The Hip's new album title is...
The Tragically Hip has finally let the world in on the title of the group's forthcoming album.
Gord Downie and Co. have decided on "World Container" as the follow-up to 2004's studio effort "In Between Evolution," according to the band's official website.
The album is set to arrive in Canadian stores on Oct. 17, while the first single, "In View," will hit Canadian radio in two weeks.
"World Container" was produced by Bob Rock, whose extensive credits include Metallica, Bon Jovi, The Cult, Bryan Adams, Simple Plan and The Tea Party.
More details of the release as well as tour plans are expected in the coming weeks. The Hip has one Canadian tour date on their schedule, at the Ovation Music Festival in Stratford, ON on Sept. 9.
The band road-tested some of the new material during their recent live dates. Some of the new tracks that were performed and which are expected to appear on the disc include "Pretend," "Fly," "The Drop Off," "Ocean" and "The Lonely End Of The Rink."
'Snakes' flying all over the radar
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hollywood is dealing moviegoers a wild card this weekend. Industry experts are all over the map as to how well, or not so well, New Line Cinema's Internet phenomenon "Snakes on a Plane" will do at the domestic boxoffice.
Ever since the Internet digerati took hold of the title of the film, buzz has been unlike anything the Internet has seen, especially for a nonsequel. And since Samuel L. Jackson came aboard, the buzz has climbed to a fever pitch.
But that all began months ago, and there have been no early screenings of the film. The Hollywood premiere was set for 9 p.m. Thursday -- too late for most reviewers to file before the film bows Friday, though most everyone recognizes that reviews matter little for a film fans are hoping will be so bad that it's good.
New Line remains confident. The studio is opening the film in 3,555 theaters, the widest release for an R-rated New Line film ever -- 630 more than "Wedding Crashers" last year. Even if it opens at the low end of expectations, most handicappers are confident that "Snakes" will be the top grosser of the frame. Estimates for the $35 million production range from the low-$20 millions to the low-$30 millions.
The other new wide releases are Universal Pictures' "Accepted" and MGM's "Material Girls."
REPTILES, FEDS AND MOBSTERS
From director David R. Ellis, "Snakes" stars Jackson as an FBI agent escorting a witness on a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles. A crime lord releases hundreds of snakes on the jet in order to eliminate the witness before he can testify. Julianna Margulies co-stars.
From the 10-minute clip shown at last month's Comic-Con to the video for the overplayed song from Cobra Starship to the many parodies on the Web, "Snakes" has entered the zeitgeist in a manner that is surprising even the studio, which says it is still trying to catch up with all the publicity.
The PG-13 "Accepted" stars Justin Long as a high school senior who has been rejected by all the colleges to which he has applied. He then creates his own university, where applicants unexpectedly start showing up by the hundreds. Produced by Tom Shadyac, the film is helmed by Steve Pink in his directorial debut.
"Accepted" was scheduled to bow August 11 but shied away from the date after Buena Vista's "Step Up" looked like it would cannibalize its audience -- a wise move, considering that the latter opened last weekend to $20 million for the No. 2 spot. "Accepted's" gross looks closer to the $13 million-$15 million range, and the under-18 crowd might choose it as their option when turned away from "Snakes." Jonah Hill, Blake Lively and Lewis Black co-star.
"Material Girls," MGM's second summer release, features sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff as heiresses to their family's cosmetics fortune who are stripped of their wealth and forced to work for a living. Martha Coolidge directs the PG comedy, which bows Friday in 1,509 locations. Interest in the film has been underwhelming, and industry insiders don't have much hope for a solid gross. The distributor is looking at low-single digits.
LIMITED BOWS
The limited-release market should be interesting. Fox Searchlight is bowing its second summer entry, "Trust the Man," an acquisition from last year's Toronto International Film Festival. "Trust" marks the first attempt at comedy by writer-director Bart Freundlich ("The Myth of Fingerprints," "World Traveler"). With a cast featuring Billy Crudup, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Freundlich's wife and frequent creative collaborator, Julianne Moore, "Man" revolves around two New York couples and their efforts to keep their relationships together. The film bows Friday in 38 theaters in eight cities.
Freestyle Releasing will open the Bob Yari production "The Illusionist" from Neil Burger. With a stellar cast featuring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti, the PG-13 film centers on a magician in early 1900s Vienna who comes under attack by the Crown Prince. Opening in 38 theaters, the film will expand next weekend before going wide September 1.
Pumpkins Reunite In Studio
Smashing Pumpkins fans, get ready to be infinitely happy.
Fourteen long months after founder and frontman Billy Corgan announced, in a full-page Chicago newspaper ad, that he was planning to reform the band he loved so dearly, the Pumpkins are back in the studio, recording their first album since calling it quits with their swan song, 2000's hard-charging Machina: The Machines of God.
The Grammy-winning alt-rockers confirmed the news in a brief message posted on their official Website. Slated to join them for the recording sessions is Roy Thomas Baker, the famed English producer who oversaw such classic records as Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," The Cars' s Shake It Up and, most recently, The Darkness' One Way Ticket to Hell and Back.
There's still no word, however, as to whether all four original Pumpkins are taking part in the reunion.
So far, the lineup consists of Corgan, the Windy City quartet's whiny-voiced singer, guitarist and principle songwriter, and drummer Jimmy Charmberlain. Still MIA are lead guitarist James Iha and bassist D'arcy Wretzky, who left the band after recording Machina, and was replaced by former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur.
However, in a statement posted in May, on the Website for his currently defunct rock outfit, Polar Bears, former Jane's Addiction bassist Eric Avery revealed that he's been collaborating with Corgan and company.
"It looks like I will be working with the Smashing Pumpkins," Avery said.
Responding to speculation about him joining the group full-time, a rep for the Pumpkins recently told MTV News that Avery "has been rehearsing with [the band] in their pre-production of the new record, but nothing has been confirmed in regards to [him becoming a full-fledged member]."
Avery's participation would be a natural fit, given Corgan's admiration for Jane's Addiction, which he's acknowledged as an influence on the Pumpkins' sound. He's also good pals with its members. (The Pumpkins pleased hometown fans, when they served as the surprise opening act for the Chicago stop of Jane's Addiction's 1997 Relapse tour.)
Formed in 1988, the Smashing Pumpkins first made noise with the 1991 college-rock fave, Gish. But it was their breakout major-label debut, 1993's Siamese Dream (which arrived at the peak of Seattle's grunge wave) that made them alt-rock superstars--thanks to such hits as "Today" and "Disarm."
The band followed up with 1994's Pisces Iscariot, before reaching their peak with 1996's double album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, which spawned the hits "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," "Tonight, Tonight" and "1979."
At the height of their success, however, the Pumpkins were hit with the drug-overdose death of touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin, which led Corgan to fire Chambelain, who battled his own drug problems.
Corgan opted for a drum machine for the group's next release, 1998's Adore, which was adored by critics, but failed to match the sales of previous releases.
Chamberlain later returned to the fold, but Wretzky's desire to try her hand at an acting career led to her departure, as well as more discord within the group. The band played its final show at the legendary Chicago Northside nightclub, Metro, in 2000.
After the demise of the Pumpkins, Corgan went on to form Zwan, which issued one album before calling it quits. He then took to writing his own music, putting out his first solo effort, The Future Embrace, last year.
Mel Gibson pleads no contest in DUI case
MALIBU, Calif. - Mel Gibson ended his legal hangover Thursday, pleading no contest to a single misdemeanor charge of drunken driving in a deal that put him on probation for three years, fined him and sent him to alcohol rehabilitation classes.
His lawyers arranged to move his scheduled court appearance up by over a month, allowing Gibson to avoid creating a media frenzy with his plea. But he still faces the fallout from the anti-Semitic tirade he unleashed on a sheriff's deputy the night of his arrest.
Gibson did not have to appear in the misdemeanor case and he did not, allowing attorney Blair Berk to handle the plea before Malibu Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira.
The abrupt advancement of the proceeding was announced to the news media by the district attorney's office with no time for most reporters to reach the distant courthouse before the plea was over.
"Media requests (for photo access) received after proceedings already completed," the case file noted.
Court documents showed that Gibson signed the plea agreement and waived his right to a jury trial on Monday but the paperwork was filed just before Thursday's proceeding.
Gibson was stopped around 2:30 a.m. on July 28 while driving on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and made anti-Semitic remarks to the arresting deputy, plunging Gibson into a scandal that led him to later apologize for what he called "belligerent behavior" and "despicable" remarks.
Gibson pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor of driving while having a 0.08 percent or higher blood-alcohol level. A second misdemeanor count, driving under the influence of alcohol, and the infraction of driving with an open container of alcohol, were dismissed.
A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is equivalent to a guilty plea for determining sentencing.
"This was an appropriate outcome which addresses all the public safety concerns of drinking and driving," Deputy District Attorney Gina Satriano said in a statement.
Authorities continued to refuse to release video and audio tapes of Gibson's arrest despite the disposition of the case. Media organizations including The Associated Press have asked Sheriff Lee Baca for the tapes but have been denied on grounds they are part of an "investigatory file" and exempt from the California Public Records Act.
The celebrity news Web site TMZ has argued that the tapes should be heard and seen by the public to assess whether the Sheriff's Department gave Gibson preferential treatment. The issue arose because a sheriff's spokesman initially said the arrest occurred "without incident" and made no mention of the anti-Semitic remarks.
Court documents said Gibson has already voluntarily begun rehabilitation.
The documents show the judge placed Gibson on three years' probation and ordered him to attend "self-help meetings" five times a week for 4 1/2 months and three meetings per week for another 7 1/2 months. Satriano said these would be Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, according to Jane Robison, a district attorney's spokeswoman.
In addition, Gibson was ordered to enroll in and complete a "three-month, licensed first-offender alcohol and other drug education and counseling program."
The judge also levied fines and fees totaling $1,608. Gibson's driver license was restricted by the state Department of Motor Vehicles for 90 days, the district attorney's office said. Robison did not know the terms of the restriction.
Gibson volunteered to make a public-service announcement about the hazards of drinking and driving, but the judge did not make that a condition of his sentencing.
"The court acknowledges that defendant has volunteered to make a public service announcement. This will not be a term of probation, however," the court documents stated.
Gibson was ordered to appear Jan. 17 in court for a progress report.
Gibson's spokesman, Alan Nierob, would not elaborate about the plea arrangement or offer any hints about when to expect Gibson's public-service announcement.
The case file also showed that the original judge assigned to hear the case, Terry Adamson, recused herself because Gibson is one of her neighbors.