Test Audiences Send "Spider-Man 3" Back To Set

It seems the third time isn't exactly a charm for Spider-Man, after having raised the bar for action scenes with two previous films, test audiences for the upcoming Spider-Man 3 want more.

IMDB.com reports director Sam Raimi has re-called the film's stars, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco back to the set, in response to suggestions made by fans at test screenings.

Filming apparently wrapped on the Spidey sequel a while back, long enough for Franco to finish filming another project in the UK.

Now the 28-year-old actor, who plays Peter Parker's longtime friend Harry Osborn in the superhero film series, admits he's heading back to his familiar role.

"The next thing I'm shooting? Re-shoots on Spider-Man... Probably next month. Director Sam Raimi wants more action."

New CD Releases - Tuesday, August 29th

Bob Dylan "Modern Times"

The great songwriter returns with his 44th album and his first since 2001's excellent "Love and Theft." "Modern Times" features 10 new Dylan originals he recorded this winter with his touring band: guitarists Stu Kimball and Denny Freeman, multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron, bassist Tony Garnier and drummer George Recile.

After finishing up yet another round of dates at minor-league ballparks, which concludes on Sept. 9 in Fargo, ND, the singer/guitarist/keyboardist will embark on a fall tour in support of "Modern Times" beginning with an Oct. 11 date in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The fall tour is currently scheduled to conclude on Nov. 18 in Philadelphia and will feature Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters and The Raconteurs rotating through the opening slot.

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Jessica Simpson "A Public Affair"

Having spent time on both the big and small screen, in the "Dukes of Hazzard" remake and on the reality TV show "Newlyweds," Simpson is back to try and make some noise on the charts with her fifth solo album.

"A Public Affair" is Simpson's first since 2004's "Rejoice: A Christmas Album," and her first non-holiday album since 2003's triple-platinum "In This Skin." The new album's first single, the bouncy title track, is already a hit on radio.

Simpson claims a songwriting credit on nine of the 12 songs that will appear on the new album. Producers who had a hand in the set include Lester Mendez, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Cory Rooney, Scott Storch and Stargate.

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Ray LaMontagne "Till the Sun Turns Black"

The pop crooner hopes to build upon the success of his acclaimed 2004 debut, "Trouble," with this set of 11 new songs.

The CD reportedly finds the singer moving beyond the simple acoustic feel of his first CD to focus on more complex musical arrangements. The first single from the album is the track "Three More Days."

LaMontagne recently made news when he dropped off his co-headlining tour with the band Guster--reportedly due to scheduling conflicts.

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The Black Crowes "The Lost Crowes"

As hinted at by the title, "The Lost Crowes" isn't so much a new album as it is two old ones. This two-disc set features tracks from a pair of albums that the Crowes recorded but never officially released: 1993's "Tall" and 1997's "Band."

The Black Crowes will support this release with a lengthy fall tour, which is currently scheduled to kick off Sept. 7 in Richmond, VA. As part of that tour, the Crowes will perform at the mammoth Vegoose music festival in Las Vegas during Halloween weekend.

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Dream Theater "Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour Live with the Octavarium Orchestra"

This three-disc package was recorded on April 1, 2006 at Radio City Music Hall--closing night of Dream Theater's 20th anniversary world tour with the Octavarium Orchestra. The set includes such tracks as "The Root of All Evil," "I Walk Beside You," "Another Won" and "Afterlife."

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More new releases:
Beach Boys, "Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary" (Capitol)
Beenie Man, "Undisputed" (Virgin)
BT, "The Binary Universe, (Digital Sound)
Dirty Dozen Brass Band, "What's Goin' On" (Shout Factory)
Godhead, "The Shadow Line" (Cement Shoes)
John Lithgow, "The Sunny Side of the Street" (Razor & Tie)
Old Crow Medicine Show, "Big Iron World" (Nettwerk)
The Roots, "Game Theory" (Def Jam)
M. Ward, "Post-War" (Merge)
Pete Yorn, "Nightcrawler" (Red Ink)

Leslie Nielsen Has 'World' in His Hands

LOS ANGELES -- Leslie Nielsen hasn't had a regular role on American TV since "Police Squad!" in 1982, but that could change in the next year or so.

The "Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" star has joined an NBC comedy pilot called "Lipshitz Saves the World." He would play a mentor to the title character, a teenage nerd who discovers he might be the person to rescue the planet from destruction.

"I'm a lifelong fan and wrote the part specifically for him, never having met him, and with no knowledge of whether or not he'd take to it," "Lipshitz" writer Dan Fogelman tells The Hollywood Reporter. "But he could not have been more gracious and responsive once he read the script."

Fogelman co-wrote this summer's Pixar movie "Cars" and created the WB sitcom "Like Family" a few seasons back. He also wrote and executive produced the FOX pilot "The 12th Man" this past development season.

Nielsen, who also starred in the third and fourth installments of the "Scary Movie" franchise, has a TV career that stretches back to the days of "Studio One" and "Bonanza," both of which are among his dozens of small-screen credits. More recently, he's starred in such films as "Spy Hard" and "Wrongfully Accused" and guested on shows ranging from "The Golden Girls" to "Due South." He also was a contestant on CBS' "Game Show Marathon" earlier this summer.

Evanescence Feeling No Pressure On New Album

After selling nearly 14 million copies worldwide of its 2003 debut, "Fallen," and winning two Grammy Awards, Evanescence knows there are great expectations for its new album, "The Open Door," which comes out on Oct. 3. But frontwoman Amy Lee insists she's not paying much heed to external pressure.

"I just haven't ever looked at it that way," Lee tells Billboard.com. "'Fallen' is a great record [but] I don't think you can match the success of another body of work. I think that's only going to frustrate you. My only goal making this one was making something that I love even more and that I think is an even better record, and we've definitely done that."

Evanescence recorded "The Open Door" beginning late last year in Los Angeles. Producer Dave Fortman returned for the sophomore set, which also incorporates a string section and a choir. "Call Me When You're Sober," inspired by the end of Lee's relationship with Seether frontman Shaun Morgan, is the first single, while the song "Lacrymosa" is based on the section of the same name from Mozart's "Requiem."

"I think you can hear the growth," says Lee, who acknowledges that her lyrics are mostly about "what was going on at the time" in her life. "All the experimenting and fun stuff that we tried comes across, I think."

It wasn't an easy process, however. Guitarist Terry Balsamo suffered a stroke last October, and even though Lee says he returned to the studio immediately after his release from the hospital, he's been convalescing and doing physical therapy ever since.

"It's been a ton of hard work for him," she says. "We're at rehearsals now and he's playing and it's so great to have him back. But it's a step-by-step process for him."

Evanescence begins a 17-date small-venue tour to promote "The Open Door" on Oct. 5 in Toronto. A more extensive outing is expected to follow.

XTC's Partridge Combs Archives For Mammoth Box

XTC leader Andy Partridge recently combed his vaults and discovered an exorbitant amount of rarities and outtakes, resulting in the Oct. 16th Virtual Label release of the nine-disc box "The Fuzzy Warbles Collectors Album."

Spanning Partridge's career, the set features alternate versions of many XTC favorites, unreleased tracks and also unfinished material that Partridge revisited and completed for this release.

"Working on this stuff took many years," Partridge tells Billboard.com. "I just kept writing -- who knows what's going to fall out? It was recorded in spare bedrooms, the kitchen, the attic and of course my now infamous garden shed. Pop songs, radio jingles, film and TV music, or just plain old goofing about."

Partridge rediscovered many forgotten tracks in the process. "'I Don't Want To Be Here' for one," he says. "Lots of folks love this song but XTC was pretty democratic, so if someone didn't go for a tune, it got binned. 'Everything' was another. One of the most touching lyrics I ever wrote -- in the toilet. 'The Bland Leading the Bland' -- so proud of this autobiographical rallying call to end that boring donut mentality. You can kind of see why I just didn't want these songs collecting dust and going unheard. We threw away better material than most bands made a career out of."

Among his other favorites: "Wonder Annual" ("I always thought XTC should have recorded this surprisingly structured psychedelic slice"), "End of the Pier" ("It would have made a great out-of-season seaside companion piece to 'Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her'") and "2 Rainbeau Melt" ("Some of my favorite-ever lyrics matched to a trippy improvised soundscape. It arrived too late for the 'Wasp Star' album").

Partridge also helped assemble the packaging, which he modeled after a child's stamp album. "How better to represent a large and diverse set of home recordings than to depict them as a series of imaginary stamps?," he says.

The artist has a number of other projects in the works, the first of which will be "a double-disc set of purely improvised music called 'Monstrance.' My partners in one-take, overdub-free, unrehearsed crime are Barry Andrews -- ex-XTC keys man from way back -- and [drummer] Martyn Barker. Let's face it, nothing short of capital punishment is going to stop me making music."

On web, The Boss denies split from wife

TRENTON, N.J. - Bruce Springsteen has turned to cyberspace to deny rumors that he and wife Patti Scialfa are splitting up.

In a posting on his official Web site, http://www.brucespringsteen.net, the New Jersey-born rocker writes that he and Scialfa are still committed to each other.

"Due to the unfounded and ugly rumors that have appeared in the papers over the last few days, I felt they shouldn't pass without comment," he wrote. "Patti and I have been together for 18 years — the best 18 years of my life. We have built a beautiful family we love and want to protect and our commitment to one another remains as strong as the day we were married."

Quoting unnamed sources, the New York Post reported Thursday that Springsteen's and Scialfa's marriage was on the rocks due to his relationship with a Sept. 11 widow he met while organizing a charity event.

Springsteen, 56, and Scialfa, a backup singer in his band, married in 1991 and have three children. He had previously been married to actress Julianne Phillips.

The 53-year-old Scialfa has toured with Springsteen and the E Street Band and has recorded two albums.

A phone message left after hours for Springsteen's publicist was not immediately returned Monday night.

PARIS MAD AT RICKY

The most unlikely Hollywood feud in memory has broken out between Paris Hilton and - get this! - British comic Ricky Gervais.

Gervais - creator of TV-comedy phenomenon "The Office" and, more recently, the HBO series, "Extras" - apparently snubbed the blond heiress.

Hilton had asked to appear in an episode of "Extras" next season - and Gervais said no thanks.

Hilton has decided that he's too insecure to work with someone of her, um, stature.

"I guess he's obviously scared of starring alongside an A-lister," Hitlon told the San Francisco Chronicle over the weekend.

A number of Hollywood stars portrayed themselves in the first season - including Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson and a cursing Kate Winslet.

No reply yet from Gervais.

Scots eye Keith Richards smoking onstage

GLASGOW, Scotland - Keith Richards may have violated Scotland's smoking ban by lighting up during a Rolling Stones concert.

The Glasgow City Council said Sunday it heard from journalists that the 62-year-old guitarist was smoking during a Friday night performance.

"It's been brought to our attention that he was smoking, and we'll be looking into it," a council spokesman said on condition of anonymity, in keeping with city policy. "We do take our responsibilities for enforcement very seriously."

Scotland's ban on smoking in enclosed public places, including theaters and sports venues, took effect in March. Violators can be fined up to $95.

The spokesman did not know whether the journalists who spoke to the council had been at the concert, part of the band's "A Bigger Bang" tour.

No one answered the phone Sunday at the offices of Richards' publicists, LD Communications in London.

In the Scottish capital, officials warned during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival earlier this month that they would close down a theater if actor Mel Smith lit a cigar during his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the play "Allegiance." Smith eventually agreed to keep the cigar unlit.

"Pirates" hits $960 million at global box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" ruled the foreign box office for an eighth weekend, grossing an estimated $17.8 million from 48 territories.

Disney's seafaring sequel has now earned $554.7 million internationally; including its North American haul, the global total stands at $962.3 million.

Disney expects the title to surpass within a week the global gross of 2001's " Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" ($976.5 million), which would make "Dead Man's Chest" the third-biggest worldwide box office smash of all time.

The latest box office infusion included openings in Greece (an industry record of $2.6 million) and, of all markets, Lebanon (a Disney record of $100,000).

Holdovers continued mightily: $3.2 million in France (market total: $42.8 million); $2.3 million in Germany (market total: $55.5 million); $2.1 million in Spain, No. 1 for a third consecutive weekend (market total: $30.3 million); and $2.2 million in Japan (market total: $74 million).

In the U.K., where "Dead Man's Chest" has played for two months, the weekend gross estimate was $1.1 million, enough to qualify for the No. 3 slot with a market total of $91.5 million. Its next big opening is September 13 in Italy.

Thanks to No. 1 openings in Germany and Austria, "Miami Vice" claimed the second spot overall for the weekend with an estimated $11.4 million from 38 markets, raising its overseas total to $52 million.

In Germany, the Michael Mann actioner took 30% of the market with $4 million. In France, "Vice" emerged in the No. 1 spot in its second weekend with $2.1 million for a 12-day total of $7.4 million. The film opens the all-important Japan market this weekend and has been approved for a mid-October opening in China.

"Cars" finished at No. 3 for the weekend, yielding $9.6 million from 35 territories and lifting its overseas total to $157.6 million. No. 1 openings in Italy ($5.2 million, the fourth-biggest market opening for an animated film), China (a solid $1.2 million, a market record for an animation title) and Norway accounted for much of the action. Openings in Sweden and Denmark are scheduled for this weekend.

In fourth place for the weekend was "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties," which pulled an estimated $7.2 million from 20 markets. Its overseas total stands at $77.6 million.

At No. 5 was "Monster House," which generated an estimated $5.8 million from 24 markets for an overseas total of $29.1 million.

Among foreign totals: "Lady in the Water," $10 million; "You, Me and Dupree," $13 million; "Superman Returns," $173 million; "The Break-Up," $67 million; "United 93," $28 million; "Click," $30.3 million; "Over the Hedge," $154.5 million; "Mission: Impossible III," $261.1 million; "Nacho Libre," $11 million; "Lake House," $44 million; "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," $83.5 million; and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" and "The Sentinel," both at $13.6 million.

Review: O'Brien hilarious at Emmys

NEW YORK - Conan was a destroyer on the Emmycast.

Hosting the awards show Sunday, he landed a one-two-three comedic punch even before the first trophy was dispensed.

First, a filmed opener found O'Brien, aloft in a jetliner en route to Los Angeles for the show, crash-landing on the mysterious island where "Lost" unfolds. His odyssey to make it to the Emmycast took him through "The Office," after which he disrupted a rescue attempt on "24." Then he arrived in the hospital of cranky Dr. House, who responded to Conan's plea, "Can you help me?" with a withering diagnosis of his physical deficiencies. In animated form, he popped up on "South Park" (where he found Tom Cruise, umm, "in the closet"), then got busted as a suspected pedophile on a "Dateline NBC" investigation.

Hilarious.

Next, having made it to the stage of the Shrine Auditorium alive, Conan, live, killed with his monologue. NBC's ratings woes, of course, figured into his mischief, as when he noted that since the Emmycast was being aired by NBC, "halfway through the show, (it) will be canceled."

As if that weren't enough, O'Brien slid smoothly into a third act: a full-blown song-and-dance number adapting "Trouble" from the Broadway musical "The Music Man" with his network in mind: "We got trouble, right here at NBC, with a capital T and that rhymes with G, as in 'Gee, we're screwed!'"

And the Emmycast was only 15 minutes old!

The program wasn't all about Conan, of course.

Dick Clark, the 76-year-old "oldest living teenager," was saluted as a TV pioneer and a show-biz original. In that familiar voice slurred somewhat by his 2004 stroke, he offered a gracious thanks, then introduced Barry Manilow, who sang the by-now-classic "American Bandstand" theme.

Another segment paid tribute to Aaron Spelling, recognized as TV's most prolific and longest-reigning mogul, who died in June at 83. Despite his more serious-minded projects, Spelling's legacy was ideally summed up by Stephen Collins (star of Spelling's series "7th Heaven"): He "made TV that simply tasted good."

Even the three original "Charlie's Angels" — Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith — put aside old squabbles to stand together on-stage and recall him fondly (if verbosely).

But enough with the sentiment. Thanks to Conan and a spirited crew of presenters, the evening never lost its fun, often silly, energy.

Alongside Helen Mirren, fellow presenter (and fellow Brit) Hugh Laurie spoke in an unintelligible mock-French.

Later, alongside his fellow fake-news star Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert stayed true to his righteous, moralistic on-air persona as they presented the Emmy in the reality-competition category.

"Good evening, godless sodomites," Colbert greeted the Hollywood crowd. Reality TV, he added sternly, "warps the minds of our children and weakens the resolve of our allies."

And just to toy with the obligatory mention of the Ernst & Young accounting team, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was brought out as its fourth (presumably not-for-real) member.

A great running gag: In an effort to keep the Emmycast moving along, Conan introduced "beloved TV icon Bob Newhart," who, locked in an airtight capsule with exactly three hours of air, was meant to serve as an incentive for winners not to dawdle with their acceptance remarks.

If the broadcast ran long, warned Conan, "Bob Newhart dies." Hearing this from inside his sealed compartment, Newhart wore a priceless look of deadpan panic.

Through the night, Conan made references to the show running long. Cut to Newhart, looking steadily more concerned.

But the tactic (or something) clearly worked. Not only was this show that honors TV actually good TV, but it also moved along at a brisk clip, ending comfortably three hours after it began — and just moments after Newhart was sprung to present the best comedy Emmy beside Conan.

Good thing for Bob Newhart. Great thing for viewers.