Police Report: Compilation, Reissues, Fan Club Show On Tap
As the start of the Police's reunion tour approaches, there is a flurry of activity in the group's camp, including a new double-disc compilation, reissues of albums from guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, a book of Sting's lyrics and a special warm-up gig for fan club members on May 27 in Vancouver.
On June 5, A&M/UMe will issue an eponymous Police collection featuring 28 tracks spread over two discs. The same day, remastered editions of the Summers/Robert Fripp 1982 collaboration "I Advance Masked" and Copeland's 1985 release "The Rhythmatist" will hit stores.
On June 29, Copeland's Police documentary "The Police Inside Out" will be released in Japan, most likely with a bonus disc of previously unreleased footage, according to the band's Web site.
Meanwhile, the Sting lyric tome "Lyrics by Sting" is due Oct. 23 via Dial Press, which previously published his memoir, "Broken Music." The new book will boast lyrics from 100-plus songs plus commentary about the writing process from the artist.
As for the May 27 warm-up, tickets are only available to fan club members and will not be sold to the general public. The venue will be scaled back for a more intimate seating configuration than what will be utilized the following night for the tour's proper kick-off.
Finally, the trio is in talks to play a free show in Havana in December "as an expression of their gratitude to Cuban fans who have supported the Police throughout the years," according to its site.
Here is the track list for "The Police":
Disc one:
"Fallout"
"Can't Stand Losing You"
"Next to You"
"Roxanne"
"Truth Hits Everybody"
"Hole in My Life"
"So Lonely"
"Message in a Bottle"
"Reggatta De Blanc"
"Bring on the Night"
"Walking on the Moon"
"Don't Stand So Close to Me"
"Driven to Tears"
"Canary in a Coalmine"
Disc two:
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"
"Voices Inside My Head"
"Invisible Sun"
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
"Spirits in the Material World"
"Demolition Man"
"Every Breath You Take"
"Synchronicity I"
"Wrapped Around Your Finger"
"Walking in Your Footsteps"
"Synchronicity II"
"King of Pain"
"Murder by Numbers"
"Tea in the Sahara"
Lyrics by Sting coming out in book form
NEW YORK - The lyrics of Sting, almost every word he wrote, from his solo records to his years with the Police, will come out in book form this fall.
"Lyrics by Sting" will include the words of such hits as "Roxanne," "Every Breath You Take" and "Spirits in the Material World," along with commentary by Sting.
"Over time, the meaning of a song can continue to reveal itself," Sting, the bassist and lead vocalist for the Police, said Monday in a statement released by The Dial Press, an imprint of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group.
"In putting this book together, I have relished the opportunity to revisit my songs, the times in which they were written and pay tribute to those with whom I've shared my creative life."
The Police, which includes Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, broke up in 1986, but have reunited and will tour North America and Europe this summer and fall.
Sting has also written a memoir, "Broken Music," which came out in 2003.
"Spider-Man 3" kicks off hot Hollywood summer
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - This may be one hot summer movie season.
When "Spider-Man 3" debuts on Friday, it kicks off four months of Hollywood movies with at least 14 that promise blockbuster status and more than 100 others vying to be the surprise hit at summer box offices.
In May, "Spidey 3" is joined by "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." The following three months feature even more sequels such as "Ocean's Thirteen," "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "The Bourne Ultimatum."
And the summer's movie stars read like a Who's Who of global pop celebrity: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney and even an animated Bart Simpson. Lindsay Lohan has two movies to please her fans.
So, how does one film break through the clutter of sequels like the ones above? "Transformers" producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura thinks he has the answer: giant autobots.
"Our movie is fresh, so it has an ability to surprise audiences in ways sequels can't ... It is fun, has a lot of heart, and we have 32-foot beings," di Bonaventura said of the film, in which cars transform into massive, robot-like machines that battle aliens.
Major movie studios pump hundreds of millions into making and promoting summer movies because the period from May through August can account for up to 40 percent of annual ticket sales in the United States and nearly as much in other countries..
Last year, the season generated nearly $3.9 billion of the roughly $9.5 billion domestic -- U.S. and Canada -- box office haul, according to box office tracker Media by Numbers.
Spurred by smash hit "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," 2006 ranked No. 3 among top summer seasons. At No. 1 is 2004, when "Shrek 2" and "Spider-Man 2" rocked theaters.
Whether the new versions of those three movies generate excitement and expand ticket sales in May or, as some fear, cannibalize each other's box office remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, excitement in Hollywood is running high.
"I can't think of a more appropriate film than 'Spider-Man 3' to kick off what could be a record summer," said Media by Numbers president Paul Dergarabedian.
So hold onto your popcorn, Summer 2007 is about to start.
SUMMER OF SEQUELS
The backers of both "Spider-Man 3" and the third "Pirates" promise to complete their trilogies on high, exciting notes. "Spider-Man" alter ego Peter Parker ( Tobey Maguire) learns how to handle the dark side of superhero fame, and in the final week of May pirate Captain Jack Sparrow ( Johnny Depp) is plucked from depths of the deep blue sea.
But in between those movies come a host of flicks ranging from big-budget animated fairy tale "Shrek the Third" with the voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy, to more modest ones like low-budget "The Waitress," starring Keri Russell as a woman working in a diner and dealing with troubled relationships.
Lindsay Lohan plays a troubled teenager -- which should not be a stretch for the young actress who has battled her party girl image -- in "Georgia Rule," which comes out in May. (In July, she's back starring as a woman escaping a serial killer in "I Know Who Killed Me.")
June brings the boys of big-budget "Ocean's Thirteen" -- Pitt, Clooney, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and the rest -- back to Las Vegas to try to pull off another casino caper.
After a long absence from theaters, Bruce Willis reprises his role as justice-seeking tough guy John McClane in "Live Free or Die Hard," and on the comedy front, funnyman Steve Carrell plays a TV news anchorman turned into a version of the Bible's animal-saving Noah in "Evan Almighty."
Also in June, Angelina Jolie portrays the wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl in drama "A Mighty Heart," and, a bit like Peter Parker in "Spider-Man," actor Kevin Costner plumbs his dark side playing a serial killer in "Mr. Brooks."
If audiences tire of sequels such as fantasy "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," then by late July Oscar-winning writer, director and producer James L. Brooks and "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening bring "The Simpsons Movie" to theaters.
It features the politically incorrect, nuclear family that TV audiences have loved for years. Brooks is not saying much about the plot except that father Homer is "screwing up worse than he ever did."
"The summer never seems to stop this year," Brooks told Reuters. "There's never been a summer like it."
`Newhart' sidekick Tom Poston dies
LOS ANGELES - Tom Poston, the tall, pasty-faced comic who found fame and fortune playing a clueless everyman on such hit television shows as "Newhart" and "Mork and Mindy," has died. He was 85.
Poston, who was married to Suzanne Pleshette of "The Bob Newhart Show," died Monday night at home after a brief illness, a family representative, Tanner Gibson, said Tuesday. The nature of his illness was not disclosed.
Bob Newhart remembered Poston as a "versatile and veteran performer and a kindhearted individual."
"Tom was always the `go-to guy' on `Newhart' in addition to being a good and longtime friend," Newhart said in a statement Tuesday.
Poston's run as a comic bumbler began in the mid-1950s with "The Steve Allen Show" after Allen plucked the character actor from the Broadway stage to join an ensemble of eccentrics he would conduct "man in the street" interviews with.
Don Knotts was the shaky Mr. Morrison, Louis Nye was the suave, overconfident Gordon Hathaway and Poston's character was so unnerved by the television cameras that he couldn't remember who he was. He won an Emmy playing "The Man Who Can't Remember His Name."
But when Allen moved the show from New York to Los Angeles in 1959, Poston stayed behind.
"Hollywood's not for me right now; I'm a Broadway cat," he told a reporter at the time.
When he did finally move west, he quickly began appearing in variety shows, sitcoms and films.
His movie credits included "Cold Turkey," "The Happy Hooker," "Rabbit Test" and, more recently, "Christmas With the Kranks," "Beethoven's 5th" and "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement."
On "Mork and Mindy," which starred Robin Williams as a space alien, Poston was Franklin Delano Bickley, the mindless boozer with the annoying dog. On "Newhart," he was George Utley, the handyman who couldn't fix anything at the New England inn run by Newhart's character. And on Newhart's show "Bob," he was the star's dim-bulb former college roommate.
"These guys are about a half-step behind life's parade," Poston commented in a 1983 interview. "The ink on their instruction sheets is beginning to fade. But they can function and cope and don't realize they are driving people up the walls.
"In ways I don't like to admit, I'm a goof-up myself," Poston continued. "It's an essential part of my character. When these guys screw up it reminds me of my own incompetence with the small frustrations of life."
Goof-up or not, Poston was a versatile actor who made his Broadway debut in 1947 playing five roles in Jose Ferrer's "Cyrano de Bergerac."
One role called for him to engage in a duel, fall 10 feet, roll across the stage and vanish into the orchestra pit. Other actors had auditioned and failed but Poston, who in his youth had been an acrobat with the Flying Zepleys, did the stunt perfectly.
He went on to play secondary roles in Broadway comedies and starred at regional theaters in such shows as "Romanoff and Juliet" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." For 10 years he was also a panelist on the popular TV quiz show "To Tell the Truth."
He made guest appearances on scores of television shows, including "Studio One," "The Phil Silvers Show," "The Defenders," "Get Smart," "The Bob Newhart Show," "The Love Boat," "St. Elsewhere," "The Simpsons," "Coach," "Murphy Brown," "Home Improvement," "Touched by an Angel," "Will & Grace," "Dream On," "Just Shoot Me!" and "That '70s Show."
Poston and his first wife, Jean Sullivan, had a daughter, Francesca, before their marriage ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Kay Hudson, after they met while appearing in the St. Louis Light Opera, and they had a son, Jason, and daughter, Hudson.
Poston and Pleshette, who had appeared together in the 1959 Broadway play "The Golden Fleecing," had had a brief fling before marrying other people. Both now widowed, they reunited in 2000 and married the following year.
Their paths had crossed on "The Bob Newhart Show" in the 1970s. Poston made several guest appearances on the sitcom in which Pleshette played Newhart's wife.
In 2006, Pleshette underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer that her agent said was caught at an early stage.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 17, 1921, Thomas Poston moved from city to city as a child as his father hunted for work during the Depression. As a teenager, he made money as a boxer.
Following two years at Bethany College he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and flew troops to the European war zone during World War II.
Hunting for a postwar occupation, Poston read an interview with Charles Jehlinger, creative head of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and was inspired to sign up for a two-year course at the Academy.
Besides Pleshette, 70, Poston is survived by his children, Francesca Poston of Nashville, Tenn., Jason Poston of Los Angeles and Hudson Poston of Portland, Ore.
A private service was planned for immediate family. Details of a public memorial service were to be announced later.
Sundin needs surgery
Mats Sundin's future in Toronto -- and his future as a National Hockey League player -- suddenly is in question after it was learned yesterday that the Maple Leafs captain requires hip surgery.
According to a source in the medical community, Sundin needs surgery almost immediately to repair a hip problem, complicating his still-to-be determined contractual status with the Leafs.
It isn't known which hip requires the repair.
The hip trouble and surgery is similar, the source says, to the operation that all but ended Alexander Mogilny's career as an NHL player at the age of 37.
Sundin, coming off his lowest goal-scoring total in a decade, turns 37 himself in February.
The Maple Leafs hold an option on Sundin's contract for next season but already have hinted that it is their intention to sign the long-time centre with a two-year or three-year extension.
For Sundin to be ready in time for next season, assuming there is a next season, he would need to have the surgery sooner rather than later. In recent years, any Leaf player needing hip surgery went to Dr. Marc Phillipon in Pittsburgh.
If the Leafs' off-season status wasn't already complicated enough, dealing with the Sundin situation makes it all the more so. For one thing, general manager John Ferguson has yet to be confirmed to return next season. Ferguson, meanwhile, has to make a decision now on what do about his captain's situation.
In the past, Ferguson got himself into some difficulty signing Ed Belfour to a long-term contract before determining the goalie needed back surgery. Considering the heat Ferguson took on the Belfour contract, would he be willing to take that leap of faith again -- and still, will he be given the authority to do so?
Recently, Ferguson did sign wayward forward Boyd Devereaux to a two-year contract even though Devereaux had wrist surgery in this off-season.
MAINLY GOOD HEALTH
Sundin has been a picture of good health and consistency for most of his 12 years as a Leaf. Not only has he led the Leafs in point scoring in 11 of those seasons, he was, on average, 16 points better than the second-leading scorer on the team. While he has missed only 43 regular-season games to health issues as a Leaf -- which are mind-boggling numbers -- he has been injured more frequently in recent years.
It isn't known if Sundin's hip is considering degenerative nor is it known if he suffers from osteoarthritis, the conditions that is hastening the end of Mogilny's career.
Poetic directing debut for Sarah Polley
LOS ANGELES - Becoming big in Hollywood has never been Sarah Polley's agenda. It shows in her acting choices, almost exclusively small, intimate tales made far outside the American studio system.
And it shows in the actress' directing debut with "Away From Her," a mature, thoughtful but downbeat drama about a woman (Julie Christie) succumbing to Alzheimer's and the impact it has on her husband (Gordon Pinsent).
The film opens Friday, a bit of counter-programming to the blockbuster debut expected for "Spider-Man 3."
It's an unusual choice for a 28-year-old, a love story in life's waning years, yet Polley has always worked beyond her age, from her days as a child actress through the acclaimed body of work in her teens and 20s.
Polley wanted to make something that reflected the passion that still can exist between lovers after 40 or 50 years together.
"That's something I find is really missing in films that portray love between people in their 60s or 70s," Polley said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It generally lacks chemistry, like somehow that's all died away, and that's just not my experience of people in their 60s and 70s, that that whole part of yourself disappears somehow.
"It's a really pessimistic and inaccurate attitude that a lot of films have had, so it was really important for me to have that vibrancy between them, because I've seen it in relationships that have lasted that long. And I haven't seen it very often in films."
Polley's directing career began in 1999, after she backed out of the role of Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous," a part that went to Kate Hudson.
More than a decade of impressive work in Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Exotica," David Cronenberg's "eXistenZ" and such independent films as "Go," "The Hanging Garden" and "Guinevere" had established Polley as one of the finest young actresses around.
A Toronto native who had focused heavily on Canadian films, Polley sensed that a major Hollywood movie might pull her away from the sort of career she wanted.
"I think I knew instinctually that I was not immune to losing myself if I had that kind of high-profile life, and that was what that film was going to bring," Polley said. "It was important to my sense of self to stay really grounded in a life that made sense to me and that was not completely out of control.
"And it's strange, because it led directly to me figuring out that I wanted to make my own films."
During the time she would have spent on "Almost Famous," Polley directed a short film, the first in a series she made over the next few years. The decision also led Polley to her future husband, David Wharnsby, who was editor on that first short and all of her movies since, including "Away From Her."
After turning down "Almost Famous," Polley continued to act mainly in small productions, including Michael Winterbottom's dark Western "The Claim," Hal Hartley's beauty-and-the-beast fantasy "No Such Thing," Wim Wenders' family-roots saga "Don't Come Knocking" and two stirring films with director Isabel Coixet, "My Life Without Me" and "The Secret Life of Words."
Polley finally relented on Hollywood movies with a surprising choice, costarring in 2004's remake of the gory zombie flick "Dawn of the Dead."
"Over the years, as I became more comfortable with who I was and felt less threatened about how things could kind of work my identity, I became less earnest," Polley said. "The majority of what I do are independent, small films, but the truth is, as somebody who goes to the movies, every now and then, I do indulge myself in a big Hollywood film or a zombie movie.
"I figured, this will be a really fun three months. I really like the original. There's no reason for me not to do this except a kind of preciousness. I don't think I'll spend my life doing movies like that, but it was good for me to just say, `You have nothing to prove to anyone, so just do what you want to do.'"
Polley adapted the screenplay for "Away From Her" from Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," which she read on a plane flying home from Iceland after filming "No Such Thing," which costarred Christie.
From the start, Polley had imagined Christie, an Academy Award winner for 1965's "Darling," in the role.
"The decision to actually make the film was partly to see Julie play the part," Polley said.
Christie stars as a gracefully aging woman who has come to terms with betrayals years earlier by her husband (Canadian star Pinsent). Their happy, tender twilight crumbles after she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's and checks into a care facility, her memory loss and growing affection for another patient (Michael Murphy) testing the devotion of her husband.
Olympia Dukakis co-stars as Murphy's pragmatic wife, who forges her own odd relationship with Pinsent.
Along with the characters and subject matter, "Away From Her" shows true filmmaking maturity. Unlike many films from first-time directors who grew up in an age of quick-cutting music videos, "Away From Her" has stillness and restraint in its cinematography and editing.
"It was really important to honor the tone of the story, which is very still and elegant and full of grace," Polley said. "I also felt it would be really impertinent for me to use this story to prove my chops as a young filmmaker. It is expected almost of filmmakers especially under 35 that it will look like a music video. I just thought it would be the most inappropriate thing you could do to a story like this."
Upcoming acting roles for Polley include the HBO miniseries "John Adams" and the film "Mr. Nobody" with Belgian director Jaco van Dormael.
She spent much of the past year promoting "Away From Her" on the film-festival circuit, where the story has resonated with audiences in the same way it did with Polley.
"It was the opposite kind of love than we usually celebrate in films, which is new love without knowledge and without hardship," Polley said. "It's the whole idea of love after life has had its way with you, and after you have kind of failed each other and things have gone off the rails. Yet love still somehow exists between them."
New CD Releases, May 1: Rush, Tori Amos, Michael Buble
Rush "Snakes and Arrows"
The prog-rock trio returns with its first disc of new material since 2002's "Vapor Trails." The band recorded the set in late 2006, and shared production duties with Grammy-winner Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver).
The Canadian rockers will support "Snakes and Arrows" with a 45-date North American tour--their first since the group's 30th anniversary trek in 2005. The road show kicks off June 13 in Atlanta and is scheduled to run through late September.
* * *
Michael Buble "Call Me Irresponsible"
The young crooner delivers another set of standards and classic pop tunes. "Call Me Irresponsible" includes such chestnuts as "The Best is Yet to Come," "I've Got the World on a String," "That's Life," "Always on My Mind" and "Me and Mrs. Jones." It also features contributions from Boyz II Men and other guest stars.
* * *
Tori Amos "American Doll Posse"
The vocalist/pianist, whose confessional approach to songwriting has made her an idol to millions, is ready to drop her ninth studio album. The lengthy, 23-track recording is Amos' first new offering since 2005's "Little Earthquakes."
* * *
Feist "The Reminder"
Canadian singer-songwriter Feist is back with a follow-up to 2004's "Let It Die." The vocalist, born Leslie Feist, supported the previous effort with a mammoth 33-month tour, and she and her band (also known as Feist) will again hit the road to sell "The Reminder." The tour is scheduled to visit 26 cities and will begin May 15 in Victoria, British Columbia.
* * *
Various Artists "Spider-Man 3: Music From and Inspired By"
Spider-Man's powers haven't been felt solely at the box office; the film franchise has also produced successful soundtracks and singles. The third installment of "Spider-Man" hits theaters later this week, and its soundtrack includes offerings by the likes of Snow Patrol, The Flaming Lips and Wolfmother.
* * *
More new releases:
Joan Armatrading, "Into the Blues" (429)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Baby 81" (Red Ink)
Corbin Bleu, "Another Side" (Hollywood)
Elizabeth Cook, "Balls" (Thirty Tigers)
Elvis Costello, "The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years" (Hip-O)
Dinosaur Jr., "Beyond" (Fat Possum)
Robbie Fulks, "Revenge" (Yep Roc)
Angelique Kidjo, "Djin Djin" (Razor and Tie)
Kimberley Locke, "Based On A True Story" (Curb)
Ne-Yo, "Because of You" (Def Jam)
Puppini Sisters, "Betcha Bottom Dollar" (Verve Forecast)
Blake Shelton, "Pure BS" (Warner Bros.)
Various Artists, "High School Musical: The Concert" (Disney)
Various Artists, "We All Love Ennio Morricone" (Sony)
Patrick Wolf, "The Magic Position" (Fontana)