Spidey lands on 'Heroes'

Peter Parker fans may be feeling their spidey-sense tingling.

During Monday's 9 p.m. ET/PT cliffhanger episode of NBC's hit Heroes — it's the last new episode until April 23 — a one-minute clip from this summer's much-anticipated Spider-Man 3 will air. After Heroes, viewers can go to NBC.com to see six minutes of the movie.

Spider-Man 3 stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, who struggles with inner demons while facing the evil Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace). Spider-Man 3 opens May 4.

Grey's Heigl Fades to Black?

Just what the producers of Grey's Anatomy need: more discord within the cast.

Series star Katherine Heigl has bowed out of contract negotiations after reaching a stalemate with producers over a salary dispute.

Sources told E! Online TV columnist Kristin Veitch that Heigl is angling for a salary bump that would put her on par with the show's other female stars, namely Ellen Pompeo and Sandra Oh, both of whom were better known before the ABC hit launched.

Heigl apparently feels that she has become an integral part of the show and her star is on the rise. According to sources, Heigl's camp believes that, come the June release of her Judd Apatow comedy, Knocked Up, Heigl will be one hot commodity. (Think Steve Carell post-The 40-Year-Old Virgin.)

While neither producer Touchstone Television nor Heigl has commented on the contractual posturing, ABC confirmed to E! News that, dispute or not, rising star or not, Heigl isn't going anywhere. She's currently signed for three more years, through the show's sixth season.

"Katherine is an integral part of Grey's Anatomy and its success," ABC said in a statement. "Fortunately, we have a long term contract to ensure she'll be with the show for several years to come."

"In recognition of her tremendous talent and value to the show, we recently approached Katherine with an offer to raise her compensation significantly above the terms of her current contract. We were surprised to see this gesture reported negatively in the press, and want to reassure fans that she will continue as Izzie Stevens."

While Heigl's Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens has become a major asset onscreen (she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and shared the ensemble award from the Screen Actors Guild)—Heigl's offscreen behavior has been a distraction.

The 28-year-old was the most vocal cast member in the wake of Isaiahgate.

Heigl made frequent comments in support of costar T.R. Knight and against costar Isaiah Washington, who called Knight a "faggot" during an onset fracas last fall and then denied it following the Goldeon Globes.

"I'm not okay with it," she said before Washington sought treatment. "He needs to just not speak in public. Period...And I'm probably going to get in a lot of trouble for being that blunt."

While ABC denies that the current contract dispute is any sort of embodiment of behind-the-scenes turmoil, People reports Heigl is distressed that Washington's continued presence on the show seems to valued over her own.

Of course, the stalemate could be less about conspiracies and more about money.

Last June, Touchstone rewarded each of the Grey's Anatomy principal cast members with a cool $200,000 one-time bonus for a time slot well done.

At the time, it was reported that the bonuses were an attempt to head off actors' requests for bigger paydays down the line. Apparently the powers that be wanted to avoid the inevitable salary battles that occur when relatively unknown stars are catapulted to fame via a monster hit show and try to renegotiate their original deals (see: Friends, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond).

Should they need it, the producers will likely have a little more pocket change at their disposal by the end of the season.

Last week, Touchstone confirmed that Kate Walsh, who plays Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd on the series, could be departing for the show's first spinoff.

A two-hour special episode of Grey's Anatomy, set to air during May sweeps, will act as the de facto pilot for the new, as yet untitled series, allowing ABC time to decide whether or not to pick up the show for its fall season. It's unlikely that any other regular cast members will join the new show, though Taye Diggs and Hector Elizondo have signed on to appear in the pilot.

A Christmas 2008 gift for Trekkies

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Captain's log: December 25, 2008.

Paramount Pictures has set a Christmas Day 2008 release date for the 11th "Star Trek" feature, to be filmed by "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams. Shooting will begin in the fall, Paramount said Tuesday.

The screenplay, from "M:I 3" scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, is said to follow James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock during their Starfleet Academy years and into their first space mission.

The previous film in the series, the 2002 box office bomb, "Star Trek: Nemesis," was directed by Stuart Baird, and starred Patrick Stewart.

Oilers honour the 'Moose'

EDMONTON (CP) - Once everything else was behind him - the street naming, civic celebration, a gala evening with old friends - Mark Messier skated onto the ice at Rexall Place in full equipment and hoisted the Stanley Cup for an Oilers crowd that seemed to cherish him more than ever.

A man and the city's adoring fans. That's what this week was really about in Edmonton. When Messier took a final lap of the ice after his No. 11 jersey had been raised to the ceiling on Tuesday, the old building almost shook on its foundation while the sold-out crowd saluted him in a manner that bordered on strident.

It was a stirring moment on an emotional day for Oilers fans, who earlier had been given the shocking news that assistant captain Ryan Smyth had been traded to the New York Islanders.

A few fans shouted encouragement for Smyth during the Messier ceremony, but the night still belonged to the Moose.

He was already in tears when he finished his skate with the Stanley Cup and placed it on a table at centre ice. His three-year-old son Douglas, wearing a vintage Messier jersey, promptly jumped into his arms as the crowd again cheered.

"I want to thank each and every one of you for all of your support," Messier told the 16,839 in attendance. "(The Oilers are) an institution in the world of sports."

That institution started with the dynasty teams of the 1980's.

Messier, who grew up nearby in St. Albert, was the emotional leader of those talented teams that featured the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr and Al Hamilton - the men who have all previously had their jerseys retired in Edmonton.

Only one player will ever have worn No. 11 in the history of the Oilers. His name is Messier.

"One of the reasons that made it so special to play here is that I was born and raised here," he said to the crowd. "To be honoured in this way, standing down here, is a humbling experience."

Former teammates, friends and family joined him on the ice for the roughly 40-minute ceremony. It started with a video tribute that highlighted the many highs of Messier's fine career.

Six Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies, one Conn Smythe Trophy and a point total of 1,887 that leaves him second all-time in league history. The most important thing for Messier is the mark he left on the city of Edmonton and the people he played with.

"I'd like to thank all the Oiler fans for properly honouring the greatest leader sport has ever produced," said current Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish, a former teammate of Messier's. "Mark, that skate brought back great memories.

"Welcome back to centre ice with the Edmonton Oilers."

While these ceremonies have become a regular occurrence around the league, they never seem to tire for the fans who attend them. It's part hero worship and part longing for a bygone era.

Messier is 46 now, yet it seems so easy for many to remember the glorious moments he produced for the Oilers more than two decades ago.

Even though the timing of the ceremony created a strange atmosphere because it coincided with the Smyth deal and the NHL's trade deadline, Messier thanked the team for it.

The Oilers had selected Feb. 27 so coach Gretzky and his Phoenix Coyotes could be there - just as they were when Coffey's No. 7 was honoured last season.

"Tonight would not have been the same without Wayne being here," said Messier. "Wayne was our leader. He was our inspiration. He was the guy we leaned on and he never let us down and never put himself above anybody."

Still, the Oilers regretted that the events had to coincide.

"When this day first came up months ago, I thought, 'Whatever we do on deadline day is not going to impact the evening,"' said GM Kevin Lowe. "I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined this sort of thing happening so I don't want to appear insensitive to the impact of the deal on the whole event."

Even Smyth himself wanted the day to be about Messier.

He refused to speak to reporters after news of the trade broke because he didn't want to take any of the spotlight.

"I want this to be a great night for Mark Messier," he said Tuesday morning before being traded. "For what he's done for this city. For what he's done for the run of five Stanley Cups."

Fortunately for all involved, Messier still had his moment. And it brought back a lot of memories seeing him holding the Stanley Cup.

Murphy "Storms Out" After Oscar Loss

Dreamgirls star Eddie Murphy was so devastated after losing the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award to Alan Arkin he stormed out of the ceremony, according to press reports in the US, including Roger Friedman of FoxNews.com.

Murphy was the favorite to win the Oscar, which instead was awarded to Little Miss Sunshine star Arkin.

The 45-year-old tried to downplay his disappointment telling American publication Us Weekly, "It's fine. It happens. It's OK."

But shortly thereafter, Murphy and girlfriend Tracey Edmonds left the show and didn't return.

Murphy missed out on his Dreamgirls cast mates Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose performing songs from the film, as well as Hudson's win for Best Supporting Actress.

Scorsese Departs on Post-Oscar Project

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Martin Scorsese has finally found a winning formula—and it seems he plans on sticking with it.

Fresh off his first Oscar win for directing The Departed, Scorsese has reteamed with the gritty gangster flick's Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan for the epic rock 'n' roll feature The Long Play.

The endeavor already reeks of credibility: Aside from Scorsese and Monahan jumping on board, Mick Jagger, a man who knows a thing or two about rock 'n' roll, will coproduce the flick through his Jagged Films.

The film will chronicle two friends over their 40-year ride in the music business. The Long Play will also highlight the rise and fall of musical genres along the way, touching on everything from the salad days of R&B to rock and up through contemporary hip-hop.

The movie is based on an idea from the Rolling Stone frontman that was originally earmarked for Disney. The Mouse House passed on the script because it didn't quite jibe with their family-friendly reputation.

The picture has since moved on to Paramount, where Scorsese signed a four-year first-look deal in November. Monahan has signed on to rewrite the screenplay, and while no start date has been set, it will be the next project for both men. The Oscar-winning twosome had reportedly been discussed some kind of sequel to The Departed, though that very tentative plan has now been pushed back.

The movie will not only mark Scorsese's second go-round with Monahan but also his second with Jagger.

Last fall, Scorsese shot a Rolling Stones concert documentary, in the vein of The Last Waltz, in New York City, which Paramount is prepping to release this fall.

In the meantime, Scorsese isn't the only Departed player angling to reteam with Monahan.

Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio has also attached himself to the Monahan-penned flick Confessions of Pain, per the Hollywood Reporter. Like The Departed, Confessions is also based on a Hong Kong thriller.

The original, released last year, centers on two detective friends, one working for the police and one in private practice, who partner up to investigate the murder of the cop's father-in-law. There's no word yet on which lead role DiCaprio will take, though the actor is also set to produce the film through his company, Appian Way.

DiCaprio and Scorsese, meanwhile, are planning on yet another collaboration, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, with DiCaprio playing the youthful, prepresidential Roosevelt. The project is in development and no start date has been announced.

2008 OSCARS' 'BEST' BETS

February 26, 2007 -- The red carpet at the Kodak Theatre hasn’t even been rolled up, and Tinseltown is already talking about next year’s Oscar race.

That would be the Best Picture cliffhanger between a big-screen version of the Broadway musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" - starring Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep - and "Charlie Wilson’s War," an Afghanistan-themed political drama with two other Hollywood heavyweights, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

Or maybe, experts say, the big showdown will come down to Steven Soderbergh’s "Che," showcasing Benicio Del Toro as the Cuban-guerrilla leader, and Ridley Scott’s ’60s Harlem crime saga "American Gangster," starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington.

Others are anticipating a duel for the gold that would pit "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" - the first installment in a pricey "Lord of the Rings"- style fantasy franchise with Nicole Kidman as the villain - against "The Golden Age," in which Cate Blanchett reprises her Oscar-nominated role as England’s first Queen Elizabeth.

Welcome to Hollywood’s version of fantasy baseball, where insiders try to dope out the Oscar prospects of films that largely haven’t been completed, or in some cases don’t have a confirmed release date - or even a U.S. distributor.

During Oscar Week a year ago, DreamWorks and Paramount invited press to the set of the still-filming "Dreamgirls," which was then rated as the one to beat for Best Picture. (It didn’t even get nominated.)

The other unseen favorite at that point was "Flags of Our Fathers," which didn’t make it into the final five either. "Letters from Iwo Jima," the other Clint Eastwood picture that did get nominated, wasn’t even on the 2007 schedule.

One veteran Oscar campaigner has a list of 45 possible Best Picture contenders for next year, which, the consultant says, looks "very weak" at this point.

"It’s a big list, but it’s not a very clear list in any way," says David Poland, who tracks Oscar contenders at his Movie City News Web site. "Every year, two or three movies jump out at you, but this year that’s not true. ‘Sweeney Todd’ has the size and Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep, both of whom the Academy love, but director Tim Burton is not exactly Oscar bait."

"Little Miss Sunshine," up for Best Picture last night, started at the Sundance Film Festival, which has been growing in importance as an Oscar launching pad for lower-budget films.

The consensus is that the strongest candidate from Sundance this year is "The Savages," a darkly funny drama about self-absorbed middle-aged siblings (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney) coping with their father’s last months.

Two Sundance titles may make it into the acting races. The Weinstein Co. bought "Grace is Gone" specifically with the intention of mounting a Best Actor campaign for John Cusack, brilliant as the widower of a female soldier killed in Iraq.

And ThinkFilm, the tiny distributor that snagged a Best Actor bid for Ryan Gosling of "Half Nelson," is backing Julie Christie as a woman drifting into dementia in "Leaving Her."

But mostly, handicappers - and even studios - at this point are largely going on the past Oscar performances of actors, directors and writers involved in individual projects, as well as whether the subject matter fits into that of past Oscar nominees.

Teen sex comedies and, for the most part, summer event films need not apply. But there are several contenders with connections to the war in Iraq.

"Hanks is a lock for a nomination, Del Toro is a lock, Blanchett is a lock, and Depp is a lock if the movie is any good at all," Poland says. "But while a lot of the films on the list have a lot of pedigree, who the hell knows if they’re Oscar movies? The studios won’t decide until June and July, when they’ve got a look at significant footage, how much money they want to put behind backing these movies."

Paul Haggis, who directed last year’s winner, "Crash" (and also
wrote the previous year’s winner, "Million Dollar Baby"), is back with "In the Valley of Elah," starring Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron in a drama about a hunt for a missing Iraq-war soldier.

And there is buzz, or at least intense curiosity, surrounding Francis Ford Coppola’s "Youth Without Youth," a World War II drama that doesn’t even have a distributor.

New Releases, February 27: David Bromberg, Maynard Ferguson, Dean & Britta

David Bromberg "Try Me One More Time"

The acclaimed vocalist/guitarist is finally back, with his first new CD in 17 years. Bromberg, who had been previously focusing his energy on the craft of violinmaking, was last heard on 1990's "Sideman Serenade."

"Try Me One More Time" features a number of covers, including songs originally penned by Reverend Gary Davis, Elizabeth Cotton, Tommy Johnson, Blind Willie McTell and Bob Dylan. It also includes some original compositions.

Bromberg, who is equally comfortable with folk, blues, bluegrass and other musical genres, was known early in his career mostly as a session player and sideman for such stars as Dylan and Jerry Jeff Walker.

* * *
Maynard Ferguson "M.F. Horn 2"/"M.F. Horn 3"/"M.F Horn 4 & 5 - Live at Jimmy's"/"Wow: Formative Years"

Trumpeter Walter "Maynard" Ferguson, whose work includes the Grammy-nominated "Rocky" movie theme "Gonna Fly Now," died Aug. 23 2006 at the age of 78. These new reissues celebrate the jazz artist's impressive career.

* * *
Dean & Britta "Back Numbers"

Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips are best known for being, respectively, the vocalist/guitarist and bassist for Luna. That band called it quits in 2004, but the two musicians are still collaborating.

The duo now returns with its second offering, "Back Numbers." That should help all the fans who cried over Luna's passing. For more help, check out the 17-song retrospective, "The Best of Luna," which was released by Rhino Records last year.

* * *
Do Make Say Think "You, You're a History in Rust"

The Toronto-based psychedelic indie-rock band, which got its start in the late '90s, returns with a follow-up to 2003's "Winter Hymn, Country Hymn, Secret Hymn." It's the band's fifth release overall.

* * *
Nick Warren "Global Underground 030: Paris"

The pioneering DJ, an early champion in trance music, releases his latest in a line of worldly offerings. His past efforts have included 2003's "Global Underground: Reykjavik" and 2005's "Global Underground: Shanghai."

* * *
More new releases:
Paul Brown, "White Sand" (Peak)
John Denver, "The Essential John Denver" (RCA)
Dr. Dog, "We All Belong" (Park the Van)
Bill Engvall, "15 Degrees Off Cool" (Warner Bros.)
4hero, "Play With the Changes" (Milan)
Kenny Loggins, "How About Now" (180 Music) 9Target stores only)
Manowar, "Gods of War" (Circle Song)
Chieli Minucci and Special EFX, "Sweet Surrender" (Shanachie)
Money Mark, "Brand New by Tomorrow" (Brushfire/Universal)
Onetwo, "Instead" (There)
Pagoda, "Pagoda" Ecstatic Peace
Andy Palacio and Garifuna Collective, "Watina" (Cumbancha)
Jennifer Pena, "Dicen Que El Tiempo" (Univision)
Darryl Singletary, "Straight From the Heart" (Shanachie)
Patrick Simmons, "Arcade" (Wounded Bird)
Slim Thug and Boss Hogg Outlawz, "Serve & Collect" (Koch)
Otis Taylor, "Definition of a Circle" (Telarc)
Matt Wertz, "Everything in Between" (Nettwerk)
Rev. Timothy Wright, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" (Koch)
Joe Zawinul, "Brown Street" (Heads Up)

After 50 years, a tip of the hat to one cool 'Cat'

He's still the fanciest feline in literature and and it's still a classic "home alone" story.

A brazen cat strolls uninvited into the home of a boy and girl whose mother is out. To the children's horror, he proceeds to trash the house — he calls it "lots of good fun that is funny!" Miraculously (with the help of Thing One and Thing Two), he manages to tidy up before Mom comes home.

He's the Cat in the Hat, and he turns 50 on Thursday.

The Cat in the Hat was published jointly by Houghton Mifflin and Random House on March 1, 1957. It was the 13th children's book by Theodor Seuss Geisel, who came to be known as Dr. Seuss. It made him a household name and his trickster furball a pop-culture icon.

Random House (now the sole U.S. publisher) estimates it has sold 10.5 million copies. Millions more — no one knows how many — have been sold by mail-order book clubs.

The Cat in the Hat was a product of the postwar baby boom. In 1957, 29 million children were in kindergarten and elementary school. The "Dick and Jane" primers used to teach reading were considered dull and uninspiring.

Challenged by a Houghton Mifflin executive to write a story that "first-graders wouldn't be able to put down," Geisel created The Cat in the Hat. The rest is publishing history.

"Teaching children how to read with The Cat in the Hat was a real breath of fresh air," says Philip Nel, whose The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats (Random House, $30) was recently published. "The rhymes just propel the reader along."

Geisel was asked to use only 223 words from a list of 348 words for beginning readers. He ended up using 236. Even though it has been around for half a century, Cat is still popular with kids (and parents) and sells hundreds of thousands of copies a year.

It became a much-maligned movie starring Mike Myers as the cat in 2003.

"Reading it is like listening to a great song," says Nancy Karpyk, who teaches kindergarten in Weirton, W.Va. "When I read it to my students, the rhythm of it makes them feel good. They love the rhymes, and they love the way the cat struts in the illustrations."

But it's what the cat gets away with that may have clinched his legacy.

"He's a rebel, and Americans identify with rebels," Nel says. "He's a con artist who creates a sense of possibility like the Wizard of Oz or Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man."

Some Cat facts:

•Geisel thought he could write the book in a week, but it took him a year and a half.

•The cat's face is said to have been inspired by that of a Houghton Mifflin elevator operator who Geisel thought had "a secret smile" and who wore gloves.

Calling All Hosers

From the producers of the upcoming McKenzie Brothers documentary:

Me Jane Films is currently producing a special one hour documentary for CBC called "The Two-Four Anniversary of Strange Brew." That's right, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas will be reuniting as Bob and Doug McKenzie for what may be their last show from the Great White North...and we want to hear from you!

We are looking for the best, most entertaining home video footage, photographs, collections of memorabilia, and Hoser stories. Do you have an entire room in your house dedicated to Bob and Doug? Do you or someone you know consider toques and parkas as wardrobe essentials? Have you ever tried to stuff a mouse inside a beer bottle...and videotaped it? Are your children named Bob and Doug...and they are both daughters?

You get the picture. We want to see how those original Hosers - and their comedy classic, "Strange Brew" - have impacted your lives.

E-mail us at info@mejanefilms.com and let us know if there's anything you'd like us to consider using in the show. Be sure to include your phone number because when we receive your submission we may need to contact you for more information.

Depending on the nature of your submission, we may request that an item be sent to us, such as a DVD or photo - or even better, you may be asked to participate in an on-camera interview! Payment may be available for some types of footage.

So put down that bottle of beer and jelly doughnut because here's your chance to show the rest of Canada (maybe even the world, eh!) just how much these two unforgettable Canadian Hosers mean to you.

Looking forward to hearing from you, eh!

Marty, Jerry bask in Oscar spotlight

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - An Oscarcast first: the award show host (or in this case hostess) running a vacuum cleaner in the audience. As amusing as it was, DeGenerously speaking, it did take the glamour of the Oscars down a notch or two.

And if it seemed as if Jerry Seinfeld was maybe auditioning for a future Oscar host gig, fuggedaboudit. He's been asked to do so by the Academy several times but has always said no. However, his time onstage as a presenter Sunday added such zing to the show that one hopes he'll reconsider one of these years.

Vacuum cleaners aside, the night did deliver one of the all-time great Oscar moments: the sight of Martin Scorsese, at last an Oscar champ, standing onstage with Spielberg, Coppola and Lucas. Talk about a memorial photo op.

And although Oscar quibbling is a tradition in itself, one certainly can't complain about a show that not only brings an Academy Award to Scorsese and such talented people as Helen Mirren, Forest Whitaker, Alan Arkin, Jennifer Hudson, Sherry Lansing, Ennio Morricone and the others honored at Oscar's 79th but also offers for any reason Catherine Deneuve.

One little post-Oscar cautionary tale for you winners: Enjoy your triumph to the fullest, but give a compassionate thought to some gents who celebrated with all their might back on April 14, 1969, when their movie "Young Americans" was named best documentary feature. It was a joyful time for producers Robert Cohn and Alex Grasshoff.

But on May 7, it was learned that "Americans" had first been shown in a theater in October 1967, which made the movie ineligible for consideration. Soon after, the fellows had to give back their beautiful, shiny Academy Award statuettes; on May 8, the first runner-up in that category, "Journey Into Self," was declared the official winner.

It was, to say the least, a bummer for Cohn and Grasshoff but an unexpected and belated windfall for "Journey" producer Bill McGaw. Hiding your new Oscar, just in case, won't help if that should happen to any of you Oscared on Sunday. But you can take comfort in the fact that such a kerfuffle has happened only once in the Academy's 79-year past.

Philip Seymour Hoffman didn't have time to linger in L.A. after being a presenter at the big O festivities. He's already back in Manhattan for Tuesday night's first preview of "Jack Goes Boating," the new play he's starring in for the Labyrinth Theater Company at the Public. It opens March 18.

Previews also begin Tuesday at the Al Hirschfeld on "Curtains," the Kander & Ebb murder mystery satire with David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk, which did a test run in Los Angeles. Its opening night is set for March 22. On Thursday, "Altar Boyz" at the Dodger Stages begins its third year off-Broadway.

BitTorrent launches legit service

LOS ANGELES (AP) - BitTorrent Inc., makers of a technology often used to trade pirated copies of Hollywood movies, is launching a website that will sell downloads of films and TV shows licensed from the studios.

The BitTorrent Entertainment Network was set to launch Monday with films from Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lionsgate and episodes of TV shows such as "24" and "Punk'd."

The service is squarely aimed at young men and boys who regularly use BitTorrent to trade pirated versions of the same films and who more often watch such files on their computer, instead of on a big screen TV in the living room.

The San Francisco-based company is betting at least one-third of the 135 million people who have downloaded the BitTorrent software will be willing to pay for high-quality legitimate content, rather than take their chances with pirated fare.

"The vast majority of our audience just loves digital content," Ashwin Navin, president and co-founder of BitTorrent, said.

"Now we have to program for that audience and create a better experience for that content so the audience converts to the service that makes the studios money."

To help wean users to paying for content, BitTorrent is featuring content and pricing that appeal to its target demographic - males between the ages of 15 and 35.

TV episodes are US$1.99 to download to own, which is typical for competitor sites such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes.

The new site will rent movies for a 24-hour viewing period for $3.99 for new titles and $2.99 for older films but the site has decided not to sell films for now because the prices demanded by the studios are too high.

"We're really hammering the studios to say: 'Go easy on this audience,"' Navin said.

"We need to give them a price that feels like a good value relative to what they were getting for free."

The service also will offer Japanese anime and high-definition video, which is popular with its users. Individuals will be able to publish their works to the site, which will compete for attention beside studio content.

The BitTorrent technology pioneered by Bram Cohen assembles digital movies and other computer files from separate bits of data downloaded from other computer users across the Internet. Its decentralized nature makes downloading more efficient, meaning a full-length movie should download in about a half-hour, about twice as fast as some other sites.

Navin said TV episodes should download in about one-third that time.

BitTorrent's decentralized structure also frustrated the entertainment industry's efforts to find and identify movie pirates.

In 2005, after the studios won a key legal decision against another pirate software company, Grokster, Cohen agreed to remove links to pirated files and start talks to licence legitimate content.

Studios also were more comfortable with the idea of distributing content over peer-to-peer networks after they adopted strong digital rights management safeguards created by Microsoft Corp.

BitTorrent's content is protected by Windows Media DRM and will only play back using Windows Media Player.

Studios striking deals with peer-to-peer networks is a good first step toward allowing users to more freely distribute films and TV shows on the Internet but it may take another five years or more for Hollywood to become completely comfortable with that, one analyst said.

"Their biggest concern is that an anonymous person passes it to an anonymous person," said Les Ottolenghi, chairman and president of Intent Mediaworks Inc., a company that helps content owners protect their works on peer-to-peer networks.

Ottolenghi recently chaired a task force that looked at digital watermarking, a technology that helps content owners track the route of its files as they make they way around the Internet.

"Their greatest hope is that someone at home passes it on to someone at home, from one device to the next and that becomes a value to the consumer," he said.

Aerosmith to rock Prince Edward Island: report

Rock veterans Aerosmith will be hosting Prince Edward Island's biggest concert ever according to a local newspaper.

The Charlottetown Guardian says it has confirmed the rock band will play the Charlottetown Driving Park Entertainment Centre on July 21.

The all-day event, part of Aerosmith's Ambassadors of Rock tour, will feature local performers such as Two Hours Traffic, In-Flight Safety and Nathan Wiley.

The tour's only other Canadian date is July 19 in Sarnia, Ont.

About 30,000 fans are expected to turn up, far more than the 18,000 who attended the Black Eyed Peas concert last year at the same venue.

Concert organizer David Carver is the person behind inviting Aerosmith to the Island. However, Carver ran into problems after last September's Black Eyed Peas event.

In early February, Deputy Mayor Stu MacFadyen said the city wouldn't allow Carver to host another concert until he paid a $17,000 bill for security. MacFadyen did say he was confident the debt would be settled soon.

John Gaudet of the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce, predicts the event will bring huge economic rewards to the region but also wonders if it might draw visitors away from other events during the summer.

"Does one large event take away from the other?'' Gaudet asked in the newspaper. "It's something we'll be discussing.''

Aerosmith, which has sold 100 million albums worldwide, begins its tour April 15 in Buenos Aires. The band's other stops include Dubai, Frankfurt, Paris, London and Moscow.

Labels weigh potential fallout of satellite merger

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Would a merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio be good or bad for the music business?

That's the question industry executives have been wrestling with since the two companies announced plans to combine in a $13 billion deal that creates a single satellite radio behemoth.

Officially, label executives are taking a wait-and-see approach. But privately, they are debating the ramifications of the tie-up on everything from promotion opportunities to licensing revenue to existing litigation strategies.

Some of the biggest question marks surround the impact of consolidation on satellite radio's role as a promotion and exposure platform.

XM claimed 7.6 million subscribers at the end of 2006, while Sirius had 6 million. If the two companies are integrated, similar channels likely will be eliminated, giving the labels fewer outlets where they can promote new artists.

Label sources say that support from XM and Sirius in terms of airplay for baby bands oftentimes can be a key early component in building momentum to take budding acts to terrestrial radio and MTV.

Such strategies have worked effectively, particularly in the rock genre with bands like Panic! at the Disco and Hellogoodbye.

"Anytime you take away airplay it hurts," said Mike Easterlin, senior vice president of promotion for Lava/Atlantic. "There's (fewer and fewer) places to go to break new music, and this is one place where we had a couple outlets that were aggressive about it. Now we're losing one."

That's not to say that a merger of the satellite radio rivals is going to be felt immediately in terms of sales.

EFFECT ON SALES UNCLEAR

Radio promo executives note that exposure via XM and Sirius is tough to gauge in terms of CD and download purchasing.

"When MTV is really spinning a video you see the sales," Easterlin said. "I don't know (that) you necessarily get a sense from satellite radio whether it turns into sales. It is difficult to quantify what is happening there."

But not everyone is convinced that consolidation among satellite radio players is going to negatively affect the music industry's ability to find early champions for developing artists.

Edison Media Research analyst Sean Ross suggests that airplay from the combined entity will have a greater impact on the artists it plays due to its increased size and potential reach of more than 13 million subscribers combined.

If a merger is allowed to go through -- far from a certainty, according to analysts like Maurice McKenzie of Signal Hill Capital, who calls the prospects of the deal clearing regulatory hurdles a "low probability" -- the merger could also hit the labels on the bottom line.

Record companies collect licensing fees of a few million dollars each from the two satellite operators. Income the labels take in from satellite is expected to increase meaningfully when the Copyright Royalty Board announces new rates for noninteractive performance rates for sound recordings. An opinion is expected to be delivered by March 5.

Labels are also trying to determine just how a merger would affect a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the four major record companies against XM last May over the Inno, a handheld device that allows for downloading of satellite programming. A federal judge in January denied XM's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Some industry sources have suggested the merger could force XM to settle the deal.

'The Departed' wins best picture

LOS ANGELES - Martin Scorsese's mob epic "The Departed" won best picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday and earned the filmmaker the directing prize that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career.

"Could you double-check the envelope?" said Scorsese, who had been the greatest living American filmmaker without an Oscar. He also had never delivered a best-picture winner before, despite crafting such modern masterpieces as "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas."

Scorsese received his Oscar from three contemporaries and friends, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. "So many people over the years have been wishing this for me," Scorsese said.

In an evening when no one film dominated as the Oscars shared the love among a wide range of movies from around the world, three of the four acting front-runners won: best actress Helen Mirren as British monarch Elizabeth II in "The Queen"; best actor Forest Whitaker as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"; and supporting actress Jennifer Hudson as a soul singer in "Dreamgirls."

The other front-runner, Eddie Murphy of "Dreamgirls," lost to Alan Arkin for "Little Miss Sunshine."

"For 50 years and more, Elizabeth Windsor has maintained her dignity, her sense of duty and her hairstyle," said Mirren, who has been on a remarkable roll since last fall as she won all major film and television prizes for playing both of Britain's Queen Elizabeths.

"She's had her feet planted firmly on the ground, her hat on her head, her handbag on her arm and she's weathered many many storms. ... If it wasn't for her, I most certainly wouldn't be here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the queen," Mirren said, holding her Oscar aloft.

"The Departed" led the evening with four Oscars, also winning for adapted screenplay and editing.

The Oscars had their most diverse and international scope ever, with wins for two black actors and global dramas that included "Pan's Labyrinth," "Babel" and "Letters From Iwo Jima."

The soft-spoken Whitaker won for an uncharacteristically flamboyant role as the barbarous yet mesmerizing Amin.

"When I was a kid the only way I saw movies was from the back seat of my family's car at the drive-in movie," Whitaker said. "It wasn't my reality to think I would be acting in movies, so receiving this honor tonight tells me it's possible. It is possible for a kid from east Texas, raised in south-central L.A. and Carson, who believes in his dreams, commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them and to have them happen."

Arkin played a foul-mouthed grandpa with a taste for heroin in "Little Miss Sunshine," a low-budget film that came out of the independent world to become a commercial hit and major awards player.

"More than anything, I'm deeply moved by the open-hearted appreciation our small film has received, which in these fragmented times speaks so openly of the possibility of innocence, growth and connection," said Arkin.

Hudson won an Oscar for her first movie, playing a powerhouse vocalist who falls on hard times after she is booted from a 1960s girl group. The role came barely two years after she shot to celebrity as an "American Idol" finalist.

"Oh my God, I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn't think I was going to win," Hudson said through tears of joy. "If my grandmother was here to see me now. She was my biggest inspiration."

"Little Miss Sunshine" also won the original screenplay Oscar for first-time screenwriter Michael Arndt.

The film follows a ghastly but hilarious road trip by an emotionally messed-up family rushing to get their darling girl (10-year-old supporting-actress nominee Abigail Breslin) to her beauty pageant.

"When I was a kid, my family drove 600 miles in a VW bus with a broken clutch," Arndt said, describing a road trip that mirrored the one in the film. "It ended up being one of the funnest things we did together."

The nonfiction hit "An Inconvenient Truth," a chronicle of Al Gore's campaign to warn the world about global warming, was picked as best documentary.

"People all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue. It's a moral issue," Gore said, joining the film's director, Davis Guggenheim, on stage.

"An Inconvenient Truth" also won original song for Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up."

"Mostly, I have to thank Al Gore for inspiring me, showing me that caring about the earth is not Republican or Democrat, it's not red or blue. We are all green," Etheridge said.

The openly gay Etheridge kissed her partner Tammy Lynn Michaels on the lips when her name was announced and onstage referred to Michaels as her wife. The couple held a commitment ceremony in 2003 and are the parents of twins.

"Maybe someone at home is going, `Did she say wife?'" Etheridge said backstage. "I was kissing her because that's what you do, you kiss your loved one when you win an Oscar, that's what I grew up believing."

Earlier, Gore appeared with best-actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio to praise organizers for implementing environmentally friendly practices in the show's production.

DiCaprio set up a gag with Gore, asking the 2000 presidential candidate if there was anything he wanted to announce.

"I guess with a billion people watching, it's as good a time as any. So my fellow Americans, I'm going to take this opportunity right here and now to formally announce my intentions ...," Gore said, his voice trailing away as the orchestra cut him off.

Composer Gustavo Santaolalla won his second straight Oscar for original score for "Babel," a film "that helped us understand better who we are and why and what we are here for," he said. He won the same prize a year ago for "Brokeback Mountain."

The dancing-penguin musical "Happy Feet" won the Oscar for feature-length animation, denying computer-animation pioneer John Lasseter ("Toy Story") the prize for "Cars," which had been the big winner of earlier key animation honors.

"I asked my kids, `What should I say?' They said, `Thank all the men for wearing penguin suits,'" said "Happy Feet" director George Miller (news, bio, voting record).

The savage fairy tale "Pan's Labyrinth" took three Oscars. The Spanish-language film won for art direction, makeup and cinematography.

"To Guillermo del Toro for guiding us through this labyrinth," said art director Eugenio Caballero, lauding the writer-director of "Pan's Labyrinth," the tale of a girl who concocts an elaborate fantasy world to escape her harsh reality in 1940s Fascist Spain.

Germany's "The Lives of Others," about a playwright and his actress-girlfriend who come under police surveillance in 1980s East Berlin, won the foreign-language Oscar, the films it beat including "Pan's Labyrinth."

"Letters From Iwo Jima" won the sound-editing Oscar for Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman. Murray's father was an Iwo Jima survivor.

"Thank you to my father and all the brave and honorable men and women in uniform who in a time of crisis have all made that decision to defend their personal freedom and liberty no matter what the sacrifice," Murray said.

The record holder for Oscar futility, sound engineer Kevin O'Connell, extended his losing streak to 19 nominations without a win. This time, O'Connell and two colleagues were nominated for sound mixing on "Apocalypto," Mel Gibson's portrait of the savage decline of the ancient Mayan empire, but they lost to another trio of sound engineers that worked on "Dreamgirls." "Apocalypto" lost in all three categories in which it was nominated, all for technical achievements.

Once an evening of back-slapping and merrymaking within the narrow confines of Hollywood, the Academy Awards this time looked like a United Nations exercise in diversity.

The 79th annual Oscars feature their most ethnically varied lineup ever, with stars and stories that reflect the growing multiculturalism taking root around the globe.

"What a wonderful night. Such diversity in the room," said Ellen DeGeneres, serving as Oscar host for the first time, "in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation.

"And I want to put this out there: If there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars," she said, adding: "Or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that."

The 79th Annual Academy Awards

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Winner: The Departed (2006) - Graham King
Dan's Prediction - Little Miss Sunshine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Dan's Prediction - Forest Whitaker

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Helen Mirren for The Queen (2006)
Dan's Prediction - Helen Mirren

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Dan's Prediction - Eddie Murphy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006)
Dan's Prediction - Jennifer Hudson

Best Achievement in Directing
Winner: Martin Scorsese for The Departed (2006)
Dan's Prediction - Martin Scorsese

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Winner: Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Michael Arndt

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Winner: The Departed (2006) - William Monahan

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Winner: Laberinto del Fauno, El (2006) - Guillermo Navarro

Best Achievement in Editing
Winner: The Departed (2006) - Thelma Schoonmaker

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Winner: Laberinto del Fauno, El (2006) - Eugenio Caballero, Pilar Revuelta

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Winner: Marie Antoinette (2006) - Milena Canonero

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Winner: Babel (2006) - Gustavo Santaolalla

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Winner: An Inconvenient Truth (2006) - Melissa Etheridge ("I Need To Wake Up")

Best Achievement in Makeup
Winner: Laberinto del Fauno, El (2006) - David Martí, Montse Ribé

Best Achievement in Sound
Winner: Dreamgirls (2006) - Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, Willie D. Burton

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) - Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, Allen Hall

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Winner: Happy Feet (2006) - George Miller

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Winner: Leben der Anderen, Das (2006)(Germany)

Best Documentary, Features
Winner: An Inconvenient Truth (2006) - Davis Guggenheim

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Winner: The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006) - Ruby Yang, Thomas Lennon

Best Short Film, Animated
Winner: The Danish Poet (2006) - Torill Kove

Best Short Film, Live Action
Winner: West Bank Story (2005) - Ari Sandel

'Ghost Rider' scares up $19.7M weekend

LOS ANGELES - The comic-book adaptation "Ghost Rider" burned the competition at the weekend box office, fending off a rush of new movies to rake in $19.7 million in its second week, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Sony film starring Nicolas Cage as a motorcycle stuntman turned Satanic bounty hunter continued its momentum after debuting last week with $52 million over the four-day President's Day weekend, the biggest opening ever for that holiday.

"It set the bar so high last weekend that for any newcomers, it was going to be real tough film to beat," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Premiering at No. 2 with $15.1 million was the New Line Cinema psychological thriller "The Number 23," starring Jim Carrey as a man obsessed with the mysterious power of that digit.

The other new movies included the 20th Century Fox police spoof "Reno 911!: Miami," which opened at No. 4 with $10.4 million and "The Astronaut Farmer," which debuted at No. 9 with $4.5 million. The Warner Bros. film stars Billy Bob Thornton as an ex- NASA astronaut who struggles to build his own rocket.

Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia," based on the children's fantasy novel, slipped to third place with $13.6 million, lifting its total to $46.2 million. Dreamworks' Eddie Murphy comedy "Norbit" rounded out the top five with $9.7 million.

Despite bad reviews, "Ghost Rider" lifted Hollywood out of its box-office slump, with revenues up for the second straight week this year. The top-12 movies grossed $101.8 million, up 1.5 percent from the same weekend last year. However, movie attendance to date this year is down 2.2 percent.

"Ghost Rider" is based on the Marvel Comic books about motorcycle stunt driver Johnny Blaze, played by Cage, who sells his soul to the devil and gains fiery superpowers.

"It's an accessible movie to everyone," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "Not only does it have action and special effects, it also has a tremendous sense of humor to it."

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. "Ghost Rider," $19.7 million.
2. "The Number 23," $15.1 million.
3. "Bridge to Terabithia," $13.6 million.
4. "Reno 911!: Miami" $10.4 million.
5. "Norbit," $9.7 million.
6. "Music & Lyrics," $8 million.
7. "Breach," $6.2 million
8. "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls, $5.3 million.
9. "The Astronaut Farmer," $4.5 million.
10. "Amazing Grace," $4.3 million.

Dan's Predictions

Well, for the third straight year it looks like there will be few - if any - surprises when the 79th Annual Academy Awards are handed out.

And for the third straight year, I will stick with my predictions, as I posted them the day the nominations themselves were announced.

So, for better or for worse, enjoy the show, cross your fingers for a few surprises, and here is that post:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

www.anythingbut.com - January 23rd, 2007.

Early Predictions

The nominations for the 79th annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning and they confirmed what all prognosticators already knew: the only open race is for "Best Picture."

Even prior to the Golden Globes, and their nominations, the following five of the big six races were already determined, due to buzz, the fact that the people themselves were showing contrition regarding winning an Oscar, and their performances themselves.

It is true that these people can lose their Oscars between now and Tuesday, February 20th when the Oscar Ballots are due, but as of today, those guaranteed to win on Oscar night are:

Those guaranteed to win on Oscar night are:

Best Actress
Helen Mirren, THE QUEEN

Best Actor
Forest Whitaker, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson, DREAMGIRLS

Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy, DREAMGIRLS

And

Best Director
Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED.

So now, out of the five nominees, who wins Best Picture?

Well, BABEL was a surprise Golden Globe winner, so it has to make the final two; THE DEPARTED has no buzz at all in this category, but it will (finally) give Marty his Award, and Mark Wahlberg's nominations shows the academy notices a great performance - yes "Marky Mark" is now an Academy Award nominee - but no one thinks it was the Best Picture last year; the Academy loves Clint Eastwood, but LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA doesn't have the momentum of his previous Oscar winners MILLION DOLLAR BABY or UNFORGIVEN; LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE was the surprise winner of the top feature film award presented by the Producers Guild of America last weekend, confirming that voters are aware of this wonderful little film, so that gives it momentum; and THE QUEEN is also wonderful, and the nomination for Best Director for Stephen Frears is proof again that voters are aware of the movie, but it is getting all of it's buzz for Helen Mirren, not for the film itself.

So now, who wins Best Picture?

At this point, it looks like it is a race between BABEL and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, with the latter poised to be the only surprise on Oscar night, February 25th.

That is a surprise I would enjoy.

Hollywood poised for its big day

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The limousines have been charged up, the hairdressers and stylists have worked their magic and the stars are ready to stroll down the red carpet in dresses that have been begged, borrowed or -- perish the thought -- bought.

And, of course, the champagne is on ice and the trendy parties booked.

Hollywood was ready for its big night on Sunday -- the Oscars. And this year there are a couple of notes of suspense in proceedings that have become been cut and dried and downright boring over the years.

The experts agree that no one knows who is going to win best film, adding some tension in the rarefied Oscar air.

Will it be that cute homage to dysfunctional family life, "Little Miss Sunshine," or that depressing tale of pain and suffering around the world, "Babel?"

Does "The Queen" stand a chance, or will Clint Eastwood walk off with the big award for his Japanese language masterpiece, "Letters From Iwo Jima?" Might the Oscar go to Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," a cops and gangsters film that could triumph if votes split between "Sunshine" and "Babel."

It has been years since the best picture nomination was as much of a toss-up as this year.

In addition, in the last 10 days, several experts have moved away from predictions that all the best acting nominations are locked up and are predicting close contests in three of the four -- best actor, best supporting actor and best supporting actress categories.

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN

Only Helen Mirren is regarded as a shoo-in for best actress for her regal work as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen."

In the days leading up to the Oscars, some heavyweight critics have thrown their support to "Sunshine," while some Oscar voters have turned their noses up at the movie, saying it is too lowbrow to merit an Oscar.

Then again, it is not hard to find fault with all the nominees. Some found "Babel" too dark, "The Departed" too much of a genre film, "The Queen" interesting for Brits but not Yank Oscar voters, and "Letters from Iwo Jima" is a terrific film -- if you speak Japanese.

Martin Scorsese is expected to win the best director for "Departed," and if so, it would be his first Oscar for an individual film after seven previous nominations. The sentiment around town is that it is "Marty's turn."

Regardless of who wins or loses, a lot of people will be glued to their TV sets to see what the stars are wearing on the world's most famous red carpet.

Although most stars have multiple designer gowns from which to choose -- making last-minute decisions based on whim and weather -- best actress nominee Mirren has said she will be wearing Christian LaCroix on the big night.

Many have speculated that Giorgio Armani will dress best supporting actress nominee Cate Blanchett, while others have cited fashion atelier Chanel as a likely choice for Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, a best actress nominee for "Volver."

Whatever the final choices, the Academy Awards are one evening in the flurry of Hollywood awards events where elegance and opulence, rather than in-your-face body-flaunting, are celebrated.

Many eyes will be on Ellen DeGeneres, the comedian who is hosting her first Oscars. She promises a kinder, gentler show.

L.A. Weekly Hollywood columnist Nikki Finke said viewers should expect at least one major change: all the acting awards may be given in the last third of the show instead of a couple at the start.

An Academy spokeswoman had no comment. You can tune in to find out, she said, adding another note of suspense to this year's Academy Awards.

'Basic Instinct 2' wins 4 Razzies

LOS ANGELES - Sharon Stone should have trusted her first "Basic Instinct" and left it alone, according to voters of the Razzies, which mocks the worst of Hollywood.

"Basic Instinct 2" won four Razzies on Saturday, including worst picture and worst actress for Stone.

The Wayans brothers comedy "Little Man" placed second with three Razzies, including shared prizes by Shawn and Marlon Wayans for worst actor and worst screen couple.

A follow-up to Stone's career-making 1992 hit, "Basic Instinct 2" revived her femme-fatale predator for a murder thriller set in London, with relatively unknown British actor David Morrissey inheriting the victim's mantle from Michael Douglas, the star of the first film who did not return for the sequel.

Razzies founder John Wilson said that while Stone still looked good in her late 40s, the movie had no other reason to exist.

"Yes, she still has some excuse to drop her robe, but the dialogue, the story, the overall attitude of the character is cartoon-like," Wilson said. "You have to sort of wonder, is she vamping the movie or does she think she's giving a serious performance? Is she the lone person on the project who got the joke?"

The other Razzies for "Basic Instinct 2" were worst screenplay and worst prequel or sequel.

Along with the Razzies for the two Wayans, "Little Man" also won for worst remake or rip-off because it essentially took the premise of a Bugs Bunny cartoon about a pint-sized hoodlum masquerading as a baby and expanded it to feature length, Wilson said.

The images of Marlon Wayans' grafted head on a 2 1/2-foot man's body were creepy rather than comical, Wilson said.

"I will admit there is `so stupid it's funny,' but there is also `so stupid, get out of my face,' and that's what this movie is," Wilson said.

Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, a Hollywood darling a few years ago with such blockbusters as "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs," was named worst director and worst supporting actor for his fantasy flop, "Lady in the Water."

Unable to get Disney, which made his previous hits, to back "Lady in the Water," Shyamalan decamped to Warner Bros., which produced the movie that was based on a bedtime story the filmmaker dreamed up for his children.

The movie follows the plight of a mythical water nymph that turns up in a swimming pool at an apartment complex, whose residents band together to send her back to her otherworldly home.

Shyamalan has a pivotal role as a writer whose book will one day bring salvation to humanity.

"He cast himself as the savior role of the film on top of everything else," Wilson said. "Shyamalan falls into one of the traps that's almost guaranteed to win you a Razzie, when you let your ego run rampant as that man did."

Carmen Electra won for worst supporting actress for "Date Movie" and "Scary Movie 4," the latter featuring her as a character that spoofs Shyamalan's "The Village."

Robin Williams' road-trip comedy "RV" was chosen as worst excuse for family entertainment.

The Couch Potato Report - February 24h, 2007

This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on a show and movie I just don't understand and one group won't just shut up and sing.

The Trailer Park Boys is a popular Canadian mockumentary television series that premiered in April of 2001 and focusses on the misadventures of Ricky, Julian, Bubbles and the other residents of the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park, in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

Filmed like a documentary, and seen from the camera person's point of view, the low-budget program has been very succesful, in fact it is the highest rated Canadian series on the cable network Showcase.

And now there is TRAILER PARK BOYS: THE MOVIE.

The movie features a storyline that is not related to the TV show, but features many of the same characters.

In the film Ricky and Julian get arrested for robbing an ATM machine and when they get out after spending 18 months in jail they come up with a scheme to steal large amounts of untraceable coins.

Now, let me be honest. I don't get it!

I personally know people who love this show and the characters.

I've seen their ratings, so I know that there are people across Canada - and the world for that matter - who love the Trailer Park Boys - and the film was nominated in the category of BEST MOTION PICTURE at the recent 27th Annual Genie Awards.

But I do not get it.

I don't understand the appeal, I have never laughed, not even once at the TV series or the movie, and I don't like any of the characters.

I don't know why anyone would watch this stuff.

But that is the beauty of the entertainment business! There is something for everyone!!

I don't have to like TRAILER PARK BOYS for it to be succesful, and you don't have to like everything that I like.

So if you are a fan of the TV show, then you need to see TRAILER PARK BOYS: THE MOVIE. If you are like me, and just don't understand why anyone would subject themselves to this piece of entertainment, than ignore it and let what happens in Sunnyvale Trailer Park stay in Sunnyvale Trailer Park.

Yes, in the entertainment business there is something for everyone and this week the next two titles are for me, and I will recommend each of them very highly.

Especially the documentary DIXIE CHICKS - SHUT UP AND SING.

Prior to that off the cuff statement from lead singer Natalie Maines in London the Dixie Chicks were one of the most successful bands on the planet.

After it, the entire world changed for the singer and her bandmates Martie and Emily.

But it wasn't just their record sales that were affected by what was said, and this spectacular film documents all of it.

SHUT UP AND SING was produced and directed by Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck and it shows the firestorm of organized and personal right wing attacks that erupted against the Chicks for expressing a negative personal opinion about President George W. Bush.

In addition to the maestrom, the film also shows the ladies' resiliance as they attempt to put it behind them and start working on their new album.

An album that would go on to win all five categories for which it was nominated at the recent Grammy Awards, including the coveted Song, Record, and Album of the Year.

I am a huge fan of the Dixie Chicks, and I am also a huge fan of documentaries that take us inside stories and places we wouldn't normally get to go. SHUT UP AND SING does both, and it is a film I think you should see.

There is even a reference to our province in it.

The final release I have for you this week is THE PRESTIGE.

This film is about the rivalry of Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, two Victorian era stage magicians in late 19th- and early 20th-century London.

Angier blames Borden for a tragic accident, and a competitive one-upmanship ensues, in which both magicians, obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, stop at nothing to uncover the secret of each other's acts, with deadly results.

Co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan, the man who gave us the superb films MEMENTO and BATMAN BEGINS, THE PRESTIGE stars Christian Bale as Borden and Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier and also features Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo and Andy Serkis.

And that is all I am going to say about this movie, other than to tell you to see it, and don't think too much about it.

THE PRESTIGE is a tremendous film, and it is my opinion that the less you know about it, the more you will enjoy it.

The tremendous film THE PRESTIGE, the spectacular documentary SHUT UP AND SING from the Dixie Chicks and TRAILER PARK BOYS: THE MOVIE, the movie that proves that there is something out there for everyone to enjoy, are all available now on DVD.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more reviews for you 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!

Timbaland 'Back With A Vengeance' On New Album

Producer Timbaland told Billboard in a 2001 interview that he'd never make a solo album as an artist. But that's exactly what will arrive March 27 in the form of "Shock Value," which, as previously reported, features such high-profile collaborators as Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Elton John and Fall Out Boy.

"I had some of this album in mind before I hit with Justin and Nelly," he tells Billboard. "But Justin solidified it for me. He said I needed to do something for myself. I've never been this anticipated in my whole life when it comes to my own record. It's like a Jay-Z, Kanye West or Young Jeezy. But I'd really rather people like me as an entertainer versus an artist. I just like to entertain."

Timbaland describes "Shock Value" as "taking you through different emotions. It flows like a movie with different parts: horror, comedy and drama. My mission is to blow up boundaries, taking my music outside the box. It will shock the system."

Before roaring back to the top of the charts in 2006, Timbaland admits he was embittered by a period of time when the industry was indifferent to his ever-evolving sound. "I knew I wanted to do something different musically," he says. I got criticized for that. Labels wouldn't give me a shot. They were saying, 'He's lost it; he's over.' That's why I'm talking so cocky now. I got tired of people smiling in my face and then talking behind my back."

Next up on Timbaland's production docket are "Eve, M.I.A., Chris Brown, 50 Cent, Missy Elliott and Madonna," he says. "Missy and I still talk. She's like a sister to me and I'm with her till death do us part. I haven't gone into the studio yet with Madonna. I need to call someone now to talk about that further."

Asked who he'd like to work with that would surprise people, Timbaland replies, "the Rolling Stones because they make classic records, and I need one of those classic, Titanic records. I also want to work with Sade. And for personal reasons I'd like to work again with Ginuwine.

Van Halen Tour On Hold But Still In The Works

A prospective Van Halen tour with original frontman David Lee Roth has derailed. Sources tell Billboard.com the decision to postpone the outing indefinitely was not due to any internal strife among band members. Insiders close to the situation say a tour is still in the works and will happen, though when is anybody's guess.

The tour, negotiations for which were first tipped here on Jan. 24, will feature Roth, Eddie and Alex Van Halen, and Eddie Van Halen's teenage son Wolfgang on bass. A spokesperson for the Van Halen brothers confirmed the tour in a Feb. 3 press release.

Indeed, wheels were in motion for a 40-date, Live Nation-produced amphitheatre tour to be announced Feb. 20, including venues and on-sale dates.

The Van Halen camp has yet to make any official announcement about the postponement or the reasons behind it.

Canadian Oscar nominees celebrate with L.A. lunch

Director Deepa Mehta and animator Torill Kove were among the Canuck film luminaries who had lunch with the consul general of Canada on Thursday ahead of this weekend's Academy Awards.

Two major Canadian nominees — Ryan Gosling and Paul Haggis — were no-shows.

Gosling, originally from London, Ont., is nominated in the best actor category for his dark portrayal of a drug-addicted teacher in Half Nelson.

Fellow Londoner Haggis — the toast of the Oscars last year after his film Crash won best picture — is up for a screenwriting award on Sunday for the Clint Eastwood war saga Letters From Iwo Jima.

Mehta's Water is competing in the best foreign-language film category. She is from Toronto.

"That's what's so great about being Canadian, I have often said — Water is a Canadian film," said Mehta.

"I feel very proud — India, the country of my birth, gives me its inspiration for its stories but Canada gives me the freedom to tell those stories," she said.

Kove, from Montreal, is nominated for her animated short The Danish Poet.

Others invited to the lunch hosted by Consul General Alain Dudoit included Paul Massey, who is up for a sound mixing award for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Massey was born in England but lived in Toronto for 13 years.

The Oscar broadcast begins Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

Borat Passes On Presenting Oscar

Sacha Baron Cohen will not be a presenter at Sunday's Academy Award ceremony, because he could not appear as his famous character Borat Sagdiyev. Baron Cohen has been reluctant to make appearances as himself, preferring to do interviews as the star of the faux documentary Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan. Oscar broadcast producer Laura Ziskin tells the Los Angeles Times, "He was asked, but he declined." There had been speculation that the comedian's participation in the ceremony would bring a welcome shot of excitement to the broadcast. Baron Cohen's acceptance speech at the Golden Globe ceremony last month was one of the most talked-about events of the night. When he won an acting award, he paid homage to his co-star Ken Davitian's naked backside, which was part of a memorable moment in the film. Although Baron Cohen passed on presenting, he could still appear on stage if the film wins for Best Adapted Screenplay.

GNR Scraps New Album Release Date Again

The seemingly never-ending saga of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" album rolls on, as the group has once again postponed the project's release. The band announced in December that "Chinese Democracy" was tentatively due March 6, but with that date fast approaching, the album is back off the schedule.

"There is no official release date, as the band is currently mixing, but after some delays and scheduling difficulties, things appear to be moving along," reads a post on GNR's Web site.

"The good news is that all of the recording for the album has been completed," the post continues. "Drummer Frank Ferrer and guitarist Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal integrated themselves into the recordings seamlessly and will have their presence felt."

"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 vocalist Axl Rose and burned through a reported $13 million in recording expenses.

Yesterday, a high-quality version of planned album track "Better" made the rounds on the Internet but was quickly pulled from a number of blogs at the request of the band's management.

As previously reported, GNR will return to live duty for its first-ever shows on the African continent April 27 in Johannesburg and May 1 in Cape Town.

Zevon Saluted With Album, Reissues, Book

Late singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, who died of cancer in 2003, will be the subject of a double-disc rarities collection, three expanded reissues of vintage albums and a book in the coming weeks.

First up are new editions of the albums "Excitable Boy," "Stand in the Fire" and "Envoy," due March 27 via Rhino. Each album sports four previously unreleased bonus tracks. The 1981 live album "Stand in the Fire" had been out of print for years, while "Envoy," released the following year, has never been made available on CD until now.

On May 1, the new label Ammal Records will release "Preludes -- Rare and Unreleased Recordings," culled from 126 pre-1976 tracks found in a road case after Zevon's death by his son. In addition to demos and alternate versions, the album sports six previously unreleased songs: "Empty Hearted Town," "Going All the Way," "Steady Rain," "Stop Rainin' Lord" "Studebaker" and "The Rosarita Beach Cafe."

The second disc blends 40 minutes of music with segments of an interview between Zevon and KGSR-Austin, Texas' Jody Denberg.

Finally, Zevon's life and times are chronicled in the book "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," which is told through interviews with family members and musicians such as Jackson Browne, Lindsey Buckingham and David Crosby.

Here is the track list for disc 1 of "Preludes":

"Empty Hearted Town" (solo piano)
"Steady Rain" (full band)
"Join Me in L.A." (solo guitar)
"Hasten Down the Wind" (solo piano)
"Werewolves of London" (full band)
"Tule's Blues" (solo piano)
"The French Inhaler" (solo guitar)
"Going All the Way" (full band)
"Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (full band)
"Studebaker" (solo piano)
"Accidentally Like a Martyr" (full band)
"Carmelita" (solo guitar)
"I Used To Ride So High" (full band)
"Stop Rainin' Lord" (solo guitar)
"The Rosarita Beach Cafe" (solo piano with backing vocals)
"Desperados Under the Eaves" (full band)

And they're 'Dancing' ...

When ABC's Dancing With the Stars returns March 19 (8 ET/PT) for a fourth season, it'll be with a slate of celebrities aimed at raising both eyebrows and heartbeats.

Heather Mills, estranged wife of Paul McCartney, headlines the list of 11 celebs. It includes two singers, three athletes, a former supermodel and an ex-beauty queen.

As Dancing's first amputee performer — part of her leg was lost after a motorcycle accident — Mills could burnish an image severely tarnished by the messy divorce proceedings with McCartney.

Says Dancing producer Conrad Green: "People will definitely be interested in how Heather copes."

Brian McDonald, a former U.S. dance champion and ballroom dancing judge, says Mills won't have an easy time. "She could gain a lot of sympathy from viewers and (the show's three) judges," he says. "But these dances can be very demanding and require a great deal of footwork."

The show, patterned after British hit Strictly Come Dancing, matches celebrities with pro ballroom dancers. Routines are rated by judges and viewers. Putting B-list celebs into ballroom costumes helped ABC draw an average 20 million viewers for last season's competition shows and 27.5 million for the finale, won by NFL all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith.

Other competitors:

•Former 'N Sync singer Joey Fatone, 30, who says he had been courted for the show since Season 1. He says the large audience is part of the attraction of competing. "After seeing the show, I have no problem making (a fool) out of myself," he says.

•Vincent Pastore, the season's oldest competitor at 60, best known for playing mobster Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on HBO's The Sopranos. Though he has no formal dance training, after three lessons, "call me Fred Astaire," he says. "I like to do competitive things, so I'm not going to fall on my face."

•Shandi Finnessey, 28, Miss USA 2004 and co-host of Game Show Network's Lingo. She says rehearsals are already taking their toll: "The first day, I got extreme blisters all over my feet. Yesterday, all the blisters broke."

•Laila Ali, 29, undefeated boxing pro and daughter of heavyweight legend Muhammad Ali. "She's a great athlete," Green says. "Smart, beautiful and driven. She could be the surprise" of the competition.

•Billy Ray Cyrus, 45, actor and country singer, who co-stars on the Disney Channel hit Hannah Montana with daughter Miley.

•Clyde Drexler, 44, the 6-foot-7 former Houston Rocket and Portland Trailblazer and one of the NBA's all-time top 50 players.

•Leeza Gibbons, 49, former Entertainment Tonight co-host.

•Apolo Ohno, 24, two-time Olympic gold medalist in short-track skating and the youngest competitor in Dancing history.

•Paulina Porizkova, 41, a supermodel in the '80s.

•Ian Ziering, 42, a Beverly Hills 90210 heartthrob

Winners will be crowned May 22.

Grey's Doc Spins Off

The good doctors at Seattle Grace may be focused on resuscitating Meredith Grey, but it's another female character who's moving to a better place.

According to the Wall Street Journal, ABC is attempting to duplicate the juggernaut success the network has achieved with Grey's Anatomy by moving forward on a spinoff centering on Kate Walsh's character of Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd.

A spokesperson for the network told the paper that a series title has not yet been determined, nor has a general plot—whether Walsh's character will remain in Seattle, move back to New York or do something else entirely is still up in the air.

ABC Television Studio, the series' producer, confirmed to E! News that a possible new series is in the works.

"We are producing an enhanced episode that has a potential for an afterlife," a rep said, declining to comment beyond the details in the Wall Street Journal report.

Walsh and Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes are said to be under contract for the new series; neither would comment Wednesday.

The show will apparently give plenty of screen time to Addison, who has emerged from hated third party in Grey's Anatomy's central love triangle to become one of the most popular characters on the show.

The spinoff would allow Rhimes to be able to focus on a single character, something that is hard to do on the current show, where story lines and screen time are divvied up among 12 regular characters, something Rhimes herself has said is hard to juggle.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Rhimes only recently broke the news of the spinoff to the cast, and it's not expected than any other characters will jump ship along with Walsh to the new series—potentially disappointing (and spoilerish) news for fans of the budding Addison-Alex love connection.

The castmembers will, however, be involved in the set up for Addison's sendoff.

Per the Wall Street Journal, Rhimes is writing a special two-hour episode of Grey's Anatomy that will effectively serve as the Addison-centric series' pilot.

The episode is expected to air during May sweeps, allowing time for the network to decide whether or not to pick up the show for placement on its fall schedule. (In other words, ABC is waiting to see if the premise is more Rhoda than Joey.)

As it is, Grey's Anatomy, currently in its third season, has routinely topped the Nielsen ratings and just last week averaged 26 million viewers. Even a portion of those figures for the new show would make it a success.

Rhimes has reportedly put on hold another of her anticipated projects to move quickly on the spinoff. It's unclear when she made the decision to pursue the new show, but last fall she postponed work on another drama series that was expected to debut midseason.

That show was due to chronicle the lives of four female journalists and also had Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Grey's Anatomy's late Denny Duquette, on board to star. That project will now be pushed back even further.

Fall Out Boy downplays antics on CD

NEW YORK - Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz is far more recognizable than the average rock band bassist.

With jet-black asymmetrical bangs, slightly smeared eyeliner and a toothy grin, Wentz certainly makes for a memorable image, but it's his public antics that have created such an unforgettable impression.

"I honestly don't care what the perception is of me to the world," says the 27-year-old, while sipping on a Starbucks' vanilla latte on a rainy day in New York City. "It's a weird thing to have come to, but after you've gone through the ringer so many times you don't care. But I do care how people think of my band so that becomes problematic."

Since emerging from suburban Chicago, Fall Out Boy has sold an impressive 3 million copies of their major-label debut, 2005's "From Under the Cork Tree," received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and secured their place as rock stars: their latest album, "Infinity On High," debuted at No. 1 on the album charts this month.

The four-piece band's singer/guitarist Patrick Stump is a seemingly reserved guy often credited as the band's musical mastermind — the Edge to Wentz's Bono. But their celebrity bassist has resumed duties usually reserved for frontmen. He's been linked to Hollywood starlets like Lindsay Lohan and Ashlee Simpson, and even underwent a media maelstrom after naked photos he took of himself with his Sidekick were leaked on the Internet.

"The first 48 hours I just like quit my band and wouldn't talk to anybody," says Wentz of Sidekickgate. "It's like a footnote now, like how Michael Jackson set his hair on fire in a Pepsi commercial."

And though he's been accused of releasing the photos himself, Wentz shrugs it off, understanding why people might pin such an allegation on him.

"It's this bizarre thing where you can kind of control your own destiny," he says of the Internet age. "People are able to kind of guide their own press and create this wave behind it."

Stump says the attention on Wentz made the band more focused as a unit.

"It basically forced us to make an album quickly because I wanted to make sure people remembered that we're a band and not a sideshow," says Stump. "People always want to see Pete in this 'I'm-a-crazy-rock-star' light and it's a shame because they lose so much about him in the fine print. And more than anything, they lose so much about the music. It's horribly frustrating."

"People only want to hear about drama and bad stuff," adds guitarist Joe Trohman. "No one wants to know that things are good."

And things are good for Fall Out Boy. Their new album's instant success came as a happy surprise to the band.

"It was strange," says Stump. "It's still one of those things where you're waiting to find out you're on 'Punk'd.'"

The album reunites the group with "Cork Tree" producer Neal Avron and, in an unexpected move for a young rock band, pop and R&B producer-extraordinaire Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds on two tracks.

It also finds the band taking more chances, including a Coldplay-inspired "piano song," a nod to Jeff Buckley (and ultimately Leonard Cohen) with a chorus of "Hallelujah" within a song, a guest rap by their boss, Def Jam President Jay-Z on the opener, and whispers of bad reviews they've received on another track.

"It's easy to hide behind conventions you've used before, a certain chord progression or melody that you know is going to be safe," says Stump. He says he pushed himself not to fear the musically unknown when writing "Infinity On High" because of the media misconception of his band.

"You don't get that much time in the public eye, and if that's what people expect ... all these sensationalized ideas about us ... if that's who you think we are, I'm going to make the best record I can possibly make to dispel that idea because I don't think that's who we are."

The result has been a critically acclaimed album, and a hit single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race," that both mainstream and indie radio stations are supporting.

"Fall Out Boy has done everything right on their climb to the top of the next wave of commercially successful punk bands," says Joe Escalante, morning show host of Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles. "They earned a following by performing well, not by hustling kids with hype. And they paid their punk rock dues."

Fall Out Boy makes no bones about their joy of creating anthems for the masses, they maintain that commercial success is not their end goal.

"We're not denying that we want to be the biggest band and want to sell records, but we're not about moving units," says Trohman.

These guys have other interests. Wentz, for one, has self-published a book, "The Boy With the Thorn In His Side" (named after the song by his beloved Smiths), created an affordably priced clothing line, Clandestine Industries, that has partnered with DKNY for a line out this Spring, and even helped catapult the career of FOB's kid-brother equivalent Panic! At the Disco by signing them to his Decaydance label. He also recently bought a home in Los Angeles and acquired a roommate: his English bulldog Hemingway.

"Everything about my life was pretty narcissistic," he admits. "And now with him, there's this kind of love that you can't get from anything else."

The babble over how to pronounce `Babel'

NEW YORK - An Academy Award contender that no one's sure how to pronounce? "Babel" has seven Oscar nominations, meaning the name of the film will be read at least seven times Sunday night. But its pronunciation has stumped even its biggest star.

"Thank you for honoring our film `Babble.' Or `BAY-bel' or `Bah-BELL,'" Brad Pitt said after the film received an earlier award at a film festival in Palm Springs, Calif. "We're still arguing how to pronounce it."

The uncertainty over something as basic as the title is fitting, since the movie percolates with cultural confusion. It takes place over three continents in four different languages, five if you count sign language.

Robin C. Barr, the linguist-in-residence at American University in Washington, studies the phenomenon called folk-etymology — speakers' incorrect reinterpretations of, and anecdotes about, words — and notes that the name of the city first pops up in the texts of Sargon, an Akkadian king about 2300 B.C.

Which leaves us, oh, about 4,300 years for those reinterpretations and anecdotes to develop.

Such as the Tower of Babel story in Chapter 11 of the Bible's Book of Genesis. It tells of how, when humans all spoke the same language, they determined to build a tower up to heaven. Alarmed, God ended the project by confusing their language: They couldn't understand each other and couldn't work together anymore.

"The ancient storyteller of Genesis 11 is using the name in a satirical word play in the story," says Wayne T. Pitard, a religion professor at the University of Illinois.

Both Barr and Pitard offer that the word is actually a form of the name of the city of Babylon, and it has nothing to do with the Hebrew verb "balal" (confuse) in the Bible; it derives from the Mesopotamian Akkadian language and means "gate of the gods." The longer form of the ancient word "bab ilani" (hence, Babylon) is an alternative form that means the same thing.

Barr says the English word "babble" is not at all related etymologically to the Hebrew/Akkadian "Babel."

It's onomatopoeic, like boo or hiss.

"There are words for `babble' in many languages that have arisen independently via the imitation of children's speech or other unintelligible language," Barr says. She adds that the ancient Greek word for "barbarian" originally simply meant anyone who didn't speak Greek — "their language sounded like `bar-bar-bar-bar' to the Greeks, apparently."

The Middle English "babelen" (the source of "babble") is unrelated, but is also imitative of child language or flowing water (the common "babbling brook"), she says. And the Sanskrit word "balbala" means "stammer."

But before we all get tongue-tied, Barr avers that none of the pronunciations can be held up as the sole "correct" one.

And, really, does it matter?

George Orwell once wrote: "But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought."

Or as two other deep thinkers of the 20th century, George and Ira Gershwin, wrote (and Fred Astaire sang):

"You like potato and I like potahto,

"You like tomato and I like tomahto;

"Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto!

"Let's call the whole thing off!"

Best-picture Oscar is anyone's guess

LOS ANGELES - The Academy Awards usually are like one of those high school popularity contests where all the other contenders show up, but there's that one girl everybody just knows is going to be crowned prom queen.

Not this time.

For the first year in longer than anyone in Hollywood can remember, the best-picture category is so wide open that any of the five films could come away with the big prize.

The typical Oscar ceremony has a clear front-runner or two, with the other best-picture nominees lumped into the thanks-for-showing-up crowd.

The main trophy for the 79th annual Oscars this Sunday is up for grabs among the far-flung ensemble drama "Babel," the crime epic "The Departed," the war story "Letters From Iwo Jima," the road comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and the British-royalty tale "The Queen."

A final look at the five nominees going into the homestretch:

"BABEL" — A shot fired in the African desert is heard 'round the world as the wounding of an American tourist holds stinging repercussions for families in North America and Japan.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's tale had the grandest of coming-out parties, premiering at last spring's Cannes Film Festival, the filmmaker winning the best-director prize there the same weekend as the publicity frenzy over the birth of a daughter to Angelina Jolie and "Babel" star Brad Pitt.

Though not a universally beloved film, "Babel" has ridden a wave of admiration over its intricate structure, which weaves passionate stories in multiple languages, the action flitting back and forth among characters on three continents.

"Always through the whole process, I was very conscious of how I was going to put in four stories, three continents, five languages, and translate that into a visual grammar, a visual language in one single film that makes sense," Inarritu said.

Anchored by great performances from Pitt, Cate Blanchett and supporting-actress nominees Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel" leads the best-picture field with seven nominations. It's the sort of heavy, ambitious drama academy members historically have anointed as best picture.

Yet despite its Golden Globe win for best drama, "Babel" is a film that may resonate more in the head than the heart. In keeping with the global expanses that separate the film's characters, some Oscar voters may appreciate it more from a distance, rather than holding it close to their breasts.

"THE DEPARTED" — If you haven't heard someone say that Martin Scorsese has never won an Oscar, you haven't been paying attention to awards season this year — or two years ago, when his "The Aviator" was in the running, or four years ago, when his "Gangs of New York" was nominated.

Revered as he is, Scorsese has been a perpetual bridesmaid, somehow trekking through one of the most eclectic, ambitious careers of any American filmmaker without winning a thing on Hollywood's big night.

After going oh-for-five on past nominations, Scorsese looks like a lock to finally win best director. With its ferocious action, macabre humor and snappy wiseguy patter, "The Departed" also could bring home the best-picture trophy, a prize his films have never won.

"To be in a movie when he finally gets his due would be awesome," said "The Departed" co-star Mark Wahlberg, a supporting-actor nominee for playing a distrustful, foul-mouthed cop. "I would just kind of look around at the surroundings, being on the set with all those talented people and Marty, and I really felt like wow, I arrived. It was the best experience of my career."

Many Scorsese fans think "The Departed" was not the best of Scorsese's career, though it's his biggest box-office hit. Critics welcomed the film as a return to the blood-soaked crime epic he has done so masterfully in the past, yet the sense among awards watchers is that "The Departed" falls a few notches below such Scorsese films as "Raging Bull" or "Goodfellas."

"LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA" — The results of his half-century-and-counting career are in: Clint Eastwood can do anything.

His far-flung World War II saga "Flags of Our Father" came out in October, greeted with solid critical acclaim but relative indifference from audiences, who were not all that interested in the ambitious account of the raising of the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima.

As "Flags" faltered, Eastwood's companion film "Letters From Iwo Jima," chronicling the lives of the Pacific island's doomed Japanese defenders, was moved from its 2007 debut date to a December release to qualify for the Oscars.

And Eastwood, a two-time best-picture and directing winner, scored his fourth nominations in both categories for the film that even he had viewed as the "smaller brother" to the more expansive "Flags."

"The whole thing was just to tell a story of what it must have been like to be defending this little island that had no significance when you look back at it now, but it did back then," Eastwood said. "The irony is I talked to many Iwo veterans who were very supportive of the idea of making `Flags.' They couldn't wait to see `Letters From Iwo Jima.' They were all still curious about what it was like for the other side."

The Japanese-language "Letters" was a surprise best-picture nominee, and a win would be even more unexpected, especially considering academy voters may figure they've already given Eastwood his due for past Oscar champs "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby."

Then again, this is Eastwood, so anything's possible.

"LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE" — The little film that could holds many parallels to "Crash," the surprise best-picture winner a year ago.

Both were low-budget independent films shot outside the Hollywood studio system, "Crash" costing $6.5 million to make, "Little Miss Sunshine" $7.5 million. Both were film-festival acquisitions, Lionsgate buying "Crash" at the Toronto fest, Fox Searchlight snapping up "Sunshine" at Sundance.

Both are ensemble flicks, "Crash" following a broad range of intersecting characters over a tumultuous day in Los Angeles, "Sunshine" focusing on a feuding family on the road trip from hell, including supporting-acting nominees Alan Arkin and Abigail Breslin. Both went into Oscar night fresh off a win from the Screen Actors Guild for best performance by an ensemble cast.

And both came out fairly early in the year, well before the fall onslaught of awards contenders, becoming critical darlings and big indie successes, each finishing with $55 million to $60 million at the box office.

"There's something about our film that truly connected with audiences in a very real way. A little bit of magic happened," said "Little Miss Sunshine" producer David Friendly. "Everybody can relate to the dysfunctional family. What's actually unrelatable is the functional family, which I don't know if it exists."

Directed by husband-and-wife team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the film is all about learning to make peace with your lot in life and gracefully accept the notion that you may be a loser. Come Oscar night, "Little Miss Sunshine" could be a winner.

"THE QUEEN" — For the second straight year, director Stephen Frears delivers a movie centered on a British dame of a certain age.

In 2005, it was Judi Dench as an upper-crust socialite in "Mrs. Henderson Presents." This time, it's Helen Mirren as the uppermost of the upper crust in "The Queen," a fiercely intelligent, surprisingly saucy drama about Elizabeth II's worst week on the job, the aftermath of Princess Diana's death and the public's criticism that the royal family bungled the period of national mourning.

Still alluring in her 60s, Mirren gleefully cloaks her sexiness beneath Elizabeth's frumpy, shapeless wardrobe and presents a truly profound glimpse into the psyche of a leader who has been uncompromising in her propriety and respect for tradition.

"I love the fact that she has never changed, and there's a consistency there that's admirable and so extraordinary. If her hairstyle one minute was a beehive in the '60s and then it was a shag cut or mullet in the '70s," Mirren joked. But "it's always been the same, and as one gets older in life, you realize the power of that consistency. ... You realize that consistency now has been there for 40, 50 years."

As good as the film is, Oscar voters may feel they've done loyal service to "The Queen" by giving Mirren the best-actress prize, leaving best picture to another contender.

4 fmr PMs gather again for TV competition

TORONTO (CP) - There were no fireworks but lots of smiles and handshakes Tuesday as four of the country's former prime ministers got together for this year's taping of "The Next Great Canadian Prime Minister," a TV competition aimed at finding a young person with serious leadership potential.

The CBC Broadcast Centre in downtown Toronto was heavy with security and star power as Paul Martin, Brian Mulroney, Joe Clark and Kim Campbell arrived to serve as judges for the show, airing on March 18.

Former Conservative prime ministers Clark and Mulroney, never the closest of political pals, greeted one another warmly as a svelte and stylish Belinda Stronach mingled with executives from Magna International and CBC, including president Robert Rabinovitch.

The Liberal MP's father, Frank Stronach, Magna's founder and chairman, started the popular nationwide contest in 1995.

It will be the second year the competition has been televised. CTV aired the show last season; this year, CBC snagged it with Rick Mercer as host.

For the most part, all of the ex-prime ministers - three Tories and a Liberal - steered clear of wading into current political events as they prepared to take the stage.

"I think Stephane Dion is doing very well," is all a coy Martin, the sole Liberal, would say of his successor as party leader when asked what he thought of the current federal government.

Instead, Martin focused on the show.

"It clearly reaches out to young Canadians and I understand they constitute by far the largest percentage of the audience," Martin said.

"They are the people we want to interest in public life, and what a great way to do it."'

Clark agreed.

"Aspiration is important and these are people who are very serious about their own futures and the country's future," he said.

"There's a certain advantage to calling upon the reflections of the people who had the privilege of serving in the highest office of the country, and are now beyond partisanship and able to take a look at things without the edge that there was in earlier times."'

Clark, however, did weigh in briefly on the current Conservative government's recent about-face on the environment.

"I'm glad their position's changed and I hope they actually deliver on it," he said.

Mulroney, meanwhile, held court under the glare of television lights to talk exclusively to a CBC crew. He reminisced about his years in power.

"You look back after a 10-or 15-year period and you think: 'I thought what I did was right for the country,' and either it's proved to be the case or not," Mulroney said, adding he was surprised by the vitriolic response to his free-trade stance when he was in power in the 1980s.

"I expected not a honeymoon but a bit of a walk in the park . . . but every day was a tough one."

Of the ex-PMs, Mulroney has been the most active of late. He prodded Prime Minister Stephen Harper late last year on the environment, and within months the Tories had made the issue a top priority.

Last year, Mulroney was named the "greenest prime minister" by left-leaning magazine Corporate Knights.

The winner of "The Next Great Canadian Prime Minister," whose identity won't be revealed until the show airs, gets $50,000 and a six-month paid corporate internship. The remaining four finalists each receive $5,000 and three-month internships.

The five contenders - selected from among thousands of applicants - are subjected to televised grilling by the four ex-prime ministers and judged on how they answer the questions.

Last year's winner was Deirdra McCracken of Sudbury, Ont., a political science graduate student at Laval University at the time. McCracken is now a spokeswoman for federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice.

Governor General reveals new inductees to Order of Canada

Filmmaker Arthur Hiller, anti-smoking activist Gar Mahood and authors Howard Engel, Barbara Gowdy and Frances Itani are among the latest citizens to be named to the Order of Canada.

Governor General Michaëlle Jean announced Tuesday 87 new appointments to the order, among the country's highest honours.

Fiction writers Engel, Gowdy and Itani are among the 55 new members to the order, which was established in 1967 to honour Canadians whose extraordinary achievements or outstanding service in various fields have made a difference across the country.

Others new members include:

TV personality Valerie Pringle.
Children's rights advocate Craig Kielburger.
Choral performer and music educator Sister Katherine Bellamy.
Painter Alex Janvier.
Singer-songwriter Connie Kaldor.
Visual art curator Joan Stebbins.
Theatre director Jean Roberts.
Mark Rowswell, better known throughout China as the stage performer and TV personality Dashan.

Hiller, director of the Hollywood classic Love Story, and Mahood, executive director of the Non-Smokers' Rights Association, are among the 29 people newly named officers of the order. Others include opera director Robert Carsen, journalist and writer Peter Desbarats and visual artist Gerald McMaster.

Three people were promoted to the order's highest level — companion — on Tuesday: Quebec lawyer and former Hydro-Québec executive Richard Drouin, Nisga'a leader Joseph Gosnell Sr. and Calgary business executive Ronald Southern.

The latest inductees will receive their insignia from the Governor General at a Rideau Hall ceremony later this year.

Any Canadian may be nominated for the Order of Canada, while non-Canadians may be considered for honorary appointments. The appointments are made on the recommendation of an advisory council chaired by the chief justice of Canada.

New Releases, February 20: Erasure, Ennio Morricone, Kidz Bop

Erasure "On the Road to Nashville"

This CD/DVD set captures the famed dance-pop duo during a 2006 performance at Nashville's legendary Ryman Auditorium, which is best known for being the former home of the Grand Ole Opry. Erasure was in the midst of an acoustic tour in support of the album "Union Street."

The CD features re-imagined renditions of such Erasure favorites as "Sometimes," "Love to Hate You," "Victim of Love" and "Stop!" The DVD portion includes concert footage as well as a short film.

* * *
Various Artists "We All Love Ennio Morricone"

A star-studded cast of musicians pay tribute to the composer known for his work on such films as "The Untouchables," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "Once Upon a Time in America," "Cinema Paradiso" and "The Mission."

Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Andrea Bocelli, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and Chris Botti are among the artists who show their respect for Morricone--who is also set to receive an honorary Oscar at the 79th annual Academy Awards later this month--on this disc.

* * *
Kidz Bop Kids "Kidz Bop 11"

The best-selling children's-music series delivers its 11th edition. The prior outing debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard album charts.

This time around, the Kidz Bop Kids cover such big hits as "Put Your Records On," "Waiting on the World to Change," "Chasing Cars" and, the number that everybody seems to be covering these days, "Crazy."

* * *
Explosions in the Sky "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone"

The Texas band, which melds prog and alt rock, returns with another batch of instrumental tunes that adds to a catalog already marked by such acclaimed works as "The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place" and the "Friday Night Lights" soundtrack. This new disc was produced by John Congleton (The Roots).

* * *
JJ Grey and Mofro "Country Ghetto"

Florida-based swamp-rockers JJ Grey and Mofro make their debut on famed blues label Alligator Records with a set of 12 original compositions.

* * *
More new releases:
Anberlin, "Cities" (Tooth & Nail)
Ataris, "Welcome the Night" (Sanctuary)
Toni Braxton, "Essential Toni Braxton" (La Face)
Dir En Grey, "The Marrow of a Bone" (Warcon)
ELO, "Out of the Blue: 30th Anniversary Edition" (Sony)
Everlife, "Everlife" (Buena Vista)
Judy Garland, "The Very Best Of" (EMI)
Jesu, "Conqueror" (Hydrahead)
K-Os, "Atlantis: Hymns for Disco" (Virgin)
Kittie, "Funeral for Yesterday" (Kiss of Infamy)
Steve Kuhn, "Live at Birdland" (Blue Note)
Charlie Louvin, "Charlie Louvin" (Tompkins Square)
The Silos, "Come On Like the Fast Lane" (Bloodshot)
Southern Culture on the Skids, "Countrypolitan Favorites" (Yep Roc)
Tobymac, "Portable Sounds" (Forefront)
Various Artists, "Gerald Levert: Smooth Jazz Tribute" (CC Ent.)
Various Artists, "String Quartet Tribute to Dream Theater" (Vitamin)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Company (2006 Broadway Revival Cast)" (Nonesuch)
"Rome: Music From the HBO Series" (Rykodisc)

Planned Van Halen tour hits roadblock

Van Halen (music)'s recently announced summer reunion tour with original lead singer David Lee Roth (music) has been indefinitely postponed, according to a reliable source.

Earlier this month, Van Halen issued a press release in which the group announced it was hitting the road with Roth in tow for the first time since the mid-'80s. The announcement promised 40 shows featuring Roth, group co-founders Eddie and Alex Van Halen, and new bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son, who was to take over on stage for fired original bassist Michael Anthony.

The Feb. 2 press release came from Eddie Van Halen's girlfriend, Janie Lisewski, whose publicity firm, High Profile Media, recently became the guitarist's official mouthpiece. Neither the band's management, nor the management's publicity firm, ever commented publicly on the group's plans.

Reports indicated that a Roth-era best-of set was due out from Rhino Records this spring in anticipation of the tour, but it is believed that those plans have also been shelved.

While the band's future remains uncertain, one thing is for sure: the group will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a March 12 ceremony at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Traditionally, inductees perform during the event, but Van Halen's volatile state has many fans wondering if the group will honor that tradition.

Roth split from Van Halen in 1985, and was replaced by Sammy Hagar.

Hagar parted with the band on bad terms in 1996 and was replaced by former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone, who recorded one album with the group, then split after a 1998 tour in support of the set.

Hagar returned to the group for a 2004 reunion tour, but went back to his solo career at tour's end after having another falling out with Eddie Van Halen. Hagar and Anthony subsequently toured with Hagar's solo band, and last year performed at each of Hagar's tour stops as The Other Half, a group whose setlist was comprised entirely of Van Halen material.

Eddie Van Halen has since expressed his displeasure about the Hagar/Anthony venture, in the wake of which the guitarist bounced Anthony out of the group.

Jacques Villeneuve releases CD

MONTREAL (CP) - Racing driver Jacques Villeneuve was focused on tunes instead of tune-ups Monday as he launched his first music CD, which includes a melodic tribute to his Formula One champion father.

Gilles Villeneuve, who died in a racing accident in 1982, was an inspiration to Jacques Villeneuve and the son said it was important for him to honour his father. "It felt great," Jacques Villeneuve said in an interview after doing a selection from his album "Private Paradise," which included "Father," a song he performed in a duet Monday with his sister Melanie.

"It's a very important song. It's the only personal song on the album. I don't write personal stuff and I don't want to sing personal stuff either, but this one, because it's with my sister, I'm quite happy doing it."

Villeneuve, who no longer drives on the Formula One circuit, said the song was a more emotional experience for his sister, who started writing it in the mid-1980s, a few years after Gilles Villeneuve died when he crashed his car into a fence during a practice run in Belgium.

"I wrote the end of it a few years ago so by the time I wrote it we had grown and we had been used to living without our dad."

"Private Paradise" goes into wide release next week after two concerts in Montreal, one at Villeneuve's downtown restaurant, and the other at the Cabaret du Capitole du Quebec.

There are no immediate plans to tour with the album, most of whose songs are in English.

Villeneuve is not going to give up his day job for music and is still in talks to participate on the NASCAR circuit. But the sounds of guitar chords stir him just as much as the squeal of tires on a track.

"I've always loved music," he said. "Everyone has music inside them anyway. Everyone enjoys going to a karaoke and singing."

He decided to go one step further and write and record his songs - six of which are on his album.

"I said OK, I'll rent a studio. I want to know how the songs properly sound once recorded fully and you just have to get going, you have to take the risks."

Villeneuve couldn't pin down a specific inspiration for his style - "I've been buying so many CDs over the years."

"It's always something I've listened to, a mood. Inspiration can sometimes be being stuck in a snowstorm for a week. That will give you some inspiration, having nothing else to do."

Villeneuve was a little shaky in his performance before the media, suggesting he still has some work to do before he's as at ease recording tracks as he is driving on them.

But Garou, a musical mega-star in Quebec, says he thinks his friend did pretty well.

"He doesn't need any advice because he doesn't want to be perfect," Garou said after the performance for the media. "He just wants to have fun and he wants to share what he loves - music and songs. And he does it perfectly. It has to stay natural.

"It's a passion he's been sharing for years and years and years with his friends and now he's doing it with the entire world."

Villeneuve is among several Canadian athletes who've tried their hand at music, including:

-Olympic figure skater Elvis Stojko recorded a duet with Canadian Idol finalist Ashley Leitao last year and will soon release an album of his own. He has also dabbled as an actor, appearing in the stage production of "Grease" in 2004.

-Calgary Flames forward Darren McCarty has his own band Grinder, whose motto is "the Toughest Band in Rock-n-Roll."

-Toronto Argo wide receiver Robert Baker quit pro football in 2006 to pursue a career in rap music under the name Shake Severs.

-Former Montreal Alouettes coach Don Matthews released a novelty song in 2005 called "What Time Is It?" The single was based on a speech he gave at the Alouettes' 2002 Grey Cup parade, when he asked his players: "What time is it?" and they responded with things like: "Time to get busy!"

-Football brothers Doug and Darren Flutie play in the Flutie Brothers Band, opening for acts such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bo Diddley and Meredith Brooks. They also wrote and recorded the Saturday Night Football theme song for the Canadian Football League that is featured weekly on CBC.

-Hockey star Guy Lafleur released a disco album in 1979.

-Legendary goaltender Johnny Bower had a hit single in 1965 with "Honky the Christmas Goose," selling more than 40,000 copies of the novelty tune.

The New Trailer Has Arrived

The new SIMPSONS MOVIE trailer!!

Trump's hair on the line at Wrestlemania

DETROIT - Will Donald Trump put his hair where his mouth is?

Trump and World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon will pick a wrestler to represent them in the ring April 1 at Wrestlemania 23 at Detroit's Ford Field, The Detroit News reported last week.

If their pick is beaten in the "Battle of the Billionaires," the loser will get his head shaved after the match, the Detroit Free Press reported Monday.

WWE spokesman Gary Davis said the date of the event had prompted speculation that it was a hoax. But it's not an April Fool's Day joke, he said.

"If Trump loses, he shaves his head," he said.

The announcement of the match was made on a WWE television program that aired over the weekend.

XM and Sirius to combine; hurdles loom

NEW YORK - XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., rivals in the fledgling satellite radio industry, have agreed to combine in a deal that investors hope will result in lower costs, assuming it overcomes significant regulatory hurdles.

The companies billed the deal announced Monday as a merger of equals, with shareholders of both companies owning approximately 50 percent of the combined entity. However, Sirius will be giving $4.57 billion of its stock to XM shareholders, a substantial premium to the value of their shares.

Sirius' Chief Executive Mel Karmazin will lead the combined company, and XM's CEO Hugh Panero will stay on only until the deal is closed. XM Chairman Gary Parsons will remain in that role.

The deal faces substantial obstacles in Washington, including a Federal Communications Commission provision that specifically forbids the two companies to combine.

Analysts have noted that the FCC could change the rule, but in a statement late Monday FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that the "hurdle" would be "high" to prove that the deal would be in the public interest.

"The companies would need to demonstrate that consumers would clearly be better off with both more choice and affordable prices," Martin said.

A combination would also have to meet antitrust approval from the Department of Justice. The companies are expected to argue that they compete not only with each other but also with traditional radio and a growing base of digital audio sources such as iPods, mobile phones and non-satellite digital radio.

The XM shareholders will receive 4.6 shares of Sirius stock for every share they own, valuing them at $17.02 each based on Friday's closing price for Sirius shares. That gives XM shareholders a premium of 22 percent to the $13.98 closing value of their stock on Friday. Markets were closed Monday for the Presidents' Day holiday.

Investors and analysts have been speculating about a deal for months, and are hoping that the cost savings that would result would make up for softening retail demand for satellite radio units. Both services offer dozens of