"Sopranos" rub-out theory gains credence
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Fans of "The Sopranos" are seizing on clues suggesting the controversial blackout which abruptly ended the TV mob drama meant that Tony Soprano was rubbed out, and HBO said on Thursday they may be on to something.
One clue in particular, a flashback in the penultimate episode to a conversation between Tony and his brother-in-law about death, gained credence as an HBO spokesman called it a "legitimate" hint and confirmed that series creator David Chase had a definite ending in mind.
"While he won't say to me 100 percent what it all means, he says some people who've guessed have come closer than others," HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer told Reuters after speaking to Chase.
"There are definitely things there that he intended for people to pick up on," Schaffer said.
Chase himself suggested as much in an interview on Tuesday with The Star-Ledger newspaper of New Jersey when he said of his end to the HBO series, "Anyone who wants to watch it, it's all there."
In the final moments of Sunday's concluding episode, Tony, the conflicted mob boss who has just survived a round of gangland warfare, sits in a diner with his family munching on onion rings as the 1980s song by rock band Journey, "Don't Stop Believing," blares from a juke box.
Tension builds as a suspicious man wearing a "Members Only" jacket eyes Tony from a nearby counter before slipping into a restroom. Then, as Tony looks toward the restaurant's entrance, the screen abruptly goes blank in mid-scene -- with no picture or sound for 10 seconds -- until the credits roll silently.
Stunned viewers, many initially believing something had gone wrong with their cable TV reception, were left wondering whether Tony ended up "whacked" or whether his sordid life went on as usual.
The jarring, fill-in-the-blank finale, concluding a show widely hailed as America's greatest television drama, sparked a furious debate about whether Chase had conceived of an actual ending and whether he left the audience any clues.
The biggest hint, according to a consensus taking shape on the Web, is a scene from an earlier episode in which Tony and his brother-in-law, Bobby Bacala, muse about what it feels like to die.
"At the end, you probably don't hear anything, everything just goes black," Bobby says while they sit fishing in a small boat on a lake.
That scene is recalled briefly in a flashback played at the end of the penultimate "Sopranos" episode, as Tony is lying in the darkened room of a safehouse clutching a machine gun to his chest in the midst of a mob war.
"I think that is one of the most legitimate things to look at," Schaffer said when asked about theories that the Bobby Bacala flashback was meant to foreshadow Tony's death.
Moreover, he said the man in the "Members Only" jacket could be interpreted as a symbolic reference to membership in the mob. "Members Only" also was the title of the episode in which Tony's demented Uncle Junior shoots him in the gut.
The "Members Only" guy was played by the owner of a real-life pizza parlor, Paolo Colandrea. Schaffer denied reports that Colandrea had appeared earlier in the series as the nephew of Tony's New York gang rival, or that there ever was such a character. He also dismissed reports that Chase had filmed more than one ending to the finale.
"Die Hard" tops magazine list of best action films
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Die Hard," starring Bruce Willis as a tough cop battling terrorists, was named the best action film ever by Entertainment Weekly magazine -- two weeks before the series' fourth installment, "Live Free or Die Hard," hits theaters.
The magazine on Thursday unveiled a list of top 25 action movies picked by its writers and editors spanning a wide range of films: from 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood" to director Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" in 1954 (No. 6) and the 2004 computer-animated film, "The Incredibles" (No. 25).
Space adventure "Aliens" followed "Die Hard" in the No. 2 slot with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" at No. 3 and "The Road Warrior" and "The Matrix" at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
But it was 1988's "Die Hard," starring Willis as tough-as-nails New York cop John McClane who battles terrorists in a Los Angeles high-rise, that blew the biggest Hollywood fireball for the magazine's staff.
Back in summer 1988, "Die Hard" was notable mostly for its gun battles and explosions, including blowing up an L.A. high-rise. The movie raked in $138 million worldwide and made Willis a major movie star.
Two sequels, "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" and "Die Hard With a Vengeance," followed in 1990 and 1995, respectively.
The fourth film, "Live Free or Die Hard," lands in theaters on June 27, and this time McClane is saving the world from a mad genius mounting a digital attack on computer networks.
An Entertainment Weekly spokeswoman said the list was picked without any regard to "Live Free's" opening date or its interview with Willis that hits newsstands on Friday.
"After we finalized the list, we asked for interviews with key players in the movies we picked," the spokeswoman said. "'Die Hard"' was going to be No. 1 anyway."
Some of the more recent films making the top 25 included "Spider-Man 2" and "Kill Bill -- Vol. 1," while older titles ranged from 1964 James Bond movie "Goldfinger" to 1973's martial arts flick "Enter the Dragon," starring Bruce Lee.
"Silver Surfer" rides sequel wave at box office
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Another weekend opening, another sequel.
"Ocean's Thirteen" had its moment at the top of the heap last weekend, and now "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" is set to take over the lead.
"Nancy Drew," a revival of the celebrated teen detective and the weekend's other new wide arrival, appears fated for a place in the middle of the pack.
The original "Fantastic Four," which bowed in July 2005 via 20th Century Fox, attracted decidedly mixed reviews but captured the top spot with sales of $56.1 million, going on to a domestic gross of $154.7 million. The sequel should also arrive in the $50 million range.
Like "Ocean's Thirteen," "Silver Surfer" reunites the principals from the original film -- director Tim Story and actors Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis and Julian McMahon -- and introduces a new character, the legendary Silver Surfer, with movement by Doug Jones, voice by Laurence Fishburne and CG effects courtesy of Weta Digital. The introduction of the Silver Surfer could prove a big plus, rewarding fans for their loyalty to the franchise.
Holdovers "Ocean's Thirteen" and "Knocked Up," which have held down the first and second spots in midweek business, should shift to the second and third positions, respectively.
Meanwhile, "Nancy Drew" is aiming for tween girls and their moms, and should end in the low-teen-millions.
As a character, Nancy Drew has been around for decades: She first appeared as the central character of a long-running series of kids' books in 1930. Bonita Granville played her in four Warners movies in the late 1930s, and Pamela Sue Martin, pre-"Dynasty," played her in "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" series on ABC in the late '70s.
The new movie, directed by Andrew Fleming ("The Craft"), stars Emma Roberts -- or, as the media insist on identifying her, "Emma Roberts, niece of Julia Roberts and daughter of Eric Roberts." Actually, to her young fans, Roberts is better known as the star of the Nickelodeon series "Unfabulous." That should help the film, in which Nancy travels to Hollywood to unravel a mystery surrounding a dead movie star, to carve out a constituency.
Additionally, Disney will sneak Pixar's "Ratatouille" in about 800 theaters Saturday to stoke word-of-mouth for its official bow June 29.
Clarkson cancels tour over slow sales
NEW YORK - Just two days after parting ways with her manager, Kelly Clarkson has canceled her upcoming summer tour over disappointing ticket sales, yet another sign of turmoil as she prepares to release her third album, "My December."
In a statement on her Web site, Clarkson said: "In the craziness of the music business, performing is what I look forward to doing the most, so it really is disappointing for me to have to tell you that I won't be coming out to tour this summer. The fact is that touring is just too much too soon.
"But I promise you that we're going to get back out there as soon as is humanly possible to give you a show that will be even better," she added.
In a statement released by her new representative, Paul Freundlich, it acknowledged the sales for the arena tour have been slow. The tour will be on hold and the size of it will be re-evaluated, the statement said.
"The day when she will play in sold-out arenas is, no doubt, coming, but for now her fans should look forward to seeing her in a more intimate concert environment," Gregg Perloff, CEO of concert promoter Another Planet Entertainment, said in the statement. "Kelly deserves a tremendous amount of praise for her courage in not only being a part of, but in supporting, this difficult decision."
This is the latest problem to beset the Grammy-winning singer amid the release of her third album, due out on June 26, the follow-up to her multiplatinum disc "Breakway." The 2004 album was a critical success that showed her success went beyond being a former "American Idol." Clarkson helped write some of the songs on that disc, including the hit ballad "Because of You."
But this spring, reports surfaced that record mogul Clive Davis, who oversees the RCA label for which Clarkson records, was dissatisfied with the direction of the new record and had clashed with Clarkson over it.
In an interview with Associated Press Television in May, Clarkson said media reports of a feud between the two were exaggerated but acknowledged there was tension.
"There's always this battle, and it's not a bad battle to have," she explained. "I mean, you obviously don't want `yes' people around you. And, obviously, (Davis) and others at the label have been in the business far longer than I have. So you obviously take their opinions in."
In the end, though, "I always go with my gut," she said. "My gut has obviously done pretty well for me thus far, so I don't see why I shouldn't keep listening to it."
But the first single from "My December," the angry rock song "Never Again," was not a huge hit, and while it peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard chart, it quickly fell from the top 10 and is now at No. 17.
This week, she fired her manager, Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm management group.
Clarkson's tour was expected to kick off with her performance at the Live Earth concert July 7 at East Rutherford, N.J. and end in Phoenix. Now, Clarkson's only performance is slated to be at the Live Earth concert, part of a global series of performances to raise awareness about environmental issues.
Refunds will be given for those who purchased tickets to Clarkson's tour.
McConaughey is People's hottest bachelor
NEW YORK - Matthew McConaughey — frequently photographed shirtless and exercising on the beach — is People magazine's "bachelor of the year." "I love warm weather and summertime," the 37-year-old actor says in the magazine's "Hottest Bachelors" issue, on newsstands Friday. "What better way to enjoy it than at the beach, where few people wear shirts?"
When asked how he maintains his muscular build, McConaughey says: "I don't really have a workout regimen I follow. I just live my life. My goal is to break a sweat each day."
McConaughey, whose screen credits include "We Are Marshall," "Failure to Launch" and "Sahara," has high standards when it comes to the ladies.
"What I look for in a woman is what I love to call the `two Hs' — hotness and humor," he says. "But to be honest, a woman with a good sense of humor is always hot."
The magazine also names "sexy and sizzling" bachelors such as Adrian Grenier, Zach Braff, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Reynolds, Ludacris and Apolo Ohno.
David Spade, who starred on the "Just Shoot Me!" television series, also makes the cut.
"Luckily we live in a world where women can overlook the physical and focus on things more important, like having a good personality ... or being on a TV show," the 42-year-old actor-comedian says.