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.