'24,' 'Office' win Emmys for best series
LOS ANGELES - The groundbreaking action series "24," which turns one dangerous day into a season, ended Sunday with a bang as it won Emmys for best drama series and best actor for Kiefer Sutherland.
"The Office" was honored as best comedy although its star, Steve Carell, lost the award for best actor in a comedy series to Tony Shalhoub of "Monk."
One Emmy front-runner, sexy medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," was shut out in the awards.
"Every once in a while you'll have an evening that just reminds you that you're given too much and this is that evening," Sutherland said. "This experience on `24' has been nothing but remarkable for me."
Although Emmy nominations rule changes left some grumbling about snubbed shows including "Lost," the revisions may have opened the door for an offbeat series like "The Office" to be nominated and for "24" to prevail.
Mariska Hargitay of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and Julia Louis-Dreyfus of the freshman comedy "The New Adventures of Old Christine" struck Emmy gold with lead actress awards for drama and comedy, respectively.
"Well, I'm not somebody who really believes in curses — but curse this, baby," Louis-Dreyfus said, hoisting her trophy and making a veiled reference to the so-called "Seinfeld curse" that kept three of its stars from launching successful new series.
The Emmy ceremony initially followed a predictable path Sunday as Tony Shalhoub won his third acting trophy for "Monk" and departed series "Will & Grace," "The West Wing" and "Huff" earned bittersweet toasts.
Until the finale, the surprises in the ceremony were courtesy of host Conan O'Brien and his inventive comedy bits, including a running gag that had Bob Newhart's life threatened if the show ran long.
Winning didn't take the sting out of cancellation for at least one star.
"It's not supposed to work this way, is it, when you say goodbye to something?" said Blythe Danner, named best supporting actress in a drama for "Huff."
"I guess I have to thank Showtime, even though they canceled us," Danner said, with a smile.
Megan Mullally was honored for her supporting actress work in the sitcom "Will & Grace," which wrapped up its eight-year run.
And Alan Alda was named best supporting actor in a drama for his role as a Republican presidential candidate on "The West Wing," canceled after seven seasons.
Alda wasn't on hand to accept the award. But he might have become blase: In recent years, he also had an Oscar nomination for his role in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator," a Tony nomination for his Broadway performance in David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross," and another Emmy bid for "West Wing" — none of which he won.
His win was the 26th Emmy for the White House drama, a drama series record. The show had been tied with "Hill Street Blues" and "L.A. Law" with 25.
Jeremy Piven of "Entourage" was named best supporting actor in a comedy.
The ceremony opened with a filmed comedy bit in which O'Brien was seen sipping champagne aboard a jetliner. "What could possibly go wrong tonight?" he says — before the plane crashes onto an island resembling the one in ABC's drama.
After being greeted by "Lost" star Jorge Garcia, O'Brien fled through a mysterious hatch and ended up crashing through other series including "The Office," "24" and "House."
"Subject could be anemic, possibly albino," was the diagnosis of "House" star Hugh Laurie.
O'Brien was equally self-deprecating before he started a song-and-dance number.
"It's my second time hosting. And as you'll see tonight, the third time's the charm," O'Brien said.
The ceremony honored producer/host Dick Clark of "American Bandstand" fame, who has been recovering from a stroke he suffered in 2004.
"I have accomplished my childhood dream, to be in show business. Everybody should be so lucky, to have their dreams come true. I've been truly blessed," said Clark, his speech somewhat strained. He was seated at a podium on stage when he was introduced.
Barry Manilow serenaded Clark with the show's bouncy theme song before collecting his own Emmy for the special "Barry Manilow: Music and Passion."
Aaron Spelling, the prolific producer who died in June at 83, was paid a tearful tribute by his one-time stars, including Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson of "Charlie's Angels" and Joan Collins and Heather Locklear of "Dynasty."
Throughout the ceremony, veteran comedian and TV star Newhart popped up occasionally for O'Brien's gag.
"The show has rarely has come in on time. Why? Because there's no real consequences," O'Brien said as Newhart was wheeled onstage in what Conan warned was an airtight container — with just three hours of air, the ceremony's scheduled running time.
"Yes. It's very simple. If the Emmys run one second over, Bob Newhart dies," O'Brien said," as Newhart's famous deadpan expression showed a tinge of alarm. "So keep those speeches short, ladies and gentlemen. Bob Newhart's life in your hands."
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," the satirical newscast, reaped two Emmys, for best variety, music or comedy and the writing award for that category.
Stewart cracked after the first honor: "I think this year you actually made a terrible mistake. But thank you."
"American Idol," the blockbuster TV talent show, lost again in the reality-competition category as "The Amazing Race" picked up its fourth award.
Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report," presenting the reality award, took the opportunity to vent about being eclipsed by Manilow's special in the variety, music or comedy program category.
"I lost to Barry Manilow ... I lost to the Copacabana," wailed Colbert.
Kelly Macdonald was named best supporting actress in a movie or miniseries for "The Girl in the Cafe," closing the book on one of Emmy's odder nominations. (The drama also was named best made-for-TV movie.) Ellen Burstyn's nomination in the category, for the TV movie "Mrs. Harris," was a head scratcher — her cameo was clocked at 14 seconds. She didn't attend the ceremony.
Cloris Leachman, also competing for "Mrs. Harris," failed to extend the Emmy record she set just last week as most-honored performer ever. Her total reached nine when she won a guest-actress award for "Malcolm in the Middle" at the Creative Arts Emmys.
Besides Leachman, other guest actors in drama and comedy series honored at the Creative Arts awards were Leslie Jordan for "Will & Grace," Patricia Clarkson for "Six Feet Under" and Christian Clemenson for "Boston Legal."
Much of Emmys action goes on backstage
LOS ANGELES - A makeshift hallway outside the back door of the Shrine Auditorium was the scene of nearly as much Emmy action as the stage.
After accepting their stand-in trophies on stage, the winners paraded past a table under a white tent and collected their real statuettes.
Many lingered to smoke, hang out with friends and even shed a few tears before heading through a set of blue curtains into an adjacent room to field questions from the assembled media.
Actor Tony Shalhoub was reeling after his win for best actor in a comedy series for USA's "Monk."
"All the blood rushed out of my head, and I got dry mouth," he confessed. "I felt like I should be watching someone else get it."
Blythe Danner, winner of the best supporting actress award for a drama series, fanned herself with her winner's envelope to cool down on the hot night.
Charlie and Martin Sheen took a cigarette break after presenting an award together. They were joined by "Friends" star and presenter Matthew Perry.
Actor Jeremy Irons popped a hand-rolled smoke into his mouth and lit it before picking up his trophy for best supporting actor for a miniseries or movie.
Asked how it felt, he answered, "heavy."
"Always nice when you're nominated and actually win," he said.
"American Idol" judge Simon Cowell grabbed a smoke, too, after introducing a tribute to Dick Clark.
Presenter Tina Fey took a spill while heading down a set of stairs. She recovered and threw her arms into the air as though seeking applause for a performance.
"I have giant bruises already," she said before going back inside the auditorium.
Actor Jeremy Piven, winner of the best supporting actor award for comedy for HBO's "Entourage," got teary eyed after thanking his father on stage during his acceptance speech.
"That was crazy," Piven told a friend who gave him a hug as he picked up his Emmy.
None of the awards had been engraved yet. Television academy representative Louise Danton said nameplates would soon be mailed to all the winners.
"Just pick one?" Piven asked her. "I'd better pick a good one."
Barry Manilow, winner of the statuette for individual performance in a variety or music program, asked, "How much are they?"
"Priceless," Danton answered.
Andre Braugher asked Manilow for his autograph while picking up his award for best actor in a miniseries or movie.
Behind Piven came Kelly Macdonald, winner of the best supporting actress award for a miniseries or movie for her role in HBO's "The Girl in the Cafe."
"I expected to be nervous for a while, and then for someone else to win it," she said.
The trophies had arrived in cardboard boxes and were carefully unwrapped by assistants in tuxedoes.
They were lined up in gleaming glory on either side of a notebook, where the winners signed their name to collect their prize. A nearby video monitor showed the action inside the auditorium.
Fall movie preview
Autumn movies up prestige factor, but box-office slump will likely go on unabated
The mutha%$#!in' snakes have been dispatched from the mutha%$#!in' plane. Superman has made his grand return to a surprisingly lukewarm reception. Johnny Depp has swashed his buckles in an even more bombastic Pirates Of The Caribbean movie.
So now it's time to get serious. As in, summer fun is over and it's time for the grownups to come back to the movie theatres.
But even if this fall is offering up the usual array of Oscar contenders, serious dramas and light comedies -- you know, basically a bunch of flicks that don't feature Samuel L. Jackson cursing at a reptile -- we're still not willing to bet the farm that older audiences are going to head back to the movie houses.
Why shell out $11 for a movie ticket, find a sitter for the kids, pay for parking, buy the popcorn and Jujubes and plug your ears while navigating your way through the pulsating, neon hellscape that is the modern multiplex when you can just wait for one of these flicks to come out on DVD in a few months and watch the damned thing from the comfort of your own living room.
It will likely take more than this crop of fall flicks to pull Hollywood out of its box-office doldrums -- which seems to have been going on forever now. By our count, there may only be one must-see flick for the mainstream masses who think Atom Egoyan is something they vaguely remember from high school physics classes: The risky reboot of the James Bond franchise, Casino Royale, which stars Daniel Craig, a guy who would likely have been cast as a bad guy if Pierce Brosnan was still wearing the tux and shaking the martini.
While the fall movie slate is dominated by such heavy dramas as the remake of All The King's Men and Flags Of Our Fathers, there's a little something for everyone, including sci-fi (The Fountain), horror (The Grudge 2, The Reaping, Jessica Simpson in Employee Of The Month, brrrr!), kiddie flicks (Flushed Away, Everyone's Hero, Flicka) and comedies (Idiocracy, Jackass Number Two).
As is our custom this time of year, we've rounded up a list of the top 10 movies we're looking forward to seeing as the days grow shorter and the air turns brisker. Nice guys that we are, we've also put together a list of other movies coming out over the next few months. Here's what fall has in store for you:
10: MARIE ANTOINETTE (Oct. 20)
WHO? Kirsten Dunst, Jason Shwartzman, Rip Torn
WHAT? The story of the 18th-century French queen who -- SPOILER ALERT! -- got her head lopped off at the height of the French Revolution. The flick was actually shot at Versailles, where Antoinette held court. Meanwhile, director Sofia Coppola eschews the straightforward historical approach by borrowing a page from, of all things, Heath Ledger's A Knight's Tale -- this Marie Antoinette dances to Siouxsie and the Banshees and sports a pair of sneakers. Eat that cake, snooty French historians!
WHY? The movie was reportedly booed lustily by French audience members at Cannes recently -- just more reason to fire up our interest. And while we're certain Dunst is a great choice for the role of titular queen, we're really intrigued by the casting of the one and only Rip Torn as her hubby King Louis XV. Coppola has definitely chosen an ambitious project to follow up Lost In Translation -- this could either be a massive success or an enormous failure.
9: A GOOD YEAR (Nov. 10)
WHO? Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard
WHat? To follow up their epic, crowd-pleasing, bloody action-adventure Gladiator, Crowe and director Ridley Scott have chosen to go "sideways" with this gentle comedy about bullheaded English investment expert Max Skinner, who inherits a vineyard in Provence -- only to find a California woman also laying claim to the piece of land.
WHY? It will be interesting to see if Macho Crowe can gracefully handle a transition into Delicate Russell. If he can pull this off, it may the evidence we need that he may have the wherewithal not to beat the crap out of another hapless hotel concierge with a phone.
8: BABEL (Nov. 3)
WHO? Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
WHAT? Four different plotlines loosely intersect in this flick brought to us by director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who also used a similar technique with 21 Grams. The players in these stories: An American couple (Pitt and Blanchett) struck by tragedy while vacationing in Morocco; a family of goat herders testing out a new gun in Tunisia; a rebellious, deaf-mute Japanese teen and her father; and a Mexican nanny trying to smuggle two American children across the border. We're guessing we learn something Deep and Profound after all is said and done.
WHY? Really, who's going to go see this flick because of Innaritu's exploration of humanity's dark side or the layers of meaning in the script? Nope, everyone wants to see what Mr. Brad "I-Cheated-On-Jennifer-Aniston-And-Impregnated-Angelina-Jolie-And-Had-My-Baby-In-Africa-And-All-I-Got-Was-This-Lousy-T-Shirt" Pitt is gonna do for his first movie since it all hit the tabloid fan. Our money's on act woodenly.
7: THE PRESTIGE (Oct. 20)
WHo? Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson
WHat? Erstwhile superheroes Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman and Christian "Batman" Bale star as rival 18th-century magicians who try to outdo one another's grandiose magical tricks. But when Bale pulls off the perfect magical feat, Jackman is determined to find out how he did it -- with deadly results. (Cue thunder rumbling).
WHY? With the fantastic track record he has amassed (Batman Begins, Memento, Insomnia), we're positive director Christopher Nolan is something of a conjurer himself. The only thing that could make this movie sound any cooler is if both leads inexplicably revert to their comic book alter egos and have an all-out brawl. Okay, maybe that would be the antithesis of the word "cool," but give a geek a break, eh?
6: FLUSHED AWAY (Nov. 3)
WHo? The voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen
WHat? In this CG-animated flick from the good folks who brought us Shrek and the Wallace & Gromit projects, pampered pet mouse Roddy (Jackman) gets flushed down the toilet into the bustling sewer world below. There, he falls for a spunky rat named Rita (Winslet), who tries to get him back to his luxurious home while evading the webbed clutches of the nefarious Toad (McKellen).
WHY? The very funny and charming trailer looks very promising in a way that the trailer for, say, Barnyard and the whole of say, Cars, didn't. Judging from their previous films, the animation team behind Flushed Away seem to have caught on to the fact that no matter how great your CG looks, it's the story that counts.
5: ALL THE KING'S MEN (Sept. 22)
WHO? Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet
WHat? This new adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winner by Robert Penn Warren sees Sean Penn star as Depression-era politician Willie Stark, modelled closely after Louisiana governor Huey Long. The flick tracks Stark's rise as a populist Southerner to his steep fall, precipitated by the inevitable corruption that accompanies Louisiana politics. In other words, you can count on all those kids who spent 13 bucks seeing Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest flocking to see this one.
WHy? Plenty o' Oscar bait to go around, from Penn to Winslet (as Stark's love interest Anne Stanton) to director Steven Zaillian (he wrote Schindler's List and Gangs Of New York). Heck, anything to get Penn away from visiting war zones to pose for pictures while smoking cigarettes is a-ok by us.
4: FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (Oct. 20)
WHO? Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach, Jesse Bradford
WHat? After the mammoth success of their last collaboration, Million Dollar Baby, director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter Paul Haggis team up again to bring us the story behind the planting of the American flag at Iwo Jima during World War II.
WHy? This movie comes at a time when American foreign policy could use all the help it can get -- even if it is a movie reliving a long-past glory. We trust the understated Eastwood not to be too jingoistic with the material. Chalk this one up as a heavyweight contender for multiple Oscar nominations. And you thought Ryan "Mr. Reese Witherspoon" Phillippe's life couldn't get any better ...
3: THE DEPARTED (Oct. 6)
WHO? Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon
WHat? This remake of the classic Chinese thriller Infernal Affairs sees DiCaprio as an undercover cop who infiltrates the Irish Mafia and Damon as a mobster who does likewise in the Boston police force. Of course, both men's paths will cross in what will surely leave some bloody consequences.
WHy? The Departed's astonishing cast not only includes DiCaprio and Damon, but also Jack Nicholson as crazed mobster Frank Costello, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Ray Winstone and great cameo artist Alec Baldwin. To top it all off, Martin Scorsese directs. We're guessing you'll be able to see the testosterone drip off the movie screen.
2: THE BLACK DAHLIA (Sept. 15)
WHO? Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank
WHat? When a young starlet (Mia Kirshner) is gruesomely murdered in Hollywood, two L.A. detectives (Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart) are on the case in a mystery that takes the darkest twists and turns that could only come from the James Ellroy, the man who wrote the book L.A. Confidential. Swank stars as Hartnett's love interest -- even though she may have been romantically involved with the dead girl. Rowrrr.
WHy? Director Brian De Palma's last flick was 2002's Femme Fatale, which featured Rebecca Romijn making out with another supermodel. For that, we thank him. But he was hardly at the top of his game -- which, thankfully, doesn't seem to be the case here. Dahlia looks like it will be the blackest of noirs, and the last time De Palma pulled off a period genre piece, we got the underrated classic The Untouchables.
1: CASINO ROYALE (Nov. 17)
WHO? Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen
WHat? The James Bond franchise gets a reboot by reportedly going back to the British superspy's gritty roots -- so don't expect any more campy villains like metalmouthed Jaws. Instead, we get a controversial new choice of leading man in the blond and blue eyed Craig, who apparently will give viewers a darker, more human 007 and not the suave ladykiller of years past. The flick's an origin story and retells the very first Ian Fleming book, with Green as romantic interest Vesper Lynd and the coolly named Mads Mikkelsen as baddie Le Chiffre (although we think Mads Mikkelsen would be a pretty darn cool name for a Bond villain, too).
WHy? It's a risky move by the studio, but it was clear Bond needed a spiffier, new tuxedo. By going the more realistic Bourne Supremacy route and giving us a more relatable superspy, we foresee a successful franchise reboot along the lines of Batman Begins.
THE BEST OF THE REST
Luke Wilson awakes 1,000 years later to find himself the smartest man on the planet in Idiocracy (Sept. 1) ... Nicolas Cage investigates the disappearance of a little girl in the remake of The Wicker Man (Sept. 1) ... Adrien Brody and Ben Affleck star in Hollywoodland, about the circumstances surrounding TV Superman George Reeves' death (Sept. 8) ... The Rock teaches juvenile delinquents valuable life lessons through football in Gridiron Gang (Sept. 15) ... Zach Braff is a man on the verge of 30 who has an affair with a teen girl in the remake The Last Kiss (Sept. 15) ... The CG flick Everyone's Hero features a boy who travels 1,000 miles to help the Yankees win the World Series (Sept. 15) ... Kevin Costner is the heroic Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Ashton Kutcher his cocky young charge in The Guardian (Sept. 15) ... Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and the gang are back with more crazy shenanigans in Jackass Number Two (Sept. 22) ... Jet Li is back with more martial arts action in Fearless (Sept. 22) ... A sheltered grizzly bear has his life turned upside down by a fast-talking mule deer in the animated movie Open Season (Sept. 29) ... Clive Owen tries to deliver the baby of the last pregnant woman on Earth in the apocalyptic Children Of Men (Sept. 29) ... Ricky, Julian and Bubbles make their big-screen debut in Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (Oct. 6) ... Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Tamblyn face more creepy Japanese ghosts in the sequel The Grudge 2 (Oct. 13) ... A girl (Alison Lohman) befriends a wild horse in the family movie Flicka (Oct. 20) ... A young girl retreats into her own mind after being moved to a rural farmhouse from the big city in Terry Gilliam's surreal Tideland (Oct. 20) ... Jigsaw serves up more blood and guts in the horror sequel Saw 3 (Oct. 27) ... Joseph Cross is a young man sent to live with an eccentric psychiatrist and his wacky family in Running With Scissors (Oct. 27) ... Eric Bana goes up against his father Robert Duvall at the poker table in the gambling drama Lucky You (Oct. 27) ... Unfunnyman Tim Allen takes a third kick at the can as the titular fatso in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (Nov. 3) ... A Kazakhstani broadcaster (Sacha Baron Cohen) is dispatched to America with a documentary crew in Borat (Nov. 3) ... A novelist (Emma Thompson) tries to kill off her main character (Will Ferrell), but she doesn't know he's really alive in Stranger Than Fiction (Nov. 10) ... Nicole Kidman is photographer Diane Arbus in the biopic Fur (Nov. 10) ... The CG flick Happy Feet is about a young penguin who is a terrible singer but a fantastic tap dancer (Nov. 17) ... Christopher Guest gives an indie film the Best In Show treatment in For Your Consideration (Nov. 17).
FALL RELEASE SCHEDULE (All release dates subject to change)
SEPT. 1
Crank
Idiocracy
The Quiet
The Wicker Man
SEPT. 8
The Covenant
Hollywoodland
SEPT. 15
Gridiron Gang
The Black Dahlia
The Last Kiss l Haven
Everyone's Hero
SEPT. 18
Dreamland
SEPT. 22
All The King's Men
Jackass Number Two
Fearless l Confetti
The Science Of Sleep
Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles
A Sunday In Kigali
SEPT. 29
Children Of Men
Employee Of The Month
The U.S. Vs. John Lennon
Manufactured Landscapes
Keeping Mum l Open Season
Flyboys l The Guardian
OCT. 6
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie Shortbus l Kardia
The Departed
OCT. 13
Infamous l Man Of The Year
American Hardcore
The Grudge 2
The Marine
OCT. 20
Marie Antoinette
The Prestige l Starter For Ten
Flags Of Our Fathers
Into Great Silence
Flicka l Tideland
OCT. 27
Saw 3 l Trade
Running With Scissors
Catch A Fire l Lucky You
NOV. 3
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
Flushed Away
Borat
Babel
NOV. 10
Stranger Than Fiction
We Are Marshall
A Good Year l Fur
NOV. 17
Casino Royale
Slow Burn
The Return
Happy Feet
For Your Consideration
Chantal Kreviazuk back with new album, jibes for the music industry
TORONTO (CP) - Chantal Kreviazuk is no Nelly Furtado.
At least, not in the booty-shakin', dance-club rockin', glammed-up sex-pot kind of way. The piano-based singer-songwriter says she's content to be "an old soul", despite feeling frustrated with the state of today's pop charts and their obsession with celebrity, youth and beauty.
"It's really hard to be an artist and have deeper music out there - to get heard and fit in. Rock music is almost dead radio-wise," Kreviazuk bemoans as she returns to the spotlight with Ghost Stories, her first album in four years.
"We do have a bit of a hump to get over, with regard to things being a little more promiscuous-looking and so on."
Oops. Did she say Promiscuous?
"I can't use that word! There's a hit song called Promiscuous, so I can't use that word!" Kreviazuk wails, immediately backpedalling from an off-hand remark that could be interpreted as a slam against Furtado's hip-shaking summer hit.
"It's more about booty and being booty-licious. It's a little bit frustrating," she explains.
But that's not to say she doesn't dig Furtado's new hip-hop flavour. Kreviazuk says she loves the song Promiscuous, which spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard charts.
"It's different, (but) she's still in there," Kreviazuk says of the B.C. artist's dancier, grittier sound - a radical shift in tone from Furtado's low-key, folky image put forth previously.
"But she's just sort of packaging herself with the rhythm thing. I don't know if I could really do that, but she can and so it's awesome."
"Everybody's got to figure out a way to make it work right now."
In recent years, Kreviazuk has made it work by licensing her songs to Hollywood films such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and popular U.S. television shows such as Laguna Beach.
The Winnipeg artist, who scored pop hits in Canada with catchy melodies such as In This Life, Far Away and Before You, has also found a successful career co-writing tracks for other artists including chart regulars Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, and Avril Lavigne.
The svelte brunette says cracking the U.S. market with her own track is just not what her career is about anymore.
"I've never had that kind of like, whatever, instant, wow, big pop song. That just didn't happen but I really love my career," says Kreviazuk, a prolific composer who was a child prodigy with perfect pitch at age three.
"I'm one of the most licensed artists in film and television in the U.S. I have hits with the highest profile artists in the world now in the U.S. There's nothing now that I feel like I haven't accomplished."
Kreviazuk's greatest accomplishments have included two boys - one-year-old Lucca and two-year-old Rowan - with rock singer husband Raine Maida.
She says writing and recording her infectious new album, out Tuesday, was very much a family affair. Ghost Stories was co-written with Maida, recorded at their home studio and even little Rowan makes a vocal cameo - calling out for his mommy at the beginning of Waiting for the Sun.
"I was playing the piano in the studio kitchen and Rowan was outside the door... Just being silly, standing there waiting," she says.
"It was so cute, and so we just left it, it's in the track."
Led by the first single All I Can Do, the album features Kreviazuk's trademark rich vocals and chunky piano melodies against a strong driving rhythm - something she credits to Maida, lead singer for rock band Our Lady Peace.
She says the album is the "most natural" she's ever produced.
"It's the record I think I always wanted to make."
'Invincible' underdog tale earns $17M
LOS ANGELES - Football season started early as Mark Wahlberg's "Invincible," a Walt Disney tale about a real-life walk-on who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1970s, debuted as the top weekend movie with $17 million.
The previous No. 1 flick, New Line Cinema's "Snakes on a Plane," lost altitude in its second weekend, falling to sixth place with $6.4 million, a steep 58 percent drop, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Snakes on a Plane" had been preceded by a whirlwind of Internet buzz that the movie failed to live up to, opening with a modest $15.2 million. Starring Samuel L. Jackson as a federal agent battling killer snakes on a redeye flight, the movie had taken in $26.5 million in 10 days.
"Invincible" stars Wahlberg as Vince Papale, a substitute teacher who made the Eagles' special-teams squad in open tryouts. The movie was the latest success among Disney's inspirational sports tales, which include the baseball flick "The Rookie" and the hockey saga "Miracle."
"They make people feel good, and they can relate to the underdog," said Chris LeRoy, general sales manager at Disney. "They are sports-related stories, but I think these movies transcend the sport and get right to characters that people relate to."
The Warner Bros. drinking comedy "Beerfest" opened in fourth place with $6.5 million. Universal Pictures' musical drama "Idlewild," starring Andre Benjamin and Antwan A. Patton of OutKast, premiered at No. 9 with $5.9 million.
"Idlewild" scored the best per-theater numbers among new wide releases, averaging $6,064 in 973 cinemas, about one-third the locations for "Invincible," which averaged $5,838 in 2,917 theaters, and "Beerfest," which did $2,193 in 2,964 sites.
New Line's family comedy "How to Eat Fried Worms," about a boy goaded into devouring worms, opened at No. 11 with $4.05 million, averaging $2,166 in 1,870 theaters.
"Idlewild," set in the 1930s but blending swing and jazz with modern rap and R&B, stars Benjamin and Patton as players at a small-town speakeasy in Georgia. "Beerfest," featuring the comedy troupe Broken Lizard ("Super Troopers"), follows a team of Americans training for a secret drinking competition in Germany.
Expanding to its widest release yet, Fox Searchlight's independent hit "Little Miss Sunshine" climbed to No. 3 with $7.5 million, averaging $5,245 in 1,430 theaters. A black comedy starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell in the tale of a family's calamitous trip to a child's beauty pageant, it had taken in $23 million since opening in a handful of theaters a month ago.
Also playing strongly in narrow release was the Yari Film Group's "The Illusionist," which took in $1.8 million in 144 theaters for a $12,688 average, bringing its 10-day total to $3.2 million. Starring Edward Norton as a magician hounded by a police detective ( Paul Giamatti) out to debunk him in early 1900s Vienna, "The Illusionist" expands to about 700 theaters Friday.
"Movie-goers do not live by blockbusters alone," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "They want to see these more interesting character studies and quirky, offbeat movies. That's reflected in the grosses for both of these movies."
Here is the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Invincible," $17 million.
2. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," $8 million.
3. "Little Miss Sunshine," $7.5 million.
4 (tie). "Beerfest," $6.5 million.
4 (tie). "Accepted," $6.5 million.
6. "Snakes on a Plane," $6.4 million.
7. "World Trade Center," $6.39 million.
8. "Step Up," $6.2 million.
9. "Idlewild," $5.9 million.
10. "Barnyard: The Original Party Animals," $5.4 million.