The Pursuit of Happyness is almost over
The Academy recognized the work in Sony PIctures' The Pursuit of Happyness. The film is on its way to DVD and Blu-Ray.
Chris Gardner is a San Francisco salesman whos struggling to make ends meet. When his girlfriend Linda walks out, Chris is left to raise their 5-year-old son Christopher on his own. Chris determination finally pays off then he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a bus station bathroom. With self-confidence and the love and trust of this son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.
The Blu-Ray and DVD both come with and audio commentary with director Gabriele Muccino and the featurettes Father and Son: Onscreen and OFf, The Man Behind the Movie, Making Pursuit: An Italian Take on the American Dream and Inside the Rubik's Cube plus the song I Can.
The DVD and BRD are priced at $28.95 and $38.96 respectiely and will both arrive on March 27th.
2 buddies, 1 vision, big success
Johm Lasseter and Randy Newman both grew up in Southern California, but they couldn't possibly come from more different worlds. Lasseter is from Whittier, son of the parts manager at a Chevy dealership. Newman grew up on the Westside of Los Angeles, where he spent much of his boyhood on Hollywood sound stages, watching his uncles Alfred, Lionel and Emil Newman conduct studio orchestras.
But when it comes to their work, it's hard to imagine two masters of their craft more in sync with each other; Newman is one of the great songwriters of our time, and Lasseter is the reigning wizard of computer animation.
Whether discussing the importance of emotion in music or reminiscing about their favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons, they always seem to be on the same page, with one starting a thought, the other finishing it.
Since they met in 1991, Lasseter and Newman have creatively been virtually inseparable. Newman has done the score and written songs for every Lasseter-directed Pixar film, including both installments in the "Toy Story" series, "A Bug's Life" and "Cars," as well as "Monsters, Inc.," a Pixar hit that Lasseter also produced.
They are both up for Oscars again this year: Lasseter for best animated film ("Cars"); Newman for best song for "Our Town," the ballad from "Cars" performed by James Taylor. (Newman is up for a Grammy for "Our Town" as well.)
At a dinner that stretched late into the night, the conversation ranged far and wide; Lasseter earnest, if a bit overpowering served as the ringmaster, with Newman, sardonic and self-deprecating, proving the comic relief.
Lasseter remains astounded that Newman has now been nominated for 17 Oscars and won only one, for "If I Didn't Have You" ("Monsters, Inc."). Praising "You've Got a Friend in Me," a song Newman wrote for "Toy Story," Lasseter says, "I can't believe he didn't win with that everyone has recorded that song. I've often thought the academy should go back 10 years later and reexamine who won their awards because it often takes time to see how films or songs grow and become absorbed in the culture."
I asked Newman what he thought of a version Robert Goulet did. "I was at the session," Newman recalls. "And he kept singing, 'You've got a friend in me, babe.' " Newman laughs. "Clearly nobody else was going to do it, so it was my job to say, 'Drop the 'babe.' You could tell he took it badly because he said, 'Oh, I get it. Get rid of the soul.' "
The Oscars are also something of a sore subject for Lasseter. Despite the groundbreaking nature of his work in animation, Lasseter has never won an Oscar for any of his features.
"I was around the Oscars since I was boy my uncle [Alfred] won nine of them," says Newman. "I know it's not always about merit. But they suck you into it. When I finally won, I saw the orchestra [in the pit] stand up and applaud and ."
Newman wags his head. "I got pretty choked up. I was worried I was going to lose it, like Sally Field."
Lasseter first met Newman when he began work on "Toy Story."
"At first we even thought about not having songs at all," Lasseter recalls. "But [Disney music executive] Chris Montan convinced me of the value of songs to tell the story. I loved Randy's scores I used to listen to his music from 'The Natural' and 'Avalon' driving in my car. And he appealed to me because he could not only write emotional music but music with a sense of humor."
Composers and filmmakers speak a very different language. So the challenge for the two men was to find a means of communication. Composers often find it difficult to understand what a director wants from them, especially when the director's idea of helpful advice is something like, "I want the music to be more powerful!"
Newman says he asks Lasseter to give him adjectives to describe what feeling he's looking for. "My songs are usually exactly like the instructions I've received," he says. "John will tell me he wants something to feel cheerful and friendly, and I end up with 'You've Got a Friend in Me.' "
Still, creative misunderstandings occur. Even Newman, who is quick to say, "The director is your boss it's their picture," has had fallings-out with filmmakers, notably with Gary Ross on "Seabiscuit."
"It killed me to hear stuff I wrote used in the wrong way," he says. "It was as if he'd fallen in love with what Ennio Morricone did on 'Once Upon a Time in the West.' He loved this lugubrious temp music and he rerecorded my stuff, very, very slowly. We just couldn't communicate. Your whole job is to do what the director wants, but in that case, it was alien to everything I knew."
For Lasseter, the importance of the score is that it captures, better than anything else, the underlying emotion of the film. When he was developing "Toy Story 2," Lasseter knew the film revolved around the idea: What if you were a toy and your kid outgrew you?
"When you're outgrown, there's no coming back to it," Lasseter explains. "But whenever we tried to convey that through dialogue, it never worked. So we went to Randy and said, 'Let's do it through song.' I remember what I told Randy: 'This song doesn't have a happy ending.' "
The result was "When She Loved Me," which was performed by Sarah McLachlan. Lasseter says he burst into tears when he watched McLachlan sing it at a recording session with Newman at the piano. The song had such an indelible effect on the film that Lasseter went back into the movie and recut the sequence to Newman's lyrics.
Newman's "Our Town" is a great example of how a song, when paired with the right images, can propel a film into deeper emotional territory. Propelled by James Taylor's soulful vocals, it evokes the sense of loss that the town of Radiator Springs feels when the new interstate turns the burg into a backwater. After interviewing residents of similar dying towns, Lasseter told the stories to Newman, giving him photos to inspire him.
Newman's song is full of yearning, gently balancing a sense of hometown pride with a sense of loss. Its lyrics are simple and direct, yet tinged with laconic Newman-isms, especially in the tale's opening line: "Long ago, but not so very long ago "
This wasn't the way Newman wrote as a singer-songwriter any hint of yearning was overwhelmed by sly satire or a gruff cynicism. "Back then I wrote some of the roughest songs anyone had heard before rap," he says. "It was because I believed in indirection. I could only write love songs for other people. Working on these movies with John has allowed me to be more emotionally direct."
Newman playfully complains that Pixar has been "kind of phasing me out" as a singer, noting that though he sang three songs in "Toy Story," he's down to "none" in "Cars."
Not that's he's insulted. "The verdict on my voice from the American people is not positive," he says. Lasseter says he sought out Taylor because he wanted a voice for "Our Town" that had the feel of folk Americana.
"It was no disrespect to Randy," he says.
Newman laughs. "I thought, 'Hey, it's a beat-up town, why not a beat-up voice [like mine]?' "
Hearing Lasseter reminisce about his youthful love for muscle cars only emphasizes something that most academy members have somehow managed to miss: Animated films can be just as personal as any auteur-driven drama. When Lasseter was a boy, he spent endless hours ogling '69 Camaros, especially the ones with orange racing stripes, at his dad's Chevy showroom.
Lasseter learned to drive in his father's '55 Chevy pickup. "My favorite memory is my dad taking me to the local dump, putting me on his lap and letting me drive. I'll never forget that feeling of freedom I had."
Newman's youthful driving experiences were more like Keystone Kops outtakes. "What I remember is how many accidents I had 15 major wrecks altogether," he says. "When I got my learner's permit, I drove down Sunset with my mother in the car and spun out on Dead Man's Curve and hit a guy in a Morris. I got so professional about it that when I'd get into a wreck I'd run and get a witness."
Apparently it ran in the family. Newman recalls riding home after school with his late Uncle Emil when he was working on "The Great Sioux Massacre." "He'd drive me home and he used to have a little vodka and milk, and anything could happen. They had these shrubs on the road just past Beverly Glen he'd hit them every time. I was just as bad. I hit so many different cars that the right side of my car was like a mural with all the colors of the rainbow."
When Lasseter and Newman got up to leave after dinner, I jokingly asked the crash-prone Newman if he thought he could make it home safely. "Oh, I'm only eight minutes from home," he said. "But you never know. My wife says it's not a trip unless there's a close call."
Canadian publisher interested in O.J.'s If I Did It
A Canadian publisher has expressed interest in releasing O.J. Simpson's book, If I Did It, Here's How It Happened.
Montreal-based Barclay Road Inc. issued a statement Monday saying that it "would be prepared to look at and possibly publish" the cancelled title from the former football star and actor.
In the book, Simpson was to have discussed how, hypothetically, he could have killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
"Although those at Barclay Road were disgusted by the initial information surrounding the book, representatives decided that in order to do justice to the name of free speech, giving the manuscript a read might just prove that the press did not have all the facts," the statement read.
Barclay Road said it has been in contact with Simpson's representatives and that, if a deal occurred, it would "look at re-titling and creating a new cover for the book."
The company has previously published books by motivational writer Og Mandino and former Hearst Newspaper Group chief Robert Danzig.
In 1994, Barclay Road imprint Lifetime Books met controversy with its book All the Secrets of Magic Revealed: The Tricks and Illusions of the World's Greatest Magicians. Magician David Copperfield tried to block publication of the book, which was eventually released in 1995.
Simpson's book and a corresponding Fox TV special were called off in November by News Corp. after an outcry from critics and the families of the victims. HarperCollins, the News Corp. subsidiary that was scheduled to publish the book, said at the time all copies of the book would be destroyed, including some that had already been shipped to stores.
Simpson was acquitted on criminal charges of murder in 1995, but later lost a civil suit for "wrongful death" in the killings. He was ordered to pay the Goldman family $33.5 million US.
John Mayer takes 'Continuum' tour to Canada
Singer/songwriter John Mayer has added an eight-date Canadian leg to his tour supporting his critically acclaimed September release, "Continuum."
Mayer is currently in the midst of a US outing that hits cities from the Midwest to the East Coast and wraps up Feb. 28 at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The performer will pair up with Ben Kweller for an Australian run April 1-12, then it's off to Canada beginning April 17 in Toronto. North American dates are listed below; Australian shows can be found at Mayer's website.
Members of Mayer's official fanclub, Local-83, have access to ticket pre-sales and are eligible to attend pre-show soundcheck parties. Details can be found at the Local-83 website.
"Continuum" is Mayer's third studio album and his first shot as producer. The blues-infused set follows 2003's "Heavier Things" and 2005 live album "Try!" by the John Mayer Trio, which is the singer's collaboration with drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino.
A blog written by Mayer at his website says the trio plans to record a studio album before too long.
Mayer, already a three-time Grammy winner, is up for five more trophies this year: Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for "Continuum," Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the song "Waiting on the World to Change," Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for "Route 66," and Best Rock Album for "Try!"
Mayer is also scheduled to perform at the Grammys with fellow nominees John Legend and Corinne Bailey. The Feb. 11 ceremony at Los Angeles' Staples Center will air live on CBS-TV.
Here is Mayer's tour itinerary. Check with official artist websites, ticketing sources and venues for late updates.
February 2007
6 - Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Civic Coliseum
7 - Roanoke, VA - Roanoke Civic Center
8 - Columbia, SC - The Colonial Center
13 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
14 - Madison, WI - Alliant Energy Center
16 - Murray, KY - Murray State University
17 - Bloomington, IL - US Cellular Coliseum
18 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
20 - Dekalb, IL - NIU Convocation Center
22 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
23 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
24 - Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena
26 - Amherst, MA - Mullins Center
27 - Syracuse, NY - Oncenter Complex
28 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
April 2007
17 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada
18 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
20 - Ottawa, Ontario - Scotiabank Place
22 - London, Ontario - Labatt Centre
26 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
28 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
30 - Victoria, British Columbia - Save on Foods Memorial
May 2007
1 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Pacific Coliseum
Casting Couch
Keri Russell is ready to slip on a pair of Scrubs. The former Felicity is set to make two guest appearances as the college roommate of Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) during May sweeps. The hospital comedy airs Thursdays on NBC.
Wal-Mart entry to video downloads a 'game changer'
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s entry into movie downloading should have a bigger impact on the growth of digital video distribution in the near term than on the ultimate decline in DVD sales.
Media industry experts say Wal-Mart, whose stores make an estimated 40 percent of annual U.S. DVD sales, will introduce millions of its customers to the practice of downloading movies to their computers or portable media players.
The world's largest retailer unveiled on Tuesday the first download-to-own service to offer movies from all major Hollywood studios, at a price comparable to Wal-Mart's retail prices for DVDs.
Last year, media reports said Wal-Mart and other "big-box" retailers had threatened to retaliate against studios offering films for download at prices that undercut the stores, which rely on new DVD releases to drive traffic.
Wal-Mart's embrace of movie downloading comes about two years after it pulled out of online DVD rental and directed its subscribers to Netflix Inc., and months after it protested Walt Disney Co.'s move to sell movies on Apple Inc.'s iTunes online music store at below-retail prices.
Industry experts said the move was natural for the retail giant.
"They are doing an internal analysis and saying, 'We jumped into DVD rental late and Netflix and others got entrenched."' a media industry source said.
"A lot of experts this year expect DVD sales to be flat," said James McQuivey, principal analyst with Forrester Research. "There is a fear ... we'll see a reduction in DVD sales (from downloads). We're seeing Wal-Mart respond in advance to that threat, not that downloads is a threat to DVD sales because not many people are downloading."
Download sales equaled about 1 percent of the $24.5 billion in DVD and home video sales and rentals in 2006, but industry experts expect downloads to grow to 10 percent within a decade.
About 100 million U.S. households have DVD players, and an estimated 46.7 million households had access in 2006 to broadband Internet services needed to access video content.
Industry analysts said Wal-Mart's move into downloads was unlikely to dent DVD sales in the short term, but could remove barriers to digital growth, such as the limited number of movie titles now available and the inability of most customers to transfer movies easily from the Internet to the TV.
"They are able to say (to the studios), 'We are going to do this and you are going to do it with us,"' McQuivey said. "My hope is that movie studios will now say, 'We've got the Wal-Mart thing taken care of, we can move really aggressively."
Rob Enderle, an independent analyst at the Enderle Group, said Wal-Mart's download offering is a "game changer" that will help set off "a long decline" for DVD sales.
"The need to buy discs will not go away, but it will cut into any growth the market has," Enderle said. "We are talking about the beginning of the end for DVDs."
Prince's halftime imagery questioned
NEW YORK - In the sensitive post-wardrobe malfunction world, some are questioning whether a guitar was just a guitar during Prince's Super Bowl halftime show.
Prince's acclaimed performance included a guitar solo during the "Purple Rain" segment of his medley in which his shadow was projected onto a large, flowing beige sheet. As the 48-year-old rock star let rip, the silhouette cast by his figure and his guitar (shaped like the singer's symbol) had phallic connotations for some.
A number of bloggers have decried "Malfunction!" including Sam Anderson at New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer. Daily News television critic David Bianculli called it "a rude-looking shadow show" that "looked embarrassingly rude, crude and unfortunately placed."
CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said Tuesday that the network has received "very few" complaints on Prince's performance. CBS last aired the Super Bowl in 2004 when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's "wardrobe malfunction" sparked criticism and a subsequent crackdown on broadcast decency from the Federal Communications Commission.
But this time, it was the NFL that produced the halftime show (MTV had in 2004). Spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has received no complaints.
"We respect other opinions, but it takes quite a leap of the imagination to make a controversy of his performance," Aiello said. "It's a guitar."
The majority of the reaction to Prince's performance has been laudatory, including positive reviews from The Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today all of which noted the lack of controversy in this year's halftime show. AP Entertainment Writer Douglas J. Rowe wrote: "He delivered one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows ever."
For decades, the electric guitar, by nature, has been considered phallic. From Jimi Hendrix's sensual 6-string swagger to Eddie Van Halen's masturbatory soloing, the guitar has often been thought an extension of a male player's sexuality.
Was Prince's pose phallic?
"The short answer is, of course it is," says Rolling Stone magazine contributing editor Gavin Edwards, who points out that on Prince's "Purple Rain" tour in the mid `80s, he performed with a guitar that would ejaculate, squirting water out of its end during the climax of "Let's Go Crazy."
"All that said, it didn't seem like a sniggering little puppet show," adds Edwards. "I think it was one of those things because a guitar at waist level does look like an enormous phallus."
By enlarging his shadow, it's possible Prince intended to accentuate this aspect of his solo, but it's just as likely it was accidental. (You can find videos of the halftime show at YouTube.com.) A message left with Prince's publicist Tuesday wasn't returned.
The late-night shows have taken notice. On CBS's "The Late Late Show" on Sunday night, host Craig Ferguson said of Prince: "He was obviously very happy to be there, wasn't he?"
Stephen Colbert reacted with mock outrage on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" Monday night: "They knew that they were dealing with a lustful, pansexual rock 'n' roll deviant," said Colbert, who joked that the sheet hid (not enhanced) Prince's "demonic guitar phallus."
In recent years, Prince has scaled down his performances, which were once renown for their gymnastics. His mini-concert at the Colts-Bears game in Miami included parts of "Purple Rain," "Let's Go Crazy," "Baby I'm a Star," Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," the Foo Fighter's "Best of You" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary."
The Minnesota native has attracted controversy before. Tipper Gore launched a campaign to place a warning sticker on his 1984 album "Purple Rain" because of the lyrics to the song "Darling Nikki." Though his musical style has been expansive, he's best known for funky, sexually charged songs like "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Get Off."
Prince's previously most talked-about performance came at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, where he donned yellow, butt-baring pants, (a stunt later spoofed by Howard Stern). Always eccentric, he famously changed his name to The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, then to simply a symbol and finally back to Prince. He also became a Jehovah's Witness in the mid-`90s.
But Prince's halftime performance, though celebrated, came in a much different cultural environment, where even the fleeting outline of a man and his guitar could, for some, suggest shaded depravity.
"If people want to be hypersensitive, they can be hypersensitive," says Rolling Stone's Edwards. "Those trombones are phallic, too. What are you going to do?"
Furtado, Billy Talent, k-os lead Juno noms
TORONTO (CP) - Hip-shaking songstress Nelly Furtado will not only be hosting this year's Juno Awards - she'll also have a shot at winning five trophies.
Furtado, the British Columbia-raised singer who has had a remarkable career resurgence this year with her chart-topping album "Loose," led the list of nominees announced Tuesday along with rockers Billy Talent and hip-hop star k-os, who also received five nods apiece.
Triple nominees include Sarah Harmer, Quebec recording star Gregory Charles, francophone band Malajube, and Hedley - the hard-driving outfit fronted by former "Canadian Idol" contestant Jacob Hoggard.
Hoggard was not the only Idol alum nominated Tuesday. Eva Avila, who won last year's edition of the televised singing contest, and 2005 winner Melissa O'Neil are both up for new artist of the year.
Alberta rockers Nickelback received a nod for the fan choice award.
The 2007 Juno Awards will be staged April 1 at Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre and broadcast live.
In recent years, the awards have been held in various locations across Canada, including Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg and - last year - Halifax. The strategy to take the show on the road has been a resounding success, generating fan buzz in the host cities.
This year that trend will no doubt continue with Furtado as host. The singer, after all, began her career in 2001 as a Juno darling, taking home a slew of trophies for her debut album, "Whoa, Nelly."
Her subsequent release, "Folklore," did not have the same success, prompting some to wonder if Furtado was a flash in the pan. But the singer re-emerged with a vengeance earlier this year with "Loose" and a new sexed-up image that surprised many of her fans.
In Saskatoon, "Promiscuous" - her smash hit featuring Timbaland - will vie for single of the year. Furtado is also up for album of the year, artist of the year, pop album of the year and for a fan's choice award.
K-os is also no stranger to the Junos, with nine previous nominations and a handful of trophies. This time around he got nods for single of the year, songwriter of the year, pop album of the year and video of the year. He's also nominated for a producing award.
Billy Talent, meanwhile, has three previous Juno wins. The Toronto-based band is nominated for single of the year for "Devil in a Midnight Mass," album of the year, group of the year, rock album of the year and video of the year.
The nominees are selected based on a combination of sales and votes from members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
The academy also announced Tuesday that producer Bob Rock will be this year's inductee to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
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Some of the key categories in the 2007 Juno nominations announced Tuesday:
Artist of the Year: Diana Krall; Gregory Charles; Loreena McKennitt; Nelly Furtado; Pierre Lapointe.
Group of the Year: Alexisonfire; Billy Talent; Hedley; the Tragically Hip; Three Days Grace.
Single of the Year: "Devil in a Midnight Mass," Billy Talent; "All I Can Do," Chantal Kreviazuk; "Pull Me Through," Jim Cuddy; "Sunday Morning," k-os; "Promiscuous," Nelly Furtado (featuring Timbaland).
Album of the Year: "Billy Talent II," Billy Talent; "I Think of You," Gregory Charles; "Hedley," Hedley; "Loose," Nelly Furtado; "ONE-X," Three Days Grace.
New Artist of the Year: Eva Avila; Melissa O'Neil; Neverending White Lights; Patrick Watson; Tomi Swick.
New Group of the Year: Evans Blue; Idle Sons; Jets Overhead; Mobile; Stabilo.
Rock Album of the Year: "Billy Talent II," Billy Talent; "Tomorrow Starts Today," Mobile; "Chemical City," Sam Roberts; "Never Hear the End of It," Sloan; "World Container," the Tragically Hip.
Country Recording of the Year: "Big Wheel," Aaron Pritchett; "Love & Negotiation," Carolyn Dawn Johnson; "Doc Walker," Doc Walker; "Countrified," Emerson Drive; "Somebody Wrote Love," George Canyon.
Rap Recording of the Year: "The Frenzy of Renown," Arabesque; "Hitch Hikin' Music," Classified; "Organic Music for a Digital World," DL Incognito; "The Answer," Rich London; "Black Magic," Swollen Members.
Adult Alternative Album of the Year: "The Light That Guides You Home," Jim Cuddy; "When the Angels Make Contact," Matt Mays; "Living With War," Neil Young; "Time Being," Ron Sexsmith; "I'm a Mountain," Sarah Harmer.
Alternative Album of the Year: "Skelliconnection," Chad VanGaalen; "Sometimes," City and Colour; "Return to the Sea," Islands; "Trompe-l'Oeil," Malajube; "Not Saying/Just Saying," Shout Out Out Out Out.
Pop Album of the Year: "Ghost Stories," Chantal Kreviazuk; "Atlantis: Hymns for Disco," k-os; "Loose," Nelly Furtado; "Wintersong," Sarah McLachlan; "Stalled Out in the Doorway," Tomi Swick.
International Album of the Year: "Taking the Long Way," Dixie Chicks; "Ancora," Il Divo; "FutureSex/LoveSounds," Justin Timberlake; "Confessions on a Dance Floor," Madonna; "Stadium Arcadium," Red Hot Chili Peppers.
A full list of nominees can be found at www.junoawards.ca.
Juno nominees to be announced today
The nominees for the 2007 Juno Awards will be announced this afternoon in Toronto with Canadian chart-toppers Nelly Furtado, Billy Talent and Three Days Grace all expected to make the list.
The 36th annual Junos, to be broadcast on CTV, will be held on April 1.
Furtado has also signed on to host the event which will be held at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon.
"The Juno Awards are part of the Canadian fabric and to be asked to host is a privilege I'm charmed to accept," Furtado said recently in an exclusive eTalk interview. "Hosting The Juno Awards is a dream come true and I look forward to carrying on this rich Canadian tradition."
Double-platinum Quebec superstar Gregory Charles and platinum-selling hip-hop artist k-os are the most recent additions to the musical lineup -- which also includes Billy Talent and Three Days Grace.
Furtado takes over the master of ceremonies job from last year's host Pamela Anderson. Other high-profile hosts have included Brent Butt in 2005; Alanis Morissette in 2004; Shania Twain in 2003 and the Barenaked Ladies in 2002.
Last year, 1.7 million viewers watched the 2006 Junos, surpassing the 48th Grammy Awards broadcast in Canada by 26 per cent and making it the most-watched music awards program of the year.
The 2006 Juno Awards climaxed with 2.1 million viewers and attracted almost 30 per cent more viewers than the previous year, making it the second-most watched awards telecast since they were broadcast from Ottawa in 2003.
Hardy Boys II Men: Cruise & Stiller at Fox?
Apparently, Kevin Federline's recent self-effacing Superbowl stunt has inspired Tom Cruise.
Insiders tell TMZ that Tom Cruise has been talking with Ben Stiller about starring in an updated version of "The Hardy Boys" at Twentieth Century Fox.
Tentatively titled "The Hardy Men" -- a comedy that would be directed by Stiller's director on "A Night At the Museum," Shawn Levy ("The Pink Panther," "Cheaper By the Dozen").
"The Hardy Boys" detective novels date back to 1927, though a variety of ghost writers using the pen name of Franklin W. Dixon kept Frank and Joe Hardy perpetual teenagers. "The Hardy Men" would have them finally grown up, but up to their old tricks once more.
While nothing is set in stone, (like, say, that T. Rex skeleton from "Museum") the discussions do reveal a larger, more interesting development stemming from Cruise's L'affaire de sofa d' Oprah: What to do next when your public image has taken a public beating?
For starters: acknowledge the elephant in the room, and make fun of it. People familiar with Cruise's plans say that Cruise met with Stiller about starring in "Tropic Thunder," a farcical action-comedy Stiller has set up at DreamWorks Pictures that paraodies Cruise's work in Paramount's "Mission: Impossible" franchise.
It's not clear why Cruise ultimately decided not to "go there" as "Thunder" would have been a way to publically demonstrate that Cruise actually has a sense of humor about his over-the-top antics. Perhaps it seemed simply too risky a financial prospect; in the ten years since its debut, the "Mission: Impossible" franchise has sold $1.4 billion worth of tickets worldwide. That kind of money, even with a franchise at its nadir, is hard to poke fun at when the checks have your name on them.
For now, it appears that Stiller will both play the lead role in and direct "Tropic Thunder." But insiders tell TMZ he hasn't given up on recruiting Cruise into a part that would allow the megastar to poke fun at his super-serious Ethan Hunt alter ego. "The Hardy Men" is primed to go into production come October, and regardless of whether he takes the gig, Cruise clearly sees comedy as a means to redeem both his public persona and the box office crown. Indeed, the fruits of Levy and Stiller's last collaboration are still being savored at Fox, where "A Night at the Museum" is in its seventh week on 3,000 screens, and has grossed $421 million worldwide. Or, put another way, $23 million more than "Mission: Impossible 3."