Adventures of Brisco County Jr., The - Canadians: Missing your booklet? Here's what to do...

Warner Canada has issued a press release about the missing booklet in the recent release of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Canadians were the only ones affected by this issue, so this information relates to Canadian residents only.

July 26th, 2006

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for purchasing the Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (DVE 76833 - UPC 0-12569-76833-8 - street date July 18th, 2006).

WHV has determined that, due to an error, the episode guide booklet was not inserted into the package.

WHV is dedicated to customer service and apologizes for any inconvenience this error may have caused you. Effective until August 31st 2006. WHV will remedy the situation by sending you the missing episode guide booklet at no additional cost to you.

To obtain the booklet, please contact us immediately at one of the following numbers:

Phone: 1-888-603-8888
email: warner@unigistix.com
fax: (905) 458-8275

Once you contact us, you should receive the booklet within 10 days.

Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,
Warner Home Video Canada

Kiefer up for a new day on '24'

PASADENA, Calif. -- When we last saw Jack Bauer, the 24 action hero was being beaten to a pulp and hauled off to a Chinese torture cell.

Bauer, or rather actor Kiefer Sutherland, looked tanned, relaxed and -- very unlike Jack -- happy at Tuesday night's Fox press tour party, an All-Star affair that Hugh Laurie (House), David Boreanaz (Bones), Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette (the upcoming FX series Dirt, about dishy tabloids), David Foster (the upcoming reality show Duets), Brad Garrett ('Til Death) and JR himself, Larry Hagman (guesting next season on Nip/Tuck) all attended.

Sutherland, who stood with his requisite pack of Camel cigarettes in his pocket, figures 24 will pick up about a year-and-a-half from when we last saw Bauer. "We just got the first scripts," he told a scrum of reporters.

He was typically sketchy on other details, but admitted things look pretty grim for Jack. "He's at the end of his line. Something's going to have to really rejuvenate him from the position that he's in," said Sutherland, "otherwise he's just going to be dead."

He added that it will be interesting this coming season, which starts again in January, "to come from a really deep dark place and actually try to come up instead of starting from an up position and trying to go down."

Asked if Kim Raver, who played Jack's lost love Audrey Raines, is through with 24 (she's joined the cast of ABC's The Nine), Sutherland said don't count her out yet. "She's contractually free to do both shows," he said. "We'll have to see what happens."

Some reporters were surprised Sutherland was at the press tour at all. His show is going into a sixth season and he's made his millions from syndication and DVD sales. This is usually the point where a big shot like Sutherland bails, at least until that farewell season is announced.

Still, the Emmy-nominated actor feels a certain loyalty to TV critics. "We wouldn't have been picked up if it wasn't for this group five years ago," he said. "We were on the fence and teetering off it in the wrong direction." He added that 24 "has been the most amazing experience of my career to date."

I had to ask him about one nagging detail from last season's finale that to me at least just didn't ring true. Why, given that Bauer was reachable via cell phone from all over the world, was he lured to a pay phone to take a call from his daughter? (It was all a set up; after saving the world yet again, Bauer was ambushed there by Chinese terrorists).

"That's interesting," said Sutherland, who attempted an explanation. He pointed out that Bauer had been estranged from his daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) and when they briefly reunited last season they didn't exchange numbers. "In fact, she wants nothing to do with me," he said.

However, Sutherland admitted, "why CTU couldn't route her to my cellphone, that's a problem, yeah."

Is Heath Ledger The New Joker?

Heath Ledger could soon be donning a big smile for the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, as The Joker.

IMDB.com says press reports in Australia have pegged the Casanova star as Batman's famous foe in the hit-movie's follow up, which is scheduled for theatrical release in 2008.

While it's widely known Academy Award-winning actor/comedian Robin Williams is hoping to land the role of the comic bad-guy, filmmakers apparently don't want an age gap between hero and villain.

Confirmation on the news however, has yet to be announced.

In the meantime, Ledger can be seen in the dark Australian romance/drama Candy, as a poet with love for an art student, and heroin, followed by another movie featuring Christian Bale, the Bob Dylan biopic, I'm Not There.

"Miami Vice" set to heat up box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - This weekend is all about gambles at the box office. Will Universal Pictures' costly gamble on director Michael Mann and "Miami Vice" pay off? Will Warner Bros. Pictures' second partnership with Tom Hanks on an animated movie, "The Ant Bully," be as successful as its first? And just how many teenage girls will show up to see John Tucker, a fictional high school Romeo, die?

Bolstered by positive reviews and enough heart-pumping action scenes to lure in young males, "Miami Vice" could open in the mid-$20 million range, insiders say. Some think it could earn $30 million, which would set up a strong run for the film and help fuel the second half of the summer box office.

Either way, "Miami Vice" will end the three-week reign of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which is on track to earn $20 million.

With a budget reportedly in the neighborhood of $135 million, Mann has reimagined the "Miami Vice" television show he executive produced in the 1980s as a dark, stylized drama with laconic dialogue and impressive action scenes. Rated R, the film version of the series stars Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell as undercover narcotics officers.

Mann's films, while well-regarded, never have grossed more than $101 million; 2004's "Collateral," starring Tom Cruise and Foxx, holds that honor. It kicked off with $24.7 million.

Warners' PG-rated "Ant Bully" is expected to open at No. 3 in the mid-teen ranged. It was produced by Hanks, the star of "The Polar Express," the studio's bold animation foray from 2004. Its high-pedigreed voice talent includes Julia Roberts and Nicolas Cage.

Directed by "Jimmy Neutron" creator John A. Davis, "The Ant Bully" enters the crowded animated family space sandwiched between Sony Pictures' "Monster House," which bowed last weekend, and Paramount Pictures' "Barnyard," opening next week.

"Bully" has a similar feel to two previous animated films about bugs: Pixar's "A Bug's Life" and DreamWorks Animation's "Antz," both released in 1998. That is a generation ago for the young audiences of animated films, and "Bully" does have a 3-D Imax release going for it as well.

20th Century Fox's "John Tucker Must Die" is on track to open in the low teens. Starring "Desperate Housewives"' hunky gardener Jesse Metcalfe as the three-timing Tucker, the movie is sure to lure teenage girls. The PG-13 was directed by Betty Thomas. Fashioning itself after Paramount's successful "Mean Girls," "Tucker" will get up to that film's gross of $86 million only if it proves smarter than the typical fare aimed at its target demographic.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight opened the Sundance Film Festival hit "Little Miss Sunshine" on seven screens Wednesday. The indie acquired the picture for a record $10.5 million at January's festival, and high hopes are riding on the film starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell and Toni Collette. An R-rated road trip comedy about a dysfunctional family, the film is directed by husband-and-wife music video veterans Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris from a script by Michael Arndt.

Focus Features will open Woody Allen's "Scoop" in 537 theaters. Starring Allen's latest muse, Scarlett Johansson, and Hugh Jackman, "Scoop" centers on a journalism student who receives the scoop of a lifetime. Allen co-stars as his neurotic self. The film hopes to reach the levels of Allen's previous hit, "Match Point," which grossed $23 million. Reviewers haven't been as kind to Allen's latest release, though, which is likely to hamper the film's draw.

Dixie Chicks documentary to hatch at Toronto fest

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - A documentary about the firestorm that greeted the Dixie Chicks' anti-Bush comments will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, organizers said Thursday.

"Dixie Chicks -- Shut Up and Sing," from Oscar-winning director Barbara Kopple ("Harlan County," "American Dream") and Cecilia Peck, will receive a high-profile gala screening.

It documents the fury faced by the country music trio after singer Natalie Maines made an off-the-cuff comment about President Bush during a London concert three years ago.

Other world premieres in Toronto's Real to Reel documentary sidebar include U.S. filmmaker A.J. Schnack's "Kurt Cobain About a Son" and French filmmaker Jerome Laperrousaz's "Made in Jamaica," a portrait of Jamaican reggae and dancehall artists struggling to the top.

Toronto also has booked a North American premiere for U.S. documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon," David Leaf and John Scheinfeld's archival portrait of the Beatles star's move from musician to war activist. Paul Rachman's "American Hardcore," a look at the 1980s hard-core punk music scene, will receive a Canadian premiere.

Also receiving world premieres as part of Real to Reel are Asger Leth's "Ghosts of Cite Soleil," about Haitian slum gang leaders, and Macky Alston's "The Killer Within," a portrait of a respected psychology professor who attempted a murderous shooting spree in his college dorm many years prior.

"It was stunning to find a Columbine-type story that happened 50 years before Columbine. It felt like an unearthing project," Alston said. The documentary is told from the perspective of the aging professor's daughter, who must cope with her newfound knowledge about her father's past.

Other world premieres for Toronto include British filmmaker Lucy Walker's "Blindsight," a film about a blind Mount Everest climber; directors Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker's "The Prisoner or How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair," and "Shame," Mohammed Naqvi's portrait of a Pakistani woman who dares to break her silence after being gang-raped during a village dispute.

Other documentaries bound for Toronto include:

= "Lake of Fire" from Tony Kaye;

= Italian director Davide Ferrario's "Primo Levi's Journey";

= Japanese director Takayuki Nakamura's geisha girl portrait "Yokohama Mary";

= "Sari's Mother," a world premiere about an Iraqi mother searching hospitals for her HIV-positive son, from U.S. director James Longley.

= Camila Guzman Urzua's "The Sugar Curtain";

= Dutch filmmaker Alexander Oey's "My Life as a Terrorist: The Story of Hans-Joachim Klein";;

= French director Namir Abdel Messeeh's "Toi, Waguih";

= Vincenzo Marra's "The Session Is Open";

= Jeff Garlin's "This Filthy World," about John Waters' one-man show.

= British director Liz Mermin's "Office Tigers";

= Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price's "Summercamp!";

= Sophie Fiennes' "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema";

= Nader Takmil Homayoun's "L' Iran: Une Revolution Cinematographique."

The Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 7-16, will make additional announcements in the coming weeks.

"X-Men" DVD set for October 3 release

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The year's second-biggest movie is going to kick off the fourth-quarter DVD-selling season.

20th Century Fox is expected to announce Friday that "X-Men: The Last Stand," which grossed $233 million at the box office, will arrive on DVD on October 3 in two extras-laden editions.

The highlight of the third "X-Men" movie's DVD debut: three alternative endings, each with optional commentary by director Brett Ratner. The single-disc DVD release also includes 10 deleted scenes; audio commentaries from Ratner, the writers and the producers; a preview of the upcoming Ben Stiller movie "A Night at the Museum;" and two hidden "Easter eggs," one of the Beast reciting Shakespeare and the other of the X-Jet landing in Washington.

Fox also is preparing a collector's edition that includes an exclusive 100-page commemorative book with an all-new story penned by Marvel Comics master Stan Lee. It is his first original Marvel Comics book in five years.

In addition, Fox is packaging all three "X-Men" movies into a trilogy pack.

Paramount has already slotted "Over the Hedge" (box office: $151.7 million, No. 7 for the year) for October 17, while Fox has snagged the lucrative pre-Thanksgiving date of November 21 for "Ice Age: The Meltdown" ($194.9 million, No. 5).

Of the year's seven other top 10 theatrical releases, "Mission: Impossible III" ($133.5 million, No. 8), "Click" ($129.4 million, No. 9) and "The Break-Up" ($117.1 million, No. 10) are likely contenders for October, sources said.

"Superman Returns" ($180.2 million, No. 6) is a good bet for November, sources said, as are "The Da Vinci Code" ($215.9 million, No. 4) and "Cars" ($230.8 million, No. 3).

The wild card: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the year's box office champ with theatrical earnings of $330.4 million -- and counting. While observers predict a December DVD release date, as was the case for "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" in 2003, they said nothing is certain, particularly if the film's box office momentum continues.

Scarlett Johansson denies divalike demands

LONDON - Scarlett Johansson has denied claims that divalike demands cost her the lead role in a big-budget revival of "The Sound of Music," a spokesman for the actress said Thursday.

Johansson, 21, had been targeted to play Maria von Trapp in Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, set to open in London's West End in November.

"Her people were not `pro' the idea. It became clear that it wasn't going to work because the demands were so ridiculous," Lloyd Webber was quoted as saying in The Times newspaper.

He said Johansson's representatives "couldn't understand why she would want to appear in the West End for $18,500 a week when she could be earning $10 million for a movie."

"It was annoying because she really wanted to do it," Lloyd Webber was quoted as saying.

Publicist Marcel Parisbeau said it was a busy work schedule and not pay demands that sank the actress' chance to play the role made famous by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film version of the musical.

"It is true that there were some discussions regarding Scarlett and the production of `The Sound of Music.' But Mr. Webber's statement regarding the demands is extremely exaggerated," Parisbeau said in a statement. "Her management team was simply asking for terms that an actress of her stature would ask for."

Lloyd Webber said he was also told that Johansson would need two assistants stationed backstage at all times, according to the report.

The role of Maria will now be played by an actress to be chosen from a new British Broadcasting Corp. reality TV show. The Aug. 15 finale of "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria" will award a six-month contract to one of 10 finalists.

Johannson stars in Woody Allen's new movie, "Scoop," set to open Friday. Her screen credits also include roles in "Lost in Translation" and "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

Beasties working on 'hot' new album

TORONTO – The Beastie Boys are in the midst of writing and recording material for their next album.

The trio confirmed they've begun work on the yet-to-be-titled disc.

Adam Yauch (a.k.a. MCA) said the band's follow-up to 2004's "To The 5 Boroughs" will most likely be another self-produced effort.

Pressed for details, Adam Horowitz (a.k.a. Ad-Rock) promised the new set of songs will be the Beasties' "best ever."

"Wait 'til you hear the new shit that we’re working on. The shit is hot."

Refusing to say when the disc might reach stores, Michael Diamond (a.k.a. Mike D) said the band is in the "messing around" stage.

After its premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, the Beasties were in Toronto earlier today to promote the DVD release of their first-ever concert film – "Awesome; I Fu**in' Shot That!"

Recorded at Madison Square Garden during 2004's Challah At Your Boy world tour, the feature-length picture captures the Beasties' entire live performance using footage shot by fans on 50 different cameras.

Saying that the unconventional move was prompted by their desire to "do something different," the film was one of the most critically praised in the days following its January debut.

Metallica Caves, Joins iTunes

They may have been dragged kicking and screaming, but Metallica has finally joined the digital revolution.

After famously decrying online downloading as the death of the album format, and filing a few lawsuits in the process, the head-banging quartet has finally acquiesced to Apple and made available their back catalog on the iTunes Music Store Tuesday.

"From the 'It's about f---ing time!' file, comes this...," the group said on its Website Monday.

"Over the last year or so, we have seen an ever-growing number of Metallica fans using online sites like iTunes to get their music. So, in continuing with the tradition of offering our albums for sale online (which we've been doing for a few years through various sites), as well as making our live concerts available for download in their entirety (through the livemetallica.com site), we are now offering fans the opportunity to obtain our songs individually."

Metallica had previously made available their music for downloading on Yahoo! Music, MSN Music and Rhapsody, but the iTunes collaboration marks the first time listeners can purchase a single song rather than an entire album.

As of Tuesday, each of the band's 10 albums were available for download, along with a handful of previously unreleased live songs, included as bonus tracks on Metallica's first four discs, Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All.

"We chose these four because, unlike the more recent releases, we were only capable of writing 8-9 songs for each of these albums!" the band said.

The iTunes deal marks a significant turning point for the foursome of James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo, who had became the poster boys for the luddite music industry during the Napster wars.

The thrashers waged a high profile and vicious legal battle against the file-swapping service in 2000, blaming the network for "hijacking" their music. In a particularly fan-unfriendly move, Ulrich even went so far as to hand deliver a list of names of roughly 30,000 Napster users to a Redwood City, California, court house.

In 2003, when the iTunes Music Store launched, the group declared it would not allow Apple to hawk its tunes, saying it would "contribute to the demise of the album format."

As it is, Metallica's entire catalog was available for download Tuesday morning on iTunes' U.S. and Canada editions only.

"This is unfortunately due to the fact that our record company overseas doesn't seem to want to play ball with us on this at the moment," the band posted online. "Enjoy iMetallica!"

Although Metallica is finally on board, iTunes still has some major holdouts.

The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead and Garth Brooks are the biggest artists refusing to partner with the download service. And with the Beatles' recent loss to Apple in a trademark infringement cases, it's unlikely the Fab Four will strike a deal anytime soon.

James Bond's License to Rock

There may be lingering doubts about the viability of 007's latest alter ego, but regardless of what sort of James Bond Daniel Craig turns out to be, one thing's for sure: The movie's gonna rock.

Audioslave frontman and former Soundgarden mastermind Chris Cornell has been tapped to write and perform the theme song for the spy franchise's upcoming 21st installment, Casino Royale.

"You Know My Name," which, by virtue of its title alone practically begs the refrain "Bond, James Bond," was written in collaboration with the longtime 007 music man, composer David Arnold.

"I've always loved Chris' work, both as a writer and as an artist, and had hoped someday to find the right film to inspire him," Lia Vollack, president of worldwide music for Columbia Entertainment, the studio behind the film, said in a statement.

"His work is both soulful and tough. It was the perfect complement to Daniel Craig and Casino Royale."

Cornell hopes his tune enters the pantheon of great Bond themes, which includes Paul McCartney & Wings' "Live and Let Die," the first Bond theme to crack the Top 10, and classic songs by Carly Simon (whose "Nobody Does It Better" from The Spy Who Loved Me has since become a nightclub staple), Shirley Bassey ("Goldfinger," "Diamonds Are Forever," "Moonraker") and Tom Jones ("Thunderball"), all from the 1970s-era 007 films.

Aside from Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill," the 1980s were less kind to Bond, saddling him with a string of clunky themes, bottoming out with a-Ha's inexplicable "The Living Daylights."

There was a turnaround in the '90s, with Tina Turner ("GoldenEye"), Sheryl Crow ("Tomorrow Never Dies"), Garbage ("The World Is Not Enough") handling the chores.

The most recent outing, 2002's Die Another Day, featured Madonna singing the techno-infused title track.

Casino Royale is based on the first 007 novel from Ian Fleming and follows Bond's early years. The film centers on a game of high-stakes poker (is there any other kind?) between Bond and terrorist banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) at the Casino Royale. French beauty Eva Green stars as the requisite Bond babe.

The film is slated for worldwide release Nov. 16.

Lance Bass of 'N Sync reveals he's gay

NEW YORK - Lance Bass, band member of 'N Sync, says he's gay and in a "very stable" relationship with a reality show star. Bass, who formed 'N Sync with Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick, tells People magazine that he didn't earlier disclose his sexuality because he didn't want to affect the group's popularity.

"I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys' careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said (that I was gay), it would overpower everything," he tells the magazine.

'N Sync is known for a string of hits including "Bye Bye Bye" and "It's Gonna Be Me." The band went on hiatus in 2002. Bass has also found headlines for undertaking astronaut training and failing to raise money for a trip into space.

Bass says he wondered if his coming out could prompt "the end of 'N Sync." He explains, "So I had that weight on me of like, `Wow, if I ever let anyone know, it's bad.' So I just never did."

The singer says he's in a "very stable" relationship with 32-year-old actor Reichen Lehmkuhl, winner of season four of CBS' "Amazing Race."

Bass and Fatone, 29, are developing a sitcom pilot inspired by the screwball comedy "The Odd Couple," in which his character will be gay.

"The thing is, I'm not ashamed — that's the one thing I went to say," Bass says. "I don't think it's wrong, I'm not devastated going through this. I'm more liberated and happy than I've been my whole life. I'm just happy."