Well folks, the year's Spidey blitz has officially begun.
Sony has just officially announced that a Spider-Man 2.1: Extended Cut DVD will be released on 4/17 (SLP $19.94).
The 2-disc set will include 8 minutes of new footage added back into the film. Video will be anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Extras will include an introduction by producers Grant Curtis and Avi Arad, the Inside 2.1 featurette, audio commentary by producer Laura Ziskin and screenwriter Alvin Sargent, and an exclusive sneak peak at the upcoming Spider-Man 3.
There's no word yet on a Blu-ray Disc release.
Rick Rubin - the man behind-the-scenes
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) - Rick Rubin is a healthy reminder of the danger of relying on superficial impressions.
He's a bearish man with long, flowing hair, a bushy beard and ever-present dark sunglasses. See him at a club and you might be tempted to slip out, taking care not to tip over any motorcycles on the way.
Then you would have lost the chance to meet one of the top producers in the music business, who is up for a Grammy award next week in that category. He produced two of the five discs nominated for album of the year and contributed to another, each in completely different styles. He captured the country-pop of the Dixie Chicks and funky rock of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and produced one track of Justin Timberlake's state-of-the-art dance-pop.
Each of those discs landed in the top 10 of the Rolling Stone magazine reader's poll of favourites from 2006, along with Rubin's fifth album with Johnny Cash, whose late-career resurgence will likely be remembered as one of the producer's most important achievements.
Oh, and that tough guy look? The gentle, soft-spoken Rubin wouldn't let a stranger leave one of his three Los Angeles-area homes recently without wrapping him in a warm hug.
"He's the exact opposite of what you would think he would be," said Emily Robinson of the Dixie Chicks. "With the hard rock and rap background, this guy with the long hair and big beard, everyone was a little intimidated by him at first. But when you realize what he's like, he's just a big teddy bear."
If that weren't enough influence, Rubin has been offered a job as co-chairman of Columbia Records and is in talks with executives there, according to a report in the New York Times, confirmed by a close associate of Rubin's who requested anonymity.
Rubin made his name - and fortune - at the intersection of rock and rap in the 1980s. He founded the Def Jam label with partner Russell Simmons while a student at New York University and helped make music by Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J. He loves the aggressiveness of metal and rap and was behind Run-DMC's influential cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way."
Simmons moved on and Rubin headed West, where his production credits continued to diversify. Slayer, Mick Jagger, AC/DC, Tom Petty, Neil Diamond, Jay-Z and U2 are on the lengthening list of clients.
Unlike Timbaland's jittery beats and synthesizers, Pharrell's spacy soundscapes or Phil Spector's famed "wall of sound," Rubin has no sonic signature.
"I love music and I love bands and my goal, always, working with them is to help them be their best, whatever that is," Rubin said.
The Dixie Chicks were intrigued by Rubin because they noticed his name on a lot of the albums they were listening to. They were sold on him because he didn't come into their first meeting with an agenda, saying how he would make them sound, Robinson said.
Most music producers are technical masters, able to manipulate sounds with the twist of a knob, and obsessed about doing so. Rubin freely admits to having little such expertise. He's a fan.
When musicians express an interest in working with him, Rubin's first step is usually to invite them to one of his homes. His place tucked in the West Hollywood hills has intricately-restored woodwork, a statue of Buddha, art from the "Help!"-era Beatles and a kickin' sound system.
They'll talk music. He probes into their history, what made them become artists in the first place, and whether he feels a personal connection.
That's the level on which he bonded with Cash, despite the appearance - to outside eyes - that they'd be the least likely of collaborators. Cash was easy to talk to, Rubin recalled, and "had a million songs at his fingertips." They became very close friends.
Rubin had sought out Cash because he was interested in working with an established artist creatively adrift and neglected by the industry. Cash, by the early 1990s, had nearly given up recording. The deceptively simple approach they set upon of having Cash sing a wide swath of songs to sparse accompaniment yielded five albums (with a sixth posthumously to come) that energized his career.
Cash sang songs he remembered from growing up and unlikely ones fed by Rubin, most memorably Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."
He's not a producer who spends much time creating in the studio. Rubin has his artists rehearse and experiment extensively ahead of time, so when they enter the studio they know the songs well.
"There's a humanity to a great performance," he said. "It's more like jazz. It could be a pop song or a rock song or a country song, but we approach it more from the standpoint of jazz, and try to get this special interactive moment. We know the tunes, we know the songs, now we're trying to get that special magic moment."
He may be an affable man, but he isn't afraid to tell artists what he thinks. One major star looked at Rubin, mouth agape, when told his songs weren't good enough. Nobody had ever told him that before.
Rubin pushed another artist, Diamond, particularly hard. He made Diamond sing with his acoustic guitar, something he hadn't done since the 1960s. Diamond told The Associated Press upon release of his 2005 disc "12 Songs" that Rubin made him realize that throughout his career the recordings had become more important than the songs, and that was a backwards way of looking at things.
He was grateful when it was done. But he fought every day while working with Rubin.
"Guess what?" Diamond said. "He was right."
Rubin said he believes the artists know that everything he does is to try to make the best music possible.
"A lot of artists really like having someone to bounce things off of, because it's hard to know," he said. "Most of them, especially the ones that are established and have had success, tend to be in a little bit of a vacuum, because most people tell them what they do is great. But there's a lack of reality in that world and it's not beneficial to the artist to be in that world."
He had seen the Dixie Chicks before they became famous and was impressed. Working with them on the "Taking the Long Way" disc interested him because here was a sassy, country-crossover act forced to become serious in the aftermath of the political storm created when singer Natalie Maines criticized President George W. Bush. He was curious how they'd react.
The Dixie Chicks had plenty of ideas but lacked a sense of direction, Robinson said. They were also somewhat sensitive to being dictated to, given the experience they'd just been through.
"I think he knows when it's right and he's very decisive, which is refreshing," she said. "But he's also a very good listener. You just respect his ears and his taste so much. That's an earned trust. We knew the legend but we didn't know the actual reason . . . We came to learn that it's just that he has great ears."
Rubin just finished a new disc with Linkin Park, and he's working now with Metallica. His dream job is to make a full album with U2 and he produced two new songs for their greatest hits disc.
Working so much has its drawbacks, as Rubin learned recently when a friend came over with a mixtape and they listened to the music together. That's kind of cool, Rubin said about one song. Who's singing that?
His friend looked at him incredulously. "You produced it!" he replied.
"I literally had no recollection of it at all," Rubin said, "and I'm a sober person."
New Releases, February 6: Fall Out Boy, Bloc Party, Patty Griffin
Fall Out Boy "Infinity on High"
Chicago's Fall Out Boy--having just wrapped up the largely sold-out Friends or Enemies Tour with New Found Glory, The Early November and Permanent Me--will now drop its sophomore major-label release, which follows 2005's "From Under the Cork Tree."
Coinciding with the release of "Infinity on High," Fall Out Boy will team with MTV for a publicity stunt that finds the pop-rockers performing in three cities in one day. The Infinity Flight 206 trek will include Feb. 6 performances in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Fans that don't live in one of those cities can follow the action by logging onto FalloutBoy.MTV.com.
Later this month, Fall Out Boy is scheduled to start a run of concerts in Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. The group will then return to the states for a headlining slot on the seventh annual Honda Civic Tour, which begins April 18 in Charlotte, NC.
* * *
Bloc Party "A Weekend in the City"
British rock band Bloc Party, which is often lumped in as part of the new New Wave movement, is set to release "A Weekend in the City." The first single from the record--which follows the group's 2005 full-length debut, "Silent Alarm"--is "The Prayer."
The band will back "A Weekend in the City" next month with a tour that kicks off March 11 in Seattle and includes a March 15 appearance at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX.
Bloc Party was forced to cancel most of its previous North American tour, due to an injury to the band's drummer.
* * *
Patty Griffin "Children Running Through"
The Texas folk-singer/songwriter returns with a follow-up to 2005's "Impossible Dream." On this new album, "Children Running Through," she worked with producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon).
Griffin is in the midst of a mini-tour in support of the new set, which is currently due to wind up Feb. 17 in Birmingham, AL. She is scheduled to embark on a more extensive tour next month.
* * *
Ashley Tisdale "Headstrong"
The star of Disney's "High School Musical" phenomenon attempts to further make a name for herself with her debut solo album. Tisdale has enlisted a talented crew to help her accomplish that goal. The guest list includes such hot writer-producers as The Matrix (Britney Spears), Guy Roche (Christina Aguilera) and Scott Storch (Usher).
* * *
Tierney Sutton "On the Other Side"
The jazzy vocalist is obviously feeling mighty "happy" on her latest disc. "On the Other Side" includes such selections as "Get Happy," "Happy Days are Here Again," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Happy Talk" and "Make Someone Happy."
* * *
More new releases:
Apples in Stereo, "New Magnetic Wonder" (Yep Roc)
Jason Michael Carroll, "Waitin' in the Country" (Arista)
Joe Ely, "Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch" (CBUJ)
Cat Empire, "Two Shoes" (Velour)
John Digweed, "Transitions Vol. 2" (Thrive)
Maynard Ferguson, "On a High Note: Best of the Concord Jazz Recordings" (Concord)
Ruthie Foster, "Phenomenal Ruthie Foster" (Blue Corn)
Sondre Lerche, "Phantom Punch" (Astralwerks)
Jordan Pruitt, "No Ordinary Girl" (Hollywood)
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, "Like, Love, Lust and the Open Halls of the Soul" (Barsuk)
Therion, "Gothic Kabbalah" (Nuclear Blast)
Various Artists, "8-Bit Operators - An 8-Bit Tribute to Kraftwerk" (Astralwerks)
John Waters, "Date With John Waters" (New Line)
Keller Williams, "Dream" (Sci Fidelity)
Fall Out Boy's Honda Civic dates announced
The itinerary for the Honda Civic Tour is finally in. Fall Out Boy will headline the seventh annual trek, which kicks off April 18 in Charlotte, NC, and travels all over North America, wrapping with a two-night stand June 10-11 in Fall Out Boy's hometown of Chicago.
Tickets are set to go on sale Feb. 17 in most cities. Pre-sales are available starting tomorrow (2/6) through a promotion with Target stores or Feb. 14 through the Honda Civic Tour website. Dates are listed below.
The tour, which organizers tout as a combination of hot acts, moderate ticket prices and environmental consciousness, will also be used to promote the Honda Civic Hybrid. The members of Fall Out Boy designed custom features for one of the vehicles, which will be showcased at each venue and given away to a lucky concertgoer who enters a drawing, according to a press release.
Fall Out Boy's next album, "Infinity On High," will hit stores tomorrow (2/6)--the same day the band embarks on one-day, three-city, publicity-stunt tour for which the members will jet from New York City to Chicago to Los Angeles.
Later this month, Fall Out Boy will take off on an international jaunt, visiting Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Europe into April. Those shows are listed at the band's website.
Here is their tour itinerary:
April 2007
18 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
19 - Atlanta, GA - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
20 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheater
21 - West Palm Beach, FL - Sound Advice Amphitheater
23 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
24 - Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
25 - San Antonio, TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
27 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
28 - Las Vegas, NV - The Orleans
29 - San Diego, CA - Coors Amphitheater
May 2007
1 - Marysville, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
2 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
3 - Anaheim, CA - The Honda Center
4 - Concord, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion
6 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Pacific Coast Coliseum
7 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
8 - Portland, OR - The Rose Garden Arena
10 - Salt Lake City, UT - The E Center
11 - Denver, CO - Coors Amphitheater
12 - Kansas City, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
13 - Council Bluffs, IA - Mid America Rec. Center
15 - Moline, IL - Mark of the Quad Cities
16 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
17 - Milwaukee, MN - The Bradley Center
18 - St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
20 - Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center
21 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
22 - Pittsburgh, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion
23 - Virginia Beach, VA - Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
25 - Montreal, Quebec - The Bell Centre
26 - Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheater
27 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theater
28 - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center
30 - Saratoga, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
31 - Boston, MA - Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
June 2007
1 - Philadelphia, PA - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
2 - Hartford, CT - New England Dodge Music Center
4 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
5 - Wantaugh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
6 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
8 - Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
10-11 - Chicago, IL - Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
Larry Sanders Show, The - Not Just the Press Release
With More Than 8 Hours of Newly-Produced Material Including Garry Shandling in Personal and Intimate Meetings With Stars Like Alec Baldwin, Tom Petty, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, and More, This DVD is...
NOT JUST THE BEST OF THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW
The DVD Set Also Includes 23 Classic Episodes of the Emmy Award-Winning TV Program, the Documentary - "The Making of The Larry Sanders Show" - and Features Guest Appearances by Jason Alexander, Warren Beatty, Jim Carrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Sean Penn, Vince Vaughn and More
The Four-Disc DVD Collection Debuts on April 17
Culver City, Ca (February 5, 2007) - Forget about the 23 featured episodes of the Emmy Award®-winning "The Larry Sanders Show" (it received a whopping 56 Emmy nominations during its run on HBO). NOT JUST THE BEST OF THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW contains more than eight hours of newly produced material that makes this not just your usual DVD - not even close! The four-disc DVD boxed set debuts on DVD on April 17 at the suggested retail price of $49.95.
This innovative, provocative and hugely entertaining release includes personal, intimate, indulgent visits meant until now for only Garry Shandling to see - raw, real-life situations between Shandling and stars who appear in the featured episodes - including Alec Baldwin, Tom Petty, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Sharon Stone and many others. These unrehearsed visits surpass even the Larry Sanders reality, as they once again explore the core ingredients of the ground-breaking program - unexpected human behavior, truth and humor.
The DVD includes the documentary, The Making of The Larry Sanders Show, which reveals an in-depth and surprising look at the process of turning a script into a show that was ahead of its time. The Los Angeles Times selected Garry Shandling‚s series as one of ten TV programs that had inarguable influence‚ on the industry and this DVD is a celebration of the series‚ unique place in entertainment lore.
NOT JUST THE BEST OF THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW also features guest appearances on the featured episodes by a wide slate of stars which includes Jim Carrey, Vince Vaughn, Warren Beatty, Sean Penn, Ellen DeGeneres, Jason Alexander, Carol Burnett and Winona Ryder. The featurette "Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor Visit Garry Shandling in His Living Room" is a reunion of Shandling, Torn and Tambor discussing working together on the show.
Also included are interview featurettes with cast members Penny Johnson, Wallace Langham, Scott Thompson, Janeane Garofalo, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Sarah Silverman, Jeremy Piven, Bob Odenkirk, and Linda Doucett.
The Larry Sanders Show debuted on HBO August 1, 1992, and was ahead of its time, becoming an immediate critical and audience hit for its satirical, tongue-in-cheek look at Hollywood. The series that combined documentary-like camerawork with a clever blend of fact and fiction set the standard of quality for HBO and influenced the development of shows like Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Office.Over the course of its six-year, 89-episode run, the series was nominated for 56 Emmy Awards [winning three: Outstanding Writing (Shandling & Peter Tolan); Outstanding Directing (Todd Holland); Outstanding Supporting Actor (Rip Torn)]. The show also won three Golden Globe® nominations, two Peabody Awards, and five CableACE Awards for Best Comedy Series.
Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show episodes include:
What Have You Done for Me Lately?
The Spider Episode
The Hey Now Episode
The List
The Hankerciser 200
Life Behind Larry
The Mr. Sharon Stone Show
Hank's Night in the Sun
Office Romance
Hank's Divorce
Hank's Sex Tape
I Was a Teenage Lesbian
Larry's New Love
Everybody Loves Larry
My Name Is Asher Kingsley
Ellen, or Isn't She?
Pilots and Pens Lost
Another List
The Beginning of the End
Adolph Hankler
The Interview
Putting the Gay‚ Back in Litigation
Flip (1-hour)
DVD Special Features Include:
Documentary: The Making of The Larry Sanders Show
Featurette: Trio
Exclusive Interviews: Personal, Intimate, Indulgent Meetings With My Friends That Are Meant Only for Me to See - Interviews with:
Alec Baldwin
Ellen DeGeneres
David Duchovny
Tom Petty
Jerry Seinfeld
Sharon Stone
Jon Stewart
Carol Burnett
Featurette: Interview with Penny Johnson
Featurette: Interview with Wallace Langham
Featurette: Interview with Scott Thompson
Featurette: Interview with Janeane Garofalo
Featurette: Interview with Mary Lynn Rajskub
Featurette: Interview with Sarah Silverman
Featurette: Interview with Jeremy Piven
Featurette: Interview with Bob Odenkirk
Featurette: Interview with Linda Doucett
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Alternate Takes
Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on What Have You Done for Me Lately with Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan
Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on Hank‚s Night in the Sun with Garry Shandling and Todd Holland
Audio Commentary and Documentary Introduction on Putting the ŒGay‚ Back in Litigation with Garry Shandling and Judd Apatow
Audio Commentary on Flip with Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan
Digitally Remastered Audio and Video
Full Screen Presentations
Audio: English (Dolby Surround)
Subtitles: Spanish
Closed Captioned
Broadcast Years: 1992 - 1998
Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show has a run time of approximately 660 minutes and is not rated.
For more information on the project, visit www.thelarrysandersdvd.com.
'Lost' tries to win back fans
NEW YORK (AP) - Flash back to last fall: With intense buzz surrounding "Lost," ABC split Season Three in two, hoping to launch new shows "The Nine" and "Day Break" and eliminate grumbling about reruns.
Cut to the present: Not only has ABC cancelled both new shows (which got good reviews but few viewers), but the resulting "Lost" mini-season deflated the island drama's momentum, leaving many fans and critics disappointed, discouraged and worried that "Lost" may have lost its way.
The formerly white-hot drama about plane crash survivors on a remote island returns Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST for 16 new uninterrupted episodes. ABC bumped it an hour later to steer clear of Fox's "American Idol" juggernaut and CBS's solid "Criminal Minds."
Part of what had made "Lost" so extraordinary was the gradual unveiling of new information that unlocked the secrets behind each character and the surreal island as a whole. But during last fall's six episodes, "Lost" hastily compressed too much into too little time.
The first three episodes of the mini-season began in true "Lost" fashion. As multiple cliffhangers from the explosive second season finale were resolved, new questions surfaced for every question answered.
Soon, however, the eagerly anticipated unveiling of The Others' compound and the extraneous introduction of additional plane crash survivors became a bombardment of too many new faces and foreign environments.
Familiar favourites were suddenly lost in a convoluted crowd.
Also, the fates of those who did receive considerable air time were rather difficult to digest. It was disconcerting watching Jack, Kate and Sawyer, three of the show's most beloved characters, suffer as powerless, manipulated lab rats in cages.
It's hard to be optimistic with the all-too-frequent reminder that favourite characters can be tortured or killed at any time. Consider the rapid demise of Mr. Eko. He was the only survivor with the strength and conviction to stare down the island monster. So it was disheartening to witness the amorphous black smoke mortally toss the powerful Nigerian around like a rag doll.
This felt especially drastic since Eko was killed almost immediately after twice cheating death - first by surviving the hatch explosion, then by escaping a polar bear.
None of the protagonists are saints, but viewers still cheer for their imperfect heroes to succeed in overcoming obstacles. The current story lines of retribution and undue punishment merely reinforce the miseries of defeat.
Just like cast members constantly reminded of their lack of job security, "Lost" fans are now aware that they have to enjoy the ride while it lasts. Serialized television can abruptly change course - or end - at any time.
Apple and Beatles settle trademark squabble
LONDON (Reuters) - Apple Inc. has settled its long-running trademark dispute with The Beatles' company, Apple Corps Ltd, in a deal that could finally pave the way for the Fab Four's songs to be sold on the iTunes music store.
The two companies said Apple Inc. would now own all the trademarks related to "Apple" and would license certain trademarks back to Apple Corps for continued use.
"We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.
Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps, said it was great to put the dispute behind them and move on. "The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us. We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful cooperation with them."
The dispute centers around a 1991 trademark agreement between the two sides regarding the use of their respective apple-shaped logos. The music firm said that the computer company had violated the agreement by moving into the music business through its market-leading iTunes online store.
In May 2006 a judge at the High Court in London sided with Apple Inc. Apple Corps, owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and the estate of George Harrison, said it would appeal.
Apple, which has sold over a billion downloads, had argued that iTunes was primarily a data transmission service and that it was permitted by the agreement.
ONLINE SPECULATION
The statement said the trademark lawsuit between the two companies would now end, with each party bearing its own legal costs.
The Beatles are high-profile holdouts from Internet music services such as iTunes, but it also emerged during the trial that Apple Corps was preparing the band's catalog to be sold online for the first time.
A spokeswoman for Apple Corps said the agreement announced on Monday did not change anything regarding the group's online plans, but speculation has been rife the Beatles' music will be sold online in the future.
At the recent high-profile launch of the new Apple iPhone, Jobs raised hopes that the band could be about to go digital when it played one of their songs and used a Beatles' album cover to grace its giant monitor.
A source familiar with the situation told Reuters at the time that it was "safe to assume that something sooner rather than later will happen."
Jupiter research analyst Mark Mulligan said the trademark settlement would certainly help in the move to sell the Beatles' music online via services such as iTunes.
"Put it this way, Beatles music could not be sold on iTunes until that happened, so it was an important step," he told Reuters.
Asked if there were any immediate plans for the Beatles' music to be sold online, a spokeswoman for EMI, the band's record label, declined to comment.