Wonder Woman" Win-Over Fans?
Can writer/director Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman break the female superhero box-office curse?
Comingsoon.net reports after a lengthy search for a good story, producer Joel Silverman has given his approval for Whedon's Wonder script.
"We have a script and we know where we're going," says Silverman. "It's the origin story. It has mythology. Steve Trevor crashes on the island and they go back to Man's World."
While the highly-anticipated role has yet to be cast, Silverman hints, "She'll probably be someone you never saw before, because she's very young, but I think we'll have a good time with it."
Despite the fact that fans rarely show interest in movies about 'super-women,' starting from 1984's Supergirl to more recent sleepers, Catwoman and Elektra, if anyone can pick-up the slack, Whedon can.
Cuthbert Gets 'Sassy'
She used to be "The Girl Next Door," but now Elisha Cuthbert is ready to play a "Sassy Girl."
The beloved "24" co-star, who battled cougars and C. Thomas Howell on the FOX drama, is in final negotiations to take the lead in "My Sassy Girl," a Gold Circle Films remake of a South Korean romantic comedy.
According to Variety, Vic Levin has adapted the screenplay and Yann Samuell will direct.
As one might imagine, the plot revolves around a sassy girl who gets involved with a significantly less sassy small-town boy somewhere in the Midwest.
Production is expected to begin in October.
Cuthbert followed her head-spinning "Girl Next Door" work with a supporting part in "House of Wax." She'll next be seen (at least in a few limited markets) in "The Quiet," followed by already completed turns in "He Was a Quiet Man" and "Captivity."
Latest On "Star Wars" & Indy 4
Lucasfilm's Steve Sansweet appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con and confirmed that the "Star Wars" animated series is now scheduled to premiere in 2008 whilst the live action series will begin sometime before 2010.
"We've been spending the last couple of years building from scratch two new state-of-the-art digital animation companies, one at Skywalker Ranch and one in Singapore. The scripts for the first batch of shows have been completed, and Animation is hard at work on the first episodes" says Sansweet.
The animated series is set late during the Clone Wars after Anakin Skywalker has achieved the rank of Jedi Knight. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Count Dooku, Palpatine and General Grievous are expected to appear in the animated show.
He finally added David Koepp's script for Indiana Jones 4 is a couple of months away from finishing with hopes pre-production can begin before early 2007.
Dr. Phil, White Stripes on 'Simpsons'
PASADENA, Calif. - Natalie Portman, Kiefer Sutherland, the White Stripes and Dr. Phil McGraw will be among the guest voices on the upcoming season of "The Simpsons."
Joe Mantegna will reprise his role as Springfield's infamous mob boss Fat Tony when the animated Fox show begins its 18th season Sept. 10. Joe Pantoliano and Michael Imperioli guest-star as Fat Tony's main thugs, the network announced Monday.
The White Stripes voice themselves in the Sept. 17 episode when Bart organizes a benefit concert to repair his arm that was mangled by a tiger Lisa rescued from the local pound.
McGraw, Fran Drescher and comedian Richard Lewis guest-star in a Halloween episode on Nov. 5.
Sutherland voices a hard-nosed colonel when Homer lands in basic training on Nov. 12.
Also paying a visit to Springfield will be authors Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen.
In May, the Emmy-winning series will air its 400th episode.