Fireworks worldwide ring in the new year

LONDON - The world welcomed 2007 with skyrockets and rock concerts but in some corners of the globe, the New Year was marked by saber-rattling and bombings.

Fireworks exploded over Sydney's Harbor Bridge as a million onlookers greeted the New Year. In London, thousands of revelers gathered to cheer as Big Ben rang in 2007. But the Thai capital of Bangkok canceled the main celebration after nine bombs exploded across the city, many in crowded tourist areas. Two people were killed and 34 were injured.

In the Australian capital — one of the world's first major cities to see the dawn of the new year — people crammed the harbor shore for a lavish fireworks display celebrating the 25th anniversary of its iconic bridge.

Thousands of would-be revelers who had gathered at Bangkok's Central World Plaza shopping mall complex for the event were sent home, officials said. Festivities continued in other parts of the city, though, including the famous Patpong Road red light district. Police and army troops with assault rifles, meanwhile, guarded some tourist sites, mass transit stations and traffic circles.

In India, police arrested two suspected Islamic militants about half a mile from the site of New Delhi's main public New Year's Eve celebrations, a report said, citing police.

Pope Benedict XVI prayed at a New Year's Eve service at the Vatican City in Rome that 2007 would bring the world "peace, comfort, justice." But he cast a cold eye on some secular New Year celebrations, saying such social "rites" are "often carried out as an escape from reality."

In London, Big Ben's chimes were relayed by sound systems along the banks of the great, gray River Thames. Crowds flocked to the banks near the Houses of Parliament to watch a light show countdown projected onto the 443-foot London Eye Ferris wheel, followed by a 10-minute fireworks display "big enough and loud enough to be seen ... all over the capital," Mayor Ken Livingstone said.

At least a million revelers were expected to pack Times Square in unseasonably warm New York City, to hear singers Christina Aguilera and Toni Braxton cheer and watch a 1,070-pound Waterford Crystal ball fall at midnight.

In North Korea, an editorial carried in all three state-controlled newspapers celebrated the new year by boasting that the country's possession of nuclear weapons "serves as a powerful force for defending peace and security ... and guaranteeing the victorious advance of the cause of independence."

The editorial exhorted North Koreans to "mercilessly defeat any invasion of the U.S. imperialists."

Meanwhile two former Communist Eastern bloc states, Romania and Bulgaria, took another step toward the West as they became the newest members of the European Union at midnight. Fireworks thundered through the sky in the Romanian capital.

"Citizens of Bucharest. Welcome to the EU," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said, standing on a stage with Romania's president and European foreign ministers. The ministers from Germany, Denmark, Austria and Hungary wished Romanians a Happy New Year, and planned to fly Monday to Bulgaria for celebrations there.

High winds and winter storms dampened celebrations in other parts of Europe. In Belfast, Northern Ireland, an outdoor concert that was to feature soul singer Beverley Knight and rock band The Thrills was called off due to the threat of gale-force winds.

Glasgow officials said high winds and rain had forced them to cancel Hogmanay, or traditional New Year's celebrations, in the Scottish city. Edinburgh at the last minute also canceled its Hogmanay party, which was to be headlined by the Pet Shop Boys.

In Belgium, several fireworks displays were canceled after two party tents set up for celebrations in northern Belgium blew away on Saturday.

No official celebrations were planned in Paris, but thousands were expected to congregate along the city's glittering Champs-Elysees to welcome 2007.

In the Philippines — where many believe noisy New Year celebrations drive away evil and misfortune — police threatened to arrest anyone setting off oversized firecrackers.

Despite the warning, 284 people were injured by firecrackers and celebratory gunfire in the two weeks before New Year's Day, a 75 percent rise from last year, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

"I have campaigned every day against firecrackers," Duque said. "But this has become a deeply rooted part of our culture."

In Japan, thousands climbed mountains, some scaling famed Mount Fuji, to greet the first dawn of the year. Police expected crowds on the peaks to reach 15,000.

Many Japanese — ranging from families with children to elderly couples — usually start climbing at night so they can reach the top in time for sunrise.

Police anticipated 95 million visitors to the country's major Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines over the first three days of the new year, as people offer prayers for peace, health and prosperity in one of the few religious rites in which most Japanese regularly take part.

The South African city of Cape Town prepared to celebrate New Year's Eve with a show by the Cape Minstrels.

'Museum' tops box office with $37.8M

LOS ANGELES - Ben Stiller's playful "Night at the Museum" was the top box office draw during the New Year's weekend with $37.8 million, a 24 percent jump over its debut the previous week, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

Uplifting movies dominated the Top 10 for the holiday weekend, a busy period at turnstiles.

Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness" took second place with $19.3 million, up 30 percent, while the musical "Dreamgirls" finished third with $15.5 million.

"The Pursuit of Happyness" was expected to cross the $100 million threshold on New Year's Day.

No. 4 "Charlotte's Web" was up 59 percent with $12 million in its third week. "Rocky Balboa" was in fifth place with $11.4 million.

No new movies went into wide release.

"Dreamgirls" saw a major surge in business, averaging a whopping $18,192 per screen as Paramount rolled it out slowly with word-of-mouth creating a buzz. It was showing on just 852 screens, compared to 3,768 for "Night at the Museum."

"Dreamgirls," the first musical sensation since "Chicago" in 2002, will expand to about 1,800 screens on Jan. 12.

"We knew it was a movie that was a real crowd-pleaser," said Rob Moore, Paramount's president of marketing and distribution. "The amazing word of mouth is bringing it along. It's been a while since a musical really worked."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Wednesday.

1. "Night at the Museum," $37.8 million.
2. "The Pursuit of Happyness," $19.3 million.
3. "Dreamgirls," $15.5 million.
4. "Charlotte's Web," $12 million
5. "Rocky Balboa," $11.4 million.
6. "The Good Shepherd," $11.2 million.
7. "Eragon," $8.5 million.
8. "We Are Marshall," $8 million.
9. "Happy Feet," $7.8 million.
10. "The Holiday," $6.7 million.

This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on the two most successful Canadian films of all-time!

Ladies and gentleman, it is my pleasure to inform you that our long lasting national nightmare is over!

For the past twenty-five years we Canucks had to live with the knowledge that PORKY'S - a teen sex comedy - was the most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office.

But, as of November 23rd, we have a new champion! Now, our new national Champ is the half-English, half-French action film BON COP BAD COP.

BON COP BAD COP has now grossed $12.2 million, surpassing the long-standing record of PORKY'S $11.2 million.

In BON COP BAD COP English and French police officers are forced to work together when a body is found on the border of Quebec and Ontario.

As is the norm in buddy cop movies, the two men couldn't be more different.

In fact, the only thing they appear to have in common is that they are both cops, because each one has his own way of doing things.

But eventually - again as is the norm in buddy cop movies - they learn to put their differences aside to try and solve the case.

BON COP BAD COP is funny, has some great action and dialogue, is very entertaining, and I really liked it!...but truth be told, it is just a LETHAL WEAPON Hollywood-esque buddy cop action movie wannabe.

But what allows the film to rise above that formula is the fact that all of it is Canadian.

The two police officers are tracking down a person who is killing people who where involved in moving the Quebec Fleur De Lys hockey team from Quebec City to Colorado, and the representatives of the star player who was drafted by Quebec, but wouldn't play there, and instead he was traded to Philadelphia.

If that story sounds familiar, well it should. In addition to adapting the Eric Lindross saga into an action film, BON COP BAD COP also has some fun at the expense of our national pastime.

The league is called the CHL, the commisioner's name is Buttman, and the loud, opinioned television personality is Tom Berry.

BON COP BAD COP probably won't do as well outside of Canada as it has done inside our home and native land, as it is too Canadian for an international audience.

But since the majority of Canadian films usually gross less than one million dollars at our box offices, and many of them don't even get to play in more than a handful of theatres, I hope filmmakers look at the success of this film and try to capitalize on it.

Otherwise it could be another twenty-five years before PORKY'S is removed from it's position as the second most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office.

For now, BON COP BAD COP is the Canadian champion and if you didn't see it in a theatre, you can now watch it at home.

As for PORKY'S it is also new on DVD.

Unfortunately, the new 2-disc COLLECTOR'S EDITION of PORKY'S - a set that includes all three films made in the series - looks awful!

When most films of a certain age are put on DVD the people resonsible take the time to remaster them, clean them up, and present the films in the best possible manner.

I am not sure if they didn't have the time, access to better prints of the film or what, but all three movies are presented in pan and scan instead of widescreen, and the picture looks like it was dubbed to DVD from an old video source.

They might not be the most pristine versions of the films that you will ever see, but if you want to have them in your library, they are still funny, even after all these years, especially the original - PORKY'S.

That film and it's not too bad sequel PORKY'S II - THE NEXT DAY and PORKY'S REVENGE are all included in the PORKY'S COLLECTOR'S EDITION 2-DVD set.

Plus, the original film is still the second most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office.

Finally this week is a show called KENNY VS. SPENNY a show that I couldn't stop watching...even though I really, really wanted to.

KENNY VS. SPENNY is a Canadian comedy reality TV series that originally aired on CBC and the first two seasons of the show are available now on DVD.

In each episode the two best friends and roommates face each in different competitions, like drinking beer, kissing women and selling bibles, just to names three.

Some episodes and the competitions on the show are funny, others are interesting, and there are also several that are so childish or stupid that you want to just ignore.

But there is something about those shows that makes you keep watching, long after you want to, and if you are like me you will be constantly asking yourself, "Why am I watching this?!?!"

But I couldn't stop watching, and laughing, and being entertained!

Due to it's content, KENNY VS. SPENNY isn't a show for everyone, but if you are looking for something unique and fun, check it out!

SEASONs ONE & TWO of KENNY VS. SPENNY, the COLLECTOR'S EDITION of PORKY's and the most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office of all time BON COP BAD COP are all available now on DVD.

Coming up in the next edition of The Couch Potato Report, I will have more information on some films that are new on DVD.

I'm Dan Reynish and that's this edition of THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

'Indiana Jones' to begin filming in 2007

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - George Lucas said Friday that filming of the long-awaited "Indiana Jones" movie will begin next year. Harrison Ford, who appeared in the three earlier flicks, the last one coming in 1989, is set to star again. Lucas said he and Steven Spielberg recently finalized the script for the film.

"It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be the best one yet," the 62-year-old filmmaker said during a break from preparing for his duties as grand marshal of Monday's Rose Parade.

Exact film locations have not been decided yet, but Lucas said part of the movie will be shot in Los Angeles.

The fourth chapter of the "Indiana Jones" saga, which will hit theaters in May 2008, has been in development for over a decade with several screenwriters taking a crack at the script, but it only recently gained momentum.

Lucas kept mum about the plot, but said that the latest action flick will be a "character piece" that will include "very interesting mysteries."

"I think it's going to be really cool," Lucas said.

At the inaugural Rome Film Festival in October, the 64-year-old Ford said he was excited to team up with Lucas and Spielberg again for the fourth "Indiana Jones" installment. Ford said he was "fit to continue" to play the title role despite his age.

Ford played Indiana Jones in 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark," 1984's "Temple of Doom" and 1989's "The Last Crusade."

Lucas praised Ford for breathing life into his character.

"Mostly it's the charm of Harrison that makes it work," he said.

A special night at the movies

Movies are all about story arcs, and there's no better plot-propelling device than New Year's Eve, that champagne-and-confetti soiree when old gives way to new. But how well do Hollywood's Auld Lang Syne moments mirror real life?

Thus, we examine five film plots that unfold on the last day of the year for a read on whether life can imitate art.

Poseidon (2006)

Tinseltown's take:
In this remake of 1972's The Poseidon Adventure, disaster strikes on New Year's Eve as a luxury liner is capsized by a rogue wave. Dressed in their now-soggy finest, a hearty band of survivors dig their way through the detritus of a massive party and their own insecurities in hope of making it safely into the next year.

Reality check:
Though giant waves could cripple a cruise ship, toppling one isn't that realistic. And neither is the notion of folks heading to the high seas just to ring in the new year, says Michael Driscoll, editor of Cruise Week. "What's great about New Year's on board is you can drink all you want and go to sleep, but in that sense it's also like many other nights on a cruise," he says. "I will say that there's no quieter place than Jan. 1 on a ship."

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Tinseltown's take:
The heroine of this book-turned-movie is fed up with her dowdy life and, on New Year's Eve, vows to lose weight, stop smoking and "find (a) nice, sensible boyfriend" who isn't an alcoholic, peeping Tom or megalomaniac. "Will especially stop fantasizing," she writes in her diary, "about a particular person who embodies all these things."

Reality check:
Dear Bridget is overreaching big time. The New Year's resolution is a powerful cultural touchstone that can spur us to greatness if we resolve in moderation, says Gary Ryan Blair, president of The GoalsGuy motivational workshops. "Resolutions will fail if you don't have real emotion behind them," he says. "Identify one thing you want to change, work on it and achieve it. This way, you start the year with a winning feeling."

Four Rooms (1995)

Tinseltown's take:
A bellhop starts a new job at an aging Hollywood hotel on New Year's Eve. In short order, he is sucked into the lives of a coven of witches, a couple engaged in a bizarre role-play game, two children he has been paid to babysit by their partying parents, and an oddball movie director who wants him to participate in a macabre bet.

Reality check:
The only spell anyone falls under at The Peninsula Beverly Hills is the influence of the 200 bottles of bubbly the hotel orders to help guests ring in the new. "We'll certainly do anything someone asks, from personal shopping to getting them an allergy-free room, but that's usually as crazy as things get," hotel spokeswoman Michelle Hodan says. "And we have 36 bellmen, not one."

Peter's Friends (1992)

Tinseltown's take:
On one hand, rounding up old college soul mates for New Year's Eve can make for great fun and fond reflections. On the other, as with this look at reunited pals gathering at a friend's newly inherited country house, the evening can devolve into some decidedly sobering revelations about life in the here and now.

Reality check:
Though New Year's Eve is "about reflection and therefore a perfect excuse for getting old friends together, it's also a very emotional time" and a magnet for weepy confessionals, says David Tutera, host of Discovery Home's Party Planner With David Tutera. The big window for such antics: "The last 15 minutes of the year." To keep your party in an upbeat mode, get the booze and tunes rolling right after the ball drops, he says.

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Tinseltown's take:
After decades of friendship, Harry and Sally confront their true feelings at a ball-dropping bash in New York. Harry insists it isn't the rush of New Year's Eve motivating him, only his desire to see the rest of his life "start as soon as possible."

Reality check:
As wonderful as committing to your beloved on the eve of a new year might sound, "it really doesn't happen often," says Jen Schefft, former contestant on The Bachelor and the single at the center of The Bachelorette, whose new book, Better Single Than Sorry (William Morrow, $21.95), arrives in late January. "It's so easy to build up New Year's only to be let down." And guys, beware: "Don't invite someone to spend that night of the year with you if you're not serious."

Bono Itching To Take U2 To The 'Next Level'

With its monster-selling Vertigo tour complete, U2 is ready to reinvent itself, frontman Bono said during a BBC Radio interview earlier this week. "Our band has certainly reached the end of where we've been at for the last couple of albums," he said. "I want to see what else we can do with it, take it to the next level; I think that's what we've got to do."

Asked by interviewer Jo Whalley if that might mean a move away from rock'n'roll, Bono replied, "We're gonna continue to be a band, but maybe the rock will have to go; maybe the rock has to get a lot harder. But whatever it is, it's not gonna stay where it is."

He went on to reveal he'd like U2 to explore compositions featuring just voice and acoustic guitar. "I would like to do a couple of tunes in that direction, with just a lot of space around the voice," he said. "I'd like to strip things down; that's something I'd be very interested in at the moment."

U2 is expected to get busy in the studio after the New Year, with an eye on releasing a new album before the end of 2007. Bono said casual fans were the target for the recently released compilation "U218 Singles," which also includes two new songs.

"We've never been much of a singles band," he admitted. "But we did it because we have a very young audience coming through, and we wanted to, you know, just be very available for people who want to check us out, you know? We wanted to have something they could check us out very easy on."

Julia Roberts expecting her 3rd child

NEW YORK - Julia Roberts is expecting her third child with her husband, cinematographer Danny Moder, her spokeswoman confirmed to People magazine Friday.

The baby is due this summer, Roberts' publicist, Marcy Engelman, said in a story posted on the magazine's Web site. News of the pregnancy first appeared in the New York Post's Page Six column.

A call to Engelman by The Associated Press wasn't immediately returned.

Roberts, 39, and Moder, 37, have 2-year-old twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus, who were born in November 2004. The couple were married in July 2002 at Roberts' home in Taos, N.M.

She won the best actress Oscar in 2001 for "Erin Brockovich." Her screen hits also include "Steel Magnolias" and "Pretty Woman."

Roberts is the voice of the wise spider in the film adaptation of "Charlotte's Web." She'll next be seen in the drama "Charlie Wilson's War," directed by Mike Nichols and also starring Tom Hanks, scheduled for release next year.

She made her Broadway debut this spring in a revival of Richard Greenberg's "Three Days of Rain."

Timbaland All Over The Map On Upcoming Album

After a banner 2006 which saw him nominated for multiple Grammys for his work with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, producer Timbaland is now turning his attentions to his own album. The as-yet-untitled set is expected in March; the first single will likely be "Give It To Me," which features Timberlake and Furtado.

"He ventures into the alternative world and the real pop world," Timbaland right-hand-man Nate "Danja" Hills tells Billboard.com. "He has so many different sounds from hip-hop, to pop, to rock on this album. And he pulls every single one of them off perfectly.

Timbaland has not released an album under his own name since 2003's "Under Construction II," a collaboration with longtime partner Magoo. Hills declined to reveal the guest artist lineup for the upcoming set, which is rumored to include Bjork, Jay-Z, Missy Elliott and 50 Cent, among many others.

For Timbaland, the coming year will provide the challenge trying to handle a heavy production load while simultaneously on tour with Timberlake, where "he will have his own spot in the show," according to Hills.

"There won't be a break [from producing] as long as I'm around," he says. "I'm not going to be on the road. I'll be in the studio and he'll be working from the bus doing projects that way. He'll still be active making records."

Asked why the Timbaland sound is suddenly back atop the charts after a hiatus in recent years, Hills observes, "His ear is more attuned to an international sound. Any type of music with a crazy melody, he is automatically attracted to. He knows how to transform those melodies to something urban. He knows how to put the oomph behind something pretty, or melodic and big. When you get the right vocals on it, it turns into something crazy international."

Thousands pay respects to James Brown

NEW YORK - Even in death, James Brown can move a crowd. Thousands of people danced and sang in the streets outside the Apollo Theater in a raucous celebration Thursday of the music legend's life as his body was displayed on the stage where he made his 1956 debut.

Music thumped from storefronts and portable stereos. Brown's wails and growls even blasted inside the auditorium as fans marched quietly, single-file past his open gold coffin.

Brown lay resplendent in a blue suit, white gloves and silver shoes. Flanking the casket were giant photographs of the singer performing. An arrangement of red flowers on a white background spelled out his nickname: Godfather.

It was maybe the first time the hardest-working man in show business graced a stage in stillness, but that didn't stop his fans from partying.

"This is a celebration of his life," said 41-year-old Bryant Preudhomme of suburban New York. "James Brown gave you heart. He lifted you up when you were down. He gave you hope."

Brown, who died of heart failure Christmas morning at 73, lay in repose in the theater that helped catapult him to fame and was the setting for a thrilling live album in 1962.

At an evening program for family and close friends, the Rev. Al Sharpton said it was difficult to believe that a man who was "so much alive" was dead.

"How could someone with such energy and life really ever be gone?" said Sharpton, a close friend of the Godfather of Soul for three decades.

Sharpton credited Brown with inspiring countless musicians in all genres and with refusing to become a conformist.

"He became a superstar on his own terms ... he never bent, buckled or bowed," Sharpton said. "James Brown wasn't just No. 1, he changed the beat of music all over the world."

Earlier, Brown's body was carried to the theater through the streets of Harlem on a majestic white carriage drawn by two white horses.

Hundreds of fans followed behind the caisson singing the chorus of Brown's anthem, "Say it Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud."

To many, Brown was more than just an energetic performer. As Norman Brand of Harlem waited for the procession to begin, the 55-year-old recalled hearing "Say it Loud" for the first time in his native Alabama.

"It really changed the attitude of most black people. It was like a wake-up call. Before that, if you were called black, it was like an insult," Brand said. "Just one song and one word can change a whole situation."

Mourners came from far and wide to attend the first in a trio of services that will keep Brown almost as busy in death as he was in life.

His casket left a Georgia funeral parlor Wednesday for an all-night drive to New York. It arrived at Sharpton's Harlem headquarters just before noon Thursday, and was quickly transferred to the carriage for a 20-block procession to the theater.

Sharpton accompanied the body from Georgia and walked behind the carriage Thursday. He stood at Brown's side for hours during the viewing.

On Friday, a private ceremony is planned at a church near Augusta, Ga. A second public viewing of the singer's body will be held Saturday at the James Brown Arena in Augusta.

Some fans arrived at the Apollo as early as midnight for a chance to pay their respects, and more than 100 were inline outside the theater by 8 a.m.

"He seemed like family, a friend of mine," said Brenda Harper, who was the first to arrive, shortly after midnight. Fourteen years ago, she said: "I jumped on the stage and he danced with me. I danced with the Godfather that day."

Musicians and celebrities slipped in to pay their respects throughout the day: boxer Joe Frazier, band members including bass player Fred Thomas, and Ali-Ollie Woodson, who was a singer with the Temptations in the 1980s and again in the early 1990s.

Relatives passed through, too, some wiping away tears.

"He was my uncle, but he acted like a big brother to me," said Brown's nephew Earl Swindell, 54, who acted as a pallbearer. "I loved him, though. I was right there with him till the end. He meant a lot to me."

Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., continued to work to the end, dying less than a week before he was to perform New Year's Eve in Manhattan at B.B. King's blues club. Chaka Khan, the Grammy Award-winning rhythm and blues performer, will play instead.

He had also talked recently about returning to Harlem, friends said.

"He told me two weeks ago to book the Apollo for two days," said his friend and manager, Charles Bobbit. "He said, `Let's play two days at the Apollo, and we'll see the lines again around the block.'"

"The Apollo was always his home because that's where it all started," said his agent, Frank Copsidas, "and the people of Harlem were his family."

Casino Sets Worldwide Bond Record

Casino Royale has shot past the worldwide record for a James Bond movie, thanks mostly to a strong international performance over the Christmas holiday weekend, reports Variety.

The 21st 007 installment earned $14.5 million at 6,300 theaters overseas during the weekend through Sunday, lifting the foreign total to $304.4 million -- the 41st biggest international gross of all time. It's only the fourth 2006 movie to clear $300 million, joining Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Da Vinci Code and Ice Age: The Meltdown.

With domestic gross near $144 million, "Casino" has a worldwide total of $448 million -- $17 million better than Die Another Day, the previous best Bond performer.

Spike Lee to direct James Brown biopic

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The late "Godfather of Soul" James Brown will rise again - on screen.

Spike Lee has signed on to direct a feature film about the singer produced by Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment, Paramount Pictures announced Wednesday. "It's an authorized biography done with the co-operation of Mr. Brown before his passing," Paramount spokeswoman Nancy Kirkpatrick said without further comment.

Lee will rewrite a draft by Jezz and John Henry Butterworth, the trade paper Daily Variety reported on Wednesday. The script has been through several drafts since Steve Baigelman wrote the original. The movie could be in production by late 2007, Variety said.

"Having known him well, and after spending lots of time with him and researching his life, it's somehow not surprising that he died on Christmas Day. He was the ultimate showman, all the way to the end," Grazer told Variety on Tuesday.

Messages left Wednesday for Grazer at his Los Angeles office were not immediately returned.

Brown, whose legendary brand of soul and funk influenced hip-hop, disco and rap, died of congestive heart failure on Christmas morning in Atlanta at age 73.

Hitchcock, Rocky, Fargo Forever

The longest day of Bill Murray's celluloid life just got a little longer...as in forever.

Groundhog Day is among the latest eclectic slate of films tapped for the National Film Registry, joining the likes of Mel Brooks' 1974 comic opus Blazing Saddles, the Coen brothers' Fargo, John Carpenter's slasher classic Halloween, Sylvester Stallone's original Rocky and Alfred Hitchcock's romantic thriller Notorious.

The Library of Congress' motion picture division, along with the National Film Preservation Board, unveiled on Wednesday the newest batch of 25 films to be saved for posterity.

The films were selected from more than 1,000 candidates nominated by the movie-loving public and ultimately voted on by the Library of Congress staff and advisers from the Preservation Board.

Inclusion on the registry guarantees that each cinematic gem will be preserved by archivists, ensuring, among other things, that generations to come will not be denied a chance to hear Rocky Balboa's original "Yo, Adrian!" or Mongo's explosive campfire antics in Blazing Saddles.

"The registry should not be seen as 'the Kennedy Center Honors,' 'the Academy Awards' or even 'America's Most Beloved Films,' " Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said Wednesday, adding that the list is meant to "advance public awareness of the richness, creativity and variety of American film heritage."

Since its inception in 1989, the registry has guaranteed that 450 films, including this year's selections, would not rot away or sit neglected in a studio warehouse.

This year, the must-save flicks span the years from 1913 to 1996 and include indisputable favorites, like Notorious, headlined by the legendary Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, and those features that never quite made it to the mainstream, such as 1916's The Curse of Quon Gwon, the earliest Chinese-American feature, and Daughter of Shanghai, a thriller starring the first Asian-American movie star, Anna May Wong.

Among the more well-known films making the cut: 1930's The Big Trail, a western starring a then unknown John Wayne; Red Dust, the 1932 melodrama featuring the saucy pairing of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow; and sex, lies, and videotape, Steven Soderbergh's 1989 breakthrough relationship film that reinvigorated independent cinema.

Also on the list: Mary Pickford's big-screen debut in 1914's Tess of the Storm Country; Flesh and the Devil, one of the last great silent films and the first pairing between a sacrificial Greta Garbo and John Gilbert; The T.A.M.I. Show (standing for "Teen Age Music International"), a 1964 concert film featuring the Rolling Stones and James Brown, among other legendary performers; and the 1929 musical St. Louis Blues, containing the only film recording of blues legend Bessie Smith.

Proving that reality is just as worthy as the world of make-believe, six documentaries were chosen: 1988's Drums of Winter, chronicling the plight of the Eskimos; Harry Smith's decades-spanning Early Abstractions #1-5, 7, 10, a moving collage of art, color, shapes and imagery; 1948's In the Street, a children's documentary about life in East Harlem; 1971's Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania, an avant-garde feature following filmmaker Jonas Mekas' return to his birthplace; 1940's Siege, showcasing the German bombardment of Warsaw; and Think of Me As a Person, a nearly two-decade chronicle of the relationship between a father and his Down syndrome-suffering son.

Rounding out this year's registry selections: 1929's Applause, an early sound-era film about burlesque theater from stage director Rouben Mamoulian; 1928's The Last Command, which featured the Academy Award-winning performance of Emil Jannings as an exiled Russian general; and 1954's A Time Out of War, a student film set in the Civil War that took home the Oscar for Best Short.

"Museum," "Dreamgirls" stars of box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Night at the Museum" was the No. 1 exhibit at the Christmas box office in North America, earning $42.2 million during the four days beginning Friday, distributor 20th Century Fox said Tuesday.

But "Dreamgirls" also was a star performer, with a melodic one-day gross of $8.7 million Monday as it entered its first day of national release, good enough for a No. 7 weekend rank.

Among the crowded field of year-end offerings, the December 20 release"Rocky Balboa" continued its successful underdog saga, pulling in a surprisingly young audience for a third-place finish with $17 million for the four-day period. And the Matt Damon spy drama "The Good Shepherd" enjoyed a solid opening Friday, capturing fourth place with $13.9 million.

Another new wide release, "We Are Marshall," starring Matthew McConaughey, wasn't as successful. The inspirational sports story earned $8.6 million.

Meanwhile, holdovers from the previous weekend held on well. Incumbent champ "The Pursuit of Happyness" finished in second place, generating an estimated $23.1 million to hit $61.4 million in its sophomore frame. And despite a less-than-stellar debut, "Charlotte's Web" held strong in its second weekend, picking up $9.6 million for a two-week total of $28.4 million, good for the fifth spot overall.

"Eragon" suffered the steepest fall from the previous weekend -- 70% -- likely due to competition for the family audience with "Night at the Museum." The dragon fantasy's $9.3 million weekend took the total to $39.8 million.

The only other new wide release was "Black Christmas," an R-rated horror film starring Michelle Trachtenberg, which bowed on Christmas Day with just $3.3 million, No. 15 for the weekend.

"Museum," starring Ben Stiller, was the general-audience picture of the weekend. From director Shawn Levy, the PG film set at New York's Museum of Natural History scored with both families and adults without children.

"It was the all-purpose movie that resonated with all types of audiences," said Bruce Snyder, Fox's president of distribution. "Museum" scored an A- rating from exit pollster CinemaScore, with audiences evenly split between men and women. Its Imax runs contributed positively to the weekend's gross, with the 2-D display earning $2.3 million from 72 giant-screen theaters.

"Rocky," the sixth installment of the boxing franchise starring sexagenarian Sylvester Stallone, was far from a sure thing in the eyes of most industry observers. But audiences have welcomed back the former champ since its midweek opening. Surprisingly, according to distributor MGM, 70% of those moviegoers were younger than 34. With a total of $26.7 million, the PG film is well on its way to earning back its negative cost of $24 million, and MGM hopes that the average age of moviegoers will trend upward in coming weeks as old-time "Rocky" fans come out for the picture.

"Our hope is that what we have here is a new generation of 'Rocky' fans," said Clark Woods, MGM's president of distribution. "These are individuals who didn't see the originals in the movie theater. We're hoping they go home and tell their fathers, the original 'Rocky' fans, that they really liked the movie, and they come out in the following weeks." The film earned a B+ according to CinemaScore.

Although "Dreamgirls" bowed December 15 to sold-out shows in three theaters, its Monday number of $8.7 million from an additional 849 theaters represented the third-best Christmas Day opener of all time, behind only "Ali" (2001) and "Catch Me If You Can" (2002).

The Bill Condon-directed film featuring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles and Eddie Murphy also generated the best single day ever for a musical. Adding in its sold-out roadshow from the previous weekend, when tickets were priced at $25, the PG-13 film has earned $9.6 million.

Buoyed by ecstatic reviews, particularly for newcomer Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls" is poised to dominate sales into January. Paramount intends to expand the film to about 2,000 theaters January 12 for the Martin Luther King Day holiday.

"The exits were fantastic from a quantitative standpoint, and on an anecdotal basis, we're hearing about applause inside the movie theaters," said Rob Moore, Paramount's president of worldwide marketing and distribution. "It's playing amazingly well."

Meanwhile, Universal bowed "Shepherd" in 2,215 theaters. The R-rated, cerebral spy drama from director Robert De Niro picked up an estimated $13.9 million for the four-day frame. With a cast featuring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin and others, the film opened to mixed reviews and a B- grade from CinemaScore. Still, the studio was happy with its opening, especially since it was not a family-friendly film that bowed during the ultimate family-friendly holiday.

"Marshall," on the other hand, generated more positive exit polls, with CinemaScore giving it an A-. Warner Bros. hoped the PG film, revolving around the efforts to rebuild the Marshall College football program after a devastating 1970 plane crash, would pick up some yardage during subsequent frames.

Said Jeff Goldstein, Warners' executive vp and general sales manager of domestic distribution: "People who see this movie really like it and recommend it. I think we generated the highest percentage increase from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. It's just that the market is really crowded, and we recognized that we had to get past Christmas Day to see the true playability of the film."

In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics unveiled "Curse of the Golden Flower," directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li, in 60 theaters. The sumptuous Chinese-language film grossed $712,760 for a per-screen average of $11,879.

Universal bowed "Children of Men" in 16 theaters. The Alfonso Cuaron-directed film grossed $180,000 for a per-theater average of $11,250. The film, starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore, was almost universally well reviewed and will expand Friday.

Warners bowed "Letters From Iwo Jima," the Clint Eastwood-directed companion piece to his "Flags of Our Fathers," in five theaters. The R-rated Japanese-language film depicting Japan's side of the Battle of Iwo Jima also scored well with critics. It opened to $122,605 for a per-screen average of $24,521.

Warner Independent Pictures opened the Ed Norton starrer "The Painted Veil" in four theaters. Directed by John Curran, "Veil" opened strong to an estimated $71,813 for the four-day frame. The PG-13 film boasted a per-screen of $17,953.

New Releases, Dec. 26: Switchfoot, Matisyahu, 'Rocky Balboa'

Switchfoot "Oh! Gravity"

The San Diego rock band, which has made its mark in both the secular and nonsecular music worlds, returns with a follow-up to 2005's "Nothing is Sound." One of the album's tracks, "Awakening," was produced by Steve Lillywhite, a British mastermind who has worked with Phish, U2 and The Rolling Stones.

The group--which features bassist/vocalist Tim Foreman, singer Jon Foreman, guitarist/keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas, guitarist Drew Shirley and drummer Chad Butler--will support the album with a lengthy North American tour that kicks off on Valentine's Day in San Francisco.

* * *
Matisyahu "No Place to Be"

The Hasidic reggae star returns with the CD/DVD offering "No Place to Be."

The CD portion features seven new songs recorded with reggae production team Sly & Robbie. It also features additional remixes produced by AdRock (Beastie Boys) and Bill Laswell, who produced the artist's March release, "Youth."

The DVD disc, "Live in Israel," was shot in Tel Aviv in December 2005. The concert footage is intercut with interviews and street performances from Jerusalem. It also includes the new music video for the single "Jerusalem."

The vocalist recently completed his first Festival of Light Hanukkah tour, which included a mid-December, three-night stand at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom.

* * *
"Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky"

This 17-track set, which is being released in conjunction with the latest "Rocky" film, collects all of the memorable songs featured in Sly Stallone's profitable film series. Included in the mix are James Brown's "Living in America," Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" and, of course, the late Bill Conti (music)'s "Gonna Fly Now."

* * *
"Family Values Tour 2006"

This is the fourth release to document a Family Values Tour (the others came from tours in 1998, 1999 and 2001). This CD includes performances by such tour participants as Stone Sour, Flyleaf, Dir en Grey, 10 Years, Deadsy, Bury Your Dead, Bullets and Octane, and Walls of Jericho. There is also a companion DVD being released separately.

* * *
David Gilmour "Arnold Layne EP"

The Pink Floyd guitarist/vocalist pays his respect to the band's troubled visionary Syd Barrett, who died in July, with this recording of two memorable Barrett numbers. The first selection is the early Floyd tune "Arnold Layne." The second is "Dark Globe," which originally hails from Barrett's solo album "The Madcap Laughs." David Bowie and Floyd's Richard Wright are also featured on this work.

* * *
More new releases:
Chetes, "Blanco Facil" (EMI)
Earth, Wind & Fire, "Beautiful Ballads" (Sony)
Enigma, "LSD: Love, Sensuality and Devotion--The Remix Collection" (Virgin)
Gang Starr, "Mass Appeal: Best of Gang Starr" (Virgin)
Incognito, "Bees + Things + Flowers" (Universal)
Angela Lansbury, "Legends of Broadway" (Sony)
Bernadette Peters, "Legends of Broadway" (Sony)
Matt Redman, "Beautiful News" (Sparrow)
Chita Rivera, "Legends of Broadway" (Sony)

Former President Ford dead at 93

LOS ANGELES - Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America's history, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93.

"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," Mrs. Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."

The statement did not say where Ford died or list a cause of death. Ford had battled pneumonia in January 2006 and underwent two heart treatments — including an angioplasty — in August at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

He was the longest living president, followed by Ronald Reagan, who also died at 93. Ford had been living at his desert home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., about 130 miles east of Los Angeles.

Ford was an accidental president, Nixon's hand-picked successor, a man of much political experience who had never run on a national ticket. He was as open and straight-forward as Nixon was tightly controlled and conspiratorial.

He took office minutes after Nixon flew off into exile and declared "our long national nightmare is over." But he revived the debate a month later by granting Nixon a pardon for all crimes he committed as president. That single act, it was widely believed, cost Ford election to a term of his own in 1976, but it won praise in later years as a courageous act that allowed the nation to move on.

The Vietnam War ended in defeat for the U.S. during his presidency with the fall of Saigon in April 1975. In a speech as the end neared, Ford said: "Today, America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as America is concerned." Evoking Abraham Lincoln, he said it was time to "look forward to an agenda for the future, to unify, to bind up the nation's wounds."

Ford also earned a place in the history books as the first unelected vice president, chosen by Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew who also was forced from office by scandal.

He was in the White House only 895 days, but changed it more than it changed him.

Even after two women tried separately to kill him, the presidency of Jerry Ford remained open and plain.

Not imperial. Not reclusive. And, of greatest satisfaction to a nation numbed by Watergate, not dishonest.

Even to millions of Americans who had voted two years earlier for Richard Nixon, the transition to Ford's leadership was one of the most welcomed in the history of the democratic process — despite the fact that it occurred without an election.

After the Watergate ordeal, Americans liked their new president — and first lady Betty, whose candor charmed the country.

They liked her for speaking openly about problems of young people, including her own daughter; they admired her for not hiding that she had a mastectomy — in fact, her example caused thousands of women to seek breast examinations.

And she remained one of the country's most admired women even after the Fords left the White House when she was hospitalized in 1978 and admitted to having become addicted to drugs and alcohol she took for painful arthritis and a pinched nerve in her neck. Four years later she founded the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, a substance abuse facility next to Eisenhower Medical Center.

Ford slowed down in recent years. He had been hospitalized in August 2000 when he suffered one or more small strokes while attending the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.

The following year, he joined former presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton at a memorial service in Washington three days after the Sept. 11 attacks. In June 2004, the four men and their wives joined again at a funeral service in Washington for former President Reagan. But in November 2004, Ford was unable to join the other former presidents at the dedication of the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, Ark.

In January, Ford was hospitalized with pneumonia for 12 days. He wasn't seen in public until April 23, when President Bush was in town and paid a visit to the Ford home. Bush, Ford and Betty posed for photographers outside the residence before going inside for a private get-together.

The intensely private couple declined reporter interview requests and were rarely seen outside their home in Rancho Mirage's gated Thunderbird Estates, other than to attend worship services at the nearby St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert.

Fans pay tribute to Brown; funeral set

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The James Brown statue on Broad Street, here in his hometown, was draped in an American flag and a red scarf as several dozen people gathered Tuesday to pay their respects to the late singer. Flowers were left at the base of the statue in tribute to Brown, who died Monday in Atlanta. He was 73.

One visitor to the statue, John Arthur Thomas, 73, of Daleville, Ala., said he stopped by because Brown was a legend and had "done a lot of things from the heart to help people."

"There were some troubled times in his life, like everybody else, but he meant well," Thomas said. "He is a legend. There will never be another James Brown."

Consuelo Miller, 32, of Syracuse, N.Y., whose husband, Rodney, is stationed at Fort Gordon with the U.S. Army, came to the statue with her son and stepdaughter so her children could say that they were there.

"I just wanted to bring the kids down here to let them see a great star," Miller said. "He is the `Godfather of Soul.'"

The Rev. Al Sharpton will officiate at Brown's funeral service, said Brown's agent, Frank Copsidas.

Sharpton and some of Brown's relatives spent Tuesday afternoon at an Augusta funeral home, where they were expected to view the singer's body and complete funeral arrangements.

The public funeral service will be held Saturday at James Brown Arena in Augusta, followed by burial later in the day, Copsidas said. Brown's body will lie in state at the Apollo Theater in New York on Thursday and again on Saturday at the Augusta arena. A private service for family and friends will be held Friday at an undisclosed location.

The singer died of heart failure less than two days after he had been hospitalized with pneumonia and only three days after leading his annual holiday toy giveaway in Augusta.

He also had diabetes and prostate cancer that was in remission. But he initially seemed fine at the hospital and talked about his New Year's Eve show at B.B. King Blues Club in New York, Copsidas said.

Rena Siwek, public relations director for the club, said an announcement would be made Wednesday on who would be filling Brown's spot.

"We're working furiously here," Siwek said.

The New York City club wasn't the only venue affected by Brown's death. Some 1,400 tickets had been sold as of late last week for a show Wednesday night at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Conn. The show was to kick off a national tour. The theater box office was issuing refunds.

Brown is survived by his partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, one of his backup singers, and at least four children — his two daughters, Deanna Brown Thomas and Yamma Brown Lumar, and sons Daryl and James Brown II, Copsidas said.

Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., near the Georgia line, won a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living in America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He had a brief but memorable role as a manic preacher in 1980's "The Blues Brothers," starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

In a statement released Tuesday by his publicist, Aykroyd said, "No one has ever integrated music, musicianship, dance and showmanship so effectively as did J.B. Every rap, hip-hop, house, soul, R&B, rock and pop artist practicing today has been influenced compositionally and choreographically by Mr. Brown.

"Fortunate were those of us who were able to engage his talents and witness his latest shows. The greatest on-stage revue of music in the history of our planet."

Brown was himself to the end, at one point saying, "I'm going away tonight," said friend Charles Bobbit, who was with the singer when he died. "I didn't want to believe him," he said.

A short time later, Brown sighed quietly, closed his eyes and died, Bobbit said.

HDTV's sharp increase in popularity concerns TV stars fearful of such clarity

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Vanity, thy name is hi-def TV.

The holiday shopping season was expected to boost the number of U.S. homes with high-definition televisions to nearly 33 million. In the eyes of a growing number of image-obsessed on-air personalities, that's 33 million reasons to be concerned.

Besides spectacular vistas and shockingly real playing fields, hi-def clarity puts any and all wrinkles, pimples and pores on display in well-lit bathroom-mirror detail.

Some TV types say big-screen HDTV could lead to the end of the extreme close-up as we know it. Others predict hi-def fears could soon be reflected in artists' contracts.

When "Good Morning America" debuted in high-definition last year, host Diane Sawyer, 61, noted that viewers will now know when she's stayed up too late the night before. "They will see it right there," Sawyer said, indicating the puffiness under her eyes.

Dissolve to the TV industry's behind-the-scenes pros, who are developing new ways to help the talent keep up appearances in today's hi-def world.

"The grain structure of film allows a softness that HD video tends not to have, posing more challenges, especially when it comes to capturing female faces," says Stephen McNutt, director of photography for the Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica."

"We seem not to care about seeing men in a rougher, more edgier way," he explains, "whereas females, we're used to seeing them in a softer, more appealing way. So there's a little more filtration needed, and you have to approach it from a different standpoint."

While lighting techniques have been helpful, new advances in cosmetic applications have done wonders, too, says Patricia Murray, "Battlestar's" head of makeup. Murray uses foundation and makeup that is airbrushed onto the skin, rather than by sponge or fingertip.

"For me, air brushing is very helpful for high definition when you want an even coverage," says Murray. "However, it's not ideal for every situation."

Murray explains: "We have a show that's very raw, and it's not so glamorous, so the application needs to be a little lighter because we allow the shine of the skin to come through; we don't cover the dark patches under the eyes as much. However, with other shows, you have to watch the amount of shine you allow because high definition picks that up quite a bit."

Of course, makeup alone won't stave off the HD glare. "Regular facials and a really good skin care is key," Murray says of her advice to cast members. "Drinking lots of water, avoiding coffee and cigarettes, exercise, all those things help the skin's natural glow."

Being show business, Botox injections and facelifts also continue, even though HDTV reveals those tight lines and plumped puckers in extreme clarity.

"Just about everything is more obvious in hi-def," says Sheila McKenna, founder of New York-based Kett Cosmetics, an airbrushed, HDTV-friendly makeup line used by some on "The View," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "Today," and all over CNN and ESPN.

McKenna notes that older news and entertainment personalities tend to be more concerned about how they look on HDTV, but younger celebrities don't always look so flattering in the format, either.

Some camera operators believe fears about HDTV exposure could bring an end to extreme close-ups on television shows.

"I think there's a danger area of saying the extreme close-up is not flattering - it's a part of the grammar of television to do that," says Tom Houghton, director of photography for "Rescue Me." The Sony TV-produced show is shot in HD, but appears on FX, which is among a number of cable networks that still airs in standard definition.

"Maybe we don't want to be quite so close, now that people have bigger screens," Houghton adds. "We're evolving from what was once a 12-inch screen in black and white in the living room to a huge 57-inch home-theatre screen, and that's a big difference in what you're going to see."

"Certainly in the very beginning, no one wanted to work in HD," notes Dan Dugan, producer of the CW network's HD comedies "Girlfriends" and "The Game." "Everybody felt safe with what film has given us, and to go to something new, people are always afraid. But I think you'll find less opposition among the creative community now than five years ago."

Broadcast networks in the United States now offer the bulk of their prime-time programming and major sports coverage in HD. Cable provides some HD content, with a few channels that are dedicated to HD.

And a handful of local stations offer their newscasts in hi-def.

With the U.S. Federal Communications Commission mandate that TV networks move from analog to digital by 2009, talent agent Harry Gold says that concerns over HD may factor into some artists' contracts.

"You take a show like 'Desperate Housewives,' which is in really glossy high-definition. In order for those women to look as glamorous as they want to look, they need to really pay attention to how they're made up and how they're lit, what kinds of lenses are being used and all that kind of stuff," says Gold, president of TalentWorks. "They do have to have some say about how they look on screen."

Actress Kat Foster of the Fox HD comedy "Til Death" sees things a bit differently, opting away from the newfangled airbrushed techniques for traditionally applied corrective foundations that, she says, give her a more natural look onscreen.

"It would behoove everyone to see the real celebrity, wrinkles and all," declares the 28-year-old Foster. "I think the more human we are, the more attractive we are to the people who watch us."

But will she feel the same way in 10 years?

James Brown's hometown fans pay respects

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The James Brown statue on Broad Street, his hometown, was draped in an American flag and a red scarf Tuesday as several dozen people gathered to pay their respects to the late singer.

Flowers were left at the base of the statue in tribute to Brown, who died Monday in Atlanta. He was 73.

One visitor to the statue, John Arthur Thomas, 73, of Daleville, Ala., said he stopped by because Brown was a legend and he had "done a lot of things from the heart to help people."

"There were some troubled times in his life, like everybody else, but he meant well," Thomas said. "He is a legend. There will never be another James Brown."

Consuelo Miller, 32, of Syracuse, N.Y., whose husband, Rodney, is stationed at Fort Gordon with the U.S. Army, came to the statue with her son and stepdaughter so her children could say that they were there.

"I just wanted to bring the kids down here to let them see a great star," Miller said. "He is the `Godfather of Soul.'"

The Rev. Al Sharpton will officiate at Brown's funeral service, details of which were still incomplete, said Brown's agent, Frank Copsidas.

Sharpton said he and Brown's two daughters planned to view the singer's body Tuesday afternoon at an Augusta funeral home and finalize funeral arrangements.

Brown's daughter-in-law Diane Dean Rouse said she hoped the funeral would be open to the people of Augusta.

The singer died of heart failure less than two days after he had been hospitalized with pneumonia and only three days after leading his annual holiday toy giveaway in Augusta.

He also had diabetes and prostate cancer that was in remission. But he initially seemed fine at the hospital and talked about his New Year's Eve show at B.B. King Blues Club in New York, Copsidas said.

The B.B. King club, which promised ticket holders a replacement show, will announce Wednesday who will be filling the spot, said public relations director Rena Siwek.

"We're working furiously here," Siwek said.

The New York City club wasn't the only venue affected by Brown's death. Some 1,400 tickets had been sold as of late last week for a show Wednesday night at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Conn. The show was to kick off a national tour. The theater box office was issuing refunds.

Brown is survived by his partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, one of his backup singers, and at least four children — his two daughters and sons Daryl and James Brown II, Copsidas said.

The singer was himself to the end, at one point saying, "I'm going away tonight," said friend Charles Bobbit, who was with Brown when he died.

"I didn't want to believe him," he said.

A short time later, Brown sighed quietly, closed his eyes and died, Bobbit said.

"His thing was `I never saw a person that I didn't love.' He was a true humanitarian who loved his country," Bobbit said.

Brown was born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, and abandoned as a 4-year-old to the care of relatives and friends. He grew up in Augusta in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it, learning how to hustle to survive.

By the eighth grade in 1949, he had served 3 1/2 years in reform school for breaking into cars. While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., near the Georgia line, won a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living in America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He had a brief but memorable role as a manic preacher in the 1980 movie "The Blues Brothers."

Legendary singer James Brown dies at 73

ATLANTA - James Brown, the undeniable "Godfather of Soul," told friends from his hospital bed that he was looking forward to performing on New Year's Eve, even though he was ill with pneumonia. His heart gave out a few hours later, on Christmas morning.

The pompadoured dynamo whose classic singles include "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" died Monday of heart failure, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music.

"People already know his history, but I would like for them to know he was a man who preached love from the stage," said friend Charles Bobbit, who was with Brown at the hospital. "His thing was 'I never saw a person that I didn't love.' He was a true humanitarian who loved his country."

The entertainer with the rough-edged voice and flashy footwork also had diabetes and prostate cancer that was in remission, Bobbit said. Brown initially seemed fine at the hospital, Copsidas said. Three days before his death, he had participated in his annual toy giveaway in Augusta, and he was looking forward to his New Year's Eve show.

"Last night, he said 'I'm going to be there. I'm the hardest working man in show business,'" Copsidas said Monday.

One of the major musical influences of the past 50 years, Brown was to rhythm and dance music what Bob Dylan was to lyrics. From Mick Jagger to Michael Jackson, David Bowie to Public Enemy, his rapid-footed dancing, hard-charging beats and heartfelt yet often unintelligible vocals changed the musical landscape.

He was one of the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

"He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown," entertainer Little Richard, a longtime friend of Brown's, told MSNBC.

"James Brown changed music," said Rev. Al Sharpton, who toured with Brown in the 1970s and imitates his hairstyle to this day.

"He made soul music a world music," Sharpton said. "What James Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip-hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach was to classical music. This is a guy who literally changed the music industry. He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music. He pioneered it."

Brown won a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.)

He even had a brief but memorable role on the big screen as a manic preacher in the 1980's movie "The Blues Brothers."

Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., near the Georgia line, had a turbulent personal life that included charges of abusing drugs and alcohol. After a widely publicized, drug-fueled confrontation with police in 1988 that ended in an interstate car chase, Brown spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program.

From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business" and often tried to prove it to his fans, said Jay Ross, his lawyer of 15 years.

Brown's stage act was as memorable, and as imitated, as his records, with his twirls and spins and flowing cape, his repeated faints to the floor at the end.

"He was dramatic to the end — dying on Christmas Day," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a friend of Brown's since 1955. "Almost a dramatic, poetic moment. He'll be all over the news all over the world today. He would have it no other way."

His "Live at The Apollo" in 1962 is widely considered one of the greatest concert records ever. He often talked of a 1964 concert in which organizers made the mistake of having the Rolling Stones, not him, close the bill, remembering Mick Jagger waiting offstage, nervously chain smoking, as he pulled off his matchless show.

"To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told the AP.

Brown routinely lost two or three pounds each time he performed and kept his furious concert schedule in his later years even as he fought prostate cancer, Ross said.

With his tight pants, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince. And the early rap generation overwhelmingly sampled his music and voice as they laid the foundation of hip-hop culture.

"Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me," Brown told The AP in 2003.

Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, Brown was abandoned as a 4 year old to the care of relatives and friends. He grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it, learning how to hustle to survive.

By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 1/2 years in reform school for breaking into cars. While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later "Please, Please, Please" was in the R&B Top Ten.

Brown is survived by his fourth wife, Tomi Raye Hynie, one of his backup singers, and at least four children — two daughters and sons Daryl and James Brown III, Copsidas said.

Memorial plans were incomplete, Copsidas said.

'Museum' wins pre-Christmas box office

LOS ANGELES - Ben Stiller's "Night at the Museum" was the main exhibit at theaters, debuting with $30.8 million to lead a rush of new movies over the holiday weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Stiller as a guard at a museum where exhibits come alive at night, the comedy exceeded expectations for 20th Century Fox, which had been counting on a bit more than $20 million, said head of distribution Bruce Snyder.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Sony's "The Pursuit of Happyness," slipped to second with $15 million, raising its 10-day total to $53.3 million.

Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky Balboa" lived up to its underdog theme, overcoming geriatric-boxer jokes to debut at No. 3 with a solid $12.5 million over the weekend and a total of $22.1 million since opening Wednesday.

Released by MGM, "Rocky Balboa" is Stallone's sixth movie about the Philadelphia street bruiser who becomes a champion fighter, this one following the nearly 60-year-old Rocky in the ring against the reigning heavyweight king.

MGM anticipated the jeers of fans about Rocky stepping back in the ring, tailoring its earliest movie trailers to that idea, with "characters saying, `Why are you doing this? You gotta be kidding,'" said Clark Woods, the studio's head of distribution. "It made the audience comfortable with this concept right away. They were going to say it themselves, so we gave it to them."

Universal's "The Good Shepherd," a saga about the early days of the CIA directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, opened in fourth place with $10 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, the Warner Bros. football drama "We Are Marshall," opened weakly with $6.6 million to come in at No. 6. The movie stars Matthew McConaughey as a coach who rebuilds West Virginia's Marshall University team after the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 players, coaches and fans.

Christmas weekend always is crowded as studios cram in family flicks and films angling for awards attention. This holiday weekend seemed even more packed than usual, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"I think the movies are beating up on each other a little bit because there's so many jockeying for position," Dergarabedian said. "I don't know how people find time to see all these films. I think it's probably overwhelming for a lot of movie-goers."

A flurry of movies opened well in limited release to qualify for Academy Awards consideration, including Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima," which took in $76,000 in five theaters. Released by Warner Bros., the film is Eastwood's companion piece to his earlier World War II epic "Flags of Our Fathers," the new movie telling the story of Iwo Jima from the perspective of Japanese soldiers.

Sony Pictures Classics' "Curse of the Golden Flower," director Zhang Yimou's action tale starring Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li in a story of bloody palace intrigue in ancient China, took in $489,000 in 60 theaters.

Warner Independent's "The Painted Veil," with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton in an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's romantic tragedy in 1920s China, premiered with $44,000 in four theaters.

"Venus," Miramax's comic drama starring Peter O'Toole as an elderly actor whose rusty libido is aroused by a saucy young woman, opened with $36,000 in three theaters.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Wednesday.

1. "Night at the Museum," $30.8 million.
2. "The Pursuit of Happyness," $15 million.
3. "Rocky Balboa," $12.5 million.
4. "The Good Shepherd," $10 million.
5. "Charlotte's Web," $8 million.
6. "Eragon," $7.15 million.
7. "We Are Marshall," $6.6 million.
8. "Happy Feet," $5.1 million.
9. "The Holiday," $5 million.
10. "The Nativity Story," $4.65 million.

The Couch Potato Report - December 24th 2006

This edition of The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on some box sets that are available for your holiday giving, or receiving.

More and more people are ignoring shows when they first play on television and instead they are picking them up once they are released on DVD instead.

This way - for episodic shows - they don't have to wait week after week to see what happens.

For the shows that people still watch on TV, since they are fans, they want to own what they enjoy.

There is now also the option to purchase a big huge box set that contains every episode of a series, once it has finished it's run.

If you have someone that you still need to get something for who falls into one of those categories, I have at least one show from each one to suggest.

And I will start with LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.

There are now three seasons of CRIMINAL INTENT available on DVD.

The show centers on the New York Police Department's Major Case Squad and the very brilliant, offbeat Detective Robert Goren, as portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio.

Of all the LAW & ORDER shows that have been on the air over the years, CRIMINAL INTENT is my favourite as it shows you the crimes as they are planned and committed, and then we also get to see the detectives solving them and putting a case together for the District Attorney.

Of the three Box Sets for LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT that are available, my favourite is the 2002-2003 set for THE SECOND YEAR. The writing is at it's best that season, and the cast is working really well together.

And even Detective Goren's partner - played by Kathryn Erbe - starts to have more to say and do.

LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT is still on the air, but the next box set I will mention is from a show that isn't.

ALIAS - THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON was the final season of that show.

In the show Jennifer Garner is Sydney Bristow, an international spy recruited out of college and trained for espionage and self-defense.

The fifth season of the show obviously started off where Season Four ended, and the cliffhanger from that year was one of the best ones ever on television.

I was a huge fan of ALIAS during it's run, but I began to not have time to watch it every week, so this was one show I stopped watching when it aired, and just waited for the DVDs.

And I am glad I did as in real life Jennifer Garner got pregnant and the series went off air for a few months so she could have her baby, before coming back and wrapping up the show's many loose ends.

They also made Sydney Bristow pregnant on the show and brought in some new people to fill the needs of the still-in-business spy agency.

The new cast wasn't and isn't bad, but it is the return of Sydney and Sark, and Irina, and Anna Espinosa, and maybe even the murdered Michael Vaughan, or whatever his name is, that will allow you to ride the fifth season of ALIAS to a very satisfying series conclusion.

Of course, now that the series is over, I want to go back again and watch it from the beginning.

Luckily I have the box sets for the five seasons, so I can do that.

If you don't have them, you can get them individually or pick up the 29 DVD set ALIAS - THE COMPLETE COLLECTION - which has Seasons one to five and is packaged in a Rambaldi artifact box.

Fans of the show SIX FEET UNDER who don't have the individual sets for the five seasons that that show was on, can also pick up one all-inclusive box set - the 25 disc set that is shaped like a grave for SIX FEET UNDER - THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET.

SIX FEET UNDER is the superbly written and acted drama series that takes a very comical look at The Fisher Family and their associates.

All of the people we meet are quite dysfunctional, and most of them either work in or live at a funeral home.

In addition to every episode THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET for SIX FEET UNDER also has a wide array of bonus features, two-bonus soundtrack CDs, and an exclusive illustrated booklet with character obituaries and memories from the show's creators.

I watched SIX FEET UNDER when it was on, but I never saw the first ten episodes, so this box set gave me the chance to go back, catch up on what I missed, and then keep watching.

And I will keep watching, as it is a superb show!

I will also keep watching THAT GIRL.

Before there was Mary Richards, Murphy Brown, or Ally McBeal there
was THAT GIRL.

The always-engaging Marlo Thomas starred in THAT GIRL as Ann Marie, a struggling actress living in New York City. In between trying to find jobs acting and modeling she spends time with her boyfriend, Don, and her parents.

THAT GIRL ran from 1966 to 1971 and history shows us that the title character was groundbreaking as an independent female forging her own way and forever changed the manner in which women were portrayed on TV.

Now you can relive history because the first two seasons of THAT GIRL are available on DVD.

And the thing I enjoyed about the show was the fact that it harkens back to a simpler time.

Seriously, when was the last time you saw gum used as a plot point on a TV show that wasn't called McGyver?

If you have someone on your list who loves old TV shows, or is a fan of THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, MURPHY BROWN or ALLY McBEAL, THAT GIRL would make a great gift for them!

SEASONS ONE AND TWO of the show are now available on DVD, and so is SIX FEET UNDER - THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET, SEASONS 1 through 5 of ALIAS and the first THREE SEASONS of LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.

They would also make great gifts!

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

Almost every Canadian is aware of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and Russia, but did you know we also played an eight game series against them in 1974?

Well, we did, and TEAM CANADA 1974: THE LOST SERIES is now available on DVD.

Also next week there are four new releases in the WALT DISNEY TREASURES collection, and a part time bartender gets a chance to play in the NFL in INVINCIBLE.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

Actress still thinks 'It's a Wonderful Life'

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) - Zuzu has a cold again. She sniffles and sucks on a cold pill as she signs autographs for fans lined up to the door in a coffee shop.

Karolyn Grimes jokes that she left her coat open, like her character Zuzu Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life." But a more likely culprit is the holiday crunch of appearances by the former child actress - from a Victorian festival in Puyallup, Wash., to the Colorado Country Christmas Show and now to Seneca Falls, which claims to be the inspiration for director Frank Capra's mythical Bedford Falls.

Around Christmas, this Finger Lakes village is gussied up like the snowy movie town with white lights and wreaths strung across the main street. And the 66-year-old Grimes has come for a weekend celebration.

Everyone who saw the movie remembers Zuzu. She gets to say, "Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings." And the petals from Zuzu's rose - stuffed into a pants pocket by Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey as he comforts his sickly daughter - become a symbol of life.

Grimes laughs about the petals getting more screentime than she did. But she has parlayed her six minutes in the beloved 1946 film into a late-life career. After enduring heartaches that make George Bailey's troubles look small, she has become a feel-good ambassador for the film and one of its last living links.

"I'm that little girl and I stand for something those people love," she says. ". . . For some reason or other, that little girl embodies the image, or maybe the power to make them happy."

People tell her as much all afternoon at the Zuzu Cafe, where she sits with a Sharpie at a table laid out with "It's a Wonderful Life" stuff: DVDs, ceramic ornaments, memory books, her own "Zuzu Bailey's It's a Wonderful Life Cookbook" and scattered rose petals.

"Do you know what a thrill this is? "

"This is my favourite movie!"

"Thank you for giving us so much joy!"

For each person, Grimes neatly signs her name with "Zuzu" in quotes and a little doodle of a bell. She usually adds a message like, "Enjoy life, it's wonderful."

Grimes holds her smile for hours and laughs as she pops up for snapshots. She has a gold "Z" pinned to her blue velveteen jacket.

She lost her nest egg in the 2001 economic downturn and relies on these appearances. As she signs, her husband sits beside her and asks, "Cash or credit card?" It's a job, but she clearly loves being Zuzu. After signing autographs all afternoon, she bumps into a fan at a diner who talks on her cellphone to her father.

Grimes happily accepts the phone.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" she says to woman's father. "You're talking to Zuzu!"

Grimes had already worked with Bing Crosby and Fred MacMurray when she appeared in "It's a Wonderful Life." She grew up in Hollywood and was nudged into the business by her mother. Capra picked her to play Zuzu.

Grimes retains kid-centric memories of the movie: Capra kindly squatted to give her directions. "Mr. Stewart" held her in his arms, take after take, for the end scene and always put her down gently. She loved the Baileys' big Christmas tree.

At the time though, even to a five-year-old, "it was just another job."

Grimes' movie career waned as her mother became ill. She lost her at age 14. Her father died in a car accident a year later. A court shipped the teenage orphan to Osceola, Mo., to live in a "bad home" with an aunt and uncle.

Still, she liked meeting people outside hyper-competitive Hollywood. She went to college, married, raised kids, became a medical technologist. Zuzu was the past. Her box of clips and pics stayed in the basement until 1980, when a reporter came to her door in Stilwell, Kan., and asked her a question:

"Did you play that little girl in the movie, 'It's a Wonderful Life?' "

Now Grimes stands watching herself on a big-screen TV as a curly-haired pixie from 60 years ago. The little girl asks her dad to fix her flower, and he sneaks the wilted petals into his pocket.

"What do you think? Did I see it?" she asks the audience. Grimes is giving a crowd at the community centre a tour of the movie with bits of trivia.

Zuzu's name was inspired by an old brand of ginger snaps, she says. The snow coating Bedford Falls was made of soap flakes and chemicals; that's why it looks sudsy sometimes. Reviewing the flower scene, she suggests Zuzu saw through her father's heartfelt ruse and loves him all the more for it.

"I think what Frank Capra is trying to say is she knows her father isn't perfect," she said.

The film about a suicidal, small-town money lender was a bit of a dud after its December 1946 release. "Wonderful Life" got a second life in the mid-'70s when a lapsed copyright allowed television stations to show the movie for free. The movie gathered iconic status through constant showings.

After the reporter's story, Grimes did local Zuzu events in the '80s and branched out by the '90s.

This was a difficult stretch personally; she knows angels don't always save people. Her 18-year-old son killed himself in 1989 and her second husband died of cancer in 1994 (her first husband was killed in a hunting accident). She kept on.

"You have a choice," she says. "You can drown in your sorrows, be the grumpy old Mr. Potter and be hurt and be in pain . . . but I think you need to put that behind you because, my gosh, life is a wonderful gift."

Grimes, one of about seven surviving actors from the movie, says she's had troubled souls approach her sobbing at her appearances. She inspires smiles when she passes out a rose petal.

"I really feel like Zuzu is kind of a mission maybe, I don't know," Grimes says. "I think that there is a higher power at work and that I had to go through a lot of adverse situations in my life to understand other people's pain."

If it sounds like a corny sentiment out of a Capra movie, consider that after a day of "It's a Wonderful Life" autographs and interviews she becomes excited - really excited - by a small cutout of a bell stuck to a linoleum floor by her chair.

It has meaning, she explains as she walks out to the snowy sidewalks of Seneca Falls, past the decorated windows, the old-fashioned street lights and the wreaths hanging overhead.

"I really feel at home here," she says.

People here argue about the Bedford Falls connection, though it's a circumstantial case. Both places have a "Falls" suffix, and characters in the film mention nearby cities like Rochester and Elmira. Both places have classic American main streets, and the bridge here resembles the one where George Bailey pondered his mortality.

Capra, whose movie village was a set built near Los Angeles, left no evidence to rule out other candidates, like Bedford, N.Y.

And yet the director could have passed through Seneca Falls while visiting an aunt in nearby Auburn. Retired local barber Tommy Bellissima even claims he cut Capra's hair before the movie came out. Bellissima recalls a friendly guy whose name stuck in his head: capra means goat in Italian.

"Sometimes Christmas is what you believe," says county tourism director Maureen Koch at the Zuzu Cafe, "and don't make me prove it."

Canadian blues pioneer Dutch Mason dies

Dutch Mason, the musician from Nova Scotia who was known as "prime minister of the blues," has died.

The singer and guitarist — one of the country's best-known blues artists and a pioneer for many of today's musicians — died Saturday in Truro, N.S.

In the past few years, Mason has battled poor health due to chronic arthritis, which forced him to stop a busy performance schedule he had maintained for decades.

Born Norman Mason in Lunenberg in 1938, Mason became interested in music early in his youth, learning to play several different instruments.

In the 1950s, he started forming a number of bands and musical groups, which largely played in the rockabilly style. However, his focus changed after he was introduced to the blues through the recordings of B. B. King, who soon became a major influence for Mason.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, Mason built up his reputation and gained renown for his music, his colourful performances and relentless touring from coast to coast in order to build up a Canadian audience for the blues. Despite constant gigs in clubs from the West Coast to Toronto and Montreal, he always remained based in Nova Scotia.

It was King who eventually dubbed Mason "prime minister of the blues" to acknowledge his influence on the Canadian music scene.

Mason "puts out a certain vibe or energy or something. He just gives you that good feeling, the way he sings," his son, Juno Award-winning blues guitarist Garrett Mason said in an interview with CBC News.

Over the years, Mason released a host of albums, including Dutch Mason Trio at the Candlelight, Janitor of the Blues and Special Brew.

In 1998, the CBC recorded a live tribute album entitled Dutchie's 60th Birthday to honour the blues legend, who also had a eponymous summertime blues festival each year in Dartmouth, N.S.

Mason was also inducted into the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame and, in 2005, inducted into the Order of Canada.

PTC Puts NBC on Naughty List

If it was up to the Parents Television Council, NBC would be getting coal in its stocking this Christmas.

The conservative watchdog organization is calling on the network to rethink its decision to post an uncensored version of a Saturday Night Live skit on both its own Website and YouTube, in which the word dick is used multiple times.

The skit in question features host Justin Timberlake and cast member Andy Samberg singing a holiday tune about presenting their ladyfriends with the very special gift of their male members, wrapped up in a box with a bow on top.
"It's my dick in a box," the duo croon in the song's explanatory refrain.

When the skit aired on SNL, NBC bleeped out the word dick a total of 16 times. However, since the FCC has no jurisdiction over the Internet, the network was able to leave the online clip uncensored.

As of Friday, more than 4 million people had watched the clip on YouTube, with countless others taking it in through NBC's official site, much to the dismay of the PTC.

"This is a new low for NBC," PTC president Brent Bozell said in a statement. "Clearly, the network will stop at nothing to find loopholes for its indecent programming to reach the public."

In NBC's defense, the version airing on YouTube contains a cautionary warning, lest viewers are unclear as to what they are about to watch.

"The following sketch contains explicit lyrics that were not contained in the orignal [sic] broadcast," reads a message appearing before the video begins.

On NBC's site, both the censored and uncensored versions are available. Those who want to watch the unbleeped version must affirm that they are over 18 as of Dec. 15, 2007—a date that may have been a typo on the network's part.

"Moving objectionable content that would not meet FCC standards directly to the Internet is blatantly irresponsible and unacceptable," Bozell stated.

In an interview with the New York Times, SNL producer Lorne Michaels said that posting the equivalent of a "director's cut" of the show on the Internet "will be the exception" in the future.

However, he opined that other networks would be likely to follow NBC's lead in using the Web to broadcast material deemed inappropriate for the airwaves.

Despite its decision to put the clip online, NBC wasn't allowing just anyone to post the uncensored version of the skit. All unauthorized versions of "Dick in a Box" were being yanked from YouTube at the network's request.

The skit is something of a follow-up to NBC's last viral hit, "Lazy Sunday," which featured Samberg and former SNL cast member Chris Parnell rapping about topics such as eating cupcakes and taking in a matinee of Chronicles of Narnia.

After "Lazy Sunday" popped up on YouTube and became an instant Internet sensation, NBC ordered the site to remove it, later making the clip available for purchase through iTunes Music Store.

The network and YouTube have since reached an agreement where NBC allows certain programming to be posted to a dedicated network page.

Former Jeffersons actor dies

Actor Mike Evans, who played Lionel Jefferson in the television comedy series All in the Family and The Jeffersons, has died. He was 57.

Evans died of throat cancer Dec. 14 at his mother's home in California, according to his niece, Chrystal Evans.

Evans also co-created and helped write Good Times, one of the first TV comedy series to feature a primarily black cast.

Born in Salisbury, N.C., Evans and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child. After studying acting at Los Angeles City College, he landed the role of Lionel in the 1970s sitcom All in the Family.

Evans kept the role when The Jeffersons — an All in the Family spinoff — launched in 1975. The hit series centred on Archie's black neighbours from Queens, now living in a luxury apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Evans's Lionel was the college-student son of Louise and George Jefferson, the wealthy owner of a chain of dry-cleaning stores.

When Evans left the show to work on Good Times, he was replaced by Damon Evans (no relation). Following a four-year absence, Mike Evans returned to The Jeffersons from 1979 to 1981.

Evans also appeared in the 1976 TV miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, as well as in the TV series Love, American Style and The Streets of San Francisco.

His last role was in a 2000 episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.

"Museum" comedy set to rule Christmas box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hollywood is hanging out a number of stockings as Christmas weekend arrives. Among the new movies, broad appeal is the name of the game. Three of the five wide releases this frame carry a PG rating as studios look to lure nice audiences rather than naughty ones.

The Ben Stiller comedy "Night at the Museum," which has been generating positive buzz for some time, is likely to dominate the weekend. Insiders put the four-day haul for the Twentieth Century Fox effects extravaganza in the $35 million-$40 million range.

Two sports-themed movies -- MGM's "Rocky Balboa," which bowed Wednesday, and Warner Bros. Pictures' "We Are Marshall," based on the 1970 Marshall Universaity football team tragedy -- also are looking to claim their share of the till. "Rocky" already won its first round, grossing an estimated $6.2 million Wednesday to claim the title of top-grossing film for the day.

Universal Pictures' Robert De Niro-directed spy movie "The Good Shepherd" is courting the adult audience.

With Christmas Eve falling on Sunday, that night will be a quiet one at the box office, making weekend totals difficult to predict. On Christmas Day, there are two other developments that will further complicate holiday weekend estimates.

On that day, MGM will target disaffected teens and holiday scrooges as it opens "Black Christmas," a horror flick from the Weinstein Co. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures will expand "Dreamgirls," which it co-produced with DreamWorks, to 852 theaters. The Bill Condon-directed musical performed strongly in special "roadshow" engagements that launched in Los Angeles and New York last weekend.

Still, it is shaping up to be a big weekend at the "Museum." The Shawn Levy-directed film features a slew of young and veteran comedians. The film stars Stiller as a hapless night watchman at the Museum of Natural History who must combat the creatures that come alive at night. Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan also are cast, along with Owen Wilson in an uncredited cameo. Mickey Rooney and Dick Van Dyke co-star as two old-time watchmen.

"Rocky" is on track to generate close to $30 million for its six-day opening run. The $24 million film expands Friday to 3,017 theaters from 2,752. Although observers initially viewed it as a joke considering Sylvester Stallone's career downturn and the diminishing returns of its predecessors -- "Rocky" has turned into a comeback story in its own right.

Generating primarily positive reviews (it has earned a 75% positive rating on RottenTomatoes.com), the film was also written and directed by Stallone, whose character comes out of retirement for one last go-round. Burt Young plays his manager Paulie for the sixth time, and Milo Ventimiglia (NBC's "Heroes") co-stars as Rocky Jr.

Warners will bow the inspirational sports film "Marshall" from director McG ("Charlie's Angels"). The movie centers on the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed the entire Marshall University football team and its coach. Matthew McConaughey stars as the Huntington, W.Va., team's new coach who tries, along with the school's dean ( David Strathairn) and the surviving players, to keep the program going. Matthew Fox (ABC's "Lost") co-stars as his assistant coach.

Universal unveils De Niro's "Shepherd" in 2,218 theaters. Centering on the early history of the CIA, "Shepherd" stars Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin and De Niro. The film could be handicapped by its nearly three-hour running time, but the stellar cast could help it break through. Industry watchers expect the film to gross in the $10 million-$12 million range.

On Christmas Day, MGM will play against type with "Black Christmas," a remake of the 1974 horror picture, updated by writer-director Glen Morgan ("Willard"). "Christmas" revolves around a group of sorority sisters who are harassed by menacing phone calls and are killed one by one during their Christmas break. The film has religious groups protesting its Christmas Day release date, which, as most protests do, should add to the movie's profile as provocative counterprogramming.

A slew of limited releases also bow this weekend. Perhaps the highest-profile film is Warners' "Letters From Iwo Jima," the companion piece to Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," which disappointed at the box office two months ago. Depicting the same World War II battle shown in "Fathers," "Letters," also directed by Eastwood, tells the Japanese side of the story.

Receiving early accolades from various critics groups, "Iwo Jima" stars Ken Watanabe as the American-educated general who leads the Japanese resistance in the famous battle. It opened Wednesday on five screens in Los Angeles and New York.

Warner Independent Pictures also launched its limited bow of "The Painted Veil" on four screens Wednesday in Los Angeles and New York. A long-gestating adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel, the film stars Edward Norton and Naomi Watts as an unhappy married couple who resurrect their relationship while living in China during a cholera epidemic.

Sony Pictures Classics is unveiling "Curse of the Golden Flower" in Los Angeles and San Francisco Friday, a day after the Chinese-language film from acclaimed director Zhang Yimou opened in New York.

Universal opens Alfonso Cuaron's R-rated "Children of Men" on Christmas Day in 16 theaters. The well-reviewed film stars Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine in a dystopian British future where women are unable to reproduce.

Miramax Films opened "Venus" on Thursday in Los Angeles and New York. The R-rated take on a May-December romance, directed by Roger Michell, stars Peter O'Toole in an Oscar-worthy role as an older man whose daily routine is altered when the grand niece (Jodie Whittaker) of his best friend comes to visit.

'Seinfeld' spurs Festivus pole sales

MILWAUKEE - Kevin Campanella hates buying and receiving Christmas presents that he says inevitably disappoint. This year, no such worries.

Campanella plans to seek "serenity now" by celebrating Festivus, a wacky holiday popularized in a 1997 "Seinfeld" episode. Billed as "Festivus for the rest of us," the holiday celebrated by the Costanza clan on Dec. 23 features an airing of grievances and feats of strength in which a guest must pin the host before the party ends.

In protest of Christmas' commercialism, character Frank Costanza puts up an unadorned aluminum pole instead of a tree. The metal, he says admiringly, has a "very high strength-to-weight ratio."

"I just always loved that episode," said Campanella, 28, a landscaper from Warwick, R.I. "But it's not so much about the show — I think the idea of Festivus is a good idea."

So does The Wagner Companies. The Milwaukee-based maker of hand-railing components is bringing back its line of Festivus poles for the holiday season. The company had plenty of metal rails on hand already and launched the product last year on a whim.

"We did it mainly as a lark. We never looked at it as a tremendous moneymaking scheme," said Tony Leto, the firm's executive vice president of sales and marketing. "But in many ways, Festivus is taking on a life of its own."

Wagner, which made $15 million last year from products including handrail brackets and pipe elbows, earned only a few thousand dollars from Festivus pole sales. Leto said the company received some media publicity upon launch of the poles but he credits bloggers with strong "Seinfeld" loyalties for spreading the news far and wide.

Wagner sold about 250 poles in 2005, with around 100 sales coming from the firm's 120 employees. This season, it sold about 300 poles by mid-December and was on pace to sell twice that number by Saturday, said Leto, whose claim to fame is that he shared a drama class with Jerry Seinfeld at Queens College in New York.

Wagner offers a 6-foot Festivus pole for $38 and a 2-foot-8-inch tabletop model for $30. The setup is simple: a hollow pipe, 1.9 inches in diameter, inserted into a collapsible aluminum base.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, a "Seinfeld" fanatic who claims to have seen every episode eight times, proudly displayed one of the company's poles last year at the governor's mansion in Madison. But Doyle said he will donate the pole to the Wisconsin Historical Museum after reports that "Seinfeld" co-star Michael Richards used racial slurs during a standup comedy routine last month.

Leto said he hoped the Richards incident wouldn't affect his company's sales.

"Fans know it was a Costanza holiday, not a Kramer holiday," he said, referring to characters played by Jerry Stiller and Richards. "Anyway, Kramer eventually rejects the holiday at the end of the episode."

Gabriel Morales, 32, of Atlanta, said Richards' tirade didn't keep him from ordering a Festivus pole earlier this month.

"You know, people make mistakes, they say stupid things," said Morales, an information technology analyst who held his Festivus party early this year to coincide with a monthly dinner club. "No one at the party really cared about that either."

The "Seinfeld" Festivus episode developed from series writer Dan O'Keefe's childhood experiences. His father invented the holiday in the 1960s.

"As a kid, we'd come home and there'd be weird decorations," said the 30-something O'Keefe. "There was the playing of strange German and Italian pop music from the '50s. And the airing of grievances was a real thing."

Instead of a pole, his family celebration featured a clock and a bag. (O'Keefe said his father won't say what they symbolized.)

Wagner's Leto acknowledged the irony of making money off a holiday that celebrates anti-commercialism. But the company is having too much fun with the holiday to stop now, he said.

O'Keefe doesn't begrudge Wagner's commercial efforts.

"It sounds to me like they're making a good living — good for them," O'Keefe said. "It's just this joke holiday on a TV show. If they want to make a buck on it, go for it."

Or, as Seinfeld might say, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Canadian actors' contract talks break down

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Talks between North American producers and Canada's actors union have broken down, setting the stage for a strike in the new year.

The current impasse follows marathon negotiations that began November 23 and culminated Wednesday with the producers, including a host of Hollywood studio representatives, putting their first wage proposals for a new Independent Production Agreement, which governs wages and workplace conditions.

The actors were offered a one-percent wage increase in the first year, another two-percent increase in the second year and a one-percent increase in the third year of the proposed agreement. Representatives for ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television and Radio Artists) promptly rejected the offer.

No new talks are scheduled before the current agreement expires December 31. Barring a last-minute breakthrough, ACTRA's members will be in a legal position to strike in early January.

"We're not going to give away the future for free. And we are not going to let our members' pay continue to erode compared to other performers in North America," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's national executive director.

John Barrack, chief negotiator for the Canadian Film and Television Production Assn. (CFTPA), defended the wage increase proposal, insisting it was the same pay increase offered and agreed to by the Writers Guild of Canada last May.

...Rowling names last book in Potter saga

LONDON - J.K Rowling announced on Thursday that the seventh and final book in her teenage wizard saga will be called "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

No publication date has yet been set.

The British author confessed on her website this week that Potter, the creation that has turned her into one of the world's most popular and successful authors, had now entered her dreams.

"For years now, people have asked me whether I ever dream that I am 'in' Harry's world," she wrote. "The answer was 'no' until a few nights ago when I had an epic dream in which I was, simultaneously, Harry and the narrator."
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By Nicole Sperling

MGM's "Rocky Balboa" proved no underdog at the boxoffice its opening day. The Sylvester Stallone-starrer reaped $6.2 million on 2,752 theaters. The PG-rated boxing tale generated a per-screen average of $2,267 for its first day in the theaters.

The film will expand to 3017 theaters on Friday. At that time competition will certainly have heated up as Twentieth Century Fox opens "Night at the Museum," Warner Bros. Pictures bows "We Are Marshall" and Universal Pictures unveils the R-rated spy thriller "The Good Shepard."

Bjork, Prince Lead Joni Mitchell Tribute Disc

Bjork, Prince, James Taylor and Elvis Costello are among the artists who have recorded covers for "A Tribute to Joni Mitchell," due in the spring via Nonesuch. The 11-track set also boasts contributions from Sarah McLachlan, k.d. lang, Emmylou Harris and Sufjan Stevens.

In related news, Billboard.com has learned that Mitchell has been recording original material at a Los Angeles studio in recent weeks. It is unknown in what form she plans to release the music; she angrily announced she was quitting the music business in 2002 after her last album, "Travelogue."

"A Tribute to Joni Mitchell" comes concurrently with 429 Records' "Endless Highway: A Tribute to the Band," due Jan. 30. That projects boasts covers from Death Cab For Cutie, My Morning Jacket, Jack Johnson and Widespread Panic, among others.

Here is the track list for "A Tribute to Joni Mitchell":

"Free Man in Paris," Sufjan Stevens
"Boho Dance," Bjork
"Dreamland," Caetano Veloso
"Don't Interrupt the Sorrow," Brad Mehldau
"For the Roses," Cassandra Wilson
"A Case of U," Prince
"Blue," Sarah McLachlan
"Ladies of the Canyon," Annie Lennox
"Magdalena Laundries," Emmylou Harris
"Edith and the Kingpin," Elvis Costello
"Help Me," k.d. lang
"River," James Taylor

CFL inks new deal with TSN

The Canadian Football League announced Wednesday it has signed a new television contract with TSN in a deal that leaves the CBC watching from the sidelines.

The new five-year contract, which includes an option year, begins in 2008 and will see TSN serve as the lone broadcaster of all regular-season and playoff games, including the Grey Cup.

Financial terms of the new contract were not released.

Under the terms of the deal, TSN has the broadcast rights to the CFL's annual 77-game package: 72 regular-season games, four playoff contests and the Grey Cup.

"This is a groundbreaking deal of enormous magnitude for TSN. The CFL has recognized TSN as a fitting home for all its games, and for the first time in history, the coveted Grey Cup will be produced and televised on TSN," said Phil King, president of TSN.

CBC spokesperson Jeff Keay expressed disappointment with the deal.

"Obviously we're very disappointed that after more than 50 seasons of football on CBC Television that the CFL has made this decision. The CBC has a long and proud tradition of making football available to Canadians across the country."

Keay said the CBC was not given an opportunity by the CFL to participate in the bidding process.

"We didn't get a chance to come to the table at all."

This new contract reflects a fundamental shift in the Canadian television industry. Under the past two TV deals, TSN sold rights to some regular-season games, all playoff contests and the Grey Cup to CBC for a fee.

However, TSN's sale to CTV in 1999 and their subsequent purchase by BCE, which rolled them into Bell Globemedia in 2000, allow TSN to hold onto the full rights package instead of selling off a portion of them.

NHL contract still on block

The new CFL deal is the latest setback for CBC Sports, which lost the rights to Canadian Curling Association properties, such as the Brier and Tournament of Hearts, to CTV-TSN earlier this year.

Last year, a Bell Globemedia-Rogers Communications consortium won the rights to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. CBC had held Olympic broadcast rights since 1996.

CBC Sports responded to those losses by signing an eight-year agreement with FIFA that includes the rights to the next two World Cups, a four-year deal for Alpine skiing and an eight-year contract for the World Curling Tour's Grand Slam events.

The big prize still up for grabs is the rights to NHL games. The CBC's deal with the league expires after the 2007-08 season, and CTV-TSN is believed to be readying to table a serious bid for the rights.

Toronto Critics Hail the 'Queen'

It was a royal flush for "The Queen," which won five top honors from the Tornoto Film Critics Association.

Stephen Frears' examination of Her Majesty's reaction after Princess Di's untimely death won for best picture, best actress Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, best supporting actor Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair, best screenplay by Peter Morgan and best director Frears, who shares the honors with "L'Enfant" co-directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.

Acting kudos went to Sacha Baron Cohen for his leading role in "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" and Cate Blanchett for her supporting role in "Notes on a Scandal."

The penguins once again proved their supremacy as they tapped off with the best animated feature award, while Jason Reitman's "Thank You for Smoking" snagged the first feature award. "L'Enfant" also took home the best foreign-language film award, while Jennifer Baichawal's "Manufactured Landscapes" -- which follows photographer Edward Burtynsky as he takes pictures of how the land has changed due to industrial work and manufacturing -- nabbed two awards, for best documentary film and best Canadian film.

"The Queen" is also nominated for four Golden Globe awards in the best dramatic picture, directing, screenplay and actress categories

Cast of "Grey's Anatomy" tops entertainer list

LOS ANGELES, Dec 20 (Reuters Life!) - The cast of the television hospital drama "Grey's Anatomy" tops Entertainment Weekly's list of the year's top entertainers because of their cultural impact, the magazine said.

Entertainment Weekly's year-end issue hits U.S. newsstands starting Friday with its widely watched lists of the year's top picks in movies, music, television, books and many other categories.

A video Web site, two fake journalists and a veteran actress also rated highly on the magazine's lists.

Entertainment Weekly said the cast of "Grey's" -- McDreamy, McSteamy and all the others -- led the chart of top entertainers because they had a cultural impact beyond their show's roughly 20 million weekly viewers. In addition, the episodes -- filled with sexual affairs and career problems -- sparked chatter around offices, schools and homes across the United States.

"'Grey's' isn't just a show, it's a phenomenon," said Entertainment Weekly Executive Editor Lori Majewski.

"Back in May when last season's final show aired, every place in New York City was empty. You could get a table at the best restaurants," she said.

YouTube, the wildly popular Web site where people post videos of anything from themselves singing to comedian Michael Richards shouting racial epithets, made the list because it too had a cultural impact beyond its cyberspace borders.

The Richards incident sparked discussions of when comics should and should not use the "N-word" when commenting on black Americans.

Likewise, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's character Borat Sagdiyev, a politically incorrect TV reporter from Kazakhstan, forced Americans to take a hard look at themselves -- warts and all -- in his hit film, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

"He held up a mirror to America," Majewski said.

But not all the year's top entertainers had such a serious edge. Streep turned in strong performances in two very different movies -- the musical drama "The Prairie Home Companion" and the comedy "The Devil Wears Prada."

Other top entertainers included the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, singers Justin Timberlake and Beyonce, British actress Helen Mirren and Stephen Colbert, host of the television news spoof "The Colbert Report."

Entertainment Weekly reaches about 11.4 million readers each week.

Procol Harum organist wins court case

LONDON - A judge awarded a 40 percent share in the copyright of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," one of the most famous pop songs of all time, to a former organist for Procol Harum.

Lead singer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid always claimed credit for the hit, which became part of the soundtrack for the hippy "summer of love" of 1967.

But in his ruling, the judge decided that organist Matthew Fisher was entitled to both credit and royalties.

"I have come to the view that Mr. Fisher's interest in the work should be reflected by according him a 40 percent share of the musical copyright," the written judgment said. "His contribution to the overall work was on any view substantial but not, in my judgment, as substantial as that of Mr. Brooker."

The judge said the song's organ solo "is a distinctive and significant contribution to the overall composition and quite obviously the product of skill and labor on the part of the person who created it."

The judge said Fisher, 60, was entitled to royalties from May 2005, when he began court proceedings.

"A Whiter Shade of Pale," famous for its cryptic lyrics — "We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor" — topped the British charts for five weeks in 1967 and was a Top 5 hit in the U.S.

Rolling Stone magazine has ranked it 57th in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Brooker says he and Reid wrote the song before Fisher joined the band in March 1967. It was released in May.

Fisher, now a computer programmer living in south London, left the band in 1969. Brooker, 61, still tours with Procol Harum.

In a statement, Brooker and Reid said Fisher's court victory created a dangerous precedent because it meant any musician who had played on any recording in the past 40 years could claim joint authorship.

"It is effectively open season on the songwriter," they said. "It will mean that unless all musicians' parts are written for them, no publisher or songwriter will be able to risk making a recording for fear of a possible claim of songwriting credit."

They intend to file an appeal.

Grammys to honor Doors, Grateful Dead

NEW YORK - The Doors, the Grateful Dead and Joan Baez are among the recording artists who will receive lifetime achievement Grammy Awards next year.

Other honorees include Maria Callas, Ornette Coleman, Bob Wills and Booker T. & The MG's, The Recording Academy announced Tuesday. The awards are decided by a vote of the group's national board of trustees.

"This year's group of accomplished honorees are as diverse as they are influential as creators of the most renowned and prominent recordings in the world," Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said in a statement.

"Their contributions exemplify the highest artistic and technical standards that have positively affected the music industry and music fans."

The statuettes will be handed out during a ceremony before the main Grammys are handed out at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 11. The 49th annual awards will air live on CBS, a division of CBS Corp.

Stax Records co-founder Estelle Axton, Grammy-winning composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and recording engineer Cosimo Matassa will receive the Trustees Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the industry in a non-performing category.

Sask. native magazine launched to counter 'negative' press

The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations will publish a magazine about aboriginal issues, saying it wants to counter the often negative coverage in the mainstream press.

On Monday, the FSIN unveiled Saskatchewan Indian, a magazine that the federation's leader, Chief Lawrence Joseph, said would tell positive stories about the province's aboriginal people.

"Not to slam dunk the regular news media, but usually it's negative stories, who got into trouble, who went to jail, that kind of thing, who killed who, that type of thing," Joseph said.

"Now we're trying to complement those stories with our own stories."

In recent months, the FSIN has been critical of the way the news media has covered such stories as the turmoil at First Nations University of Canada, which has campuses in three Saskatchewan communities — Prince Albert Regina and Saskatoon — and the controversy over the Oyate safe house for teenage prostitutes in Regina.

The FSIN started the magazine in the early 1970s, but it ceased publication about 10 years ago.

Joseph said he decided to revive the paper to communicate better with his member nations.

There are many positive First Nations stories that don't get reported by the general media, in part because they don't operate in First Nations communities, he said.

"The purpose of this paper is to tell our stories, the stories that we're proud of," he said.

The Saskatchewan Indian will publish nine times a year.

The FSIN will have editorial control of the paper, but readers will be able to have their say through opinion columns and letters to the editor, Joseph said.

Christian Groups Don't Want a Black Christmas

While horror film fans are likely giddy that at least one scary movie is being released at a time when there is often a lull in scary movies at the multiplex, Christian groups don't seem to share their enthusiasm.

Some Christian groups are upset that Black Christmas, a remake of the 1974 holiday-themed slasher flick, is opening on Christmas Day.

Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, says, "To have a movie that emphasizes murder and mayhem at Christmas, a time of celebration and joy around the world seems to be ill founded."

And Jennifer Giroux, co-founder of Operation Just Say Merry Christmas, adds, "The use of religious music 'Silent Night' and the nativity set on the front porch in one scene are insensitive to Christians. It's not enough to ignore and omit Christmas, but now it has to be offended, insulted and desecrated. Our most sacred holiday, actually a holy day, is being assaulted."

Disney Thinks Tinkerbell Movie is Too Childish

Walt Disney had planned to release The Tinkerbell Movie in 2007 but after reviewing completed portions of the film, the studio has decided to send the animators back to work with a new launch date of 2008 or 2009.

According to the Internet Movie Database, the studio had wanted the direct-to-DVD release to appeal to the 'tween girl crowd but the movie skewed too young, towards kids aged 4-6.

This posed a serious concern for Disney as they were planning on launching a Tinkerbell franchise for the 'tween girl audience with several other direct-to-DVD movies over a three year period.

Rush Close To Wrapping New Album

Rush is nearly finished recording its next studio album, which is expected sometime in 2007 via Atlantic. The tracks were put to tape at Allaire Studios in upstate New York with co-producer Nick Raskulinecz. "I have never enjoyed the recording process so much, nor been so satisfied with the results," drummer Neil Peart writes on his Web site.

Peart went on to relate an instance in the studio when Raskulinecz pushed him to try something out of the ordinary. "We had been working on a complex, syncopated section in one of the songs -- a part that had taken me hours to learn -- and Nick turned to me and said, 'Do you think you could solo over that?'"

"Ha -- what a question! Of course I could solo over it. I'd love to! But I would never dare to suggest such a thing myself," he continued. "When Nick pushed me like that, he would say, 'Hey man, I wouldn't ask if I didn't know you could do it,' and of course that was a kind of challenge. All of us picked up that 'can do' spirit, and it came to express the mood of our sessions at Allaire -- brash, confident, determined, inspired, challenged, fired-up, defiant, excited."

Peart previously told Billboard.com some of his lyrics for the new songs were inspired by his motorcycle journeys throughout the United States, chronicled in the recent book "Roadshow: Landscape With Drums."

"Just seeing the power of evangelical Christianity and contrasting that with the power of fundamentalist religion all over the world in its different forms had a big effect on me," he said.

"You try to put your own way of seeing the world into some kind of congruence with other peoples, and that's difficult for me," he admits. "I mean, I see the world in what I think to be a perfectly obvious and rational way, but when you go out into it and see the way other people think and behave, and express themselves on church signs, you realize, 'Well, I'm not really part of this club.'"

The upcoming album will be Rush's first since 2002's "Vapor Trails."

Black Eyed Peas Finishing Up 'Fun' New Album

The Black Eyed Peas aren't monkeying around on their follow-up to 2005's four million-selling "Monkey Business." Main Pea will.i.am tells Billboard.com that the quartet's next album is "almost finished" and "will come out this time next year" -- meaning the fourth quarter of 2007. At the same time, he says there's room for a lot more to happen before the group wraps things up.

"We have 12 songs," will.i.am notes, "and we'll probably do another 30 or 40 songs." As with "Monkey Business," the Peas have been recording tracks on the road, including in China, but will probably finish things at home since the group is slated to be off tour between January and August.

As for the new album's direction, will.i.am says that "it's still a fun record" but that it also deals with social and some political issues. "We are not complaining," he says. "It's not, 'Oh, everything messed up! Oh my gosh, we're doomed!' It's a thinking record. It brings up what's happening in the world. 'Monkey Business' didn't do that."

The album has no title yet, and will.i.am says it's too early to start thinking about guests and collaborators. And any pressure to equal the multi-platinum success of "Monkey Business" and its 2003 predecessor "Elephunk" is mitigated by the Peas' own internal drive.

"We're afraid of losing what got us here, and that was humbleness and hunger," will.i.am explains. "It's easier now than it was in 1996. But it's still that fear of losing that drive and motivation and determination now that you've accomplished something. That's what's scary to us."

The album is just part of the Peas' crowded pod these days, too. The group recently released "Live From Sydney to Vegas," a highly interactive DVD featuring footage from shows in Australia and the U.S. with cutting-edge technology that allows viewers to shift seamlessly between the two concerts.

The group is also starting to plan for its third annual pre-Grammy Awards Pea Pod event, which this year will honor Interscope Records chief Jimmy Iovine. The Peas are up for one Grammy -- best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal -- while will.i.am is up for five, including producer of the year.

Goldman sues O.J. for book-deal bucks

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ronald Goldman's father sued O.J. Simpson on Tuesday, seeking any money the former NFL star received for a canceled book deal and TV interview that told a hypothetical tale of how he would have killed his ex-wife and Goldman.

The federal lawsuit filed in California by Fred Goldman's Indianapolis-based attorney accuses Simpson of "fraudulent conveyance" and alleges that he created a shell corporation that received at least $1.1 million as part of the TV interview and book, titled If I Did It.

Attorney Jonathan Polak said Lorraine Brooke Associates was created in March using the middle name of Simpson's two children. The lawsuit calls it a "sham entity" formed to defraud Ron Goldman's relatives by preventing them from claiming any of more than $38 million Simpson owes the family from a judgment against him in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Goldman's lawsuit seeks about $1.1 million plus punitive damages, although Polak said he believed Simpson has already spent the money he received from News Corp., the owner of Fox Broadcasting and publisher HarperCollins.

Polak said the lawsuit's true aim is to determine how the book and TV interview deals were reached.

"The question in this lawsuit is not about what's in their bank account right now," he said. "The issue is, can we unwind this series of transactions and hold those we believe truly are responsible accountable financially?"

Polak said he believes Judith Regan — who was fired last week as a publisher by HarperCollins — and Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp., need "to come clean" on their knowledge of how Simpson was reimbursed for the deal.

Andrew Butcher, a spokesman for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., said he could not comment on the possibility of Murdoch being deposed.

He said News Corp. has been working with Goldman's family to answer questions about the book deal.

"From the very start, we'd offered every assistance to the family of Ron Goldman. Any information they have asked for regarding the contracts for the Simpson book, we have given them," Butcher said.

Polak said he has asked News Corp. to destroy all copies of the book, as well as copies of the interview with Fox that was to have aired. He also wants News Corp. to assign all rights to those books and interviews to the Goldman family.

Butcher said News Corp. has destroyed all copies of If I Did It but objected to the request to assign the rights to the Goldmans.

"You don't own the rights to someone's book in perpetuity," he said. "It doesn't work that way. It's more complicated."

Simpson told The Associated Press last month that he took part in the project solely for personal profit and acknowledged that any financial gain was "blood money."

Simpson would not say how much he was paid in advance, only that it was less than the $3.5 million reported. He said the money already has been spent, some of it on tax obligations.

Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday with Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter.

Simpson was acquitted of criminal charges in the 1994 killings.

In 1997, a civil court jury, using a lesser standard of proof than is required at a criminal trial, found Simpson liable for Nicole Brown Simpson's and Goldman's stabbing deaths. The jury ordered him to pay about $19.7 million to Goldman's family — an amount Polak said has grown to more than $38 million with interest.

Fred Goldman said in a statement that he was eager to learn who worked with Simpson on the deal.

"We will not stop until we are able to shine the light of truth on those that acted in concert with him," he said.

Oscar poster a font of famous film lines

LOS ANGELES - The new Oscar poster was unfurled Tuesday, and there are lines everywhere. Famous lines from 70 years of famous films.

"I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!", "I'm the king of the world!", "I'm ready for my close-up" and "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" are among the quotes that share space with an image of the Oscar statuette on the 79th Annual Academy Awards poster.

"What we have is a failure to communicate," joked Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who told Associated Press Television that the idea of movie lines stood out among the dozens of potential Oscar-poster concepts for this year's version.

"We saw it in rough (form) and thought, `There's an idea.' ... `Yes, the force is strong with this one'."

At first the designers were only going to use lines from Oscar winners, Ganis explained, "and then they broadened the field to Oscar nominees." All but one of the lines were gleaned from films that received an Academy Award nomination for best picture, writing or both from 1936-2005.

"And, of course, we had to include what is probably the most quoted movie line, `I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse,'" Ganis said of the famous "Godfather" comment.

The concept and design for the poster were created for the academy by the Los Angeles ad agency TBWA-Chiat-Day.

Photographer Albert Watson shot the Oscar statuette. The poster employs a black canvas, with the quotes in gold metallic — each in a typeface in the spirit of the film from which it came.

The academy planned to send out the posters to the surviving writers of the lines. "It's a great way to say thank you," Ganis said, adding he was going to write each of the scribes a personal note.

Some 65,000 of the posters will be distributed worldwide. They're also available for purchase via the academy's Web site.

Nominations for the 79th Annual Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 23, with the Oscar ceremony set for Feb. 25.

Toronto Blue Jays move into future with Vernon Wells at centre of franchise

TORONTO (CP) - The "sticker shock" was intense. But the Blue Jays came to feel the US$126-million, seven-year contract extension for Vernon Wells is market value for a franchise player.

And despite the jaw-dropping size of the deal, the Jays believe they still have payroll room to manoeuvre elsewhere while locking up a player some believe, is just starting to become the superstar he can be. The 28-year-old batted .303 with 32 home runs and 106 RBIs last season and won his third straight Gold Glove Award. He's the rare breed of ball player who can win games with both his bat and glove.

He's also a reserved but highly respected clubhouse leader, someone who maintains an even keel in all situations and commands respect from his peers.

Underlining that leadership is the way he structured his contract, which starts in 2008 and gives the Blue Jays the fiscal wiggle room to keep adding more talent.

Wells' deal is the sixth-richest in baseball history. And it's believed to be the biggest ever handed out by a sports team in Canada.

He gets a $25.5-million signing bonus payable in three equal instalments on March 1 in 2008, 2009 and 2010. His salary is just $500,000 in 2008 and $1.5 million in 2009 before climbing to $12.5 million in 2010 and $23 million in 2011. The final three seasons are worth $21 million apiece.

That leaves the Blue Jays with a pricey but manageable core of six players - Wells, Halladay, A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus - that will cost them about $60 million in 2007, $61 million in 2008, $57 million in 2009 and $58 million in 2010.

"I think this will be Roy (Halladay) and Vernon's team as long as they're here," said general manager J.P. Ricciardi. "Roy will always be the guy the pitchers look up to and I think Vernon will be the guy the everyday players look up to."

And he's the player expected to lead them back to the post-season for the first time since 1993.

"The biggest thing was leaving flexibility for this team to get better over the next few years," said Wells. "By no means did I want to sign here and hinder this team from getting better."

The Jays are expected to have a payroll in the neighbourhood of $100 million over that span - the team doesn't plan to publicly announce a figure this season, it was about $76 million last year - so Ricciardi should have enough room to build a solid roster around them.

Wells' salary won't jump until 2011, when he becomes the only Blue Jay under contract.

"We can work around that, which is what we wanted to do," said Ricciardi.

The new deal also contains a no-trade clause and an opt-out provision after the 2011 season.

Wells is under contract in 2007 for $5.6 million - part of the $14.7 million, five-year deal he signed before the 2003 season - and would have been eligible for free agency after the season. He could have commanded even more money on the open market but instead Wells, with the help of his agent Greg Genske, settled on a number and an accepted when offered to him.

"I'm not going out there to try and make a name for myself in that way," Wells said of trying to break the bank next fall.

"For me to be selfish, to be greedy and want more and more, this is plenty. My kids can't spend all this money, this is enough to set my family up for the rest of their lives."

Team president Paul Godfrey said he needed "smelling salts and someone to prop me up to give them to me," when Vernon Wells' representatives first floated the idea of an extension some three months ago.

"We know the contract was going to be high," he said Monday "But it's like going to buy a house or a car, the sticker shock always takes you back. That's why deals aren't made overnight."

It wasn't until this fall's frenzied off-season spending began around the majors that the Blue Jays realized the numbers were simply reflective of an industry awash in cash. The $136-million, eight-year contract the Chicago Cubs gave Alfonso Soriano and the $100-million, six-year deal between Carlos Lee and the Houston Astros were among the key eye-openers.

Once the Blue Jays examined all the facts it became clear that Wells was asking for a fair market price (staggering as it is) and that they'd have to meet it to retain the all-star centre-fielder.

"Soriano and Lee are both great ball players," said Godfrey. "But when you compare their stats to his stats offensively and defensively, Wells is the type of player we thought fit in long-term with this organization."

On Dec. 8, Wells' 28th birthday, the Blue Jays called their marquee man and told him they would meet his contract demands. Talks gained momentum last week, with an agreement in principle reached late Thursday and the contract completed Friday, tying him to the franchise through 2014.

The agreement dwarfs the Blue Jays' previous largest contract, a $68-million, four-year pact with Carlos Delgado in the fall of 2000, and more than doubles the richest deal ever handed out by Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi, the $55 million over five years given to pitcher A.J. Burnett last winter.

Among contracts in Canada, it eclipses the $94-million, six-year deal the Toronto Raptors gave Vince Carter in the summer of 2001, which at the time was believed to be the biggest deal north of the border.

Compared to his peers in the majors, Wells' deal ranks behind only those given to Alex Rodriguez ($252 million for 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million for 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million for eight years), Todd Helton ($141.5 million for 11 years) and Soriano.

He's the 13th player to get a nine-figure contract.

Wells' first reaction was shock when the Blue Jays called him and told him they were willing to meet his price and hanging up the phone, it hit Wells that he was on the verge of becoming a very, very rich man.

"I got emotional just because this was actually happening, you're actually sitting back and thinking about the situation and what they're committing to you, it's a lot of money," Wells said. "You start thinking about your kids you start thinking about everything else."

Wells is unconcerned with the added expectations his new-found wealth will bring.

"Once I get on the field, money doesn't matter," said Wells. "I go out and play the game no matter if I'm making the minimum or making whatever I'm going to be making. I take pride in this game. I'm going to struggle and I'll be the first to tell you if I'm doing poorly ...

"I'll take the good with the bad and hopefully everybody will do the same. If not, I can deal with it. I'm a big man and I can take the criticism."

Aside from buying a house in suburban Toronto, Wells has no big expenditures planned. He will make a $1-million donation to the team-run Jays Care Foundation over the duration of the deal and plans to deepen his involvement in other charitable causes.

Other than that, he's just glad he's another step closer to finishing his career in Toronto.

"This gives me the possibility of doing that," he said. "It would be great to be a Blue Jay for life and hopefully to win some championships and to maybe don a Blue Jay hat one day in the Hall of Fame."

New CD Releases, Dec. 19: Nas, RBD, Bow Wow

Nas "Hip Hop is Dead"

Nas spent years feuding with hip-hop king Jay-Z. On his latest album, "Hip-Hop is Dead," the 33-year-old Long Islander buries the hatchet and performs with Jay-Z on the track "Black Republican." Some view that collaboration as one of the true events of the year in hip-hop.

Jay-Z isn't the only rapper who shows up to trade verses with Nas on this album; Kanye West also joins the party on the song "Still Dreaming."

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RBD "Rebels"

RBD, one of the biggest pop bands in Mexico, releases the highly anticipated English-language CD "Rebels." The group has sold more than five million records to date worldwide

The band got its start in the popular telenovela "Rebelde," a series about six prep-school students who start a band. The series did so well that the group of actors-turned-musicians--Anahi Puente, Maite Perroni, Alfonso Herrera, Christian Chavez, Christopher Casillas and Dulce Espinoza--began releasing actual albums..

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Bow Wow "The Price of Fame"

The Ohio-born rapper--who will turn 20 in March--returns with the follow-up to 2005's "Wanted." In keeping with typical hip-hop protocol, Bow Wow is joined by a bevy of guest stars on this release, including Lil Wayne, Pimp C and Chris Brown.

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Neil Young "Living with War--Raw"

This special-edition CD/DVD presents a stripped-down--or "raw"--look at Young's critically acclaimed "Living with War" album. Most of the frills (such as the choir work) that originally dressed up that album are missing here. In trade, Young cranks up the guitar on this 10-song set.

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Styles P "Time is Money"

The 32-year-old Queens-born rapper finally delivers his long-delayed sophomore album. The disc, which follows 2002's "A Gangster and a Gentleman," features guest appearances by Flipsyde, the late Gerald LeVert, Talib Kweli and Mario Winans.

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Other new releases:
Aventura, "K.O.B." (Sony)
DJ Clue?, "The Professional, Pt. 3" (Roc-a-Fella)
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, "Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs" (Nonesuch)
Tony Orlando, "Halfway to Paradise: The Complete Epic Masters 1961-1964" (Ace)
Trick Daddy, "Back by Thug Demand" (Atlantic)
Various Artists, "Ibiza: The Sound of Renaissance, Vol. 3" (Renaissance)
Lenny Welch, "A Taste of Honey--The Complete Cadence Recordings 1959-1964" (Ace)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Blood Diamond" (Varese Sarabande)
"Happy Feet" (Atlantic)
"Night at the Museum" (Varese Sarabande)
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Milan)
"We are Marshall" (Varese Sarabande)

Van Halen reunion rumors gain steam

Rumors of Van Halen reuniting with original singer David Lee Roth, which have swirled around the group for years, have taken a turn toward reality now that guitarist Eddie Van Halen apparently has invited the motor-mouthed frontman back to the group.

"I'm telling Dave, 'Dude, get your ass up here and sing, bitch! Come on!'" Eddie recently told Guitar World magazine. "As it stands right now, the ball is in Dave's court. Whether he wants to rise to the occasion is entirely up to him, but we're ready to go."

That revelation appears in the February issue of Guitar World, according to managing editor Jeff Kitts, who said that the guitarist will also be featured on the cover of the magazine's March issue.

Roth--who for years has publicly campaigned for the gig--has remained uncharacteristically silent since news of Eddie Van Halen's remarks surfaced last week.

Eddie's comments follow last month's revelation that Van Halen is currently in the studio writing and rehearsing for a 2007 summer tour. Should Roth return to the helm for that outing, fans still won't be seeing the original Van Halen lineup; as previously reported, Eddie recently announced that bassist/vocalist Michael Anthony had been bounced in favor of Eddie's 15-year-old son, Wolfgang Van Halen.

"Wolfgang breathes new life into what we're doing," Eddie said during the recent Guitar World interview. "He brings youthfulness to something that's inherently youthful. He's only been playing bass for three months, but it's spooky. He's locked tight and puts an incredible spin on our s---."

One of the few people who has heard Wolfgang Van Halen's work with the band is photographer Ross Halfin, whose latest encounter with Eddie Van Halen took place last week.

"Edward is in a great mood, he's easy to work with," Halfin wrote in an online diary entry about the Dec. 13 photo shoot. "And I'm not saying who or what I shot, but I will tell you Edward played a couple of CDs which I thought were from 1978 (it was from two days ago) of Van Halen rehearsing with Wolfgang Van Halen on bass. It was jaw-droppingly amazing. They played 'On Fire,' 'I'm the One,' 'Atomic Punk.' I'm not listing the rest, but I will tell you the band sounded untouchable.

"It was as exciting as the first time I saw them," Halfin continued. "They will come back and destroy the world. ... Having Edward's son on bass has rejuvenated them."

Despite Halfin's rave, it remains to be seen how the group's decision to oust Anthony--a fan favorite whose background vocals are widely recognized as a defining element of the band's signature sound--will impact the success of any reunion tour.

Van Halen last toured in 2004, at which time estranged singer Sammy Hagar--who replaced Roth in 1985, and then split with the group himself in 1996--returned to the fold. That outing ended with more bad blood between Hagar and Eddie Van Halen, and Anthony has since said that the Van Halen brothers had fired him before negotiating a discounted deal that allowed him to participate in the 2004 run.

Earlier this year, Anthony teamed up with Hagar for a summer tour that featured Hagar performing one set with his solo band, and a second set with his drummer, guitarist and Anthony. Billed as The Other Half, the quartet's setlist was comprised entirely of Van Halen tunes.

Eddie expressed displeasure with the Hagar/Anthony outing during a September telephone interview that aired on "The Howard Stern Show." For their part, Anthony and Hagar have claimed that Eddie's alcohol consumption derailed the group's 2004 reunion.

Yogi Bear creator Joe Barbera dies at 95

LOS ANGELES - Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95.

Barbera died of natural causes at his home with his wife Sheila at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said.

With his longtime partner, Bill Hanna, Barbera first found success creating the highly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons. The antics of the battling cat and mouse went on to win seven Academy Awards, more than any other series with the same characters.

The partners, who teamed up while working at MGM in the 1930s, then went on to a whole new realm of success in the 1960s with a witty series of animated TV comedies, including "The Flintstones," "The Jetsons," "Yogi Bear," "Scooby-Doo" and "Huckleberry Hound and Friends."

Their strengths melded perfectly, critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his book "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons." Barbera brought the comic gags and skilled drawing, while Hanna brought warmth and a keen sense of timing.

"This writing-directing team may hold a record for producing consistently superior cartoons using the same characters year after year — without a break or change in routine," Maltin wrote.

Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer called Hanna and Barbera's characters "not only animated superstars, but also a very beloved part of American pop culture."

The team's cartoons spanned "the Stone Age to the Space Age and from primetime to Saturday mornings, syndication and cable," Meyer said. "While he will be missed by his family and friends, (Barbera) will live on through his work."

Hanna, who died in 2001, once said he was never a good artist but his partner could "capture mood and expression in a quick sketch better than anyone I've ever known."

The two first teamed cat and mouse in the short "Puss Gets the Boot." It earned an Academy Award nomination, and MGM let the pair keep experimenting until the full-fledged Tom and Jerry characters eventually were born.

Jerry was borrowed for the mostly live-action musical "Anchors Aweigh," dancing with Gene Kelly in a scene that became a screen classic.

After MGM folded its animation department in the mid-1950s, Hanna and Barbera were forced to go into business for themselves. With television's sharply lower budgets, their new cartoons put more stress on verbal wit rather than the detailed — and expensive — action featured in theatrical cartoons.

Like "The Simpsons" three decades later, "The Flintstones" found success in prime-time TV by not limiting its reach to children. The program, a parody of "The Honeymooners," was among the 20 most popular shows on television during the 1960-61 season, and Fred's shout of "yabba dabba doo!" entered the language.

The Jetsons, which debuted in 1962, were the futuristic mirror image of the Flintstones.

"It was a family comedy with everyday situations and problems that we window-dressed with gimmicks and inventions," Barbera once said. "Our stories were such a contrast to many of the animated series that are straight destruction and blasting away for a solid half-hour."

The show ran just one season on network TV but was often rerun, and the characters were revived in the 1980s in a syndicated show. Barbera said he liked the freedom syndication gave the producers, with none of the meddling from network executives.

"Today, Charlie Chaplin couldn't get his material by a network," he once said.

Even so, the influence of Hanna-Barbera was felt for decades. In 2002 and again in 2004, characters from the cartoon series "Scooby-Doo" were brought to the big screen in films that combined live actors and animation.

Hanna-Barbera, meanwhile, received eight Emmys, including the Governors Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1988.

"Joe Barbara was a passionate storyteller and a creative genius who, along with his late partner Bill Hanna, helped pioneer the world of animation," said friend, colleague and Warner animation President Sander Schwartz. "Joe's contributions to both the animation and television industries are without parallel — he has been personally responsible for entertaining countless millions of viewers across the globe."

Neither Hanna, born in 1910, nor Barbera, born in 1911, set out to be cartoonists. Barbera, who grew up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, originally went into banking. Soon, however, he turned his doodles into magazine cartoons and then into a job as an animator.

Hanna, who had studied engineering and journalism, originally went into animation because he needed a job.

Although not the hit factory it was in the '50s and '60s, the Hanna-Barbera studio remained active through the years. It eventually became a subsidiary of Great American Communications Co., and in 1991 it was purchased by a partnership including Turner Broadcasting System, which used the studio's library when it launched cable TV's Cartoon Network in 1992. Turner is now part of Time Warner.

Funeral arrangements were pending, Miereanu said. In addition to his wife, the animator is survived by three children from a previous marriage, Jayne, Neal and Lynn.

Perform with Timberlake at the Grammys

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Justin Timberlake may have said "Bye, Bye, Bye" to his 'N Sync bandmates, but he's looking for a partner to sing with at the Grammys.

The Recording Academy, together with CBS Corp. and Yahoo Inc., is holding a contest to find an unsigned artist to perform with the 25-year-old "SexyBack" singer at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, to air live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 11.

Contestants are being asked to submit a 60-second video clip of them singing one of nine songs selected by Timberlake, all of which have won Grammys.

A panel will whittle the contestants to 12, and then much like "American Idol," regular people will be able to vote online to narrow the field to five, then three.

The three finalists will be announced during Super Bowl weekend, and will attend the Grammy Awards ceremony. During the show, the winner will be announced and hop on stage to sing with Timberlake.

The songs to be performed for the audition tape are: Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You," Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father," Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window," Timberlake's "Cry Me a River," Faith Hill's "Breathe," Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It," Aretha Franklin's "Respect," Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love."

'Rocky and Bullwinkle' writer dies a 81

BEVERLY HILLS, California - Chris Hayward, an Emmy-winning television writer who helped develop the bumbling animated Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right and other offbeat characters for the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show, has died. He was 81.

Hayward died of cancer Nov. 20 at this Beverly Hills home, his wife, Linda, told the Los Angeles Times in Sunday editions.

Hayward contributed satire, wordplay and puns for "Rocky and His Friends," a witty cartoon that built a large adult following. The show debuted on ABC in 1959 and was renamed "The Bullwinkle Show" when it moved to NBC in 1961.

Besides its titular flying squirrel and moose, the hit show featured segments including Mr. Peabody, a time-traveling dog with a boy companion, and Dudley, a klutzy hero always in pursuit of his nemesis Snidely Whiplash.

The first episode Hayward co-wrote for the two lead characters was "Rue Britannia," according to "The Moose That Roared" (2000), a history of the show. In the episode, Bullwinkle has to stay in the Abominable Manor in England.

"Shucks, I've been livin' in an abominable manner all my life!" the moose says.

Jay Ward, whose studio produced the show, gave very little instruction to Hayward when it came to reinventing the Do-Right character, which had been around since the late 1940s.

"It's about a stupid Mountie. Just have fun!" Hayward recalled.

The character was voiced by Bill Scott, who also was the voice behind Bullwinkle.

With partner Allan Burns, Hayward later helped create "The Munsters," and in 1968 the pair received an Emmy for their work on the CBS sitcom "He & She."

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Hayward moved to Los Angeles at age 17. He took a night class in scriptwriting at a local high school and went into television in the 1950s. He worked on "Crusader Rabbit," the first cartoon show created specifically for television, as well as "Get Smart," "My Mother the Car" and "Barney Miller."

In addition to his wife, Hayward is survived by his children, Laurel, Victoria and Tony, from a previous marriage that ended in divorce.

Silence of the Lambs is back for more

Silence of the Lambs is back for more Silence of the Lambs is probably in the running for most different releases of a major film. AS the rights continues to float from studio to studio, the film has many options on DVD. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and MGM will be putting out a new relaase this winter.

Extras on this set will include the Inside the Labyrinth: Making of The Silence of the Lambs documentary, the 2-part The Silence of the Lambs: Page to Screen documentary, the 3-part Jonathan Demme & Jodie Foster documentary, the Scoring the Silence featurette and the original EPK featurette. After all those documentaries, the disc will offer deleted scenes and bloopers, a photo gallery and trailers.

Priced at $26.98, the DVD will arrive on January 30th.

Axl: 'Chinese Democracy' Tentatively Due In March

Axl Rose has taken to Guns N' Roses' official Web site to announce a "tentative" March 6 release date for the band's eternally delayed new album, "Chinese Democracy." In the posting, Rose also revealed he has split with longtime manager Merck Mercuriadis due to disagreements over the set up for the album release.

"To say the making of this album has been an unbearably long and incomprehensible journey would be an understatement," Rose said of "Chinese Democracy," which has been in the works for more than a decade.

"Overcoming the endless and seemingly insane amount of obstacles faced by all involved, notwithstanding the emotional challenges endured by everyone -- the fans, the band, our road crew and business team -- has at many times seemed like a bad dream in which one wakes up only to find that they are still in the nightmare. Unfortunately, this time it has been played out for over a decade in real life."

Rose said he only agreed to tour with GNR this fall because he believed he and Mercuriadis "were in full agreement regarding our strategy and touring plans and, most important, that any and all things needed to release the album by Dec. 26 at the latest were in place."

"Although many things went extremely well and were very exciting, there were, in our opinion, unnecessary and avoidable complications on our tour having to do with the tour routing, scheduling and album and video plans that wreaked havoc on all involved," he continued. "This was compounded by an overall sense of a lack of respect by management for the band and crew."

Rose lashed out at management for comments suggesting "Chinese Democracy" would "just appear" in record stores on a random Tuesday before the end of the year.

"It takes approximately eight weeks for an album to hit the shelves once it has been turned in to the record company," he said. "For whatever reasons, it appears that it may have been mistakenly inferred by management that this time period could be condensed to three weeks. With that being said, this is not a promise, a lie or a guarantee, but we do wish to announce a tentative release date of March 6. This is the first time we have done this publicly for this album."

In order to properly plan for the release, GNR has canceled four January shows in Sacramento, Calif., Bakersfield, Calif., Reno, Nev., and San Diego. "In the end, it's just an album, but it's one that I, the band, our record company and all involved believe and feel is a true Guns N' Roses album," Rose concluded. "Ultimately the public will decide, and regardless of the outcome, our hearts, lives and our passion has been put into this project every step of the way."

"Chinese Democracy" is the first Guns N' Roses album since the 1993 covers collection "The Spaghetti Incident." In the ensuing decade, the group has lost every original member besides Rose and burned through a reported $13 million in recording expenses.

FoxTrot to Cease Dailies

Kansas City, MO (12/05/2006) Bill Amend’s popular FoxTrot comic strip will go to a Sunday-only publication schedule as of Dec. 31, 2006, announced Universal Press Syndicate today. The last daily will be Saturday, Dec. 30. Reruns of dailies will be available for Web usage.

“After spending close to half of my life writing and drawing FoxTrot cartoons, I think it’s time I got out of the house and tried some new things,” said Amend. “I love cartooning and I absolutely want to continue doing the strip, just not at the current all-consuming pace. I’ve been blessed over the years with a terrific syndicate, patient newspaper clients, and more support from readers than I probably deserve, and I want to assure them all that while I’ll be now a less-frequent participant on the comics pages, I’ll continue to treat my visits as the special privilege they are.”

Amend, who started the strip in April, 1988, and who has more than 1,000 client newspapers, is taking time to pursue other creative outlets. “In addition to Sunday newspapers, we may see FoxTrot entertaining us in other kinds of media platforms,” says Lee Salem, president and editor of Universal Press Syndicate.

Amend has more than 30 published FoxTrot comic collections and has licensed his characters for calendars and wallpapers for cell phones. He was nominated in 2006 as a finalist for cartoonist of the year by the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award.

ABC pulls `Day Break' and Shatner show

LOS ANGELES - ABC has turned off the lights for "Day Break" and "Show Me the Money." The low-rated series airing back-to-back on Wednesday have been pulled by the network.

The failure of "Day Break," a crime thriller starring Taye Diggs, foiled ABC's plan to effectively fill the slot vacated by "Lost" when it went on hiatus after six episodes.

ABC said Friday that repeats of the comedies " George Lopez" and "According to Jim" will air in the 9 p.m. EST time slot that "Day Break" held only briefly. The show, which debuted Nov. 15, attracted fewer than 4.5 million viewers last week and ranked 99th.

On Jan. 3, the sitcoms "Knights of Prosperity" and "In Case of Emergency" will debut in the 9-10 p.m. EST Wednesday time period. When "Lost" returns Feb. 7 with 16 new episodes it will move to 10 p.m. EST Wednesday.

ABC gave "Lost" an extended break to avoid airing repeats of the densely plotted show and provoking fan irritation.

"Show Me the Money," hosted by William Shatner, will be replaced in the short term by sitcom reruns, ABC said. The network had hoped to duplicate the success of NBC's "Deal or No Deal" but the shrinking audience for Shatner's show had dropped to 7.1 million last week.

"Deal or No Deal," in comparison, attracted more than 17 million viewers the same week.

Viewers will be able to follow "Day Break" online at ABC.com, at least for now. Thirteen episodes of the show were produced but an ABC spokeswoman wasn't sure if all remaining episodes would be available at the web site.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

TV offers competing Yule logs on Dec. 25

NEW YORK - There's a Yule duel brewing this Christmas day. Not one, but two separate versions of "The Yule Log," one of television's oddest yet most heartwarming holiday habits, will beckon families as they open their gifts.

There's the traditional log, burning brightly since filmed by New York's WPIX-TV in 1970, and another that will air uninterrupted for 24 hours on INHD, with a high-definition picture so crisp you'll be tempted to reach for a poker.

For many years a peculiarly New York tradition, both Yule logs will now glow in most of the country.

It seems silly: Why would anyone want to fill their television screen with a picture of a burning log, backed by a soundtrack of Christmas carols? Yet its inventor bet correctly that "The Yule Log" would resonate with New Yorkers sentimental for the notion of home and hearth while living in apartments without fireplaces.

Christmas is also a day to slow down, to set aside life's frenetic pace for enjoyment of family, and nothing symbolizes that unhurried attitude better than a picture that doesn't change for hours.

"In a way, it was the first music video," said Mitch Thrower, whose father came up with the idea, "and the star was a burning log."

The log has burned for so long, at least in New York, that many anticipate its return as they do eggnog or ornaments.

"There's a sentimental attachment to it," said Chip Arcuri, who painstakingly re-recorded the soundtrack for this year's showing. "When you watch `The Yule Log,' at least for me personally, it brings back such poignant and personal memories of growing up."

Arcuri may be more attached than most. He and a friend started a Web site devoted to "The Yule Log," and he's watched it so often he knows when the sparks fly up from the right side of the log.

Mitch's dad, Fred Thrower, then general manager of WPIX, lit the log in 1966. He was looking to do something different as a holiday gift for viewers, and figured it wasn't much of a sacrifice to cancel the scheduled Christmas Eve showing of roller derby and substitute a three-hour televised fireplace.

Gracie Mansion, the home of New York City's mayors, volunteered its majestic fireplace — a move it regretted when a spark burned a hole in a valuable oriental rug.

The original Yule log lasted only four years before the film wore down and a new one had to be made in Palo Alto, Calif. That's the one still in use today, a seven-minute film loop that keeps repeating.

"The Yule Log" was gradually cut down to two hours and moved to Christmas morning (Christmas Eve commercial time was considered too valuable). Then, after it ran in 1989, it met the fate of just about every television show — it was canceled.

Fortunately for Arcuri, he'd made a videotape copy of "The Yule Log," so his family kept watching. Others were out of luck, until WPIX decided to revive the tradition for a wounded city in 2001.

"The Yule Log" film was tracked down in the station's New Jersey archive where it was misfiled in a film can for a "Honeymooners" episode entitled "A Dog's Life."

"We have a good habit, depending on your perspective, of not throwing things out," said Betty Ellen Berlamino, the station's general manager.

Paradoxically, "The Yule Log" does very well in the ratings. That's one of the reasons WPIX decided to restore the show to its original three-hour version for this year's 40th anniversary, and make a one-hour special on its origins. Its title, "The WPIX Yule Log: A Log's Life," is a winking reference to the film can where it was found again.

Restoring the original soundtrack wasn't easy. Some of the songs had been cut, others shortened. The soundtrack is filled with mid-1960s easy listening artists, and WPIX didn't have a discography. Of the 70 selections, 34 are out-of-print and 12 had never been on CD.

Enter Arcuri. A holiday music collector, he owned every one of the 70 songs. He helped digitally remaster the soundtrack, and expressed surprise when WPIX insisted he be paid for his work. Now there's even a Yule log podcast available.

Jason Patton lived in the New York area for many years and considers himself a passionate Yule log fan. He's now vice president for business development on INHD, a network that caters to some of the estimated 24 million homes with a high-def set.

He thought a new version of "The Yule Log" would be a great way of letting HDTV owners show off their pictures to friends and family at the holidays. The INHD Yule log has been airing since 2003 and, since the number of HDTV owners has been doubling every year, is available to many more people each year. It will air for 24 hours starting 7 a.m. EST on Christmas.

His was filmed by Ron Roy, the guy behind those computer screen savers that look like tropical fish tanks.

Patton, of course, thinks his Yule log is superior to the competition.

"This Yule log is filmed in high-definition," Patton said. "I think they're still using the one made in 1970. It's a grainy film. It looks like it's 30 years old and it's not going to fill up the full screen."

The WPIX Yule log will air on 10 other stations also owned by Tribune Broadcasting, and on the WGN superstation.

There's no question which log will be burning Christmas morning in the Arcuri home.

"They can't hold a candle to the WPIX Yule log," he said. "There was something special about the fireplace they used. It was just magnificent. And the fire itself — it was a roaring, happy, mesmerizing fire. You can't compare to the original."

Smith finds "Happyness" atop box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Will Smith's new film is No. 1 with weekend moviegoers, if not with English teachers.

His rags-to-riches tale "The Pursuit of Happyness," a rare foray into fact-based drama for the rapper-turned-comedian, sold about $27 million worth of tickets during its first three days of release across North America, distributor Columbia Pictures said on Sunday.

Also new were the fantasy "Eragon" at No. 2 with $23.4 million, and the children's adaptation "Charlotte's Web" at No. 3 with a modest $12 million. (Figures are for the period beginning December 15.)

Last weekend's champion, Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto," slid to No. 6 with $7.7 million. The 10-day total for the violent saga stands at $27.9 million. Distributor Walt Disney Co. said it was happy with the film's performance, even though its 49 percent drop was easily the steepest in the top 10.

The romantic comedy "The Holiday," which also opened last weekend, fell three places to No. 5 with $8.2 million, down 36 percent. Columbia's Nancy Meyers-directed film, starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, has earned $25.3 million to date. Meyers' previous film, 2003's "Something's Gotta Give," had earned $33 million at the same stage in its run.

"The Pursuit of Happyness" marks Columbia's 13th chart-topper this year, extending the record that it set at No. 10. The Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news).-owned studio has grossed a record $1.58 billion so far this year at the domestic box office, also setting a new record, the studio said. Columbia set the previous record of $1.57 billion in 2002, the year that it launched "Spider-Man."

Smith's movie, which the studio said cost just over $50 million to make, is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a homeless entrepreneur and single father who eventually became a successful stockbroker. Smith's own son, Jaden, plays his on-screen son.

Columbia said it had hoped for an opening in the low $20 million range. The audience was mostly female and older, according to exit polling data provided by the studio.

"Whether he's doing action, adventure or comedy, audiences love him," said Rory Bruer, Columbia's president of domestic theatrical distribution.

"Eragon" is based on Christopher Paolini's fantasy novel about a farm boy and his flying dragon two millennia ago, and accordingly appealed to the same youngsters who flocked to the "Lord of the Rings" movies. The film was released by News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, which said it cost just over $100 million to make. The studio had hoped for an opening in the high-teens.

Paramount Pictures' "Charlotte's Web" cost in the $80 million range to make, and its $12 million opening met the Viacom Inc.-owned studio's expectations. Based on the E.B. White novel, the live-action/computer-animated film revolves around the friendship between the titular spider (voiced by Julia Roberts) and a pig named Wilbur.

Paramount also opened the acclaimed musical "Dreamgirls" in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco ahead of its national rollout on Christmas Day. The film grossed a staggering $360,000 from 21 screenings, though the tally was boosted by the $25 ticket price. Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and newcomer Jennifer Hudson star in the adaptation of the Broadway musical loosely based on the story of the Supremes.

The Couch Potato Report - December 16th, 2006

This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on a joyeux noel, the end of silence, a beerfest, Robin Hood, Miami vice and more!

There are many films and programs that people watch every year at Christmas. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS and SCROOGED are just five examples, but I could easily make the list a dozen titles long.

Now, there is a new film for you to watch every December, its called JOYEUX NOEL.

On December 24, 1914 a spontaneous, unscheduled, and unapproved truce took place between German, French and Scottish soldiers along the front lines during the first World War.

The soldiers exchanged cigarettes, food and alcohol, played soccer, and allowed the removal and burial of dead soldiers from no mans land.

JOYEUX NOEL is a French-made film with subtitles that is a fictionalized account of this truce.

I think that JOYEUX NOEL is a wonderful film and it will be a film I watch every year with the other Holiday themed movies I enjoy, but before you think the whole film is warm and fuzzy, it does take place during war, and the film does begin with the brutal realities of same.

But as night falls on Christmas Eve, the fighting stops and the best part of the movie begins, and that good stuff includes music.

JOYEUX NOEL is a beautiful film and i fyou are looking for a new classic to enjoy this holiday season, search it out.

And if you are looking for a quite, odd, yet somehow interesting Canadian film try and find THE END OF SILENCE.

THE END OF SILENCE is an interesting, slow moving story about a Russian ballerina and her new relationship with an antiques salesman...and his ex-wife.

Canadian singer Sarah Harmer plays the ex-wife, and she does a decent acting job.

Decent is also the word I would use to describe the whole film - it isn't great, it isn't horrible, it isn't good, it isn't bad...it is decent.

It is a movie about what isn't said and what happens in the silent space between words.

THE END OF SILENCE isn't anywhere near one of the best films of the year, but I still enjoyed it.

THE END OF SILENCE uses good acting and writing to tell it's story, our next film eschews both of those things. Instead, it uses beer

As we move now into a brief recap of some other films that came out over the past few weeks, I start with BEERFEST, the latest film from the Broken Lizard comedy troupe and the people who gave us SUPER TROOPERS.

In BEERFEST two brothers travel to Germany for Oktoberfest, only to stumble upon a secret, centuries-old competition described as a "Fight Club" with beer games.

If you like movies that are very funny at times, and not funny at all at other times, than this sophmoric movie is for you. Otherwise, ignore it.

As a fan of the eighties TV series MIAMI VICE I couldn't ignore the fact that there was a movie version of the series released to theatres this year.

And now that movie is a DVD with a different version of the film that played in theatres.

MIAMI VICE, the show and the movie, are about Sonny Crocket and Ricardo Tubbs, two undercover cops in Miami.

I loved and love the TV series and when I saw the film version of MIAMI VICE in theatres I have to admit I didn't care for it.

But the version of the movie that appears on DVD is much better, and very reminicent of the series that spawned it.

If you have enjoyed the movies HEAT and COLLATERAL, two other movies directed by Michael Mann, then I think you'll enjoy the DVD version of MIAMI VICE, starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as Crocket and Tubbs.

Another movie that came out while I was away is Walt Disney's classic animated version of ROBIN HOOD

Walt Disney's version of ROBIN HOOD came out when I was 5, and everytime I watch it I feel that old again, and I like that feeling.

Plus, this new MOST WANTED EDITION has a newly restored picture, so it it looks and sounds better than ever.

Now, the final movie I have for you is PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST.

I had planned to offer my thoughts and opinions on this second film in the theatrical series about Captain Jack Sparrow, William Turner and Elizabeth Swann, but on the first day it was released it sold almost 5 million DVDs.

Then, in it's first week of release, it sold over 10 and a half million copies, making it the biggest home video debut of any new release this year.

DEAD MAN'S CHEST is now poised to become the number one live-action DVD of all time, an honour that currently belongs to the original PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN that went on to sell more than 18 million units.

So, with all of the attention and sales that it is garnering, why do I bother telling you about the film? I mean, does it really need any attention at all from me?

Well, normally I wouldn't bother, but I just enjoyed the darn film so much, I felt like sharing.

Plus, it gives me another opportunity to tell my favourite pirate joke of all time:

What is a pirates favourite letter of the alphabet? Arrrrrrrrrrr!!

Ah, I love that Joke!

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAN MAN'S CHEST, ROBIN HOOD - THE MOST WANTED EDITION, MIAMI VICE and BEERFEST are all available on now on DVD, along with the enjoyable Canadian movie THE END OF SILENCE and the new Holiday classic JOYEUX NOEL.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

I will discuss the two highest grossing Canadian films of all time BON COP BAD COP and PORKY'S because they are both new on DVD and I'll also tell you about a television show called KENNY VS SPENNY that I just couldn't stop watching, even when I really wanted to!!

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven 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!

CRTC changing radio content rules

OTTAWA (CP) — The CRTC says it’s going to make commercial radio stations air more Canadian jazz, blues and concert music.

The federal regulator also says it’s going to almost double the amount of money it collects from radio stations to support Canadian talent.

The ruling says the requirement for broadcasting jazz and blues will rise to 25 per cent of the broadcast week from 10 per cent.

The requirement to air Canadian concert music will rise to 20 per cent from 10 per cent.

The levies for the support of Canadian talent had been based on the size of the market served by each station, but now the commission plans to vary the levies according to revenues.

Stations at the low end will pay a flat $500 and the biggest money makers will pay a flat $1,000 plus 0.5 per cent of over revenues over $1.25 million.

Dragon, spider menace Will Smith at box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Two high-profile family films and an adult drama starring Will Smith will duke it out for the top spot at the weekend box office.

Most industry observers agree that "Eragon," "Charlotte's Web" and Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness" will each end up in the $20 million range, but in which order is anyone's guess.

Fox's "Eragon" is tracking best with the Fandango crowd, but that's to be expected; the film about a magical dragon is attracting the "Lord of the Rings" set that is more likely to use the Internet to buy its tickets, according to the movie-ticketing site. Surprisingly, a lot of women are buying advance tickets, Fandango said.

From first-time director Stefen Fangmeier, "Eragon" is based on the novel by Christopher Paolini, who wrote the story at age 15 and originally self-published it on the Internet. The PG film stars newcomer Ed Speleers as Eragon, a boy who stumbles upon a dragon's egg and discovers that he's the one person who can defend his home against an evil king. Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and Djimon Hounsou co-star.

Smith is a proven commodity at the box office. The rapper-turned-actor has opened his past four films north of $40 million. But it's not clear if he can do it with "Happyness." His previous movies have been high-grossing comedies ("Hitch"), action movies ("I, Robot") or a combination of the two ("Bad Boys II," "Men in Black II"). His dramatic turns, however, have not fared as well at the boxoffice; "Ali," for example, opened to $14.7 million in 2001.

This time around, Smith plays a struggling salesman who takes custody of his son as he embraces a life-changing professional endeavor. "Happyness" is likely to have a bigger bow than the Muhammad Ali biopic, but getting into the stratosphere of "Hitch" box office isn't a guarantee. The film has been tracking well with audiences and could be the big winner of the weekend, depending on which audience group has more free time. "Happyness" also should get an added boost from Thursday's Golden Globe nomination for Smith. "Happyness" is directed by Italian helmer Gabriele Muccino and co-stars Thandie Newton and Smith's son Jaden Christopher Syre Smith.

Based on the E.B. White novel, the live-action/computer-animated "Web" is set to bow better than "Stuart Little," the White adaptation that opened to $15 million for Columbia Pictures in 1999. Starring Dakota Fanning and the voice talent of Julia Roberts and Steve Buscemi, the Paramount release was directed by Gary Winick.

Paramount also opens its Oscar contender "Dreamgirls" in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. The PG-13 film, which received five Golden Globe nominations Thursday, stars Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. Bill Condon ("Kinsey") directed the musical, which has received very strong early reviews. The film expands nationally Christmas Day.

Warner Bros. Pictures opens the Steven Soderbergh-directed "The Good German" in five theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto. The black-and-white R-rated movie stars George Clooney as a journalist in postwar Berlin who is drawn into a murder investigation involving his former mistress and his driver, played respectively by Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire.

Who's won what leading up to the Oscars

The Oscars are almost as much about momentum as the films themselves.

Here's a list of what honours the top movies have won (so far) this awards season:

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

Best documentary: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Online

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BABEL

Best picture: Golden Globe nomination

Best supporting actor, Brad Pitt: Golden Globe nomination

Best supporting actress, Rinko Kikuchi: Golden Globe nomination

Best supporting actress, Adriana Barraza: Golden Globe nomination

Best director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu: Golden Globe nomination

Best screenplay, Guillermo Arriaga: Golden Globe nomination

Top 10 lists: American Film Institute, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Online

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BLOOD DIAMOND

Best actor, Leonardo DiCaprio: Golden Globe nomination

Best supporting actor, Djimon Hounsou: National Board of Review

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THE DEPARTED

Best picture: Golden Globe nomination, Boston Society of Film Critics

Best actor, Leonardo DiCaprio: Golden Globe nomination

Best supporting actor, Jack Nicholson: Golden Globe nomination

Best supporting actor, Mark Wahlberg: Golden Globe nomination, Boston Society of Film Critics

Best director, Martin Scorsese: Golden Globe nomination, Boston Society of Film Critics, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle

Best screenplay, William Monahan: Golden Globe nomination, Boston Society of Film Critics

Top 10 lists: National Board of Review

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THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

Best picture: Golden Globe nomination

Best actress, Meryl Streep: Golden Globe nomination

Top 10 lists: American Film Institute, National Board of Review

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DREAMGIRLS

Best picture: Golden Globe nomination

Best actress, Beyonce Knowles: Golden Globe nomination

Best supporting actress, Jennifer Hudson: Golden Globe nomination, New York Film Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Online

Best supporting actor, Eddie Murphy: Golden Globe nomination

Top 10 lists: American Film Institute

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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Best supporting actress, Catherine O'Hara: National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Online

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HALF NELSON

Best supporting actress, Shareeka Epps: Boston Society of Film Critics

Best first film: New York Film Critics Circle

Best new filmmaker, Ryan Fleck: Boston Society of Film Critics

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HAPPY FEET

Best animated feature: Golden Globe nomination, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Online

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THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Best actor, Forest Whitaker: Golden Globe nomination, Boston Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Online

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LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

Best picture: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review

Best foreign film: Golden Globe nomination

Best director, Clint Eastwood: Golden Globe nomination

Top 10 lists: American Film Institute

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LITTLE CHILDREN

Best picture: Golden Globe nomination

Best actress, Kate Winslet: Golden Globe nomination

Best screenplay, Todd Field and Tom Perrotta: Golden Globe nomination

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LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Best picture: Golden Globe nomination

Best actress, Toni Collette: Golden Globe nomination

Top 10 lists: American Film Institute, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Online

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THE QUEEN

Best picture: Golden Globe nomination, New York Film Critics Online

Best actress, Helen Mirren: Golden Globe nomination, Boston Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Online

Best supporting actor, Michael Sheen: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Online

Best director, Stephen Frears: Golden Globe nomination, New York Film Critics Online

Best screenplay, Peter Morgan: Golden Globe nomination, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Online

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UNITED 93

Best picture: New York Film Critics Circle

Best director, Paul Greengrass: Los Angeles Film Critics Association

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VOLVER

Best actress, Penelope Cruz: Golden Globe nomination

Best foreign language film: Golden Globe nomination, National Board of Review

Top 10 lists: New York Film Critics Online

New media not hurting traditional broadcasting: CRTC

New media technologies are not yet having significant impact on traditional radio and television broadcasting, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said in a report released Thursday.

But Canadians are moving toward adopting video and audio streamed over the internet and mobile networks and Canada's regulatory environment will have to adapt, the federal regulator said.

In the report, titled The Future Environment Facing the Canadian Broadcasting System, it noted that both private broadcasters and the CBC had urged initiatives to regulate new media.

But the CRTC rejected those calls, saying the time was not yet right to create new rules that would force internet and wireless broadcasters to include Canadian content or meet other standards it demands from conventional broadcasters.

Most Canadians continue to listen to conventional AM and FM radio and get most of their TV from conventional broadcasters, the CTRC found.

It estimates it will be another 10 years before a significant number of Canadians want "on-demand" media, such as video downloads and podcasting.

Young people stimulating change

Statistics gathered by the CRTC show younger generations are taking to these technologies in large numbers and the number of hours they spend listening to radio and watching TV is declining.

Canadians aged 12 to 14 and 15 to 19 listened to an average of 13 hours of radio weekly in 2005, but in just one year they had reduced their radio listening by up to three hours.

In 2006, the 12 to 14-year olds were listening to just 10 hours and the 15 to 19-year-olds 12 hours.

Yet average hours spent listening to radio have remained constant since 2000, with FM radio gaining ground against AM radio, which is losing listeners.

Private radio continues to make money, but digital radio seems to be stalled in Canada with Canadians unwilling to buy receivers with little new content and broadcasters unwilling to invest in content without ready listeners, the report said.

While podcasting is available, only eight per cent of Canadians had listened to a podcast within the past month.

Teenagers were watching less TV than they did three years ago and were more likely to have downloaded a TV show from the internet than any other demographic.

Most Canadians still watch traditional television

But the majority of Canadians still watch conventional TV, with half of households receiving cable and 29 per cent getting digital cable.

The CRTC pointed to the financial health of private TV companies and said they did not appear to have been hurt by new media.

Canadians have been slower than Americans to adopt Personal Video Recorders, or PVRs. Their technology allows the downloading of programs. Candians have expressed interest in PVRs, however.

Canada also lags the U.S. in introducing digital TV and high-definition TV.

The CRTC acknowledged in its report that all emerging technologies in broadcasting need close monitoring to determine their long-term impact on the sector and what role public policy might play.

"The Canadian broadcasting system must remain relevant in a global digital environment and must meet the diverse needs of Canadians of all cultures," said CRTC chairman Charles Dalfen.

The report is just one step in an ongoing review by the CRTC of its regulatory frameworks for radio, television and broadcasting distribution.

A report on high-definition TV is scheduled to come out next February and the regulation throughout the television broadcasting is also under review.

Writers Guild Loves NBC, 'Simpsons'

Want to see good writing on television, particularly among new shows? Turn on NBC.

That, at least, is the opinion of members of the Writers Guild of America, which handed the Peacock the most nominations of any network for its annual television awards. NBC picked up 13 nominations in the entertainment categories, including four of the five nods for best new series: "Friday Night Lights," "Heroes," "30 Rock" and "Studio 60" (ABC's "Ugly Betty" is the fifth).

PBS also earned 13 nominations, thanks mostly to its complete dominance in the documentary categories.

Another NBC show, "The Office," picked up three nominations, one for best comedy series and two for individual episodes. ABC's "Desperate Housewives" also earned two individual nods. "The Simpsons" earned four of the six spots in the animation category, the most of any entertainment show.

PBS' investigative series "Frontline" garnered the most nominations of any show, grabbing all five slots in the documentary/current events category. "American Experience" picked up four nominations.

The WGA will hand out its awards on Sunday, Feb. 11 at ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Below is a partial list of nominees; the full list is here.

Drama Series

"24" (FOX)
"Deadwood" (HBO)
"Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
"Lost" (ABC)
"The Sopranos" (HBO)

Comedy Series

"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Arrested Development" (FOX)
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO)
"Entourage" (HBO)
"The Office" (NBC)

New Series

"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Friday Night Lights" (NBC)
"Heroes" (NBC)
"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (NBC)
"Ugly Betty" (ABC)

Comedy/Variety Series

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)
"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (NBC)
"Penn & Teller: Bulls**t!" (Showtime)
"Real Time with Bill Maher" (HBO)
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)

Episodic Drama

Eli Attie and John Wells, "Election Day Part II" ("The West Wing," NBC)
Ronald D. Moore, "Occupation/Precipice" ("Battlestar Galactica," Sci Fi)
Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim, "Two for the Road" ("Lost," ABC)
Lawrence D. Cohen, based on a short story by Stephen King, "The End of the Whole Mess" ("Nightmares & Dreamscapes," TNT)
Aaron Sorkin, "Pilot" ("Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," NBC)
Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer, "Pilot" ("Big Love," HBO)

Episodic Comedy

Kevin Murphy and Jenna Bans, "It Takes Two" ("Desperate Housewives," ABC)
Josh Senter, "Don't Look at Me" ("Desperate Housewives, ABC")
Rob Ulin, "Bomb Shelter" ("Malcolm in the Middle," FOX)
Steve Carell, "Casino Night" ("The Office," NBC)
Paul Lieberstein, "The Coup" ("The Office," NBC)
Vali Chandrasekaran, "Jump for Joy" ("My Name Is Earl," NBC)

Long Form - Original

Alan Geoffrion, "Broken Trail" (AMC)
Nevin Schreiner, "Flight 93" (A&E)
Max Enscoe and Annie DeYoung, "The Ron Clark Story" (TNT)

Animation

John Frink, "The Italian Bob" ("The Simpsons," FOX)
Marsha Griffin, "Who's Your Daddy?" ("The Life and Times of Juniper Lee," Cartoon Network)
Jim Dauterive, "Church Hopping" ("King of the Hill," FOX)
Dan Castellaneta and Deb Lacusta, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore" ("The Simpsons")
Don Payne, "Simpsons Christmas Stories" ("The Simpsons")
Matt Selman, "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" ("The Simpsons")

Music pioneer Ahmet Ertegun dies at 83

NEW YORK - Ahmet Ertegun, who helped define American music as the founder of Atlantic Records, a label that popularized the gritty R&B of Ray Charles, the classic soul of Aretha Franklin and the British rock of the Rolling Stones, died Thursday at 83, his spokesman said.

Ertegun remained connected to the music scene until his last days — it was at an Oct. 29 concert by the Rolling Stones at the Beacon Theatre in New York where Ertegun fell, suffered a head injury and was hospitalized. He later slipped into a coma.

"He was in a coma and expired today with his family at his bedside," said Dr. Howard A. Riina, Ertegun's neurosurgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Ertegun will be buried in a private ceremony in his native Turkey, said Bob Kaus, a spokesman for Ertegun and Atlantic Records. A memorial service will be conducted in New York after New Year's.

Ertegun, a Turkish ambassador's son, started collecting records for fun, but would later became one of the music industry's most powerful figures with Atlantic, which he founded in 1947.

The label first made its name with rhythm and blues by Charles and Big Joe Turner, but later diversified, making Franklin the Queen of Soul as well as carrying the banner of British rock (with the Rolling Stones, Cream, Led Zeppelin) and American pop (with Sonny and Cher, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and others).

Today, the company, part of Warner Music Group, is the home to artists including Kid Rock, James Blunt, T.I., and Missy Elliott.

Ertegun's love of music began with jazz, back when he and his late brother Nesuhi (an esteemed producer of such jazz acts as Charles Mingus and Ornette Coleman) used to hang around with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington in the clubs of Washington, D.C.

"My father was a diplomat who was ambassador to Switzerland, France and England before he became ambassador to the United States, and we lived in all those countries and we always had music in the house, and a lot of it was a kind of popular music, and we heard a lot of jazz," Ertegun recalled in an interview with The Associated Press. "By the time we came to Washington, we were collecting records and we amassed a collection of some 25,000 blues and jazz records."

Ertegun parlayed his love of music into a career when he founded Atlantic with partner Herb Abramson and a $10,000 loan. When the label first started, it made its name with blues-edged recordings by acts such as Ruth Brown.

Despite his privileged background, which included attending prep school and socializing with Washington's elite, Ertegun was able to mix with all kinds of people — an attribute that made him not just a marketer of black music, but a part of it, said Jerry Wexler.

"The transition between these two worlds is one of Ahmet's most distinguishing characteristics," Wexler said.

Black music was the backbone of the label for years — it was Atlantic, under Wexler's production genius, that helped make Franklin the top black female singer of her day.

"We had some pop music — we had Bobby Darin ... and we developed other pop artists such as Sonny and Cher and Bette Midler and so on," said Ertegun. "But we had been most effective that set a style as purveyors of African-American music. And we were the kings of that until the arrival of Motown Records, which was long after we started."

But once music tastes changed, Ertegun switched gears and helped bring on the British invasion in the '60s.

"If Atlantic had restricted itself to R&B music, I have no doubt that it would be extinct today," Wexler said.

Instead, it became even bigger.

In later years, Ertegun signed Midler, Roberta Flack and ABBA. He had a gift for being able to pick out what would be a commercial smash, said the late producer Arif Mardin, who remembered one session where he was working with the Bee Gees on an album — but was unsure of what he had produced.

"Then Ahmet came and listened to it, and said, `You've got hits here, you've got dance hits,'" Mardin once told the AP. "I was involved in such a way that I didn't see the forest for the trees. ... He was like the steadying influence."

One strength of the company was Ertegun's close relationships with many of the artists — relationships that continued even after they left his label. Midler still called for advice, and he visited Franklin's home when he dropped into Detroit.

His friendships extended to the younger generation, too, including Kid Rock and Lil' Kim.

Besides his love of music, Ertegun was also known for his love of art, and socializing. It was not uncommon to find him at a party with his wife, Mica, hanging out until all hours with friends.

Although he was slowed by triple-bypass surgery in 2001, he still went into his office almost daily to listen for his next hit.

Finding those hits were among the most wonderful moments in his life, he said.

"I've been in the studio when you go through a track and you run down a track and you know even before the singer starts singing, you know the track is swinging ... you know you have a multimillion-seller hit — and what you're working on suddenly has magic," he said. "That's the biggest."

'Babel' leads Golden Globes with 7 nods

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Helen Mirren, Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood were among the multiple nominees, while the multinational ensemble drama "Babel" led Golden Globe contenders Thursday with seven nominations including best dramatic picture.

Also nominated for best dramatic picture: the Robert Kennedy story "Bobby," the mob tale "The Departed," the suburban drama "Little Children" and the royalty-in-crisis "The Queen."

Mirren received nominations for playing both Queen Elizabeth I and II. She was nominated for dramatic movie actress for playing the current monarch in "The Queen," and for the title role in the TV miniseries "Elizabeth I." She also had a nomination for best actress in a TV miniseries or movie for "Prime Suspect: The Final Act."

Other multiple nominees included DiCaprio, who had two nominations for best dramatic film actor in "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed"; Eastwood, who had two directing nominations for his World War II companion films "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima"; and Toni Collette, nominated for best actress in a movie comedy or musical for the road-trip romp "Little Miss Sunshine" and TV supporting actress for "Tsunami: The Aftermath."

"Babel," a story of families around the globe connected by a tragic shooting in the North African desert, also had nominations for performers Brad Pitt, Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and best screenplay and musical score.

The Globes also include a category for best comedy or musical film, the nominees for which included the American culture satire "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." The movie's star, Sacha Baron Cohen, also was nominated for best actor in a movie comedy or musical.

The other best comedy or musical nominees were the fashion industry satire "The Devil Wears Prada," the Motown musical "Dreamgirls," "Little Miss Sunshine" and the tobacco tale "Thank You for Smoking."

Toronto courts Wells

Is Wells worth the money?

TORONTO (CP) - The talk in Toronto all off-season has been on how the Blue Jays seemed to be paving the way for Vernon Wells' exit by removing him from their marketing campaigns and Christmas cards.

The contract offer they've made to the all-star centre-fielder would suggest otherwise. Wells is pondering a proposed seven-year deal believed to be worth US$126 million, a package that would by far be the richest deal in franchise history.

It would also be among the largest contracts ever handed out in baseball, ranking behind those given to Alex Rodriguez ($252 million for 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million for 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million for eight years), Todd Helton ($141.5 million for 11 years) and Alfonso Soriano ($136 million, eight years).

Soriano's contract was signed this off-season and likely helped push the bar up for Wells, whose current contract expires after the 2007 campaign.

"We have made an offer and that's where it's at," Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said in an interview. "We're not going to negotiate through the press, I'm not going to say where it sits."

Greg Genske, Wells' agent, didn't immediately return a message.

The offer is the biggest ever made by Ricciardi, dwarfing the $55 million for five years he gave starter A.J. Burnett as a free agent last winter, and would be the club's largest financial commitment to a player since Carlos Delgado signed a $68-million, four-year deal after the 2000 season.

Wells is due to make $5.6 million next year and should he hit the open market next fall, he'd likely fetch even more money than what's on the table now from an industry awash in cash. But the offer is the first clear indication of how far the Blue Jays are willing to go to lock up their marquee player.

"We will not talk about contract negotiations," an unusually terse Paul Godfrey, the team president, said Wednesday. "We're not going to make any comments."

On Friday, Godfrey said the Blue Jays had set a flexible deadline of about a month to get an extension done with Wells in order to not have the issue serve as a distraction from other matters of business.

If the Blue Jays don't get Wells' signature on a new deal, they can either play him this season and take two draft picks as compensation should he leave as a free agent, or try to trade him now.

There are already thought to be a handful of potential trade partners with their eyes on Wells, including the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox.

Wells' future has been a hot topic among Blue Jays fans since last spring, when he and the club agreed to revisit the possibility of an extension this fall. Debates over the sincerity of the team's desire to keep him have been commonplace, with some wondering if another big deal could potentially become an albatross on the franchise the way Delgado's contract did.

Delgado's deal came at another hopeful time for the franchise but when the team crashed and burned on the field in 2001 and suffered staggering financial losses, the payroll was eventually cut to around $50 million with some 34 per cent of that devoted to the first baseman.

Although the annual average value of the proposed Wells deal is similar at $18 million, the Blue Jays have more to spend these days and his salary would represent about 18-19 per cent of a payroll expected to be in the neighbourhood of $95-100 million.

Still, news that Wells was no longer being used in the club's marketing campaigns triggered speculation that he would soon be trade bait. That turned up another notch at the winter meetings when the team's Christmas cards began arriving in mailboxes minus the franchise player.

The rumour mill heated up again after the winter meetings when the Blue Jays came up empty on pitchers Ted Lilly and Gil Meche. Wells' name began surfacing in trade rumours for pitching.

Ricciardi said the Blue Jays have lukewarm interest in the remaining pitchers on the free-agent market and are doing their best to find an arm for their rotation via trade. Wells is not on offer.

"We're scouring the (trade) market, just trying to do some things," he said. "I think the (free-agent) market is a little thin for us."

The Blue Jays also took care of some housekeeping Wednesday, signing backup infielder John McDonald to a $750,000, one-year contract.

McDonald, 32, batted .223 with three home runs and 23 RBIs in 104 games last season. He began the year as a backup but took over as the starting shortstop when Russ Adams faltered.

He'll share time at shortstop this season with the recently signed Royce Clayton.

'Sopranos' Back in April?

"Sopranos" fans can set their countdown clocks now: HBO has set at least an approximate premiere date for the show's final episodes.

A little note on the show's homepage at HBO.com says "'The Sopranos' final season starts in April." That's not a lot to go on, but given the sometimes huge gaps between seasons (21 months between seasons five and six, for example), the semi-firm commitment from the network should be something of a relief.

HBO had originally planned for the final "Sopranos" arc to debut next month. However, HBO chief Chris Albrecht told TV critics last summer that the show's filming schedule, and thus the premiere date, had to be pushed back after series star James Gandolfini had knee surgery.

"Then we looked at the fact that we would be launching sort of in the middle of the [NFL] playoffs and the Super Bowl and all that stuff, and it seemed that for everybody's sake we would push back a few weeks," Albrecht said then.

"Rome" got the January premiere date instead; its second season debuts Sunday, Jan. 14. HBO also says it will re-air season six of "The Sopranos" beginning in mid-January (episodes are available on demand now). Assuming the network will want to air all 12 episodes before the new season begins, the final season of "The Sopranos" likely would premiere in mid-April.

'Pirates' sequel sets DVD record for 2006

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Talk about booty. Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" tallied first-week sales of 10.5 million units, according to the studio, making it the biggest home video debut of any new release this year.

The sequel, also the top box office earner of 2006, shot to No. 1 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart for the week ending December 10, and its draft pulled the original "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" back up to No. 9 a full three years after it was released.

On trade publication Home Media Magazine's video rental chart for the week, "Dead Man's Chest" also scored an easy victory, generating an estimated $12.9 million its first week out.

"Dead Man's Chest" is now poised to be the top-selling DVD of the year, beating another Disney title, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," which was released in April and has since sold about 14 million copies.

The "Pirates" sequel also will likely become the No. 1 live-action DVD ever. That honor currently belongs to the original "Pirates," which sold 9.9 million DVDs its first week out (and another 1.1 million VHS cassettes) and went on to sell more than 18 million units, discs and cassettes combined.

The strong sales debut of "Pirates" sounded a vote of confidence among DVD boosters, many of whom were cringing in the wake of a broadcast earlier this month on NBC's "Today" in which an executive from file-sharing service BitTorrent predicted DVD's days were numbered due to digital downloading.

"With the incredible success of 'Pirates,' it is evident that the home entertainment industry continues to flourish," said Bob Chapek, president of Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment, Disney's video distribution arm.

The success of the "Pirates" DVD isn't limited to the United States. In the United Kingdom, the film sold nearly 1.5 million DVDs its first of release, a record. And in Japan, "Pirates" sold nearly 1 million units to become the No. 1 live-action movie of all time in that country.

Elsewhere on the First Alert DVD sales chart, Universal Studios' big-screen "Miami Vice" debuted at No. 2, while the previous week's best seller, "Superman Returns," slipped to No. 3.

Two animated features that have been in stores for several weeks, Disney's "Cars" and Fox's "Ice Age: The Meltdown," finished fourth and fifth for the week, while "Beerfest" debuted at No. 6, one notch above "24-Season 5."

In rental stores, "Miami Vice" debuted at No. 3, with estimated earnings of $7.9 million. "Beerfest" bowed at No. 6, with $6.1 million, more than 30% of its theatrical take.

`Raymond' dad Peter Boyle dies in NYC

NEW YORK - Peter Boyle, the actor who transformed from an angry workingman in "Joe" to a tap-dancing monster in "Young Frankenstein" and finally the comically grouchy father on "Everybody Loves Raymond," has died. He was 71.

Boyle died Tuesday evening at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He had been suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease, said his publicist, Jennifer Plante.

A member of the Christian Brothers religious order who turned to acting, the tall, prematurely balding Boyle gained notice in the title role of the 1970 sleeper hit "Joe," playing an angry, murderous bigot at odds with the emerging hippie youth culture.

Briefly typecast in tough, irate roles, Boyle began to escape the image as Robert Redford's campaign manager in "The Candidate" and left it behind entirely after "Young Frankenstein," Mel Brooks' 1974 send-up of horror films. The latter movie's defining moment came when Gene Wilder, as scientist Frederick Frankenstein, introduced his creation to an upscale audience. Boyle, decked out in tails, performed a song-and-dance routine to the Irving Berlin classic "Puttin' On the Ritz."

It showed another side of Boyle, one that would be best exploited in the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," in which he played curmudgeonly paterfamilias Frank Barone for 10 years.

"He's just obnoxious in a nice way, just for laughs," Boyle said of the character in a 2001 interview. "It's a very sweet experience having this (success) happen at a time when you basically go back over your life and see every mistake you ever made."

When Boyle tried out for the role opposite series star Ray Romano's Ray Barone, however, he was kept waiting for his audition — and he was not happy.

"He came in all hot and angry," recalled the show's creator, Phil Rosenthal, "and I hired him because I was afraid of him." But Rosenthal also noted: "I knew right away that he had a comic presence."

Boyle had first come to the public's attention more than a quarter century before, in the critically acclaimed "Joe." He met his wife, Loraine Alterman, on the set of "Young Frankenstein" when she visited as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine and Boyle, still in monster makeup, asked her for a date.

On television, he starred in "Joe Bash," an acclaimed but short-lived 1986 "dramedy" in which he played a lonely beat cop. He won an Emmy in 1996 for his guest-starring role in an episode of "The X Files," and he was nominated for "Everybody Loves Raymond" and for the 1977 TV film "Tail Gunner Joe," in which he played Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

In the 1976 film "Taxi Driver," he was the cabbie-philosopher Wizard, who counseled Robert DeNiro's violent Travis Bickle.

He did dozens of other films, including "T.R. Baskin," "F.I.S.T.," "Johnny Dangerously," "Conspiracy: Trial of the Chicago 8" (as activist David Dellinger), "The Dream Team," "Monster's Ball," "The Santa Claus," "The Santa Claus 2," "While You Were Sleeping" (in a charming turn as Sandra Bullock's future father-in-law) and "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed."

The son of a local TV personality in Philadelphia, Boyle was educated in Roman Catholic schools and spent three years in a monastery before abandoning his religious studies. He later described the experience as similar to "living in the Middle Ages."

He explained his decision to leave in 1991: "I felt the call for awhile; then I felt the normal pull of the world and the flesh."

He traveled to New York to study with Uta Hagen, supporting himself for five years with various jobs, including postal worker, waiter, maitre d' and office temp. Finally, he was cast in a road company version of "The Odd Couple." When the play reached Chicago he quit to study with that city's famed improvisational troupe Second City.

Upon returning to New York, he began to land roles in TV commercials, off-Broadway plays and finally films.

Through his wife, a friend of Yoko Ono, the actor became close friends with John Lennon. "We were both seekers after a truth, looking for a quick way to enlightenment," Boyle once said of Lennon, who was best man at his wedding.

In 1990, Boyle had a stroke and couldn't talk for six months. In 1999, he had a heart attack on the "Raymond" set. He soon regained his health, however, and returned to the series.

Despite his work in "Everybody Loves Raymond" and other Hollywood productions, Boyle made New York City his home. He and his wife had two daughters, Lucy and Amy.

Polley, Trailer Park Boys make the cut for year's top Canadian films

The latest from filmmaking duo Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn, Sarah Polley's debut as a feature film director and Trailer Park Boys: The Movie have all turned up on a list of the year's best Canadian films.

The Toronto International Film Festival Group announced its annual Canada's Top Ten list of homegrown films at an industry event hosted by actors Sylvie Moreau and Dave Foley in Toronto Tuesday evening.

In addition to Mike Clattenburg's Canadian box office hit Trailer Park Boys, the cross-country, 10-member jury panel selected Kunuk and Cohn's The Journals of Knud Rasmussen — which opened this year's Toronto International Film Festival — and Away From Her, Polley's poignant adaptation of the Alice Munro short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain.

Rounding out the unranked Top Ten list are:

- Congorama, directed by Philippe Falardeau.
- Manufactured Landscapes, directed by Jennifer Baichwal.
- Monkey Warfare, directed by Reginald Harkema.
- Radiant City, directed by Gary Burns and Jim Brown.
- Sharkwater, directed by Rob Stewart.
- Sur la trace d'Igor Rizzi, directed by Noël Mitrani.
- Un dimanche à Kigali, directed by Robert Favreau.

Diverse nature praised

Piers Handling, director and CEO of the film festival group, praised the diverse genres and subjects explored in this year's films, which range from expansive documentary to laugh-out-loud comedy.

"These films give audiences a chance to experience the stories our filmmakers are telling, challenge our notions of cinema and can even change the way we view the world," Handling said in a statement.

Organizers will screen all 10 films at Cinematheque Ontario in Toronto from Jan. 26 to Feb. 4.

As per tradition, some of the screenings will include introductions or Q&A sessions with the filmmakers.

Festival organizers have also organized three themed panel sessions: a documentary panel with Burns, Brown and Baichwal; a discussion about Quebec cinema with Falardeau, Favreau and Mitrani; and an in-depth analysis of how the low-budget Monkey Warfare was made, featuring the lead cast and creative crew of the indie film.

Established in 2001, Canada's Top Ten recognizes and celebrates the best in Canadian cinema over the past year.

To be considered for the annual list, a film must have premiered at a major Canadian film festival or had a commercial theatrical release in Canada in 2006. Features, shorts, documentaries, animation and experimental films that have premiered are all eligible.

Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson Keen On More "Zoolander"

Comedy actor Ben Stiller will soon be re-teaming with Owen Wilson for more zany adventures of Zoolander.

According to USA Today, New Line Films, Stiller and Wilson are all looking forward to another chapter of laughs about the high-fashion male model with the low-IQ.

While Stiller previously played down the possibility of a sequel after the death of his good friend Drake Sather, creator and writer of the character, he seems to think the time is right to let "Zoolander" re-emerge.

Remembering his reasoning and his friend, Stiller admits, "He was the heart and soul of all the shorts and the script. I think John (Hamburg) and I could address it, but that really took the wind out of my sails for a bit."

Sara Evans set to kick off new outing

Country singer Sara Evans, still backing her 2005 release, "Real Fine Place," will launch her next tour on New Year's Eve as she begins to map out roadwork for 2007.

Evans will play a New Year's Eve show in Mount Pleasant, IL, before hitting the road for an outing that covers the first two months of next year. The 13-city trek will take the singer to mid-February, with several shows already lined up for later on in the year, including a pair of dates in March, and three concerts set for June.

Members of Evans' fan club will have access to special pre-sale opportunities for the upcoming trek, according to the singer's website.

In October, Evans made news when she announced that she was filing for divorce from her husband, Craig Schelske. At the time, Evans also withdrew from her participation on ABC-TV's "Dancing With the Stars," citing the need to give her full attention to the couple's three children.

Evans recently teamed with the co-writers of her hit single "You'll Always Be My Baby" to produce a book based on the song. The book, co-authored by Tony Martin and Tom Shapiro, hit store shelves in November. In a press release, Evans termed it a "thank you to my fans" for standing by her during her recent marital problems.

Here are Sara's scheduled concert dates:

December 2006
31 - Mount Pleasant, MI - Soraing Eagle Casino

January 2007
12 - Charlotte, NC - Ovens Auditorium
13 - Baltimore, MD - Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
18 - Cleveland, OH - State Theatre
19 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre
27 - Springfield, MO - Shrine Mosque
28 - Cape Girardeau, MO - Show Me Center

February 2007
1 - Duluth, GA - The Gwinnett Center
9 - Williamsport, PA - Community Arts Center
11 - Wilkes Barre, PA - Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
15 - Norfolk, VA - Chrysler Hall
16 - Lancaster, PA - American Music Theater
17 - Wheeling, WV - Capital Music Hall

March 2007
24 - Valdosta, GA - Wild Adventures
25 - Winter Haven, FL - Cypress Gardens

June 2007
22 - Cadott, WI - Chippewa Valley Country Fest
23 - Rockford, IL - Davis Memorial Park
24 - Ionia, MI - Ionia Community Fairgrounds

Fans' appetite for new Guns album is undiminished

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Axl Rose's fans are hoping for a miracle this Christmas -- the release of "Chinese Democracy," the first album of original Guns N' Roses music in 15 years.

Rose, 44, the only original member of the combustible rock group, vaguely told MTV in late August that the album would hit store shelves "this year," 12 years after work started. The band is currently on a U.S. tour, its first since 2002, but the album still has no official release date.

With only a few weeks left in 2006, most Guns N' Roses fans now believe the only music they will hear on Christmas morning will be "Silent Night." During a sold-out performance at New York City's Madison Square Garden last month, Rose was mum about the album, which has cost roughly $13 million to make, according to a New York Times story in March 2005.

"Believing 'Chinese Democracy' is coming out this year is the same as believing in Santa Claus," said a fan on the popular HereTodayGoneToHell Web site (http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com) earlier this month.

Rose's manager, Merck Mercuriadis, who further stoked fan anticipation in early October when he told Rolling Stone magazine that fans "might walk into (their) record shop one Tuesday and find it there," declined to comment for this article. Interscope Records, the band's label, referred inquiries to Mercuriadis. (Albums usually go on sale on Tuesdays in the United States, a day earlier elsewhere.)

NEW SONGS, TOUR

Most of Rose's bandmates on Guns N' Roses' last album of new material, the two-volume "Use Your Illusion" set, either quit or were fired as the singer took control of the group, and then took his time recording a followup. Several waves of replacements also came and went.

Fortunately, the die-hard fans have more staying power. In January, they were sent into a frenzy when a casual Rose broke his silence to talk to Rolling Stone about the album, describing it as "complex."

That was followed in February by Internet leaks of four new songs, "Better," "I.R.S.," "Catcher in the Rye," and "There Was a Time." Two months later, Guns N' Roses announced a summer European tour, and then played four sold-out warm-up shows at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom in May.

"For the first time, we had proof that there was new material," said Eric Romano, 33, a Montreal computer technician and webmaster of http://www.MyGNRForum.com.

Finally, on August 31, Rose appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, where he said "it is this year," in response to a question about the "Chinese Democracy" release.

"That's what did it for a lot of fans," said Brian Sharma, 28, a Philadelphia lawyer and owner of two cats named "Axl" and "Rose." "Axl (had) never said that before."

"This year the excitement level hit an all-time high," said Mark Strigl, 37, co-host of "Talking Metal," a pod-cast about heavy metal. "I don't know if that excitement will ever be topped again with the hard-core fans."

A NEW HOPE?

Disappointed fans now expect the album to arrive sometime in 2007, possibly timed with the 20th anniversary of "Appetite for Destruction," the band's 1987 blockbuster debut. Some expect an official announcement in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Guns N' Roses' global audience remains formidable. The band has sold 38.5 million albums in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, while worldwide sales are estimated at more than 90 million. Guns N' Roses' "Greatest Hits," released in 2004, has sold more than 3 million copies in the U.S.

In a way, however, the absence of "Democracy" makes the online fan community that much more cohesive, Strigl said. It "gives them something to hope for."

And Rose's dependable unpredictability is part of Guns N' Roses' lasting appeal.

"He's doing it his way, which is the rock n' roll ethos," Sharma said.

Evel Knievel sues rapper Kanye West over music video

Retired motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel has filed a lawsuit against Kanye West over a music video featuring the hit rapper as a character named Evel Kanyevel who attempts to jump over a canyon while riding a rocket-powered motorcycle.

Knievel, 68, filed the lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, alleging the more than five-minute music video for Touch the Sky infringes on his trademark name and likeness.

The daredevil icon, whose real name is Robert Craig Knievel Jr., called the video "vulgar and offensive," and said the rapper "uses my image to catapult himself on the public."

The lawsuit seeks damages and a halt to further distribution of the video, which had its debut in February.

In the video, which also stars Canadian actress Pamela Anderson, West is dressed in a star-studded jumpsuit — reminiscent of the one Knievel wore during his stunt motorcycle jumps — and attempts a jump across a canyon.

The lawsuit alleges that even the vehicle used in the video is "visually indistinguishable" from the one Knievel used in his Snake River Canyon jump in 1974.

Knievel, who has been in poor health in the last few years, rose to fame in the late 1960s as a touring motorcycle stunt rider. The former salesman and fervent self-promoter was as renowned for his daring jumps as for his spectacular crashes and broken bones.

Famous attempts included the New Year's Day 1968 jump across the fountains in front of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas — a stunt that left Knievel in a coma for a month — and a jump over 13 buses at London's Wembley Stadium in 1975, when he broke his pelvis.

During the Snake River Canyon jump, Knievel's parachute deployed before he cleared the launch ramp. Although the chute carried the daredevil into the canyon, he was left with only minor injuries.

West had no comment about the lawsuit, which also names Roc-A-Fella Records, AOL and the video's director, Chris Milk. Milk's previous work includes directing West's videos for Jesus Walks and All Falls Down.

No stranger to attention-getting outbursts himself, West made a scene last month at the MTV Europe Awards when Touch the Sky lost in the best video category.

"Best video should have been mine. I should have won," West said after storming the stage in protest.

"It cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons."

Dylan, Gnarls top Rolling Stone's 2006 picks

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bob Dylan's first album in five years, "Modern Times," and the infectious Gnarls Barkley single "Crazy" topped Rolling Stone's picks for 2006, the magazine said on Tuesday.

Rolling Stone hailed the weirdness of "Modern Times," and said Dylan has not sounded so frisky since his underrated 1968 album " John Wesley Harding."

Number two on its albums list was the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Stadium Arcadium" -- "a confessional and creative triumph" -- followed by Sonic Youth's "Rather Ripped" -- "a light, simple, terse, almost-pop album."

On the singles list, Rolling Stone said "Crazy" was a song "nobody even pretended not to like." Garage rock band the Raconteurs' "Steady As She Goes" came in at No. 2, followed by rapper Chamillionaire's "Ridin."'

Canyon, Cormier lead ECMA noms

HALIFAX (CP) - Nova Scotia artists lead the way in nominations for the 2007 East Coast Music Awards.

Country singer George Canyon of Pictou County and roots artist J. P. Cormier of Cape Breton each received five nominations for the awards show to be held Feb. 18 in Halifax. Canyon picked up nods for recording of the year, entertainer of the year and male solo recording.

Cormier is nominated for bluegrass recording of the year, instrumental recording and folk recording.

Halifax-based band In-Flight Safety received four nominations, as did Halifax singer Jill Barber and Newfoundland's Ron Hynes.

Nova Scotians Charlie A'Court, Joel Plaskett, Sloan and The Trews each picked up three nominations, as did P.E.I.'s The Chucky Danger Band.

Princes' pop concert 10 years after Diana death

LONDON (Reuters) - Princes William and Harry announced plans on Tuesday to mark the 10th anniversary of their mother Princess Diana's death with a pop concert at the new Wembley Stadium in London.

Artists scheduled to appear include Elton John, Duran Duran, Joss Stone, Pharrell Williams and Bryan Ferry. The English National Ballet will also perform and Andrew Lloyd Webber will perform a medley of songs from his shows.

There will also be a church memorial service for Diana who died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

"We both wanted to put our stamp on it. We want it to represent exactly what our mother would have wanted," Prince William said in a statement.

"So therefore the church service alone isn't enough. We wanted to have this big concert full of energy, full of the sort of fun and happiness, which I know she would have wanted."

The concert, on July 1 next year, will be one of the first to be held in the new Wembley sports stadium in west London.

A long-awaited British police report into Diana's death due this week is expected to rule out foul play and could finally lay to rest conspiracy theories that she was murdered rather than that she died the victim of a tragic accident.

Deck the Halls with 'Die Hard'!

TORONTO (CP) - How do you like your holiday film fare?

Does your family look forward to hearing Tiny Tim call out his ever-optimistic toast "God bless us everyone" in "A Christmas Carol?"

Or do you prefer edgier yuletide offerings? Perhaps Bruce Willis uttering the infamous: "Now I have a machine gun. Ho. Ho. Ho." in "Die Hard"?

Whatever your preference, there's a pervading sense that they aren't making them like they used to.

This month, many households will sit down for an annual ritual - the umpteenth viewing of that well-aged classic, often one that takes them back to simpler, innocent times.

Arguably, the big five repeaters are: "A Christmas Carol" (the Alastair Sim 1951 version), "Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 original), Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), the colourful 1954 Bing Crosby musical "White Christmas" and - the most recent entry into the seasonal club - 1983's nostalgia-laden comedy "A Christmas Story."

The International Movie Database lists some 300 films with Christmas themes. Some three dozen of them are variations on Charles Dickens' immortal "A Christmas Carol." Yet only one, with Sims' indelible portrayal of the redeemed curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge, stands the test of time.

Of course some latter-day movie fans would nominate a holiday fave far removed from the old school, like the made-in-Canada slasher flick "Black Christmas" or "Die Hard," which finds Willis's steadfast cop John McClane trapped in an L.A. office tower seized by a gang of terrorist-thugs on Christmas Eve.

When he takes out one of the bad guys and arms himself for battle, McClane sends his "ho, ho, ho" message down an elevator shaft along with the bloody body.

Just oozes holiday sentiment, no?

Yet even "Die Hard" was made back in 1988, leaving many to suspect there are few, if any, films in the current pipeline destined for classic status. Perhaps Tim Allen's "Santa Clause" trilogy, or the digitally animated "Polar Express" or "The Chronicles of Narnia."

Charles Keil, a professor of cinema studies at the University of Toronto, believes Hollywood will have to step things up for another classic to emerge.

For one thing, says Keil, today's filmmakers tend to avoid purely spiritual themes (this year's "The Nativity Story" is an exception), opting instead for slapstick and special effects to appeal to a kids' market.

"The major distributors like to shy away from anything that is overtly religious - you could say Christian or sect-based - because it would alienate a good part of their audience," he explains.

"Films like 'Elf' or 'Christmas with the Kranks' are aiming for that. I mean in a way they're still about the message that supposedly Christmas brings, which is this notion of good will to all men and finding your inner good person (but) they leaven it with humour."

Today's holiday films then, adds Keil, represent our idea of spirituality in an ironic age.

Prior to "A Christmas Story" in which Depression-era kid Ralphie pines for a Red Ryder BB gun despite elders' warnings that he could shoot his eye out, Christmas favourites were oh so serious. "A Christmas Carol" - actually a bona fide ghost story - and "It's a Wonderful Life" bear extremely dark themes of despair and death before their redemptive finales.

Keil sees two reasons why some became perennial hits. They languished in the public domain for years, which means TV stations could broadcast any old print every holiday without paying royalties, giving such titles indelible public exposure.

Also, back in the days before TV and video became primary re-run outlets, Hollywood didn't make films for repeat viewings (the odd blockbuster being the exception). They would play in theatres once and then disappear into the vault.

Since then, the truly time-tested classics have emerged, not because of any marketing ploy, but because the audience genuinely loved them.

"These are films for the ages precisely because they don't seem to be calculated attempts to make the season profitable," Keil says.

Here are five favourite moments from popular holiday movies:

-Staples? In "Scrooged" (1988) Bill Murray is Frank Cross, a Scrooge-like TV executive planning a live holiday special. He shocks a stage hand who's having trouble keeping tiny antlers glued to a mouse for a miniature scene. "Have you tried staples?" Cross asks callously.

-In the finale of 1951's "A Christmas Carol" Alastair Sim's Scrooge is deliriously happy to awaken Christmas morning and find he still has time to redeem himself. He performs an impromptu headstand still wearing his nightgown, which sends his screaming housekeeper fleeing in terror.

-In "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947), little Natalie Wood, still skeptical about the existence of Santa, watches wide-eyed from the sidelines as the department store Santa her mother hired comforts a homesick orphan girl from Holland by talking and singing to her in Dutch.

-In one of the rare comic scenes from "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), Jimmy Stewart is walking comely Donna Reed home after their accidental dunking in a swimming pool. He ponders the right thing to do when Reed finds herself trapped inside a bush, apparently naked, while he holds her coat.

-In "A Christmas Story" (1988), little Ralphie's quest for a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas takes him to a grumpy department store Santa who promptly boots him down the exit slide, but not before repeating the discouraging warning already offered him by parents and teachers: "You'll shoot yer eye out, kid."

New Releases, Dec. 12: Taylor Hicks, Fantasia Barrino, Young Jeezy

Taylor Hicks "Taylor Hicks"

The most recent winner of Fox-TV's "American Idol" is finally set to drop his eponymous debut.

The Alabama native released his first single, "Do I Make You Proud," shortly after beating out runner-up Katharine McPhee to become the 2006 "American Idol" winner back in May. That single debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100.

The 13-track album features two songs penned by Hicks, "Soul Thing" and "The Deal," both of which previously appeared on Hicks' independent release, "Under the Radar." The CD also includes a cover of "Wherever I Lay My Hat," a Marvin Gaye composition that was a minor hit for singer Paul Young in the '80s.

* * *
Fantasia Barrino "Fantasia"

Another "American Idol" winner, 2004 champ Fantasia Barrino, will also deliver a new record on Tuesday (12/12).

"Fantasia" is the follow-up to 2004's "Free Yourself," a record that marked the first time in Billboard chart history that a solo artist debuted with a No. 1 record. That record spent 10 weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard's R&B albums chart, and produced two No. 1 singles: "I Believe" and "Truth Is."

The first single from the new album is "Hood Boy," which features Outkast's Big Boi on guest vocals. Other contributors include Missy Elliot, who co-wrote and produced three tracks on the album. Elliot also worked on "Free Yourself."

* * *
Young Jeezy "The Inspiration"

The "Hotlanta"-based rapper returns with his fourth studio album, "The Inspiration." The record follows 2005's popular "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101." The new, 16-track set features collaborations with Kanye West and R. Kelly.

* * *
Mary J. Blige "Reflections: A Retrospective"

Mary J. Blige has been riding high since the release of 2005's "The Breakthrough," a CD that sold more than 720,000 copies during its first week in stores and debuted at the top of the album charts. The disc--which earned a slew of Grammy nominations last week--has continued to be a strong seller in 2006, nicely setting the stage for the release of this greatest hits package.

* * *
Sonic Youth "Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities"

This CD collects hard-to-find Sonic Youth cuts from throughout the band's storied career. Many of the tracks were previously only available on vinyl, limited-release collections or European singles. All tracks have been remastered.

* * *
Other new releases:
Ornette Coleman, "To Whom Who Keeps a Record" (Water)
Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters, "One More Time" (Jasmine)
Ghostface Killah, "More Fish" (Def Jam)
Monte Procopio, "A Swingin' Time" (MP)
David Sylvian and Nine Horses, "Money for All" (Samadhi Sound)
Tyrese, "Alter Ego" (J-Records)
Various Artists, "Complete Motown Singles V.1: 1959-1961" (Universal)
Various Artists, "Rock the Bones, Vol. 4" (Frontiers)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Children of Men" (Varese)
"Eragon" (RCA)
"Fur" (Lakeshore)
"Project Runway" (Superb)
"Spring Awakening (2006 Original Broadway Cast)" (Decca)

Lost in the DVD desert

El Cid is a 1961 epic classic about the legendary Spanish hero starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren that was nominated for three Oscars.

Ishtar is a 1987 box-office flop starring Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as lounge singers caught up in a Middle East espionage tangle.

Orson Welles' Falstaff is considered the best of the legendary director's three Shakespearean adaptations, a 1965 comedy.

What do all three of these films have in common? None has yet been released on DVD in North America, even though the format turns 10 next year, next-generation, high-definition discs are on the market, and conventional wisdom holds that practically everything in Hollywood's vaults is on DVD.

Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, of Warner Bros.' 6,650-film vault, only about 1,300 movies are on DVD.

"Some are tied up with legal issues, some are a result of an inability to find good-enough elements to work from, and others are being held back for commemorative opportunities," says Warner's George Feltenstein.

Falstaff, for example, was partly financed by a Spanish company that holds the rights. The film is available on DVD in Spain, but the disc won't work on U.S. players because of regional coding, launched in 1997 to combat DVD piracy.

In many cases, Feltenstein says, a film remains in the vault simply because the studio doesn't think it will sell. "The fact that a film is old doesn't necessarily make it a classic."

What's a fan to do? Bob Graham, 54, a Missouri market research manager, bought a region-free player to watch foreign DVDs of Falstaff.

John Scheinman, 46, a reporter in Washington, D.C., is desperate to see Ishtar. "The film was pummeled in the media before it came out because of big-time cost overruns," he says. "But Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and Charles Grodin are pretty hilarious — and I, for one, would buy it on DVD."

Greg Pasqua, 40, an entertainment consultant in Burbank, Calif., would like to see Lost Horizon, the 1973 musical with Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann and George Kennedy.

"The film was coined 'Lost Investment' in Hollywood when it did poor box office and the reviews weren't very good," Pasqua says. "But it has a pretty good cult following and was once released for a limited time on laser disc."

Sometimes, fans can make it happen. A barrage of petitions led Sony to issue the cult classic Heavy Metal on DVD a few years back.

"The best current case in point is the (Richard) Donner cut of Superman II," Feltenstein says.

NOTABLES NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD IN NORTH AMERICA

-African Queen, 1951 adventure classic with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Requires extensive restoration.

-The Jazz Singer, the landmark 1927 talkie with Al Jolson. Also needs cleaning up.

-Porgy and Bess, Otto Preminger's 1959 film version, which upset the estate of composer George Gershwin.

-Ace in the Hole, Billy Wilder's 1951 noir with Kirk Douglas.

-Adventures of Don Juan, from 1948, Errol Flynn's last great swashbuckler.

-Brewster McCloud, from 1970, from the late Robert Altman.

-Song of the South, the 1946 Disney retelling of the Uncle Remus stories and one of the few Disney classics not on DVD.

'Museum' exhibits funny pals

Despite the catastrophic experiences suffered by his luckless characters, Ben Stiller has become the central figure in Hollywood's current comedy universe in part by amassing good career karma.

Everything he touches in such movies as There's Something About Mary and Meet the Fockers tends to fall apart — or get stuck in a zipper.

But even though he rarely triumphs on-screen, the intense Stiller, 41, has carved out his own cinematic empire with an all-for-one, one-for-all approach, forging screen partnerships with some of today's top scene-stealers: Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn among them.

Stiller's Night at the Museum, opening Dec. 22, is the latest result of his team-rallying. It's a cameo-filled, special-effects family comedy starring Stiller as a beleaguered security guard who discovers a curse that brings everything in the Natural History Museum to life, wreaking havoc after closing time.

For Museum, Stiller invited funny men of a different era, Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney, into his circle of film friends.

Stiller doesn't just get his pals to work for him; he also does bit parts and behind-the-scenes duty on their projects. He had a cameo role in this year's School for Scoundrels and Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.

It's a habit that evolved decades ago when Stiller was a struggling newcomer.

"Every actor is out there trying to get parts, auditioning, going to acting class and creating a network of people who are in the same position you are," he says. "I couldn't sit around and wait to get work, because it wasn't happening. I would just try to create my own projects with friends who were filmmakers."

He has had career ups and downs since those early days.

Duplex was one that flopped in 2003 despite his best efforts, and his agent advised temporarily putting his directing career on the back burner after the mixed response to 1996's The Cable Guy.

He has become one of the most influential comic stars in the business with a total career gross of $1.38 billion, thanks to mega-blockbusters such as There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, the popular Dodgeball and Along Came Polly, and cult movies Reality Bites and Flirting With Disaster.

Even when he is only signed on to act, Stiller has a reputation for getting hands-on behind the scenes. That doesn't always make him friends.

"You're automatically responsible for the movie, because there's no disclaimer that you can put in front and say, 'Hey, I'm just in the movie. Don't worry about the script, production design or direction because I'm just acting in this one,' " he says.

Making funny friends

In Night at the Museum, one of Stiller's non-acting contributions was helping round up the cast.

Look for Wilson, one of Stiller's best friends and a frequent co-star, as a tiny cowboy who feels fenced in by the museum's Old West diorama.

Robin Williams, who is new to the Stiller universe, is the animated wax figure of President Teddy Roosevelt, and British comic Ricky Gervais, the co-creator and star of the BBC's original The Office, plays a bitter museum curator.

Stiller befriended Gervais when Stiller did a guest shot as himself on Gervais' HBO series Extras, about a desperate background actor with a talent for alienating major stars.

Gervais is notoriously picky about the supporting roles he takes. But Stiller makes the persuasion sound easy: "I e-mailed him and said, 'I'm doing this movie. There's a funny part, and would you maybe think about it?' "

Gervais signed on.

In Wilson's case, he and Stiller have appeared alongside each other in Meet the Parents, Starsky & Hutch, Zoolander and The Royal Tenenbaums, among others. And Wilson got one of his first roles in Stiller's Cable Guy.

Getting him into Night at the Museum was practically telepathic: "Owen? I personally didn't even call Owen. We know each other so well, I think the thought came up, and he sensed I was doing a movie and just woke up in the middle of the night," Stiller jokes.

The film also brought together legends Van Dyke and Rooney as two old-timer guards who are handing the key rings and museum secrets to their new replacement.

"He's a very good actor, which a lot of comedians are not," says Van Dyke. "And he's a good director and a good writer. So he doesn't have to steal the show. That's why his movies are so good. He uses good people and gives them a chance to work."

The Mary Poppins star, who says he is semi-retired, is ready to be part of Stiller's Rolodex: "I was disappointed I didn't get a scene with Robin, or Owen Wilson, who I would love to work with. So … maybe later."

Stiller says his work with friends is like musicians playing on each others' records.

"We never had a troupe or anything like that. This is more informal," he says.

While he guest-stars in others' films, as in Ferrell's Anchorman and Black's Orange County, he also gets involved in the business side.

For Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Stiller helped produce and appeared on-screen as a burned-out music clerk.

Black says getting studios interested in the movie, which has caustic sex, drugs and occult jokes, required a heavy hitter such as Stiller.

"He'd come to the crucial meetings at different studios, and whenever we were in a pinch or needed some muscle, he would make the power call," says Black, who was an unknown when Stiller cast him in a supporting role in Cable Guy. "He would cut through the crap, and we'd have been lost without him doing it."

Tenacious D flopped, taking in only $8 million since Nov. 22.

Stiller got involved because he was a fan. "I just wanted to be a part of it, selfishly," he says.

More 'Glory' to come

Lots of actors want to produce and direct, but Stiller is busier than most. While promoting Night at the Museum, he is shooting a raunchy romantic comedy for Peter and Bobby Farrelly, who last worked with him on his career-making There's Something About Mary

Simultaneously, he's working with editors on Ferrell's upcoming figure-skating comedy Blades of Glory, for which he is a producer but doesn't act.

"I don't know how he does it," says Bobby during a break in shooting on a Malibu beach. "He's got 20 things going on, but somehow or other, he pulls it all off. He must work in his sleep."

Surrounded by crew and cameras, Stiller is improvising jokes for the closing dialogue. Peter Farrelly says, "I'm always trying to keep him calm, because he's got so much going on. I worry about him. I've had this conversation with him where I say, 'Just stop for a moment and enjoy this.' "

Stiller also is developing a TV pilot for his wife, actress Christine Taylor (The Brady Bunch movie, The Wedding Singer). At home, the couple have a son, 1, and a daughter, 4.

He says budgeting personal time has become more important since having kids, but his home life already is enmeshed with his career.

Taylor co-starred with him in 2001's Zoolander, which he directed, and 2004's Dodgeball, which he produced and co-starred in as the villain. Her yet-untitled TV show is a joke-altered version of their real life, and Stiller plans to direct, produce and make guest appearances — as her husband.

Mom and dad on-screen

"I think it's great to work with your family," Stiller says.

His parents are Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, who had a husband-and-wife comedy routine in the 1950s and '60s but are now better known as character actors.

They also are peppered through their son's filmography. Mom turns up in Night at the Museum as a cranky civil servant, and Dad plays his father in the Farrelly movie.

"I just knew I was going to get upstaged in every scene with him," says Ben, who guest-starred in a 2002 flashback episode of his dad's CBS sitcom The King of Queens as the father of his father's character.

How did he get Mom to do Night?

"Mom drives a really hard bargain," he jokes. "We only talk through our agents."

Though his parents were stand-up comics, Ben says he had no talent for that. Even a brief stint on Saturday Night Live wasn't for him. "I hated the pressure of it," he says. "What I like about making movies is you can do it over and over again."

After the Farrelly brothers' film, he's exploring a sequel to Zoolander, his takeoff on the modeling industry, and is producing a thriller based on the Scott Smith best seller The Ruins, which will be the first non-comedy he has overseen.

He plans to keep working with his ever-widening circle, but holding the center isn't easy.

"It's almost more difficult to work together as everybody has gotten successful. Everybody is doing their own thing, and it's sometimes hard to get together."

'Grinch' poised to ring in the big 5-0

He may have been about as "cuddly as a cactus and as charming as an eel," but the Grinch definitely has enduring appeal.

The book that introduced the grumpy, green Dr. Seuss creation who tried to thwart Christmas turns 50 next year.

To get a jump on the event, Warner Home Video last month released a 50th Birthday Deluxe Edition DVD of the animated special Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the first time it has been remastered.

"If yuletide comes, so comes the Grinch," says Audrey Geisel, 85, widow of Ted Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, who died in 1991 at age 87. "Year after year after year The Grinch came out, and that rather surprised me as the years went by, but then I finally said it's going to be there every single season."

The book, which Seuss biographer Kathleen Krull says in a DVD interview took him "a week" to write (although the ending took "months"), is a perennial favorite. The animated special over the past five years has averaged 6.4 million viewers each airing. And the DVD, says Dorinda Marticorena of Warner Home Video, "every holiday season sells so well."

The appeal, Geisel says, is the Grinch's message, of course:

Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more.

"Ted liked the Grinch particularly because it went against the normal way of looking at Christmas," says Geisel in a phone interview from her home on a hilltop in La Jolla, Calif. (Parked outside is her beloved gray 1984 Cadillac with the GRINCH plates.)

The holiday had become too materialistic, she says, and "Ted wanted to bring back the ho, ho without all the dough, dough. Making a heart grow three times is a nice thought."

The craziness of Christmas was something Dr. Seuss felt even before he wrote about the Grinch, says Bill Dreyer, curator of the Seuss art collection.

"I just reviewed an artwork that Ted created in 1938 called Xmas Chaos," Dreyer says. "This has never been seen. It's been in a private collection for 70 years. It talks about in this artwork 20 years before Grinch, the treadmill or whirlpool of the holiday. You jump on and get thrown off. It's interesting that the Grinch is the medium through which Ted delivers his philosophical idea about the holiday (being) hijacked by commercialization."

Judge rejects injunction against 'Borat'

LOS ANGELES - A judge rejected a request by two fraternity brothers to halt the DVD release of the hit spoof movie "Borat." West Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph S. Biderman also refused to order the removal of a scene that includes the two men, who claim they had been duped into misbehaving on camera.

Biderman issued his two-page decision on Friday after hearing arguments the previous day.

The South Carolina fraternity brothers filed a lawsuit Nov. 9 claiming they were tricked into making racist and sexist remarks to British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

In one scene of the mockumentary, Cohen as rowdy Kazakh journalist Borat hangs out with the men in a motor home and watches the Pamela Anderson- Tommy Lee sex tape.

The fraternity brothers claim the filmmakers got them drunk before getting them to sign release forms agreeing to appear in the film. Their names do not appear in the lawsuit.

The film "made plaintiffs the objects of ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and physical distress," the lawsuit claims.

A trial date for the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, has not been set.

Louis Petrich, an attorney for 20th Century Fox and One America Productions, said he was pleased about the judge's decision.

Calls to the plaintiffs' attorney, Olivier Taillieu, were not immediately returned.

WKRP in Cincinnati - WKRP - it's really coming out

News that Fox is releasing WKRP in Cincinnati is making the rounds thanks to a flyer that can be found inside the upcoming release of Stacked.

The studio has been working on the set for quite awhile, spending most of their time looking at the songs used in the series. As you've probably guessed, there will be music substitutions when the set comes out, but the studio has been spending a lot of time with a music supervisor to ensure that the replaced songs fit the show.

Hugh Wilson, creator of the series, has heard some of the replaced music and thought Fox did a good job.

This series was one that Fox reps said would "never" be released on DVD because of the music, but Fox is currently looking at April, 2007 for the first season set. Hopefully fans will keep an open mind and consider purchasing this set even with some of the music being replaced. We'll have more info when the set is officially announced.

NY critics pick 'United 93' as best film

NEW YORK - "United 93," which unflinchingly depicts the hijacked 9/11 flight that crashed into a Pennsylvania field, was chosen Monday as best picture of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle.

Written and directed by Paul Greengrass and featuring a cast of unknowns to give it an authentic, documentary-style feel, the film painstakingly recreates the events of that morning. It culminates with passengers bursting into the cockpit and wrestling their attackers for control of the jet, which ultimately plummets nose-first into the ground.

Marshall Fine, the group's chairman, said it was a tough vote for best picture, with critics slugging it out over "United 93," "The Queen" and "The Departed."

In choosing the winner, "I think everybody agrees it was an amazing film in terms of telling the story without pushing a political point of view," said Fine, film and TV critic for Star magazine. "It puts you right in the middle of the scene without telling you what to think or what to feel. It was really one of the most harrowing films of the year."

Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren continue to solidify their positions as Oscar front-runners: Each won the top acting prize from the New York critics, Whitaker for his thunderous portrayal of Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland" and Mirren for her withering take on Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen." Both have received the same awards in recent days from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Online.

Supporting-actor awards went to Jackie Earle Haley for his haunting turn as a sex offender in "Little Children" and Jennifer Hudson, who is emerging as an awards favorite for her showstopping performance in "Dreamgirls." She received the same honor Sunday from the New York Film Critics Online and won a breakthrough-performance award last week from the National Board of Review.

Martin Scorsese was the group's choice for best director for his Boston mob epic "The Departed."

Peter Morgan earned yet another award for his screenplay for "The Queen" after winning the same honor from Los Angeles critics and the National Board.

The penguin musical "Happy Feet" was the New York critics' choice for best animated film, while "Deliver Us From Evil," about a sexually abusive Roman Catholic priest, was their pick for best documentary. And French director Jean-Pierre Melville's "Army of Shadows," a World War II thriller that originally was made in 1969 but just released this year in the United States, was named best foreign film.

Meanwhile, the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association on Monday also announced that they've chosen "United 93" as best picture and honored Whitaker, Mirren and Scorsese.

The New York Film Critics Circle consists of 27 writers for New York-based newspapers and magazines. Last year they made "Brokeback Mountain" their top pick; in 2004, they chose "Sideways."

Classy Klassen

TORONTO (CP) — Speedskater Cindy Klassen is the winner of the 2006 Lou Marsh Award.

The award, decided by a panel of sports editors and broadcasters, is given annually to Canada’s outstanding athlete by the Toronto Star.

Klassen won a gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Turin Winter Olympics to become Canada’s most-decorated athlete in any one Games.

The Winnipeg native’s career total of six medals also makes her Canada’s most decorated Olympian.

She also captured the overall World Cup title in 2006.

Klassen edged basketball star Steve Nash, who won his second straight NBA MVP award, in a close vote.

Other finalists were American League MVP Justin Morneau, speedskater Clara Hughes, NHL MVP Joe Thornton, freestyle skier Jennifer Heil and Maurice Richard Trophy winner Jonathan Cheechoo.

The Lou Marsh Award is named after a former Toronto Star sports editor.

The panel of voters comprised representatives from the Toronto Star, The Canadian Press, the FAN590/Primetime Sports, The Globe and Mail, Sportsnet, CTV/TSN, Montreal La Presse and the National Post.

The Canadian Press announces its athlete of the year award winners later this month. The CP awards are decided by sports editors and broadcasters across the country.

Oscar favorites and long shots emerge

LOS ANGELES - If the victory of best-picture champ "Crash" over front-runner "Brokeback Mountain" last winter proved one thing, it's that nothing is ever certain at the Academy Awards.

Yet with two and a half months to go before the Oscars on Feb. 25, three seemingly sure picks and a wildly eclectic lineup of potential and long-shot contenders have emerged for Hollywood's top prize.

The consensus among Hollywood awards watchers is that the peppy musical "Dreamgirls," the bloody mob saga "The Departed" and the royalty-in-crisis drama "The Queen" are virtual locks for best-picture nominations.

Beyond that, speculation runs wild as to what two films will grab the remaining slots. Could the beloved road-trip tale "Little Miss Sunshine" overcome the academy's bias against comic stories? Might either of the year's two Sept. 11 films, "United 93" and "World Trade Center," break into the best-picture field? Will two-time best-picture winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood get back in the race with one of his World War II companion films, "Flags of Our Fathers" or "Letters From Iwo Jima"?

Here's a rundown of the three favorites and some of the most likely other possibilities:

SAFE BETS:

"Dreamgirls" — It certainly won't go down as one of Hollywood's all-time musical classics, but this adaptation of the stage hit about a Supremes-like pop trio that emerges from Detroit's Motown scene in the 1960s has everything going for it. A sharp cast led by Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and the scene-stealing Jennifer Hudson bring great vitality to the well-crafted film from director Bill Condon. And the music is irresistible, the ingredients adding up to a crowd-pleaser for academy voters and general audiences alike.

"The Departed" — Martin Scorsese is of the Oscars' most notorious bridesmaids, arguably the greatest living American filmmaker to be shut out on best-picture and director wins. The first two-thirds of his cops-and-mobsters epic is as grand as anything he's done in the genre, and despite a shaky third act, the film has the critical acclaim and box-office clout that spell best picture. It doesn't hurt to have terrific performances all-around from Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg.

"The Queen" — More likely than a best-picture nomination is the chance that Helen Mirren will walk away with the best-actress prize as Queen Elizabeth II. The universally acclaimed film from director Stephen Frears is anchored by a performance from Mirren that's equal parts withering imperiousness and deep introspection as the secluded queen copes with the crisis of Princess Diana's death in 1997. Mirren's backed by great supporting players, notably Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair and James Cromwell as Prince Philip.

OTHER CONTENDERS:

"Little Miss Sunshine" — It's one of the year's funniest movies, a handicap at the Oscars, which rarely give comedy its due. Beneath the laughs, this tale of a seriously messed-up family headed to their little girl's beauty pageant has an undercurrent of pathos bordering on tragedy. Husband-and-wife directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have crafted a heavy-duty film disguised as a road romp, and the ensemble of Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Paul Dano and Abigail Breslin are so authentic, you'd think they'd been bickering around the dinner table for years.

"Flags of Our Fathers," "Letters From Iwo Jima" — As film twofers go, Eastwood's achievement is unprecedented. In the span of two months, he's presented bookend World War II films, "Flags" focusing on the American experience at Iwo Jima, "Letters" told from the Japanese perspective. "Flags" earned solid reviews but faltered at the box office. Could the decision to bump "Letters" to late 2006 instead of its 2007 release revive "Flags" sinking Oscar prospects? Or could "Letters," which some early critics think is the better of the two films, emerge as Eastwood's big Oscar offering, despite being told in Japanese with subtitles?

"United 93," "World Trade Center" — Hollywood's first big-screen treatments of the Sept. 11 attacks were well-received by audiences and critics. Paul Greengrass' agonizingly realistic "United 93," a chronicle of passengers killed when their plane crashed after they fought back against terrorist hijackers, is the better of the two. But Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena as policeman trapped in the rubble of the twin towers, is the bigger, more Oscar-like production, with a director who's triumphed there before.

"Volver" — Penelope Cruz gives a career performance and is surrounded by a tremendous supporting ensemble in Pedro Almodovar's rich, vibrant portrait of strong women making do without fickle men. Cruz is radiant in this comic drama about a single mother dealing with strange crises, including a mother ( Carmen Maura) who seemingly has returned from the dead. Like "Letters From Iwo Jima," the Spanish-language "Volver" could become a rare foreign-language film that breaks into the best-picture pack.

"The Good Shepherd" — In his second directing effort, Robert De Niro delivers a film with all the raw materials for an Oscar champion. He just needed to whittle a good half-hour off the excessive 2-hour, 40-minute running time. There's a lot of fat De Niro could have cut off his epic saga of the CIA's founding, which stars Matt Damon as a young poetry student recruited into the intelligence game, who becomes a lifer at the Company, a true believer that the dark espionage methods he pioneers will make the world a better place.

"Babel" — "Sprawling" is an adjective that could have been invented for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's far-flung drama that unfolds on three continents as it follows American, African, Mexican and Japanese families whose lives are intertwined by tragic events. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are the marquee names, but Inarritu has assembled a group of actors mostly new to U.S. audiences whose tremendous performances cement a diffuse story into a cohesive, compelling whole.

"Children of Men" — If academy voters tend to shun comedy, they practically run from futuristic stories. Yet Alfonso Cuaron's stark, humanity-on-the-ropes thriller starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine is recognizably of our times and about our burning issues despite its setting 21 years from now. A provocative, frightening tale about a plague of infertility, the film is a bleakly beautiful study of how our prejudices, injustices and fear of outsiders might be magnified by a planet-wide crisis, and how something as simple as a baby can restore hope.

Zappa says Fraggle film will rock

The theatrical film will will feature old favorites like the main Fraggles, Traveling Matt, The Trash Heap and celebrity cameos and acclaimed musicians

Ahmet Zappa remembers the time before Paris Hilton and Kevin Federline, when celebrities earned their fame by creating something artistic — and then used their influence to make the world a better place. He remembers John Lennon singing about peace; his father, Frank Zappa, promoting independent thought; and Muppet-master Jim Henson shaping the impressionable young minds of a generation. And now he's got a new job, because Ahmet Zappa also remembers the Fraggles.

"People always come up to me and talk about my father," the 32-year-old actor/writer recently said. "My father was very political, outspoken, an amazing musician and a great dad. Jim Henson, to me, is such an icon. What [Henson] did for kids — entertainment, education, storytelling and inspiring creativity — he was just such an important person. It feels nice to be involved in another family business."

Six weeks ago, Zappa won the high-profile assignment of developing the full-length rebirth of "Fraggle Rock," the vibrant 1980s TV program Henson pitched to networks as the children's show that would end wars. Looking back now, the "Sesame Street" imaginer packed his program with messages about racial tolerance, creature codependence and even the importance of recycling. But, as Henson knew then and Zappa knows now, all that stuff often takes a back seat to the reason why people really care about the Fraggles: they're fun.

"I grew up having the Fraggles on television, singing songs that I thought were really catchy and fun," Zappa remembered, professing his love for the colorful 22-inch characters and the Gorgs, Doozers and talking trash heap that surrounded them for five seasons on HBO. "There are a lot of messages in 'Fraggle Rock' that fans have kept close to their hearts, so we have to be respectful of the television show and very respectful of Jim Henson's Fraggle message. As far as the movie's concerned, that's what we are focusing on now: how to maintain Fraggledom."

Currently, Zappa is hard at work squeezing 96 episodes into a movie that will properly reflect that same "Fraggledom" for old fans, as well as their children. Told in a contemporary context using far more human interaction, new characters and plenty of music, the movie will be produced by Henson's daughter, Lisa, and directed by his son, Brian. Barely able to contain his enthusiasm for the project, big-kid Zappa gave us a first look at what we can expect from the "Fraggle" flick.

"If you take the landscape of kids' music now, I don't personally enjoy it," said Zappa, whose debut children's book, "The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless," displayed an unrestrained imagination that impressed the Henson clan, along with a taste that seemed to connect with today's kids. "'Fraggle Rock' is good music, good instrumentation, catchy little jingles and stories that are all very sweet."

Part of that sweetness is in the nonjudgmental dependency between the different races and colors of Fraggles, and the creatures that surround them. "It's a complete ecosystem," Zappa said of Henson's idea to show children how living creatures need each other. Zappa's script will pick up with level-headed Gobo, artistic Mokey, athletic Red, nervous Wembley and chronically depressed Boober in the same underground tunnels where we left them 20 years ago, and follow the crew as they journey for the first time into "Outer Space" — or as we like to call it, the real world.

"Traveling Matt is in the movie," Zappa confirmed, referring to Gobo's adventurous uncle whose naive reports from Outer Space are indicative of the fish-out-of-water humor Zappa will embrace. "The funny part about Traveling Matt and Outer Space is he'd see a fire hydrant and assume it was a person. He thought cars were animals, that they were living organisms, and he thought elevators were people changers, because the doors would close and then open, and there'd be new people in there all the time."

For the currently untitled movie, that mentality will be applied to some of the strange things we currently take for granted. "Back when that show was made, there weren't cell phones, so imagine a Fraggle finding a cell phone," Zappa said, citing one early idea. "It's been a lot of fun putting myself in that head space. It's not every day that you wake up and imagine yourself Fraggle height and take it seriously — being that tall, what would the world look like to you?"

Zappa said the film will also reflect larger changes in the world. "A lot of things have become disposable, and there are certainly a lot of environmental changes," he observed. Invoking the name of the wise, old talking compost-heap character, he added, "A lot of bad stuff has happened since the original 'Fraggle Rock,' and Trash Heap is all-knowing. She was always my favorite character on the show, so we're going to do her some justice."

When talk turned to the monstrous neighbors that tormented Gobo's gang, however, Zappa got suspiciously tight-lipped. "I can't say too much about the Gorgs right now," he smiled cryptically. "That stuff is top secret."

Keeping the CGI to a minimum, Zappa and the Hensons plan to return to the magic of the original Muppet movies that made millions forget they were watching puppets. "There's going to be human interaction with Fraggles," he said, adding that the film will feature plenty of celebrity cameos. "If you have an actor acting opposite a puppet, they can react off the mannerisms, the maneuvers, the facial expressions; it's a character. That puppet is an actor, as well — versus CGI, which happens after the fact."

Such human-puppet interactions will also help the "Fraggle" filmmakers entice big-name bands to perform new songs with the fun-loving characters. "'Fraggle Rock' is such a music-based movie, and the show had new songs every episode — we can safely say we'll have a lot of recognizable bands," said Zappa, who has established friendships with some of the biggest names in music. "I've been inundated with calls from famous bands, songwriters, different actors, who are just huge fans of 'Fraggle Rock' that they're just like, 'I'll do anything.' There's a certain religious fervor with Fraggles."

The most coveted assignment, however, will go to the group that reinterprets one of the most infectiously catchy theme songs in TV history. "[We won't be] changing it lyrically, but that was such a recognizable song, a new version will probably be made," Zappa said.

As for the film's plot, Zappa said his script will tap into many of the same themes he tried to work into his book. "I'm writing about relationships that seem very similar to the experiences I've had in my own life," he said. "Which aren't necessarily normal — the things I experienced growing up, my sense of humor. I would think some people may assume I'm a little odd, but I think the characters in 'Fraggle Rock' will have some larger-than-life human characters. There will also be some new puppets. Puppeteered characters that are sarcastic, silly, irreverent and don't talk down to kids."

If those sound like the kind of words that would have once come from the mouth of Jim Henson, then Ahmet Zappa is remembering everything just right. "We are moving as fast as humanly possible — and Fraggily as possible," he added, saying that some major "Fraggle" details should develop after the holidays, as the filmmakers continue to eyeball a late-'08 or early-'09 release date. "The Fraggles need to be here sooner, rather than later."

MURPHY BACK IN CRITICAL FAVOR WITH 'DREAMGIRLS'

December 10, 2006 -- We never thought we'd see the day, but Eddie Murphy fans can once again hold their heads high.

After a seemingly endless stretch of mediocre, self-indulgent comedies, Murphy's supporting role in "Dreamgirls," out Friday, very nearly steals the show from both Beyoncé and her underdog rival, Jennifer Hudson.

As James "Thunder" Early, an old-school R&B singer who employs the Dreamettes (Beyoncé and Co.) as backup singers, Murphy flexes both comedy and musical muscles that one would think had atrophied from lack of use. His onstage performances - which particularly recall his James Brown impersonation from '80s-era "Saturday Night Live" - are on fire.

Perhaps Oprah said it best, when she had Murphy and the rest of the cast on her show recently: "I think we didn't know that you had that in you," she told him. (Twice.)

Given the caliber of performances we've seen from him over the last decade, it's entirely possible even Murphy himself didn't know he had that in him. Audiences and critics certainly didn't, and are reacting with delight.

"It's like the old Eddie Murphy!" says Hollywood Reporter online columnist Martin Grove. "It's a standout supporting-actor performance. He's going to get a nomination."

Sure enough, Oscar buzz is already building for Murphy, who'd be contending against some other very strong, dramatic performances this year (Jack Nicholson in "The Departed," Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children," Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine").

But none of those has nearly the comeback zing of the role that may put Murphy back on the map of cinematic respectability. As far as career moves go, it's right up there with another legendary reboot:

"It's the same sort of thing John Travolta did when he took a role in 'Pulp Fiction'," says Grove. "It showed what his real ability was, and he kind of reinvented himself."

And nobody was more overdue for a reinvention than Murphy, whose last quality performance - besides a memorable vocal turn as Donkey in "Shrek" - was in Steve Martin's relatively low-profile 1999 comedy "Bowfinger." Aside from that blip on the radar, nothing Murphy's done has made a major impact since all the way back in 1988, with "Coming to America" (and even that was greeted with a collective "Eh" by critics).

In that film, he discovered his talent for playing several roles simultaneously - remember how he turned out to be the white guy in the barbershop? - which would pave the way for later films such as "The Nutty Professor" and its sequel, in which he played eight characters.

But for an actor who starred in some of the best comedies of the early '80s - "Trading Places," "48 Hours" and "Beverly Hills Cop," not to mention two raucous (if highly un-PC) concert movies, "Delirious" and "Raw" - Murphy squandered his good buzz with astonishing speed.

Even in those early films, he began to get a reputation for being unpleasant to work with. John Landis, who directed him in "Coming to America" and "Trading Places," made his feelings public in a recent interview, describing Murphy's habitual lateness, rudeness to his fellow actors and unwillingness to rehearse.

He also became more of a control freak, starting with 1989's "Harlem Nights," which he starred in, wrote and directed. That poorly reviewed film kicked off a steady decline for the comedian that included such disasters as "Boomerang," "Beverly Hills Cop III," "Holy Man," "Showtime," and the animated TV show, "The PJs," which was criticized by Spike Lee and others for its racial stereotyping.

To say nothing of 2002's "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," which reaped some of the most scathing reviews in recent memory.

Then there were the high-grossing (and often just plain gross) family-friendly comedies: "Dr. Doolittle," "The Nutty Professor" and "Daddy Day Care."

For each, Murphy's paycheck hovered around the $20 million mark. Financially, he's come out on top. His presence alone can open a major Hollywood movie, no matter how much of a dud it ultimately turns out to be.

Still, his comments to Oprah about "Dreamgirls" were revealing:

"The movie works on so many different levels," he said. "It's beautiful, it's well-acted, it's well-photographed, it's written well. . . It was the first movie I've ever been in where I was, like, just, you know, across the board - I think it should be recognized, you know?"

We know. We couldn't agree more.

Columbia Records joins fight to save world's oldest music store

Columbia Records has joined Bob Dylan, Justin Timberlake, Super Furry Animals and other musicians in a battle to save a music shop in Wales that is recognized as the world's oldest record store.

Spillers Records, in downtown Cardiff, is listed as the oldest music store by Guinness World Records. It sold the first wax phonograph cylinders in 1894.

But its co-owner, Nick Todd, said it may be forced to close within months because the landlord, Helical Bar, wants to redevelop the building and plans to double the rent.

"The rent rise was a bombshell. We cannot sell enough records to cover that," says Nick Todd, the store's co-owner.

The store, which sells vinyl records and CDs, offers a selection of jazz, folk, reggae, metal, world and dance music.

Welsh bands such as Super Furry Animals and Manic Street Preachers have launched a campaign and called attention to the petition. They've collected signatures from major artists including Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Dylan and Timberlake.

The petition, now available online from the store's website, calls on Helical Bar to acknowledge Spillers as an asset to the city centre and to charge an affordable rent.

"Spillers was a lifeline. It gave us our musical education — the only record shop in Wales where we could find music that made us who we are," said a statement released by Manic Street Preachers.

The petition, which now has 1,700 signatures, will be delivered to the landlord but no date has been set for the presentation.

Columbia Records said this week that it was supporting the petition to keep the store's rent low.

"We are the oldest record label in the world and they are the oldest record shop," Jim Fletcher, marketing manager for Columbia, told The Independent newspaper.

"I think the idea of going down the local record shop is something we can all identify with, in the same way as people like local bookshops."

Landlord threatens to backdate rent increase

Todd is also facing another burden: his wife is the co-owner and they are going through a divorce. This means Todd will have to buy out his wife's half of the business as well as facing the store's soaring rent.

Todd said he has been entertaining offers from other buyers, but many have been put off by the rent increase.

"[The owners] said that if we sell it, they are backdating the rent and that would cripple us," Todd told the icWales website.

"I know progress and I understand about commercialism, but I don't think these people are taking into account the detriment they will cause."

Todd, who said it would break his heart to sell the store, believes he'll close its doors within six months if he can't find a buyer soon.

Prince to perform at Super Bowl halftime

NEW YORK - McCartney, Jagger and now Prince.

For the third year in a row, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act will headline the Super Bowl halftime entertainment. This time it's Prince.

The Purple One, winner of six Grammy Awards and nominated for five more this year, will play at the game in Miami on Feb. 4.

The Super Bowl, which will be televised by CBS, is annually television's highest rated show. An estimated 141 million people watched last year's game between Pittsburgh and Seattle.

The Rolling Stones headlined the halftime show for that Super Bowl, and two years ago it was Paul McCartney.

The NFL has tended to take a more cautious approach since Janet Jackson's widely criticized "wardrobe malfunction" at halftime of the 2004 game. That game also was televised by CBS.

Last year, Mick Jagger's microphone was silenced as he sang sexually suggestive lyrics in a couple of songs the Stones performed.

Prince gained attention early his career with raunchy lyrics and racy performances, but has toned down his act somewhat in recent years.

Eastwood film tops L.A. critics list

LOS ANGELES - Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima," the second of his two World War II sagas this year, was picked as the top movie of 2006 Sunday by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Set for release Dec. 20, "Letters From Iwo Jima" stars Ken Watanabe and chronicles the battle from the perspective of Japanese soldiers defending the island against U.S. troops. The film comes just two months after Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," which centers on the U.S. troops depicted in the legendary photo of the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima.

The runner-up for best picture was "The Queen," a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family in crisis after the death of Princess Diana in 1997. "The Queen" earned the group's honors for best actress for Helen Mirren, supporting actor for Michael Sheen and screenplay for Peter Morgan.

The New York Film Critics Online Awards on Sunday also were dominated by "The Queen," which earned five honors: best picture, best actress for Mirren, supporting actor for Sheen, director for Stephen Frears and screenplay for Morgan.

Also Sunday, the American Film Institute released its picks for the year's top-10 movies, including "Letters From Iwo Jima," the musical "Dreamgirls," the Sept. 11 drama "United 93" and the outrageous comedy "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

The Los Angeles critics group split its best-actor prize between Sacha Baron Cohen, who reprised his television character as a Kazakh journalist observing America in "Borat," and Forest Whitaker, who plays Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland."

The supporting-actress honor went to Luminita Gheorghiu for "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," a Romanian film about an elderly man quietly fading away as he's shuffled from hospital to hospital over the course of one night.

Paul Greengrass was named best director for "United 93," with Eastwood the runner-up.

Among other honors from the Los Angeles critics: animated film, "Happy Feet," documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" and foreign-language film, "The Lives of Others."

The flurry of film honors come at the start of Hollywood's long season leading up to the Academy Awards on Feb. 25. Critics picks often differ substantially from the films that ultimately triumph at the Oscars, though they do give a boost to the prospects of some films.

The New York Film Critics Circle releases its 2006 honors Monday, while nominations for the Golden Globes, the biggest Hollywood prizes before the Oscars, are announced Thursday.

The AFI's top-10 list also included the ensemble story "Babel," the fashion-world satire "The Devil Wears Prada," the gritty classroom drama "Half Nelson," the animated penguin romp "Happy Feet," the bank-heist thriller "Inside Man," and the road-trip tale "Little Miss Sunshine."

The AFI does not rank its picks for best films of the year. The list was chosen by a panel of 13 filmmakers, critics, scholars and AFI trustees.

A separate AFI panel picked the group's top-10 television shows of the year: "Battlestar Galactica," "Dexter," "Elizabeth I," "Friday Night Lights," "Heroes," "The Office," "South Park," "24," "The West Wing" and "The Wire."

The films and shows will be honored at an AFI luncheon in Los Angeles on Jan. 12. The Los Angeles critics awards will be presented Jan. 14.

'Apocalypto' earns $14M, resurrects Mel

LOS ANGELES - Mel Gibson's bloody epic "Apocalypto" debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie, proving the filmmaker still can deliver a winner despite his drunken-driving arrest and anti-Semitic rant last summer.

"Apocalypto," a Disney release set in the Mayan civilization and told in an obscure Mayan language, opened with $14.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It was a modest haul compared to the $83.8 million opening weekend of Gibson's last movie, the 2004 religious blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ," which went on to do $370 million domestically.

But "Apocalypto" overcame the baggage of Gibson's personal troubles as well as its difficult subject matter, which features a no-name cast in a hyper-violent tale that includes beheadings and images of hearts ripped from people's chests.

"The movie obviously succeeds on its own level. I think people probably are a bit on the surprised side around town that it's No. 1," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. "Two months ago, nobody would have bet on that."

Sony's romance "The Holiday" debuted at No. 2 with $13.5 million. Directed by Nancy Meyers, the movie stars Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Jude Law in the story of American and British women who swap homes for the holidays and find love in the process.

The Warner Bros. thriller "Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, opened at No. 5 with $8.5 million. Set against Sierra Leone's civil war in the 1990s, the film follows a mercenary pursuing a rare diamond.

Also from Warner Bros., the holiday comedy "Unaccompanied Minors," about a group of kids run amok while stranded at an airport Christmas Eve, premiered at No. 6 with $6.2 million.

The Warner Bros. animated hit "Happy Feet" and Sony's James Bond adventure "Casino Royale," which had been the top-two movies for three-straight weekends, slipped to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

"Happy Feet" took in $12.7 million, raising its total to $137.7 million. "Casino Royale" grossed $8.8 million, lifting its total to $128.9 million.

The overall box office fell sharply, with the top-12 movies grossing $86.8 million, down 25 percent from the same weekend last year, when the blockbuster "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" opened with $65.6 million.

Disney reported that Gibson's "Apocalypto" drew solid crowds across-the-board, with movie-goers equally split between men and women and the core of the audience ranging from 18 to 45.

The publicity over Gibson's problems and his contriteness since last summer may have stoked interested in "Apocalypto," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"Whenever I tell people I saw the movie, they'd be like, `You saw it? How was it?' There was a huge curiosity factor," Dergarabedian said. "A movie about Mayan civilization was never destined to be a big hit, let alone a No. 1 movie. But through Disney's marketing, which highlights Mel Gibson — I believe they associated him very closely with the movie — I think that strategy paid off."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Apocalypto," $14.2 million.
2. "The Holiday," $13.5 million.
3. "Happy Feet," $12.7 million.
4. "Casino Royale," $8.8 million.
5. "Blood Diamond," $8.5 million.
6. "Unaccompanied Minors," $6.2 million.
7. "Deja Vu," $6.1 million.
8. "The Nativity Story," $5.6 million.
9. "Deck the Halls," $3.9 million.
10. "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," $3.3 million.

Twins for Elvis Costello & Diana Krall

NEW YORK - Elvis Costello and wife Diana Krall are the parents of twin boys.

The new arrivals — named Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James — were born on Wednesday, according to a statement from the couple. "We are ecstatic!" the statement continued, going on to add that "mother and sons are doing splendidly."

The births came on the couple's third wedding anniversary. The statement provided no other details on the twins.

Costello, 52, is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer known for songs like "Veronica," "Pump It Up" and "Alison." He most recently collaborated with Allen Toussaint on the album "The River in Reverse." The 42-year-old Krall, a jazz singer, released her latest album, "From This Moment On," in September.

The couple live in New York. This is Costello's third marriage, and Krall's first.

Ono remembers John's death

As hard as it is to believe, today is the 26th anniversary of John Lennon's death.

And George Harrison's widow, Olivia, for one, likes Yoko Ono's idea to have the anniversary officially become a worldwide day of healing and peace.

"I think it's a beautiful and appropriate sentiment, especially the way things are at the moment," Harrison told The Toronto Sun last week. "Any chance for peace, that's what John would have wanted to be remembered for."

SON OF A BEATLE

Meanwhile, Lennon's son with Ono, Sean, will play a concert in Toronto next Wednesday at the Opera House.

Olivia Harrison says it's not easy being a Beatle offspring trying to make music.

"It's almost a curse, really," said Harrison, whose son with George, Dhani, has recently been in the studio.

"But you know, if that's what they have to do then they should do it, and they don't have to do it in the same way. I tell that to Dhani. 'If music is in you and you have to make music, just make it.' The only warning I would have is ... just make it for the joy of doing it, and not look for the outcome or the response. Because I think these (Beatle sons) seem to have always had to work harder to get the response that somebody else might get a little easier."

Judge to review 'Borat' fraternity suit

LOS ANGELES - A judge weighing whether to halt the DVD release of "Borat" viewed a scene from the hit film in which a group of South Carolina fraternity brothers converse with the raucous Kazakh journalist played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Biderman, after reviewing the scene Thursday, said he would review the case but did not indicate when he might issue a ruling.

Two fraternity members filed a lawsuit Nov. 9, alleging they were tricked into making racist and sexist remarks in the spoof documentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

The men, who were not named in the lawsuit, alleged the film's producers took them to a bar and, after a bout of heavy drinking, they signed release forms agreeing to appear in what they were told would be a documentary shown outside the United States.

The lawsuit claimed the film brought them "ridicule, humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress, loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community."

Attorney Olivier Taillieu, who represents the fraternity brothers, said the DVD should not be released because "further dissemination of the film is going to cause some injury to my clients."

He said one of the plaintiffs was forced to resign from his prominent position at the University of South Carolina chapter of Chi Psi. Along with barring the DVD release, the plaintiffs were seeking unspecified monetary damages.

An attorney representing 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp., questioned the plaintiffs' claim they were too drunk to understand the release forms.

"We're confident that we're going to prevail," attorney Louis Petrich said following court. "We don't think the lawsuit has any merit. We don't even agree with them on the facts."

Mayans, miners vie for box office supremacy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It's likely to be a photo finish at the box office this weekend when three wide releases targeting adults -- "Blood Diamond," "Apocalypto" and "The Holiday" -- are sent out into the marketplace.

Insiders think the female-oriented "Holiday" could break from the pack, if only because the romantic levity of the Kate Winslet- Cameron Diaz vehicle offers an alternative to the blood and guts of "Blood Diamond" and "Apocalypto."

Warner Bros' Oscar hopeful "Diamond" centers on "conflict diamonds" -- those mined in a war zone and sold clandestinely to finance war. From director Edward Zwick ("The Last Samurai"), it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a "Rhodesian" mercenary, and Djimon Hounsou as a fisherman who has hidden a rare pink diamond in the jungles of Sierra Leone.

The film tracks their quest to recover the stone. Jennifer Connelly co-stars as an American journalist looking to expose the profiteering diamond traders.

Mostly aiming to attract males, "Diamond" is hoping to broaden its appeal to women, but with talk of the film's violence, even DiCaprio's good looks and acting chops might not be enough to bring in the girls.

Extreme violence also is the lure and the deterrent surrounding Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto." Written, directed, produced and financed by Gibson before his public meltdown, "Apocalypto" has been lauded in early reviews for its sophisticated filmmaking and harrowing adventure. The R-rated film centers on the turbulent decline of the Mayan civilization and follows one man's will to survive to rescue his family.

With no name actors, the film is all about Gibson's moviemaking bravura, and its ultra-violent nature is sure to turn men on and women off. However, because of the curiosity surrounding the film, "Apocalypto" is sure to bring in audiences, and it will fight tooth and nail with "Diamond" for box office ranking.

And then there is "Holiday," from director Nancy Meyers, the queen of romantic comedies. The PG-13 film, also starring Jude Law and Jack Black, centers on an American woman with man problems who trades houses with a British woman experiencing similar issues. Columbia Pictures is hoping for a repeat performance from Meyers, who in December 2003 grossed $125 million for the studio with "Something's Gotta Give," which opened to $16 million.

Warners will also open the family-oriented "Unaccompanied Minors," which the studio hopes will be a holiday success in the vein of the 1990 hit "Home Alone."

Based on essayist Susan Burton's true-life story, which she told on NPR's "This American Life" to host Ira Glass, the film revolves around a group of kids who create their own holiday when they become snowed in without supervision at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Lewis Black and Wilmer Valderrama co-star. Paul Feig directed.

Hayek tops best nude scenes of '06

Sure, Jennifer Aniston took a nude walk through an apartment building, but it was Salma Hayek's covorting in the water with Colin Farrell that won Mr. Skin's love for 2006.

As people start bundling up as the mercury drops, Mr. Skin has compiled his Top 10 picks for the year's best scene in which actresses took it off. Topping his list of the topless was Hayek in "Ask the Dust."

Hayek, who caused boiling water cooler talk the next day after her brassiered appearance on "Ugly Betty," gave it all up on screen for "Ask the Dust," a Depression-era drama that ... well, never mind that. The bottom line is that Hayek skinny dips with Colin Farrell and then bares all for a follow-up sex scene.

The usually blonde Gretchen Mol won second place recognition for taking chances as the brunette star of "The Notorious Bettie Page," playing the titular pin-up model and fetish queen. Numerous "artistic" poses abound, including a yuletide one to get viewers in the mood this holiday season.

The remainder of the Top 10 follows:

3. Brittany Daniel in "Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders" - This straight-to-DVD release shows the "Joe Dirt" actress in a menage a trois and some tub soaking.

4. Bai Ling in "Edmond" - She gives William H. Macy and the viewers an eyeful at a peep show.

5. Jennifer Aniston in "The Break-Up" - Rent the full-screen version for more of her butt during her windy walk.

6. Barbara Nedeljakova in "Hostel: Unrated Version" -You get your pick of five actresses who show skin in this film, but Barb had Mr. Skin's vote for her sex and sauna scenes.

7. Kelly Brook in "Survival Island" - A woman, her husband and their manservant engage in lots of outdoor action.

8. Kyra Sedgewick in "Loverboy" - Kevin Bacon directs his wife getting it on in the library and in various other scenes. Bonus footage of Marisa Tomei in a bath.

9. Amanda Righetti in "Angel Blade" - Shot in 2002, but released to DVD this year, this "O.C." guest star plays a stripper who likes sex and showering.

10. Lauren Lee Smith in "Lie With Me" -Alone, with a partner, with a partner and an audience ... she just likes getting nude.

Mr. Skin and his team of "skinvestigators" view all non-adult titles for their nudity content and rates them on their "skintensity." The celluloid skin expert is also known for his Anatomy Awards, which honored Anne Hathaway for 2005's best nude scene in her straight-to-DVD film "Havoc."

49th GRAMMY Nominees Announced

Nominations for the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced Thursday by The Recording Academy, reflecting a year in which multiple genres were represented in top categories, new up-and-comers were nominated alongside established artists and a diverse array of producers and other creative professionals garnered multiple nominations.

The 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday," Feb. 11, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

The press event was held at The Music Box @ Fonda in Hollywood and was attended by national and international media, as well as key music industry executives. Artists reading nominations this morning included Mary J. Blige, James Blunt, Chris Brown, Evanescence's Amy Lee, Ludacris, Corinne Bailey Rae, Rascal Flatts, Justin Timberlake and KT Tunstall.

Mary J. Blige tops the nominations with eight, while Red Hot Chili Peppers garner six, James Blunt, the Dixie Chicks, John Mayer, Danger Mouse, Prince, Rick Rubin, will.i.am and John Williams each earn five nods. Beyoncé, Bryan-Michael Cox, Gnarls Barkley, Israel Houghton, T.I and Justin Timberlake receive four each.

"These nominations truly reflect a diverse and vibrant community of music makers and creators who represent some of the most remarkable music of the year," said Recording Academy President Neil Portnow. "Once again, the GRAMMY Awards process has delivered a well-rounded group of excellent nominees, which promises music lovers a spectacular show filled with dynamic performances and 'GRAMMY Moments' that can only be seen on the GRAMMY Awards telecast."

In the General Field, nominees for Album Of The Year are Taking The Long Way by the Dixie Chicks, St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley, Continuum by John Mayer, Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake. Nominees for Record Of The Year are "Be Without You" (Mary J. Blige), "You're Beautiful" (James Blunt), "Not Ready To Make Nice" (Dixie Chicks), "Crazy" (Gnarls Barkley) and "Put Your Records On" (Corinne Bailey Rae). The Best New Artist nominees are rock troubadour James Blunt, R&B singer Chris Brown, British singer/songwriter Imogen Heap, neo-soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae and country singer Carrie Underwood.

This year's Song Of The Year nominees represent multiple genres from pop to R&B to country. Nominated songwriters include Johnta Austin, Mary J. Blige, Bryan-Michael Cox and Jason Perry for "Be Without You" (performed by Blige); Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson for "Jesus, Take The Wheel" (performed by Carrie Underwood); Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Dan Wilson for "Not Ready To Make Nice" (performed by the Dixie Chicks); John Beck, Steve Chrisanthou and Corinne Bailey Rae for "Put Your Records On" (performed by Rae); and James Blunt, Amanda Ghost and Sacha Skarbek for "You're Beautiful" (performed by Blunt).

Earning five of her eight nominations in the R&B Field, Mary J. Blige dominates the Field. Among her nods, in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category she earned a nomination for "Be Without You," along with Beyoncé ("Ring The Alarm"), Mariah Carey ("Don't Forget About Us"), Natalie Cole ("Day Dreaming") and India.Arie ("I Am Not My Hair"). In the Best R&B Album category, her Breakthrough album vies with Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable; India.Arie's Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship; Prince's 3121; and Lionel Richie's Coming Home. Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals nods go to George Benson & Al Jarreau for "Breezin'"; Jamie Foxx featuring Mary J. Blige for "Love Changes"; Chaka Khan, Gerald Levert, Yolanda Adams & Carl Thomas for "Everyday (Family Reunion)"; John Legend & Joss Stone with Van Hunt for "Family Affair" (Sly & The Family Stone); and Prince & Támar for "Beautiful, Loved And Blessed."

In the Pop Field, nominations for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal went to the Black Eyed Peas for "My Humps"; Death Cab For Cutie for "I Will Follow You Into The Dark"; the Fray for "Over My Head (Cable Car)"; Keane for "Is It Any Wonder?"; and the Pussycat Dolls for "Stickwitu." Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals nods go to Tony Bennett & Stevie Wonder for "For Once In My Life"; Mary J. Blige & U2 for "One"; Sheryl Crow & Sting for "Always On Your Side"; Nelly Furtado & Timbaland for "Promiscuous"; and Shakira & Wyclef Jean for "Hips Don't Lie." And the nominees for Best Pop Vocal Album include Back To Basics by Christina Aguilera, Back To Bedlam by James Blunt, The River In Reverse by Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint, Continuum by John Mayer, and FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Raconteurs, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Neil Young earned nominations in the Rock Field. Vying for Best Rock Album are the John Mayer Trio's Try!; Tom Petty's Highway Companion; the Raconteurs' Broken Boy Soldiers; Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium; and Neil Young's Living With War. Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal nominees are Coldplay with "Talk," the Fray for "How To Save A Life," the Raconteurs for "Steady, As She Goes," Red Hot Chili Peppers for "Dani California" and U2 & Green Day for "The Saints Are Coming." And Best Rock Solo Vocal Performance nominees are Beck ("Nausea"), Bob Dylan ("Someday Baby"), John Mayer ("Route 66"), Tom Petty ("Saving Grace") and Neil Young ("Lookin' For A Leader").

In the Rap Field, Missy Elliott competes with male rappers in the Best Rap Solo Performance category with "We Run This." Other nominations in this category are "Touch It" by Busta Rhymes, "Kick, Push" by Lupe Fiasco, "Undeniable" by Mos Def and "What You Know" by T.I. In the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, nominations go to Akon featuring Eminem ("Smack That"), Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z ("Deja Vu"), Eminem featuring Nate Dogg ("Shake That"), Jamie Foxx featuring Ludacris ("Unpredictable") and Justin Timberlake featuring T.I. ("My Love").

The Dixie Chicks earn two of their five nominations in the Country Field. In the Best Country Album category, their Taking The Long Way is nominated along with Like Red On A Rose by Alan Jackson, The Road To Here by Little Big Town, You Don't Know Me: The Songs Of Cindy Walker by Willie Nelson and Your Man by Josh Turner. For Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready To Make Nice" is up against the Duhks' "Heaven's My Home," Little Big Town's "Boondocks," Rascal Flatts' "What Hurts The Most" and the Wreckers' "Leave The Pieces." Nods for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals go to Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles for "Who Says You Can't Go Home," Solomon Burke & Dolly Parton for "Tomorrow Is Forever," Kenny Rogers & Don Henley for "Calling Me," Rhonda Vincent & Bobby Osborne for "Midnight Angel" and Trisha Yearwood & Garth Brooks for "Love Will Always Win."

This year's Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, nominations reflect established professionals across multiple genres with nods going to Howard Benson, T Bone Burnett, Danger Mouse, Rick Rubin and will.i.am.

In the newly re-named Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album category, the nominations are Solo Acoustic Vol. 1 by Jackson Browne; Black Cadillac by Rosanne Cash; Workbench Songs by Guy Clark; Modern Times by Bob Dylan; and All The Roadrunning by Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris.

Best Jazz Vocal Album nominees are Footprints by Karrin Allyson, Easy To Love by Roberta Gambarini, Live At Jazz Standard With Fred Hersch by Nancy King, From This Moment On by Diana Krall and Turned To Blue by Nancy Wilson.

The Best Gospel Performance category features nominees Yolanda Adams ("Victory"), Israel & New Breed ("Not Forgotten"), Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers ("The Blessing Of Abraham"), Chris Tomlin ("Made To Worship") and Tye Tribbett & G.A. ("Victory"). Vying for Best Traditional Gospel Album are An Invitation To Worship by Byron Cage, Paved The Way by the Caravans, Still Keeping It Real by the Dixie Hummingbirds, Alive In South Africa by Israel & New Breed and Finalé Act One by Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers.

GRAMMY ballots for the final round of voting will be mailed to the voting members of The Recording Academy on Dec. 13. They are due back to the accounting firm of Deloitte by Jan. 10, when they will be tabulated and the results kept secret until the telecast.

The 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards are produced by John Cossette Productions in association with Ken Ehrlich Productions for The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich and John Cossette are executive producers, Walter C. Miller is producer/director, Tisha Fein is the coordinating producer, David Wild is the writer, and Tzvi Small is supervising producer.

For a full list of 49th GRAMMY Awards nominees, please click here.

Story One - Stairs climbs north

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (CP) - Unlike their courtship of other players this off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays had little trouble getting a deal done with Matt Stairs.

"It didn't take very long for me to say yes," the Fredericton outfielder, speaking from Bangor, Maine, said Wednesday of his preliminary agreement on a one-year deal. "It took about 10 minutes to get done. I was extremely happy, I'm really looking forward to coming back to Canada."

The contract is expected to be finalized and announced later this week, allowing the Blue Jays to keep an extra spot open on their 40-man roster for Thursday's Rule 5 draft.

Stairs joins the Blue Jays as a fourth outfielder and left-handed bat off the bench, brigning with him a .358 average plus nine home runs and 23 RBIs in 106 career at-bats at the Rogers Centre.

Toronto will be the 38-year-old's 10th stop in a nomadic yet solid career that will leave him among the greatest Canadian batters to ever play the game. In 1,416 games over 14 seasons, Stairs has 220 homers (second only among Canadians to Larry Walker's 383) and 751 RBIs.

He also reunites with general manager J.P. Ricciardi, who helped sign Stairs as a free agent Dec. 1, 1995 with the Oakland Athletics, where he enjoyed his finest seasons.

"I didn't think we'd be apart 15 years," Stairs said in his trademark deadpan. "J.P. is a good guy, we go way back, and he knows what he's doing. He's a good GM."

Ricciardi wouldn't confirm the deal but said he had spoken with Stairs' representatives. On Tuesday, he admitted the club's interest in him.

"I've always liked Matt," said Ricciardi. "I helped bring him over to Oakland so I've known him a long time."

Stairs batted .247 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs last season for Kansas City, Texas and Detroit. The Royals did Stairs a favour by moving him to a contender in a deadline deal but when the Rangers faded they put him on waivers and the Tigers claimed him.

He played 14 September games with Detroit, hitting two homers with eight RBIs in helping the Tigers reach the post-season. Ineligible for the playoffs because he wasn't on the roster before Sept. 1, Stairs went home while his teammates reached the World Series.

In coming to Toronto, he sees a chance in getting back to the post-season.

"That's the biggest thing for me now," he said. "The last few years in Kansas City I was mainly in a rebuilding situation helping out in a leadership role as the older guy in a younger clubhouse. Now I'm coming back to Canada on a team with that has a chance to get to the post-season.

"It's something I'm looking forward to."

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Story Two - Lilly signs with Cubs

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (CP) -- Spurned by Ted Lilly, the Toronto Blue Jays shifted gears at the baseball winter meetings Wednesday by zeroing in on Gil Meche and reaching a preliminary agreement on a one-year deal with Canadian outfielder Matt Stairs.

Larry OBrien, the agent for Lilly, told general manager J.P. Ricciardi and his staff during a morning meeting that they were out of the running for the left-hander. Later that night, OBrien said Lilly had agreed to a four-year, US$40-million deal with the Chicago Cubs, pending a physical.

"At the end of the day, Ted decided he wanted a change of scenery," OBrien said in an interview outside the Disney Dolphin Hotel. "The decision had nothing to do with length of contract or money. The offers are all about the same."

Lillys departure means Meche becomes the Blue Jays main target to bolster their starting rotation. Meche is also being pursued by the Cubs while the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers are also said to have jumped hard into the chase.

The Blue Jays had hoped to leave Orlando with both Lilly and Meche. Their best offer, believed to be for slightly less than the one to Lilly, has been made and its up to Meche now.

"I think weve done everything we could possibly do," said Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. "Really the ball is in their court at this point.

"I dont think its going to be a long wait. I think well find something out in the next few days."

Ricciardi said the goal now is to add one more pitcher, be it Meche or someone from their fallback list, which includes Jeff Suppan and Mark Redman. That pitcher would join ace Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett and Gustavo Chacin with a host of internal options to compete for the final spot.

"If we walk out of here with one, well be in the same boat we were in last year with three good pitchers in the front," said Ricciardi. "Our ultimate goal was to have two guys, we tried to get two, we didnt get one, well see if we get the other one."

Josh Towers and Shaun Marcum are chief internal candidates to fill out the rotation.

The deal with Stairs is expected to be announced later this week, allowing the Blue Jays to keep a spot on the 40-man roster open for Thursdays Rule 5 draft. The Fredericton native and Ricciardi know each other from their days in Oakland and Stairs nearly signed with Toronto before the 2003 season.

"Im very excited," Stairs said in an interview from Bangor, Maine. "We worked on it (Tuesday) night and it took about 10 minutes to get done. I was extremely happy, Im really looking forward to coming back to Canada."

Stairs batted .247 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs last season for Kansas City, Texas and Detroit. The 38-year-old is a career .358 hitter with nine home runs and 23 RBIs in 106 at-bats at the Rogers Centre and is happy to be joining a team with post-season aspirations.

"Thats the biggest thing for me now," he said. "The last few years in Kansas City I was mainly in a rebuilding situation helping out in a leadership role as the older guy in a younger clubhouse. Now Im coming back to Canada on a team with that has a chance to get to the post-season. Its something Im looking forward to."

A deal with veteran infielder Chris Gomez, who spent 2004 with the Blue Jays, could also be completed in the next few days.

"We had Gomey here before and he did a great job for us, hes a great guy, a good veteran player," said Ricciardi. "Hes a guy weve talked about."

But Lillys loss was sure to sting, with the only solace being that he didnt end with the rival New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox took a major step forward Tuesday when they reached tentative deals with outfielder J.D. Drew and shortstop Julio Lugo, making the AL East as competitive as ever.

OBrien said Lillys decision to cut the Blue Jays had nothing to do with his altercation with manager John Gibbons in the tunnel after he was pulled from a Aug. 22 start in Toronto.

"None whatsoever," said OBrien. "As a matter of fact, his relationship with Gibby got better after the altercation.

"He has a respect for John and the organization . . . Ted is happy to be a Cub and he wants to be part of bringing a pennant and World Series to Chicago.

Word of Lillys decision came shortly after new Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella kept up his teams pursuit of Lilly and Meche.

Piniella said he has been on the phone with both -- he knows Meche from their days in Seattle where he also managed Pete OBrien, brother of Larry OBrien -- and believes they would benefit from a move to Wrigley Field.

"Part of my job since Ive been here in Orlando has been a little bit like a college recruiter, calling these guys. I enjoy that," Piniella said.

"I think theyve both been successful major-league pitchers but I think theres still some upside there for them. Weve got a good pitching coach in Chicago, Larry Rothschild, theyll benefit from that experience also. Hopefully things will fall our way."

Canadian Grammy hopes run high

TORONTO (CP) - Grammy hopes run high for Canadian favourites Nelly Furtado and Nickelback as the U.S. recording academy announces its nominations Thursday for the best in music.

The "Promiscuous" singer and radio-friendly rockers top the list of Canuck contenders expected to garner serious consideration south of the border.

"Nelly Furtado has had pretty much the biggest, high-profile pop comeback in recent years," says Aaron Brophy of Chart Magazine.

"This third record ('Loose') is a huge, massive worldwide hit. She's probably our best bet to at least get nominations or some level of attention at the Grammys."

The 48th annual Grammy Awards will be handed out in Los Angeles on Feb. 11.

A nomination for Nickelback and their bread-and-butter rock would be a long time coming for the Alberta band.

The boys released "All the Right Reasons" on Oct. 4, 2005, mere days after the eligibility period closed for Grammy nominations, shutting them out of the 2006 trophies.

But after a year in which their tunes flooded airwaves both in Canada and the U.S., observers say the hardware could finally be theirs in 2007.

"Nickelback are definitely going to get very serious consideration in Grammy nominations, particularly in the hard rock category," says Brophy, also offering Peterborough, Ont.'s Three Days Grace as a potential sleeper in the rock category.

Richard Flohil of the trade publication Applaud agrees, also pointing to veteran rocker Neil Young as having a good shot at Grammy notice for his controversial anti-Bush album "Living With War."

Among the lesser knowns, Flohil reminds music fans that polka king Walter Ostanek of St. Catharines, Ont., is a perennial Grammy favourite.

"The real surprises sometimes come in the categories that nobody worries about, like the niche music categories," says Flohil.

Dark horses include Broken Social Scene, whose self-titled disc was released late last year and generated heavy critical buzz.

But an early Juno favourite will certainly be shut out. While Toronto's k-os generated Canadian praise for his catchy "Atlantis: Hymns for Disco" - out here since October - it won't be released in the U.S. until January, making it ineligible for this year's trophies.

Among the U.S. acts expected to gain nods are R&B veteran Mary J. Blige, chart-topper Justin Timberlake, "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood and hip-hop duo Gnarls Barkley.

Other artists likely to garner Grammy notice are John Mayer, James Blunt and British crooner Corinne Bailey Rae.

Oscar Season Begins with Eastwood Win

Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, his as yet unreleased World War II battle epic told from the perspective of the Japanese troops, was named Best Film on Wednesday by the National Board of Review.

Flags of Our Fathers, Eastwood's WWII battle epic told from the perspective of the U.S. troops, made the group's cut as one of 2006's 10 best films.

Eastwood, 75, only recently won a batch of awards, including two Oscars, for directing and producing 2004's Million Dollar Baby. And just before that, he was in the game with 2003's Mystic River.

The NBR honors are the first major kudos of the award-show season. After Wednesday, there will only be 80 ad-buying, DVD-distributing days left until the 79th Annual Academy Awards. As such, the road to the Kodak Theater might have gotten unexpectedly longer for Dreamgirls, the odds-on pick of pundits to claim the Best Picture Oscar.

In the eyes of the NBR, a coalition of historians, students, educators and others, the show-biz musical not only wasn't the year's best film, it wasn't one of the year's 10 best films. Its all-star actors—Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy—were similarly shut out.

Jennifer Hudson, the American Idol castoff who makes her film debut in Dreamgirls, was the movie's only NBR winner, sharing an honor for breakthrough actress with Babel's Rinko Kikuchi. The 25-year-old Hudson is considered a serious contender for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Having better luck with NBR voters: the Oscarless Martin Scorsese, named Best Director for The Departed; Forest Whitaker, honored as Best Actor for channeling despot Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland; Helen Mirren, tapped as Best Actress for channeling stoic Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen; Djimon Hounsou, a Best Supporting Actor winner for Blood Diamond; and Catherine O'Hara, recognized as Best Supporting Actress for the latest Christopher Guest spoof, For Your Consideration.

Hounsou's Blood Diamond costar, Leonardo DiCaprio, was passed over twice—once for his work in the diamond-trade thriller and once for his star turn in The Departed. DiCaprio and his Departed costars, however, were honored en masse as Best Ensemble.

Other snubees: Mel Gibson, coming up empty with Apocalypto, and everybody who worked on The Queen, save for Mirren.

The NBR isn't a dead-on predictor of Oscar success—American Beauty is its last Best Film winner to claim the Academy's top prize—but it's a pretty good gauge. Last year, all five Best Picture Oscar nominees began their award-show runs on NBR's Top 10 list.

Unlike some other groups, the NBR doesn't do nominations; it just announces winners. But it does its part to help make everybody a winner by lauding nearly three dozen films—including 10 overall picks, 10 indies, five foreign-language movies and five documentaries—as being among the year's best.

In addition to the Eastwood offerings, the NBR's main top 10 list honored Babel, Blood Diamond, The Departed, The Devil Wears Prada, The History Boys, Little Miss Sunshine, Notes on a Scandal and The Painted Veil.

Former Vice President Al Gore's global-warming horror show, An Inconvenient Truth, was named Best Documentary; Penélope Cruz's star vehicle, Volver, was honored as Best Foreign Film; and Cars pulled away as Best Animated Feature.

Emilio Estevez's Bobby, whose Oscar momentum stalled once the reviews came out, did manage a mention on the Top Independent Films list, as did Starbucks' personal favorite, Akeelah and the Bee.

Actor Eli Wallach, director Jonathan Demme and producer Irwin Winkler were all tapped for special honors.

The awards are scheduled to be presented Jan. 9 in New York City.

Here's a complete look at the 2006 National Board of Review winners:
Film: Letters from Iwo Jima
Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Supporting Actor: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Supporting Actress: Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration
Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Foreign Film: Volver
Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Animated Feature: Cars
Ensemble Cast: The Departed
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls, and Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Directorial Debut: Jason Reitman, Thank You for Smoking
Original Screenplay: Stranger Than Fiction
Adapted Screenplay: The Painted Veil
Career Achievement: Eli Wallach
Billy Wilder Award for Excellence in Directing: Jonathan Demme
Career Achievement in Producing: Irwin Winkler
William K. Everson Film History Award: Donald Krim
Bvlgari Award for NBR Freedom of Expression: Water and World Trade Center

XM, Sirius open to raising radio service prices

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Both U.S. satellite radio providers envision a time when they will raise the monthly fee subscribers pay for their services, but no increase is planned in the near term, executives said on Wednesday.

Speaking at separate investor conferences in New York, executives from XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said it is more likely that in time they will increase subscription fees rather than lower them from the current standard of $13 a month.

"When you think about where we can go with our pricing, we have plenty of flexibility, but to date we have kept our pricing low to continue to drive subscriber growth," Joseph Euteneuer, XM's chief financial officer, said at a UBS investment conference in New York.

XM most recently raised its price, boosting its monthly fee by 30 percent early in 2005. Both services offer discounts for multiple subscriptions and advance payment.

XM Chairman Gary Parsons noted that when the price hike was initiated some of the discounted rates for multiple accounts were unaffected, and that any new rate increase might be targeted at "family plan" rates.

Sirius Satellite Radio has held its price steady for several years and Chief Executive Officer Mel Karmazin, speaking at a Credit Suisse investor conference, said that it has added significant amount of programming during that time.

Shock jock Howard Stern started a five-year, $500 million pact with Sirius this year.

Karmazin suggested that Sirius would not resist a move to a higher price before XM, if the time were right.

"We think there is an opportunity to increase our pricing," Karmazin said. "When we were at $12.95, our competitor was at $9.95, and very wisely they raised their price to $12.95."

"In that period of time we got the NFL, Nascar, Howard Stern. So we think there is a history of us being the premium priced content company," he said.

Higher fees would boost revenue for both money-losing companies, whose popularity remains solid -- Sirius alone expects to nearly double its subscriber totals this year.

But a rate hike could sour those who still think of traditional radio as free and already pay monthly fees to services like subscription music services and cable or satellite television.

Moreover, satellite radio faces competition from a growing number of entertainment options that can occupy consumers' time and money, such as iPods and video game consoles.

Karmazin said price change is inevitable, including the possibility that the radios themselves could one day be free, should the market demand such a scenario. Satellite radio devices range from less than $50 to more than $300 in cost.

"We certainly have the ability to reduce prices. If down the line free radios become common place, our costs are coming down to where it is absolutely possible." he said. "The pricing points today (of radios) is not stopping somebody from buying satellite radio."

Disney's "Pirates" sells 5 million DVDs in first day

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Holiday shoppers in North America snapped up nearly 5 million DVD copies of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" in the hit title's first day in release, Walt Disney Co. said on Wednesday.

The strong start for "Dead Man's Chest," which was released as a single DVD and a two-disc box set on Tuesday, means that Disney's Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment could have the three best-selling DVDs for 2006, Disney said.

"Dead Man's Chest" also is on track to unseat the previous live-action record-holder for DVD sales, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," which sold about 16 million DVD copies and 2 million home-video units, a Disney spokesman said.

DVD sales can account for as much as half of a movie's total revenues. "Dead Man's Chest," the follow-up to "Black Pearl," has generated more than $1 billion in worldwide box office receipts, making it the top-grossing film of the year.

"Black Pearl" pulled in about $654 million at box offices worldwide. A second "Pirates" sequel is set for release in May.

The top DVD sellers for 2006 now include Disney-Pixar's "Cars," with 13 million DVDs sold since its November 7 release, and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," with 12 million sold since its release by Disney and Walden Media on April 4, Disney said.

Other contenders for the top DVD slots are Warner Bros. " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," and "X-Men: The Last Stand."

The biggest-selling DVD of all time was Disney's and Pixar Animation Studios' "Finding Nemo," which sold about 27 million units, Disney said.

ABC moves "Lost" out of "Idol's" way

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - ABC is reshuffling its Wednesday lineup, launching a two-hour comedy block and moving the hit drama "Lost" to 10 p.m.

With the shift from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. when "Lost" returns with all-original episodes February 7, the Emmy-winning drama will no longer face the "American Idol" results show.

That unenviable task has been assigned to buzzworthy new heist comedy "The Knights of Prosperity," which will air in the Wednesday 9 p.m. slot, followed by another new half-hour, "In Case of Emergency."

"Knights" stars Donal Logue as the leader of a group of misfits plotting to rob Mick Jagger. "Emergency" is an ensemble comedy with a cast including David Arquette and Greg Germann.

ABC's two-hour Wednesday comedy block will premiere January 3 with episodes of "According to Jim" running back to back from 8-9 p.m. It will have two weeks to establish itself before "Idol" arrives on the night with an 8-10 p.m. Wednesday premiere.

ABC's comedy block will take final shape January 24 when " George Lopez" joins the lineup at 8 p.m. with "Jim" airing at 8:30 p.m.

The network's announcement of "Lost's" move to 10 p.m. came on the same day Hearst-Argyle president and CEO David Barrett raised concerns at the Credit Suisse Media and Telecom Week conference in New York about ABC's weakness in the hour leading into local stations' 11 p.m. newscasts.

While having "Lost" at 10 p.m. is sure to improve the fortunes of ABC stations' late newscasts, the move of the young-skewing fantasy series, which has been a family viewing favorite, to the 10 p.m. hour normally reserved for adult-oriented dramas, raised a few eyebrows.

It has not been determined what will air in the Wednesday 10 p.m. slot in January until "Lost" returns. The low-rated new drama "Day Break," which has been subbing in "Lost's" Wednesday 9 p.m. slot, might migrate to 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, the reality series "Show Me the Money," which runs in the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour, will move to Tuesday at 8 p.m. starting January 2.

Newton-John sues over `Grease' album

LOS ANGELES - Lawsuit is the word: Olivia Newton-John is suing Universal Music Group Inc. for allegedly failing to pay more than $1 million in royalties on sales of the "Grease" soundtrack album.

Newton-John starred with John Travolta in the 1978 movie version of the Broadway hit.

The breach-of-contract suit was filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior court. It contends that while Universal did pay some royalties on the album, it failed to make a range of other contractual payments, said John Mason, an attorney for Newton-John.

According to the suit, a recent audit showed Universal owes more than $1 million to Newton-John's company, ON-J Productions, Ltd.

"The lawsuit is without merit and, at the appropriate time, we expect that the court will dismiss it," Universal said in a statement Tuesday.

Al Gore documentary honored

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Producers Guild of America will honor the eco-documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" with the 2007 Stanley Kramer Award, which recognizes "work that dramatically illustrates provocative social issues."

The honor will be presented to the film's producers during the group's 18th annual awards ceremony, set for January 20 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City. It is named after the late director of such edgy films as "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "On the Beach."

Producers on the Al Gore-starring "Truth" include Laurie David, Lawrence Bender and Scott Z. Burns.

Last year, the Kramer award went to the boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby."

First 'SNL' season still genius on DVD

NEW YORK - The show then known as "NBC's Saturday Night" debuted in October 1975 and, ever since, the series it became has been measured against it ... and usually found wanting. That is part of the legacy of "Saturday Night Live": a past never to be equaled.

Now anyone who wonders what all the fuss was about — or who was there for it and wants to refresh a dimming memory — can roll back the years with a just-released DVD set.

"SNL: The Complete First Season" (Universal Studios Home Entertainment; $69.98) reunites the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. It reprises comedy classics like Land Shark, Baba Wawa, Bass-O-Matic and the Killer Bees. It tracks a groundbreaking series in its formative phase. And does all this in context, with the 24 shows preserved intact.

Guest hosts include Candice Bergen, Rob Reiner and Elliott Gould, as well as more novel choices like Racquel Welch, Dick Cavett and Ron Nessen, press secretary for then President Ford.

Musical guests include Jimmy Cliff, Simon & Garfunkel, Patti Smith and (mama mia!) ABBA. Andy Kaufman makes several comic appearances, and Albert Brooks contributes a number of short films. Even the Muppets are on the bill.

Viewers who have never seen "SNL's" Michael O'Donoghue impersonate a show-biz personality with 15-inch needles in his eyes, or heard the latest update that "Generalisimo Francisco Franco is still dead" will be richer for the experience.

But this DVD collection packs an even greater payoff for vintage fans like me, who back then greeted each show as nothing less than an event and lived it right along with the performers. With those shows as our ideal, we're the stubborn traditionalists always carping, "They just don't make 'em like they used to," while we dismiss "SNL" of modern times as an ever-deepening rut.

Maybe that's harsh, but there's no question the series (officially christened "Saturday Night Live" in its second season) was born to lampoon cultural institutions, yet itself has become such an institution that today it's spoofed by one NBC series ("30 Rock") and glorified by another ("Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip").

It's easy to argue that now, under the continuing rule of 62-year-old creator Lorne Michaels (who in 1975 made noises about hiring no one much past age 30), "SNL" stands for nothing other than its own accumulating years.

But here's a chance to cut through three decades' distance (and through the, um, marijuana haze that may have clouded certain viewers' judgment at the time) for a clear-eyed reappraisal: Once and for all, just how good WAS that inaugural season?

During more than 30 hours of immersion recently, I was able to bring my present-day perspective to those old shows (even beyond concluding that, in 2006, Francisco Franco is STILL dead).

In retrospect, I can certify that the complexity, irreverence and live-ness of "SNL" made it revolutionary for a time when there was little if any other topical comedy on the tube.

And despite the pioneering nature of this venture, its premiere — which aired Oct. 11, 1975, with George Carlin as host — is remarkably good.

But, reflecting a series in its shakedown phase, the comedy troupe was scarcely seen on this first show. And scarcely credited in the opening, with the performers' names all squeezed onto a single title card while announcer Don Pardo botched their introduction, calling them "The Not for Ready Prime Time Players."

And what of this soon-to-be-legendary team? Well, to watch Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi three decades later is to behold enduring genius. Gilda Radner shines bright as ever.

On the other hand, I was startled by my latter-day aversion to another troupe member. Did we viewers really laugh, week after week, at the quip, "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not"? Could we really have adored him for his trademark pratfall and smarmy pronouncement that, "Live from New York, it's `Saturday Night'"?

Back then, Chase was hot, hip, the series' breakout star. Seen now, he comes across as a budding version of himself after bolting from "SNL" in its second season to make movies: a one-note, insufferable ham.

The DVD set confirms my recollection of some wonderful shows that first year. Those hosted by Lily Tomlin, Desi Arnaz and Madeline Kahn are among the gems. And maybe grandest of all is the program that aired Dec. 13, 1975, with guest host Richard Pryor. Besides his two extended monologues, he joins Belushi in "Samurai Hotel" (the first for Belushi in that popular recurring character).

Amazingly, by then — show No. 7 — the "SNL" format was firmly in place, destined never to change.

Not that a consistent formula would guarantee consistent quality. Week to week and sometimes moment to moment that first season, the shows were wildly uneven, and some of them real dogs — just as in all the years since.

But if "SNL" has always been a hit-or-miss affair, my look back satisfied me that something special drove it then: an unruly effort to surprise its viewers along with making them laugh. It set out to defy the television medium it had invaded, as well as the larger culture. But all too soon it became part of the culture. It was digested by TV.

So "SNL" long ago lost its capacity to startle, abandoning that mission to repeat itself instead, simply catering to viewers' well-entrenched expectations. It began with a subversive streak. Then it got comfortable.

For some of us, "SNL: The Complete First Season" will expose the series' genesis as maybe not as great as we might like to remember. But the impact of those early shows was greater than we could've imagined, and far greater than the series that evolved. Watching those shows now, it's clear why.

Sacha Baron Cohen Upset By Reaction To "Borat"

Sacha Baron Cohen, known for his misunderstood Borat character, is disappointed by the number of people who have taken offense to the comedy.

Rolling Stone magazine says producers of the movie - which pokes fun at stereotypes - are dealing with plenty of headaches, which began by underestimating the film's potential impact. While Kazakhstan citizens who appear in the movie threaten legal action against filmmakers, a saddened Cohen says the joke was supposed to be on the ignorance of western culture, not on Kazakhstan itself.

"I was surprised because I always had faith in the audience that they would realize that this was a fictitious country (sic) and the mere purpose of it (the film) was to allow people to bring out their own prejudices," says the British comedian.

"The reason we chose Kazakhstan was because it was a country that no one had ever heard anything about, so we could essentially play on stereotypes they might have about this ex-Soviet backwater. The joke is not on Kazakhstan. I think the joke is on people who can believe that the Kazakhstan that I describe can exist - who believe that there's a country where homosexuals wear blue hats and women live in cages."

Tobey Maguire Hints At His Spider-Man Swan Song

While Sony appears keen on keeping Spider-Man on the big-screen, the star of the hit superhero movies admits he doesn't want to get stuck in the web.

Starpulse.com reports the actor behind Peter Parker's mask, Tobey Maguire, says, "This might be a good place to stop." Even though the Spidey-star won't rule out the possibility of another on-screen adventure, he does say it's almost time to hang up the tights.

"I am not tied contractually to any more Spider-Man movies," says Maguire. "I am not completely closed to the idea of another one if it made sense but I would say the odds were in favor of this being the last one".

Hollywood's Remake Craze 'Short Circuit's

Another '80s hit-movie is getting a makeover, or rather an up-grade, as Short Circuit gets re-invented.

According to Moviehole.net, the 1986 original comedy/sci-fi which starred Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy as two people each trying to do what they think is best for an experimental robot named No. 5, after a power surge brings it to life.

The movie's box-office appeal sparked a follow up film in 1988, however to less enthusiasm, leaving plans for another Circuit chapter about No. 5 left in development limbo, that is until filmmakers realized they could rebuild him.

While casting is yet to be confirmed, rumors have surfaced that some of the film's original stars might return to see the lovable robot come to life again.

New Releases, Dec. 5: Gwen Stefani, Eminem, 'Dreamgirls'

Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape"

The platinum-haired, platinum-selling leader of No Doubt is set to release the follow-up to her solo debut, 2004's "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." This could provide a nice end-of-the-year boost to the record industry, given that Stefani's first record has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The new album's first single is "Wind It Up," produced by The Neptunes. Akon, No Doubt's Tony Kanal, Nellee Hooper, Sean Garrett, Swizz Beatz, Dave Stewart and Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley also all contributed to the set.

Coinciding with the new album, Stefani also will issue the new concert DVD "Harajuku Lovers Live," which was filmed during shows in Stefani's hometown of Anaheim, CA.

Stefani will embark on a US tour behind the new album in April.

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Eminem and Various Artists "Eminem Presents: The Re-Up"

While waiting for the megastar rapper to drop a proper solo disc, fans can tide themselves over with "The Re-Up." The disc features Eminem on several tracks, as well as such Slim Shady-approved artists as Bobby Creekwater, Status Quo, Swifty McVay and Mister Porter.

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Various Artists "Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture"

"Dreamgirls," which began as a popular '80s Broadway show that many believe revolutionized how musicals are presented, will be released as a major Hollywood movie to theaters on Christmas Day. This soundtrack features songs by the film's all-star cast, which includes Beyonce (music), Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. The soundtrack comes in two formats: a single-disc of highlights and a deluxe, two-disc edition.

* * *
Ciara "The Evolution"

The young R&B star is back with her sophomore release, the follow-up to her popular debut, 2004's "Goodies." "The Evolution" features guest appearances by Lil Jon, 50 Cent and Chamillionaire.

* * *
Brian McKnight "10"

Although the title of McKnight's 10th album isn't much of a surprise, "10" does offer one major surprise in terms of guest appearances: country superstars Rascal Flatts show up on the track "Red, White, Blue."

* * *

Other new releases:
The Ames Brothers, "Together" (Jasmine)
Babyshambles, "The Blinding EP" (Capitol)
Drake Bell, "It's Only Time" (Universal)
Kutless, "Live from Portland" (BEC)
Lil' Scrappy, "Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live" (Reprise)
John Mayall, "Essential John Mayall" (Eagle)
Natalie, "Everything New" (Universal)
Project Pat, "Crook by Da Book: The Fed Story" (Sony)
Various Artists, "The O.C. Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks" (Warner Bros.)
Various Artists, "Kids Rap Radio, Vols. 1-2" (Music World)
Various Artists, "Legends of Country: Classic Hits of the '50s, '60s & '70s" (Shout)
Yes, "Essentially Yes" (Eagle)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Apocalypto" (New Line)
"Charlotte's Web, Music from the Motion Picture" (Sony)
"The Nativity Story: Sacred Songs" (New Line)
"Summer of '42" (Jay)

'Galactica' Jumps to Sundays

"Battlestar Galactica" will explore uncharted territory for the Sci Fi Channel when it begins the second half of its season in January: Sunday nights.

The cable network has made official the long-circulating reports that it would move its critically acclaimed series to Sundays come January. The news, announced Monday, also comes with dates and times attached: "Galactica" will make the move at 10 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 21, following the series premiere of the supernatural-detective drama "The Dresden Files."

"Sundays have long been considered an important night for television. [The scheduling change] is a signal to our viewers that this is destination programming and should be considered appointment viewing," says Dave Howe, general manager of the network. "It only makes sense that Sci Fi would plant its signature series there."

In the past "Battlestar Galactica" has aired as part of the channel's successful Friday block of original series. Sci Fi plans to keep that night going later in 2007 with the return of both "Stargate" series and the new show "Painkiller Jane." The network plans to produce some 210 hours of original programming for 2007, the most in its history.

"Galactica" closes the first part of its season on Friday, Dec. 15. In keeping with the Sci Fi m.o., the episode will be the first half of a two-parter.

24 Adds Rick Schroder to Guest List

The 24 body count was upped again Monday with the announcement that NYPD Blue alum Rick Schroder is coming on board for the Emmy-winning series' sixth season.

Schroder, 36, plays CTU operative Mike Doyle, Jack's go-to man in the field, when Day 6 begins Sunday, January 14, on Fox in a two-hour season premiere, with the next two hours playing out Jan. 15 as part of a multinight "television event."

The former child star ("Here we are, face to face, a couple of Silver Spoons…") is the latest in a string of notable names who have joined the show during the off-season, replenishing the ranks of a cast that inevitably is depleted year after year by radiation poisoning, nerve gas, shootouts and massive (yet not apocalyptic—thanks, Jack) explosions.

Here's a quick rundown of the new, yet familiar faces you'll be seeing around the counterterrorism watercooler in 2007:

- Peter MacNicol: Thomas Lennox, a high-ranking government official who may or may not end up butting heads with Kiefer Sutherland's endlessly put-upon Jack Bauer

- Regina King: Sandra Palmer, a fierce advocacy lawyer and sister of two presidents—the late David Palmer and the incoming commander in chief, Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside, in an expanded role)

- James Cromwell: Jack's estranged dad, Phillip Bauer

- Chad Lowe: "Savvy politico" Reed Pollock. Sounds like a possible pain in Jack's assignment log

- Powers Boothe: Vice President Noah Daniels, always a part that could go either way on 24

- Kal Penn: Ahmet, a member of an Islamic group suspected of terrorist activities

- David Hunt: The British actor takes over the role of the villainous Darren McCarthy, a part originally intended for comic Eddie Izzard

Meanwhile, Jean Smart and William Devane return as the now-former first lady and the secretary of defense who apparently didn't kill himself at the end of season five, respectively.

Mary Lynn Rajskub is also back as the plucky Chloe, who has had the fifth most face time of any castmember in the show's history, having managed to stay alive since season three.

Blige, Chesney receive Billboard Awards

LAS VEGAS - R&B diva Mary J. Blige and country star Kenny Chesney nabbed early awards at the annual Billboard Awards Monday night.

Blige, who was nominated for five major-category awards, was named R&B/Hip-Hop artist of the year and Chesney won male country artist of the year at the two-hour live show from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Blige's seventh studio album, "The Breakthrough," debuted at the top of the Billboard charts in December 2005 and has sold 2.6 million copies.

The telecast did not, however, feature Tinseltown's duo du jour — heiress Paris Hilton and mom-gone-wild Britney Spears. After their recent binge of late-night partying, it was reported that the new best friends would be co-hosting the show, but that didn't happen.

Hilton, according to her publicist, backed out because of "objectionable" material in the script. Show producers said that Spears was never confirmed.

The show went on without a host but with a lineup of presenters moving things along. On the red carpet, comedian Kathy Griffin joked that she could fill in: "I'll be in the 7th row ready to jump up at any minute."

Janet Jackson opened the show with a nod to the old and the new. Sporting a short bob haircut and a belly-baring white turtleneck sweater that offered no chance of a wardrobe malfunction, Jackson performed her 1980s classic, "The Pleasure Principle," mixed into "So Excited," a single from her 2006 comeback album, "20 Y.O."

Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie performed "Fergalicious," a hit from her first solo effort, backed by a crew of dancers in body paint and set of giant candy canes.

Crooner Tony Bennett was to be honored with the Billboard Century Award, a lifetime achievement award.

Bennett timed his release of "Duets: An American Classic" — featuring Bono, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand and other musical big-timers — to his 80th birthday. The September release has become the best-selling album of his 50-plus-year recording career.

Rock powerhouse Nickelback was up for artist of the year, as well as rock artist of the year, group and rock group of the year. The group won rock album of the year for its "All the Right Reasons."

The rockers were joined by Nashville-based Rascal Flatts in two of the categories. The multiplatinum country band also was nominated for artist of the year and group of the year, as well as a string of country nominations, including country album of the year for their fifth album, "Me and My Gang."

Rapper T.I. was up for rap artist of the year along with Sean Paul and Yung Joc. His fourth solo album, "King," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart in March, was nominated for best rap album of the year, along with "Tha Carter II" from Lil Wayne and Eminem's "Curtain Call: The Hits."

Teen lothario Chris Brown's self-titled debut album landed the 17-year-old hip-hopper nominations for artist of the year, male artist of the year and new artist of the year.

"It feels great," he said from the red carpet. "I certainly don't feel my age."

Brown said people were treating him like he was older but then reality set in when he realized he could not do much because of his young age. His first night in Vegas was spent hanging out with his mom in his hotel room, he said.

The Billboard Awards are given to the year's chart-topping artists. Winners are determined by the magazine's year-end chart listings, which are based on record sales and airplay.

Creator: No Canadian 'CSI' spinoffs planned

TORONTO (CP) - Despite the growing number of copycats and the enormous popularity of the original and spinoffs, fans shouldn't hold their breath for a "CSI: Toronto" or "CSI: Vancouver," says creator Anthony Zuiker.

The franchise, he says, has hit its magic number.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: New York" are usually in the ratings Top 10, but Zuiker said he doesn't envision another version of the show because pumping out the current roster is already a grind.

"We're done, I think with 'CSI: New York' - that's it. We may do a 'CSI' movie in the future - when we actually get some rest, which is going to be God knows when - but three is definitely enough," he said during an interview in Toronto.

"We've killed so many people in so many ways."

Zuiker's life has been consumed by death and disease for the last several years, overseeing the development of the three shows.

The idea for "CSI," now in season 7, came to him after watching a forensics show on the Discovery Channel about how investigators used a single hair to solve a murder investigation.

"I was so fascinated ... by how the body can talk to the investigator," Zuiker recalled.

"The body is ultimately the perfect specimen, designed in every respect - from skin to bruising to hair to blood to DNA - to give clues with almost perfect certainty about what happened to the body without ever being there."

Critics have knocked the show for being unrealistic in portraying the work of forensic investigators, but Zuiker said that with the exception of accelerated timelines, everything is factual and real.

"All the technology we use, all the machinery we use - the gadgets, the gimmickry, all that stuff we use for bells and whistles - is being used" in real life, he said.

"What's not real is the fact we have to (speed up) a lot of the results for DNA. Obviously, pressing a button and sitting there for four weeks until results come back with a name is not a television show."

Zuiker's use of special effects to visualize the body's internal reactions to trauma became "CSI's" trademark, but it wasn't long before similar scenes were popping up on other shows.

Not that Zuiker minds. He insists he's flattered that shows like the medical drama "House" use "CSI"-like effects.

"It's an element that feels familiar (because of) us and it's really flattering, we don't take offence to that," he said.

" 'House' is fantastic and people do not watch that show just because there are 'CSI' shots inside the show. That show is simply wonderful - I watch it, I adore it, I get a kick out of the 'CSI' shots myself and I can sit back and go, 'I thought of those.' "

He also didn't mind when one of his heroes, director Quentin Tarantino, borrowed some "CSI"-style special effects, and it actually led to a collaboration, with Tarantino directing a season finale.

"If you watch 'Kill Bill' there's a lot of influence from 'CSI' in there too because Quentin is a fan," Zuiker said proudly.

"And in the same respect, I got in the business because I watched 'Pulp Fiction' and adored that storytelling so much."

With no new "CSI" series on the way, Zuiker has big ideas for a dream project he'd like to pursue - but it's currently stuck in showbiz limbo.

He rewrote a script based on the true story of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, but there's no sign that Columbia Pictures, which owns the rights to it, has any plans to move forward.

"It's probably my best work," he said with a hint of bitterness. "It's the one that got away, it's the one I think about every day."

He said the tale of a Jewish man putting together a team of African-American basketball players in the 1920s is "probably the best story I've ever heard," an inspiring account of courage and following dreams.

But even the creator of one of TV's biggest shows can't get everything he wants. Zuiker's not sure the movie will get made.

"Hopefully, as I grow more successful in the business, I'll have the opportunity to get that script back, be involved with it, possibly direct it some day, and really tell a story I think that should be told," he said.

Flushed Away, Cars race off with most Annie nominations

The movies Flushed Away and Cars have garnered nine nominations each for the Annie Awards, topping the list for the U.S. honours that recognize the best in animation.

Flushed Away — from Aardman Animation, the British team that created Wallace & Gromit — received nods in directing, writing and voice acting for Ian McKellen, who portrayed the evil character of Toad.

Flushed Away follows the travails of a hapless upper-class mouse who accidentally ends up in the sewers with his lower-class brethren.

The Disney-Pixar film Cars, following a rookie race car (voiced by Owen Wilson) who learns respect through community service with older cars, is up for best feature and best director for John Lasseter, who also directed Toy Story.

Composer Randy Newman was also nominated for the movie's soundtrack.

The other nominees for top animated feature include the penguin film Happy Feet, Monster House and Open Season. Over the Hedge, an animated version of a popular cartoon strip, earned eight nominations including best feature and voice acting for comedian Wanda Sykes, who played a skunk named Stella.

Overall, Dreamworks Animation, which made Over the Hedge and co-produced Flushed Away, had 17 nominations.

Programs under the best animated television production category are: Charlie and Lola, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, King of the Hill, The Fairly OddParents and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

The best home entertainment field included Bambi II, Winnie the Pooh: Shapes & Sizes and The Adventures of Brer Rabbit.

The awards, including those in shorts, commercials and best animated video game race will be handed out Feb. 11 at a ceremony in Glendale, Calif.
Only films that have shown in the U.S. are eligible to enter the race.

Winners are voted on by the American members of the International Animated Film Society.

Letterman staying put at CBS until 2010

NEW YORK - David Letterman isn't going anywhere. CBS Corp. announced Monday that the late-night funnyman has signed a contract to stay on the air until at least 2010. It was widely reported in September that Letterman had agreed to the deal.

The contract means Letterman plans to stay on the air longer than late-night rival Jay Leno. NBC has said that Leno will give way to Conan O'Brien on the "Tonight" show in 2009.

"I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," Letterman, 59, said. "At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute."

Letterman is expected to make somewhere north of $30 million a year. He's been competing with Leno since 1993, and the NBC comic has had the upper hand in the ratings for the past decade.

"His presence on our air is an ongoing source of pride, and the creativity and imagination that the `Late Show' puts forth every night is an ongoing display of the highest quality entertainment," said CBS Corp. President Leslie Moonves, who's been a target of Letterman's on-air barbs. "We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS home."

Hilton quits Billboard awards over jokes

LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton won't joke about her peeps. The hotel heiress canceled an appearance at next week's Billboard Music Awards because she didn't like the jokes written for her, according to a spokesman.

"It is my understanding that some satirical references ridiculed some of her peers," her spokesman, Elliot Mintz, said in a statement. "Paris did not want to say anything that could appear hurtful or embarassing about people she knows."

Mintz said Hilton received a script Friday that contained material she found "objectionable." Representatives for Hilton and the awards show could not come to an agreement about the script's content so she decided to scrap the appearance, he said.

A call to Billboard was not returned early Saturday.

The Billboard Awards will be handed out Monday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show is scheduled to air live on Fox.

'LEBOWSKI' FEST DRAWS GEEKY FILM FANS TO NEW YORK

WHERE THE DUDES ARE: A trio of uber-dedicated fans pay homage to Jeff
Bridges's slacker-antihero star, the real thing.December 3, 2006 -- IN
film circles, the term "cult classic" often gets thrown around liberally.

Maybe a movie inspires a generous online message board or even a drinking
game. Then there's "The Big Lebowski."

The 1998 Coen brothers film has such a rabid underground following that
it's managed to inspire an online Church of the Latter-Day Dude, a
speaking tour featuring Jeff "the Dude" Dowd (the independent film
consultant credited with inspiring the film's main character), an online
petition calling for Jeff Bridges (the film's star) to run for president
in 2008, and, oh yeah, a drinking game.

But perhaps the greatest display of obsessive behavior from Lebowski
lovers is Lebowski Fest. A multiple-day event where fans come together
across the country to pay homage to the object of their cinematic
affection.

And you thought the film was bizarre.

"Everything we try seems ridiculous, but somehow it always works. We do
what we think would be fun, and generally everyone else agrees," says
organizer Will Russell, who with friend Scott Shuffitt expected 25 of his
closest friends to show up at the inaugural 2002 event in Louisville, Ky.
Instead, 150 people came out. The next year, 1,200 people from 35 states
arrived.

"The first bowling alley we held [the event at] was called the Fellowship
Lanes. It was a Baptist-run center, so they had a big sign that said 'no
cussing,' " says Russell. "Which is ironic since the F-word and its
variants are said 281 times in the movie."

Almost five years after its inception, thousands of Lebowski groupies
flock to locales like New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Austin to
partake in the signature silliness drawn from one of the Coen brothers'
most popular, if underrated, films. Plans are in the works for a Seattle
fest, and there's talk of a European expansion.

This year's New York stop takes place on Dec. 16 and 17 at Northsix in
Brooklyn and Cozy Bowl in Queens, respectively. Per Lebowski Fest
tradition, tickets ($15 for the first day, $25 for the second) will get
you a bowling tournament, character-inspired costumes, live music, plenty
of White Russians (the film's signature beverage), and of course, a
screening of the film.

All in honor of a movie that came and went through the nation's
multiplexes without so much as a murmur.

"When I first saw it I didn't dislike it, but I was kind of indifferent to
it," Russell admits. "I think it was the 87th time [that I saw it] when it
was probably the funniest."

Despite marginal box-office numbers when it was released, the Coen
brothers' contemporary Raymond Chandler tribute may be single-handedly
responsible for reinvigorating the popularity of Creedence Clearwater
Revival, bowling, and Bridges (who memorably portrayed the film's
burnt-out, "Caucasian"-sipping, former-roadie namesake). With its all-star
cast, stellar soundtrack, convoluted (and ultimately unimportant) plot,
and whip-smart dialogue, "Lebowski" might be one of Hollywood's few
genuine cult classics. And the scope of that fandom is best demonstrated
in this ever-growing festival.

While the Coen brothers have yet to publicly comment on the event, actors
from the film appear at different festivals, and Bridges even made an
appearance at the L.A. Lebowski Fest two years ago.

"It was a surprise. No one knew he was going to be there," says Russell.
"He was holding a drink and said in the most dudelike way, 'It all seems
like some kind of weird dream I'm having.' He loves it."

If the Fest turnout over the years is any indication, he's not alone.

For info on Lebowski Fest, call (502) 583-9290 or go to LebowskiFest.com.

Penguins, Bond still ruling box office

LOS ANGELES - A dancing penguin and the world's deadliest spy have settled in for a long stay at the top of the box office. The animated penguin tale "Happy Feet" was the No. 1 movie for the third straight weekend, posting ticket sales of $17 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Also for the third straight weekend, the James Bond adventure "Casino Royale" ran a close second, taking in $15.1 million.

"Happy Feet," from Warner Bros., raised its total domestic gross to $121 million. Sony's "Casino Royale" has climbed to $115.9 million.

With a fairly open market for family crowds through Christmas, "Happy Feet" is expected to top out at $185 million or more, said Jeff Goldstein, general sales manager for Warner Bros.

Topping $300 million worldwide, "Casino Royale" is on the way to surpassing the $432 million total of "Die Another Day" to become the top-grossing Bond movie, said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony.

"It's been all about 'Happy Feet' and 'Casino Royale' for the past three weeks. Those films have really captured the marketplace," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "I've never really seen two movies define the start of a holiday season in the way these two have."

Denzel Washington's thriller "Deja Vu" remained in third place for a second straight weekend with $11 million, bringing the Disney release's total to $44.1 million.

A weak crop of newcomers were unable to bump off the holdovers. Despite the holiday season, movie-goers generally were not in the mood for New Line's "The Nativity Story," a tale of Christ's humble birth that debuted modestly with $8 million to come at No. 4.

Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes as the Virgin Mary, "The Nativity Story" received mixed reviews, with many critics finding it a skillfully crafted but tame and unimaginative retelling of the first Christmas.

Snow in the Midwest kept many movie-goers at home, undermining the film's opening, said David Tuckerman, New Line's head of distribution.

"The storms in the middle of the country couldn't have hurt us more," Tuckerman said. "It's a movie made for the heartland, and it killed us in the heartland."

Fox Atomic's "Turistas," a horror thriller about Americans stranded and terrorized in the Brazilian jungle, opened at No. 8 with $3.5 million.

MGM's campus comedy "National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj" — which elevates sidekick Kal Penn to lead status in the absence of Ryan Reynolds, who starred in the original movie — flopped with just $2.3 million, coming in at No. 10.

In limited release, Morgan Freeman's "10 Items Or Less" opened weakly, taking in $40,150 in 15 theaters. The low-budget film, about an actor who bonds with a supermarket cashier ( Paz Vega) while researching a role, will be available for download just two weeks after its theatrical debut in a test of online movie distribution.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Happy Feet," $17.05 million.
2. "Casino Royale," $15.1 million.
3. "Deja Vu," $11 million.
4. "The Nativity Story," $8 million.
5. "Deck the Halls," $6.6 million.
6. "The Santa Clause 3: The Escaped Clause," $5 million.
7. "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," $4.8 million.
8. "Turistas," $3.5 million.
9. "Stranger Than Fiction," $3.4 million.
10. "National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj," $2.3 million.

'HALF NELSON'

'Half Nelson," a low-budget drama about a drug-addicted Brooklyn schoolteacher, and the continent-spanning "Babel" were the big winners Thursday night in the season's first film awards.

The Gotham Awards, presented at Chelsea Piers, named "Half Nelson" as best picture, as well as citing its helmer Ryan Fleck as breakthrough director.

Newcomer Shareeka Epps, who plays a student who discovers the teacher's secret, was named breakthrough performer.

Epps shared her award with Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, cast as a deaf teenager in "Babel."

The drama about the repercussions of a shooting in Morocco also captured the award for best ensemble. The cast also includes Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal and Adriana Barraza.

The documentary award went to James Longley's "Iraq in Fragments."
As the first awards of the season, the Gothams are closely watched as an indicator for the Oscar race, in which relatively few favorites have emerged.

Last year at the Gothams, the breakthrough performer award went to Amy Adams, who went on to capture a supporting actress Oscar nomination for "Junebug."

The Gotham Awards, the East Coast version of the Independent Spirit Awards, are given by IFP, an organization of independent filmmakers that was formerly known as Independent Feature Project/East.

This year's Gotham best picture nominations were controversial because low-budget indies like "Half Nelson" and "Old Joy" were competing for top honors with much more expensive studio-backed projects such as "The Departed," "Marie Antoinette" and "Little Children."

In the Indie Spirit Awards, given by Film Independent - IFP/West before its split with the East Coast organization - "Half Nelson" led the nominations along with the dark comedy "Little Miss Sunshine," with both taking five nods, including best picture.

The other Indie Spirit best picture nominees are the Spanish-language fantasy "Pan's Labyrinth" and the dramas "American Gun" and "The Dead Girl." The awards will be presented Feb. 24, the day before the Oscars.

The National Board of Review will announce its awards Wednesday, followed by the New York Films Critics Circle on Dec. 11. Golden Globe nominations will be announced Dec. 14.