'Blade Runner' gets DVD makeover

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – How does Harrison Ford remember the making of Blade Runner?

“It was a bitch.”

That’s one of the observations fans can expect when Blade Runner: The Final Cut – including an exhaustive three-hour-plus documentary - arrives in December on DVD. Details of the project were revealed at this weekend’s Comic-Con entertainment expo.

Although it was a flop upon its release in 1982, the thriller, starring Ford as an executioner of next-gen androids called replicants, is now regarded as a pre-cyberpunk classic.

It’s also been revisited before.

In 1991, Scott issued a director’s cut that dropped the tacked-on voiceover narration and added a dream sequence that implies Ford’s hunter is himself a replicant.

By comparison, The Final Cut’s most significant changes are minor touch-ups – such as Joanna Cassidy re-shooting a few seconds of her death sequence because Scott felt it was too obviously a stunt double in the original version.

Did Scott ever consider going further, refurbishing his science-fiction masterpiece – much as George Lucas did with Star Wars - with digital effects?

“I don’t have that much money,” he laughs.

“But I wouldn’t dream of that.”

In geekspeak that means, yes, Deckard still shoots first.

The Final Cut will be available in three editions, including a five-disc set that comes in a futuristic briefcase and includes five different cuts of the movie (including a “work print” that’s become an online favourite of fans). There is also, as mentioned above, the documentary Dangerous Days, which recalls the film’s notoriously tumultuous production.

Given Blade Runner’s enduring popularity, though – and the fact Scott’s seemingly definitive cut is receiving a brief theatrical run in October in New York and Los Angeles - one assumes someone, somewhere, might be interested in revisiting the realm of the replicants.

Scott, surprisingly, says he’s not opposed to a Blade Runner 2, although he stresses nothing is planned.

“There could be a sequel, but I’m not going to say I’d do it.”

But if he did, how would it begin? Scott references one of the final lines in the movie, uttered by Edward James Olmos about the beautiful replicant (Sean Young) Ford has fallen for: “She won’t live, but who does?”

Furthermore, there is Scott’s conviction – although it’s not one shared by Ford – that Deckard is a replicant.

“So that’s a good place to start.”

New CD Releases, July 31: Korn, Common, Kidz Bop Kids

Korn "Untitled"

Having just launched the latest edition of the Family Values Tour, headliners Korn are now set to drop their eighth studio album, which they won't bother to name.

"We didn't want to label this album," Korn frontman Jonathan Davis said in a statement. "It has no boundaries; it has no limits and why not just let our fans call it whatever they wanna call it?"

Fans can do just that when Korn plays "Evolution" (the new album's first single) and other new tracks on the Family Values Tour. The tour, which was created by Korn and its management firm in 1998, returned to the stage last summer following a five-year hiatus. With a second stage added and more than 400,000 tickets sold, the tour's 2006 comeback marked its most successful run.

Besides Korn, this year's trek also features Evanescence, Atreyu, Flyleaf, Trivium and Hell Yeah, the new band comprising Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott and members of Mudvayne and Nothingface. Newcomers Nuerosonic and Droid will round out the bill. The tour kicked off last week in Maryland Heights, MO, and is currently set to conclude on Sept. 2 in Irvine, CA.

* * *
Common "Finding Forever"

The rap star, who is known for staying on the "positive tip" in his hip-hop music, returns with his seventh album. The multi-Grammy-nominated artist's last album was 2005's "Be," a Kanye West-produced set that delivered the hits "The Corner," "Go" and "Testify."

West once again lends his production talent to "Finding Forever," but there are also contributions in that realm from other superstars, notably Will.I.Am and the late J. Dilla. Musical guest stars on "Finding Forever" include vocalist D'Angelo.

* * *
Kidz Bop Kids "Kidz Bop, Vol. 12"

The popular children's music series turns 12. This time around, those wacky Kidz Bop Kids tackle 18 kid-friendly tunes, including "Makes Me Wonder" and "Girlfriend."

* * *
Sean Kingston "Sean Kingston"

This 17-year-old Jamaica native definitely has the right pedigree. His family roots include grandpa Jack Ruby (a great Jamaican producer) and uncle Buju Banton (Jamaican music star). Now, it's time to see just how closely Kingston follows in the family's footsteps as the singer delivers his self-titled full-length debut.

* * *
Puddle of Mudd "Famous"

After making fans wait, the heavy rockers are finally back with a follow-up to 2003's "Life on Display." "Famous" marks the band's debut on Geffen, having released its two previous albums--"Life on Display" and 2001's "Come Clean"--on Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst's label, Flawless Records.

* * *
Other new releases:
David Bowie, "Glass Spider Tour" (Virgin)
Eric Dodge, "Why Not Today" (Racing Snail)
Five Finger Death Punch, "Way of the Fist" (Firm)
Mandisa, "True Beauty" (Sparrow)
Mario, "GO" (J-Records)
Jeff Kashiwa, "Play" (Native Language)
Elvis Presley, "Elvis: Viva Las Vegas" (RCA)
The Raspberries, "Live on Sunset Strip" (Rykodisc)
Josh Rouse, "Country Mouse City House" (Nettwerk)
The Starting Line, "Direction" (Virgin)
Al Stewart, "Live Indian Summer" (Collector's Choice)
Al Stewart, "24 Carrots" (Collector's Choice)
Al Stewart, "Love Chronicles" (Collector's Choice)
Various Artists, "Kneel at the Cross" (Sparrow)

Soundtracks and scores:
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Decca)
"Gears of War" (Sumthing Else)

Eagles Prepping New Studio Album, Tour

The Eagles are planning to take flight with a long-awaited new album and a tour. Guitarist Joe Walsh tells Billboard.com that the album -- the Eagles' first full-length studio set since "The Long Run" in 1979 -- is "almost out. We're just finishing vocals and mixing it. We're all finally signing off on it."

Walsh says that all of the band members -- himself, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit -- wrote songs for the album, which he says "go in some really, really new, different directions. It's hard to compare to anything that I hear out there now." For his songs, however, Walsh "went rock'n’roll," including one "extended" track with "a middle full of guitar statement" and another that's "full-on rock'n'roll. I didn't want us to be too ballad-y here. We need some stuff we can play live, so I made sure there was that element in the record."

Walsh says the band, which took this year off the road to hunker down on the album, plans to tour extensively in 2008.

The guitarist is hardly sitting at home, however. Though he's put the James Gang on ice until he has more time to dedicate to it, he's playing 13 solo shows in the next month, beginning tonight (July 31) in Saratoga, Calif. Walsh has recruited a band of well-credentialed young players such as Gia Ciambotti (Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams) and Drew Hester (Lisa Marie Presley, Foo Fighters), who he says "are really kicking me in the pants."

"I love the energy and the attitude of a younger band, especially on stage," Walsh says. "I'm less cautious and less ... professional, I guess. I just like to rock'n'roll, and they're making me want to do it more."

Walsh adds that he's jonesing a bit to do some solo recording again but, not surprisingly, says, "I don't think I would cancel being an Eagle and resurface with a solo career. I love being in the Eagles, and we're not really done yet."

Broadcaster Tom Snyder dies at 71

SAN FRANCISCO - Tom Snyder, who pioneered the late-late network TV talk show with a personal yet abrasive style, robust laugh and trademark cloud of cigarette smoke billowing around his head, has died from complications associated with leukemia. He was 71.

Snyder died Sunday in San Francisco, his longtime producer and friend Mike Horowicz told The Associated Press on Monday.

"Tom was a fighter," Horowicz said. "I know he had tried many different treatments."

Prickly and ego-driven, Snyder conducted numerous memorable interviews as host of NBC's "Tomorrow," which followed Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show from 1973 to '82.

Snyder's style, his show's set and the show itself marked an abrupt change at 1 a.m. from Carson's program. Snyder might joke with the crew in the sparsely appointed studio, but he was more likely to joust with guests such as the irascible science fiction writer Harlan Ellison.

Snyder had John Lennon's final televised interview (April 1975) and U2's first U.S. television appearance in June 1981.

One of his most riveting interviews was with Charles Manson, who would go from a calm demeanor to acting like a wild-eyed, insanity-spouting mass murderer and back again.

Another wacky moment came when Plasmatics lead singer Wendy O. Williams blew up a TV in the studio; in another appearance she demolished a car. Yet another time, Johnny Rotten decided he really wasn't in the mood to be on a talk show, leading to an excruciating 12 minutes of airtime.

In 1982, the show was canceled after a messy attempt to reformat it into a talk-variety show called "Tomorrow Coast to Coast." It added a live audience and co-hostess Rona Barrett — all of which Snyder disdained.

The time slot was taken over by a hot young comedian named David Letterman.

Born in Milwaukee, Snyder began his career as a radio reporter in his home town in the 1960s, then moved into local television news, anchoring newscasts in Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles before moving to late night.

"He loved the broadcast business," said Marciarose Shestack, who co-anchored a noontime newscast with Snyder at KYW-TV in Philadelphia in the 1960s. "He was very surprising and very irreverent and not at all a typical newscaster."

Al Primo, a former TV news director who gave Snyder one of his first TV jobs, said Snyder was the "ultimate communicator," able to look directly into a camera and tell viewers a story without looking at notes.

As an interviewer, Snyder "always used to tell me, I listen to what they're saying and I ask the questions that the average guy would want to ask, not a formulated question," Primo said.

He returned to local anchoring in New York after "Tomorrow" left the air. He eventually hosted an ABC radio talk show before easing back into television on CNBC.

His catch phrase: "Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

Letterman, a longtime Snyder admirer, brought him back to network television, creating "The Late Late Show" on CBS to follow his own program. (Subsequently, the format and hosts have changed, with Craig Kilborn and now Craig Ferguson.)

Snyder gained fame in his heyday when Dan Aykroyd spoofed him in the early days of "Saturday Night Live." His chain-smoking, black beetle brows (contrasting with his mostly gray hair), mercurial manner and self-indulgent, digressive way of asking questions as well as his clipped speech pattern made for a distinctive sendup.

Briefly in the late 1970s, Snyder was considered a potential successor to John Chancellor as anchor of the "NBC Nightly News." Tom Brokaw got the job instead, as some in NBC management were worried that Snyder's quick and occasionally sharp tongue would get them in trouble, said Joe Angotti, who produced NBC's weekend news then.

"There was a friendly but intense competition between the two of them," Angotti said.

Snyder announced on his Web site in 2005 that he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Filmmaker Ingmar Bergman dies at 89

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, an iconoclastic filmmaker widely regarded as one of the great masters of modern cinema, died Monday, the president of his foundation said. He was 89.

"It's an unbelievable loss for Sweden, but even more so internationally," Astrid Soderbergh Widding, president of The Ingmar Bergman Foundation, which administers the directors' archives, told The Associated Press.

Bergman died at his home in Faro, Sweden, Swedish news agency TT said, citing his daughter Eva Bergman. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Through more than 50 films, Bergman's vision encompassed all the extremes of his beloved Sweden: the claustrophobic gloom of unending winter nights, the gentle merriment of glowing summer evenings and the bleak magnificence of the island where he spent his last years.

Bergman, who approached difficult subjects such as plague and madness with inventive technique and carefully honed writing, became one of the towering figures of serious filmmaking.

He was "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera," Woody Allen said in a 70th birthday tribute in 1988.

Bergman first gained international attention with 1955's "Smiles of a Summer Night," a romantic comedy that inspired the Stephen Sondheim musical "A Little Night Music."

"The Seventh Seal," released in 1957, riveted critics and audiences. An allegorical tale of the medieval Black Plague years, it contains one of cinema's most famous scenes — a knight playing chess with the shrouded figure of Death.

"I was terribly scared of death," Bergman said of his state of mind when making the film, which was nominated for an Academy Award in the best picture category.

The film distilled the essence of Bergman's work — high seriousness, flashes of unexpected humor and striking images.

In a 2004 interview with Swedish broadcaster SVT, the reclusive filmmaker acknowledged that he was reluctant to view his work.

"I don't watch my own films very often. I become so jittery and ready to cry ... and miserable. I think it's awful," Bergman said.

Though best known internationally for his films, Bergman also was a prominent stage director. He worked at several playhouses in Sweden from the mid-1940s, including the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm, which he headed from 1963 to 1966. He staged many plays by the Swedish author August Strindberg, whom he cited as an inspiration.

The influence of Strindberg's grueling and precise psychological dissections could be seen in the production that brought Bergman an even-wider audience: 1973's "Scenes From a Marriage." First produced as a six-part series for television, then released in a theater version, it is an intense detailing of the disintegration of a marriage.

Bergman showed his lighter side in the following year's "The Magic Flute," again first produced for TV. It is a fairly straight production of the Mozart opera, enlivened by touches such as repeatedly showing the face of a young girl watching the opera and comically clumsy props and costumes.

Bergman remained active later in life with stage productions and occasional TV shows. He said he still felt a need to direct, although he had no plans to make another feature film.

In the fall of 2002, Bergman, at age 84, started production on "Saraband," a 120-minute television movie based on the two main characters in "Scenes From a Marriage."

In a rare news conference, the reclusive director said he wrote the story after realizing he was "pregnant with a play."

"At first I felt sick, very sick. It was strange. Like Abraham and Sarah, who suddenly realized she was pregnant," he said, referring to biblical characters. "It was lots of fun, suddenly to feel this urge returning."

The son of a Lutheran clergyman and a housewife, Ernst Ingmar Bergman was born in Uppsala on July 14, 1918, and grew up with a brother and sister in a household of severe discipline that he described in painful detail in the autobiography "The Magic Lantern."

The title comes from his childhood, when his brother got a "magic lantern" — a precursor of the slide-projector — for Christmas. Ingmar was consumed with jealousy, and he managed to acquire the object of his desire by trading it for a hundred tin soldiers.

The apparatus was a spot of joy in an often-cruel young life. Bergman recounted the horror of being locked in a closet and the humiliation of being made to wear a skirt as punishment for wetting his pants.

He broke with his parents at 19 and remained aloof from them, but later in life sought to understand them. The story of their lives was told in the television film "Sunday's Child," directed by his own son Daniel.

Young Ingmar found his love for drama production early in life. The director said he had coped with the authoritarian environment of his childhood by living in a world of fantasies. When he first saw a movie he was greatly moved.

"Sixty years have passed, nothing has changed, it's still the same fever," he wrote of his passion for film in the 1987 autobiography.

But he said the escape into another world went so far that it took him years to tell reality from fantasy, and Bergman repeatedly described his life as a constant fight against demons, also reflected in his work.

The demons sometimes drove him to great art — as in "Cries and Whispers," the deathbed drama that climaxes when the dying woman cries "I am dead, but I can't leave you." Sometimes they drove him over the top, as in "Hour of the Wolf," where a nightmare-plagued artist meets real-life demons on a lonely island.

Bergman also waged a fight against real-life tormentors: Sweden's powerful tax authorities.

In 1976, during a rehearsal at the Royal Dramatic Theater, police came to take Bergman away for interrogation about tax evasion. The director, who had left all finances to be handled by a lawyer, was questioned for hours while his home was searched. When released, he was forbidden to leave the country.

The case caused an enormous uproar in the media and Bergman had a mental breakdown that sent him to hospital for over a month. He later was absolved of all accusations and in the end only had to pay some extra taxes.

In his autobiography he admitted to guilt in only one aspect: "I signed papers that I didn't read, even less understood."

The experience made him go into voluntary exile in Germany, to the embarrassment of the Swedish authorities. After nine years, he returned to Stockholm, his longtime base.

It was in the Swedish capital that Bergman broke into the world of drama, starting with a menial job at the Royal Opera House after dropping out of college.

Bergman was hired by the script department of Swedish Film Industry, the country's main production company, as an assistant script writer in 1942.

In 1944, his first original screenplay was filmed by Alf Sjoeberg, the dominant Swedish film director of the time. "Torment" won several awards including the Grand Prize of the 1946 Cannes Film Festival, and soon Bergman was directing an average of two films a year as well as working with stage production.

After the acclaimed "The Seventh Seal," he quickly came up with another success in "Wild Strawberries," in which an elderly professor's car trip to pick up an award is interspersed with dreams.

Other noted films include "Persona," about an actress and her nurse whose identities seem to merge, and "The Autumn Sonata," about a concert pianist and her two daughters, one severely handicapped and the other burdened by her child's drowning.

The date of the funeral has not yet been set, but will be attended by a close group of friends and family, the TT news agency reported.

Etheridge Sending A 'Message' On New Album

Melissa Etheridge's first album in more than three years will arrive in the fall. Due Sept. 25 via Island, "The Awakening" is led by the single Message to Myself," which goes to U.S. radio outlets on Monday (July 30).

Etheridge has conquered breast cancer since the release of 2004's "Lucky," an experience that has informed the lyrics for the new album.

"When I was on chemotherapy, I listened to all my albums back to back," she told Billboard earlier this year. "It was therapy for me. I realized what I had been saying to myself in my music -- the things that I would put down that I wouldn't think consciously, but I would think subconsciously. When I started creating this album I asked myself, 'What [would happen] if I create from a subconscious level consciously?' There are very personal things on the album, including one of the greatest love songs I have ever written. These songs are 100% truthful about me and how I am feeling."

Among the other tracks earmarked to appear are "Threesome," "The Universe Listened," "I've Loved You Before," "An Unexpected Rain" and "California."

"The Awakening" began taking shape around the time Etheridge won the best original song Oscar in February for "I Need To Wake Up," from Al Gore's environmental documentary "I Need To Wake Up."

"I was recording ... in between rehearsing for the Oscars. So I would record for seven hours, go and rehearse for the Oscars, and then come back and record," she said. "When I won the Oscar, it was a huge honor. It was like a sign saying, 'You're doing the right thing.'"

Actress McKellar: Smarts, looks add up

NEW YORK - Danica McKellar has a message for girls: Cute and smart is better than cute and dumb.

McKellar, who played Winnie on the 1990s television show "The Wonder Years," is coming out with a book, "Math Doesn't Suck," to encourage girls to get into math.

"When girls see the antics of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, they think that being fun and glamorous also means being dumb and irresponsible," the 32-year-old McKellar told Newsweek for editions to hit newsstands Monday.

"But I want to show them that being smart is cool," she said. "Being good at math is cool. And not only that, it can help them get what they want out of life."

McKellar should know. The actress once struggled with the subject around the seventh grade, but a teacher helped her through. McKellar eventually majored in math in college.

The book includes tips to avoid mistakes on homework, ways to overcome test-day anxiety and profiles of three beautiful mathematicians.

"I want to tell girls that cute and dumb isn't as good as cute and smart," she said.

'Colbert Report' to get best-of DVD

NEW YORK - Stephen Colbert's legacy has been preserved in self-portraits, a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor and an Ontario Hockey League mascot named Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle. Now, the satirist is getting a DVD.

Highlights from the first two years of "The Colbert Report" will be compiled for a single-disc DVD to be released Nov. 6, Comedy Central told The Associated Press. An official announcement of the DVD will be made Monday.

"The Best of 'The Colbert Report'" will include sketches from segments such as "The Word," "Better Know a District," "Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger" and "Threat Down." Celebrity interviews will also be featured.

"The Colbert Report," a spin-off of "The Daily Show," first aired in Oct. 2005. It was recently nominated for four Emmy Awards, including variety, music or comedy series, and individual performance in a variety or music program.

'The Simpsons Movie' earns big Doh!

LOS ANGELES - Woo Hoo! "The Simpsons Movie" turned doughnuts into dollars over the weekend, raking in $71.9 million to debut as the top movie this week.

The big screen tale of the lovable, if dysfunctional, family rolled over the competition, sending last week's top movie, Universal Studio's "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," into second place with $19 million, a 44 percent drop.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," from Warner Bros., fell to third place with $17.1 million, a 48 percent drop from last week. The film has grossed $242 million domestically after three weeks in theaters.

"Homer's odyssey paid off," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

The film, which featured the antics of yellow-hued Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and a host of motley characters, grossed an average of $18,320 on 3,922 screens across the country and also opened strongly in 70 foreign markets.

"We are ecstatic," said Chris Aronson, senior vice president for distribution at 20th Century Fox. "It far exceeded even the most optimistic of expectations."

The hand-drawn movie had the fifth best opening weekend of the year, beating such notable contenders as "Transformers," from Paramount, "Ghost Rider," from Sony Pictures and the computer-animated "Ratatouille," from The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios.

"It's unprecedented to have the longest-running sitcom of all time still on the air and have it also be the number one movie in theaters," Dergarabedian said.

Dergarabedian praised the film's marketing campaign, which included dressing a number of 7-Eleven stores around the country as Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience stores selling such Simpsons' favorites as Buzz Cola and Squishees.

The debut was good news for Fox, which also has done well this year with top-grossing films "Live Free or Die Hard" and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer."

The long-awaited film version of the Fox Television show played well across the country and with all age brackets, Fox said Sunday, giving the distributor hope that it will hold its own against next week's big opener, "The Bourne Ultimatum," from Universal.

The stellar debut of "The Simpsons Movie" helped propel the summer box office take. This week's top-12 films grossed $168.6 million, up a whopping 45 percent from the top 12 last year, which included "Miami Vice" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

The weekend's other debuts made the top 10, but lagged far behind "The Simpsons Movie."

"No Reservations," the Warner Bros. romantic comedy starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as a gourmet chef, earned $11.8 million.

"I Know Who Killed Me," a Sony Pictures/Tri-Star thriller starring Lindsay Lohan, debuted in 9th place with a paltry $3.4 million.

"Who's Your Caddy," from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, grossed $2.9 million.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Simpsons Movie," $71.9 million.
2. "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," $19.1 million.
3. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," $17.1 million.
4. "Hairspray," $15.6 million.
5. "No Reservations," $11.8 million.
6. "Transformers," $11.5 million.
7. "Ratatouille," $7.2 million.
8. "Live Free or Die Hard," $5.4 million.
9. "I Know Who Killed Me," $3.4 million.
10. "Who's Your Caddy," $2.9 million.

The Couch Potato Report - July 28th, 2007

This week The Couch Potato Report peels a number and an underdog, plus we see Iraq…in fragments.

If there is a number that corresponds to someone or something meaningful in your life, you probably see it everywhere.

For instance...that number for me is 333.

In the early nineties I worked at a music store that was located at 333 Yonge Street and to this day I see that number everywhere - on licence plates, buildings, t-shirts...and I even somehow always seem to look at the clock at 3:33, both am and pm.

Luckily the number doesn't haunt me, follow me around, or show up right before bad things are going to happen...like the number 23 does to Jim Carrey in the film THE NUMBER 23.

And that number does haunt him in the film.

In this film Carrey plays a man named Walter Sparrow. Even though he might get bored with his life from time to time, he is a character who seems happy with his normal life with his wife and son.

And then...one night while she is waiting for him...his wife introduces him to a book called "The Number 23".

As he reads the book, he notices eerie resemblances to his own life, including similarities to his own family, and he becomes obsessed with the number 23.

As Carrey reads along, he goes deeper and deeper into madness as he thinks that he must solve a murder which can only be done by unlocking the secrets of the book.

THE NUMBER 23 is a film that has many interesting moments - specifically when it shows us how often the number 23 comes up in everyday life - but ultimately it just isn't worth your time.

The great Canadian Jim Carrey once again stars from the LIAR LIAR, BRUCE ALMIGHTY and ACE VENTURA comedic roles we all love him in to play the serious lead in the film.

And while his serious work in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and THE TRUMAN SHOW was superb, in THE NUMBER 23 he is just the wrong man for the job.

His performance isn't awful...but he just isn't believeable as this character.

THE NUMBER 23 isn't a complete waste of your time...but it is very, very close.

I also fear that a film opening in theatres on August 3rd will also be very, very close to being a waste of our time...but I remain optimistic.

That film?...a live action version of the classic cartoon - UNDERDOG!

Underdog was a cartoon that began in 1964 and ran throughout the seventies on Saturday mornings.

The premise is that the "humble and lovable" Shoeshine Boy is in truth the superhero Underdog, who ducks into a telephone booth when he needs to be transformed into the caped and costumed hero, not unlike a certain super man.

In THE UNDERDOG SHOW there is a great hero, plenty of nasty villains, and it is always engaging to the ear as Underdog almost always speaks in rhymes.

If you even needed to find me at this time on a Saturday morning, thirty-some-odd years ago, you could just look in front of the TV because that is where I was - with my bowl of cereal - enjoying UNDERDOG.

And now the classic cartoon UNDERDOG returns to DVD, in advance of the impending theatrical film, with three new releases...Volumes One, Two and Three of THE CLASSIC UNDERDOG COLLECTION!!

The difference between these UNDERDOG releases and some of the other ones that have come out over the years is the fact that these DVDs have the complete Underdog stories, AND the cartoon shorts that originally aired with them.

Yes, Tennessee Tuxedo, Klondike Kat, Go Go Gophers and The World of Commander McBragg and all of the other characters are all here too!!

It might be thirty-some-odd years since I first saw Underdog on TV...but I had a wonderful time watching the THE CLASSIC UNDERDOG COLLECTION this past week.

I even had a bowl of cereal...or two.

Good times, good memories, good good good!

Here's hoping the live-action theatrical movie - which I will see - is half as good!

Okay, finally this week, our FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD continues.

This summer, while the big summer blockbusters roll out in theatres, I am telling you about at least one foreign film each week, in case you'd like something less commercial to watch.

And there is nothing commercial about the documentary IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS.

This film introduces us to three different individuals - and the people around them - and it shows how their lives are now, after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Many of them can't understand why things aren't any better, and some of them would even prefer to have things the way they were.

The thing that IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS does best is provide us a rare glimpse into the lives of ordinary Iraqis.

The people we meet talk at length about school, work, their families, their hobbies, and much more.

While some people might find the amount of details and stories irrelevant, I was engaged from start to finish during this 94 minute film.

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS is filled with unique faces and places, and for the first time we get to see extended stories about how the youth in Iraq is dealing with life there.

It is an exceptionally interesting documentary and this week's title in our FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD.

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, Volumes One to Three of the always entertaining CLASSIC UNDERDOG COLLECTION, and Canadian JIm Carrey's new film THE NUMBER 23 are all available now on DVD.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

JEAN-PHILIPPE is one of the best films I have seen this year, it is about Fabrice, a man who has to coinvince his favourite singer, a man who is running a bowling alley, that he is - in reality - a music superstar.

Also next week, I will talk about the hilarious British movie HOT FUZZ, from the makers of SHAUN OF THE DEAD; the epic action film 300 - based on Frank Miller's graphic novel; the classic MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA; and our FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD continues with the animated action film RENAISSANCE from France.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

Sex Pistols' first album, classic singles to be rereleased

Virgin Records plans to mark the 30th anniversary of The Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks…Here's the Sex Pistols with a rerelease of the album and their four classic singles.

The British band helped shape the punk scene of the late 1970s with their then-shocking songs about anarchy, violence and apathy.

Both the album and their classic singles — Anarchy in the U.K., God Save the Queen, Pretty Vacant and Holidays in the Sun — will be rereleased on seven-inch vinyl.

The paper sleeves will have reproductions of Jamie Reid's original artwork and the album will include the same poster issued with the original Never Mind the Bollocks in 1977.

Never Mind the Bollocks will include Submission, a track left off the original album when it was mistakenly released a week earlier than planned.

God Save the Queen, with John Lydon, who would later perform under the name Johnny Rotten, on vocals, was banned by the BBC.

The band broke up after only two years.

The singles will be released throughout October and Never Mind the Bollocks on Oct. 29.

Fall Out Boy Keeping New Songs To Themselves

Though its latest album, "Infinity on High," is barely six months old, Fall Out Boy is already sitting on a batch of new songs. "I've got a bunch of songs written, but I think I'm going to wait a while before we release it, because I'm still really proud of this record and I want to kind of give it some space," lead singer Patrick Stump told Billboard.com yesterday (July 26) at a New York luncheon honoring industry legend Clive Davis.

Stump says Fall Out Boy will continue to push the envelope with its sound, a pursuit inspired by comments made by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong years ago.

"He [said he] didn't want to play four-chord punk rock for the rest of his life," Stump recalls. "If anybody knows anything about punk rock more than Billie Joe from Green Day, I don't know who it is. So I looked at that and their growth, and I think about how honest that is. They're really just true to what they are, and so that's how we are. I think we'll change stylistically, but at the end of the day, that's just something you wear. You're still yourself."

Fall Out Boy just returned from playing its first show in South Africa, where it also shot a video for the new single "I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You)." In addition, Stump is producing the new album from Cobra Starship before Fall Out Boy returns to the road for shows in Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom and Russia.

"These are all our friends and that's why we do it," Stump says of collaborations with Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes. "There have definitely been opportunities for the [band's Fueled by Ramen] label to take on really big bands, but in general the cadence has been built on our friends."

Nimoy to reprise Spock role in Trek film!!

SAN DIEGO - Leonard Nimoy isn't through with Spock yet. The 76-year-old actor will don his famous pointy ears again to play the role in an upcoming "Star Trek" film due out Christmas 2008.

"This is really going to be a great movie. And I don't say things like that lightly," Nimoy told a gathering of 6,500 fans Thursday at Comic-Con, the nation's largest pop-culture convention.

He greeted the crowd with a Vulcan salute.

Nimoy was joined by the newly named young Spock, "Heroes" star Zachary Quinto, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Nimoy.

Both Spocks were introduced by the film's director and co-producer, J.J. Abrams.

"This is a series I loved as a kid," Abrams said, acknowledging that he was "more of a 'Star Wars' kid than a 'Star Trek' kid."

"This matters so much to so many people," he said. "I'm honored to be here and do this."

While the character of Captain Kirk has yet to be cast, Abrams said that William Shatner, who played the role in the original TV series, would likely also have a part in the film.

"It has to be worthy, of him and of you," Abrams told fans, adding that production is slated to begin in November.

One fan asked Nimoy what he thought of his "replacement."

"It was logical," the actor said dryly. He then closed with Spock's classic line: "Live long and prosper."

'Watchmen' cast leaks out

An official announcement will come at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, but the cast for Zack Snyder's "Watchmen" film appears to be in place.

Confirming a slew of casting rumors that have been flooding the Internet for weeks, the industry trades are saying that the long-awaited adaptation of the DC Comics classic will star Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Malin Akerman.

The struggle to bring Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' 1986-1987 limited run comic to the screen as been well documented. The story is set in an alternative version of 1985 in which the United States is on the verge of nuclear war with the Soviet Union and somebody is killing former costumed heroes, crimefighters forced underground by the fearful powers that be.

Haley, a recent Oscar nominee for "Little Children," plays Rorschach, a psychologically damaged, unhinged vigilante.

Wilson, Haley's "Little Children" co-star, plays the second Nite Owl, a bird expert and inventor.

Beloved as Denny from "Grey's Anatomy," Morgan will play the Comedian, a cynical vigilante who became a mercenary in Vietnam.

Crudup ("Almost Famous"), a recent Tony winner, is Dr. Manhattan, the only true superhero in the group, who becomes a nearly all-powerful blue being after a lab accident.

Ackerman ("Entourage") will be Laurie Juspeczyk, the second Silk Spectre. Stuck in an unfulfilling relationship with Dr. Manhattan, Laurie looks for love elsewhere.

Last, but not least, we have Goode ("The Lookout," "Match Point") as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, a fabulously wealthy former adventurer.

"Watchmen" has an undeniably epic scale, which may have led to some budget tightening on above-the-line talent. Higher priced and profile actors including Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves and Jude Law were linking to various roles, but only as rumors.

Snyder will begin production on "Watchmen" in Vancouver this fall.

The film will be featured as part of the Warner Bros. Friday Comic-Con presentation, with the cast possibly in attendance.

Mitchell partners with Starbucks

NEW YORK (AP) - Joni Mitchell is following the lead of Paul McCartney in joining with the coffee giant Starbucks to release her comeback album.

Hear Music, a record label formed in partnership with Starbucks Corp. and the Concord Music Group, said Wednesday that Mitchell is its second signing. "Shine," her first album of new compositions since 1998, will be released on Sept. 25.

McCartney's album "Memory Almost Full" came out last month and was played relentlessly at Starbucks franchises, where listeners could purchase it with their coffee. The disc has sold 447,000 copies, 45 per cent of them in Starbucks stores, the company said.

The new venture has attracted interest from veteran artists both because the music business is collapsing around them, and their fans are much more likely to be spending time in Starbucks these days than in music stores.

Mitchell worked with Hear Music two years ago as it released a disc of favourite Mitchell songs selected by various artists. She had essentially retired from making music and said this project was one of the things that rekindled her interest, said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment.

Mitchell wrote nine of the 10 songs on "Shine," the exception being an adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling poem "If."

She described it as "as serious a work as I've ever done" with some dark lyrics.

Earlier this year, Mitchell was co-director of "The Fiddle and the Drum," a ballet based on her music that debuted in Canada. She's also planning an exhibit of her paintings in New York this fall.

Hear Music expects to sign one more artist this year and eight in 2008, and is looking for a mixture of new and established artists, Lombard said.

One role model for a veteran artist adapting to rapidly changing times, Prince, recently gave away thousands of copies of his CD through a newspaper in England. Lombard said not to expect a Mitchell album offered for free to customers who buy a frozen latte.

Turncoat Michael returning to 'Lost'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Turncoat Michael is making a "Lost" `comeback. Harold Perrineau, who plays the character last seen betraying his fellow crash survivors to save himself and his son, will return to the show next season.

ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson didn't offer any details Wednesday of what's in store for Michael. He also didn't say whether Walt, the son played by Malcolm David Kelley, will be seen again.

The pair fled the mysterious island where the crash victims were struggling to survive against the dangerous "Others," with desperate Michael turning over his friends in exchange for escape.

The network had planned to make the "Lost" announcement at Comic-Con International, the comic book and pop-culture show starting Thursday in San Diego. But McPherson, speaking to a meeting of the Television Critics Association, was pressed for the information.

McPherson initially balked at talking, instead joking about what the announcement might be.

"I've cast Don Imus on `Lost,'" McPherson quipped.

Earlier this year, ABC said will run for three more seasons, concluding in 2009-10. The series will return for its fourth season in January.

Singer Mindy McCready taken into custody

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Country singer Mindy McCready was taken into custody Wednesday at Nashville International Airport as she returned to Tennessee, accused of violating her probation, officials said.

McCready, 31, was arrested last week in Fort Myers, Fla., her hometown, on misdemeanor charges that she scratched her mother on the face during a scuffle and resisted sheriff's deputies.

Deputy District Attorney General Derek Smith told The Tennessean that she violated probation in three ways: by being charged in a new offense; not reporting those charges immediately to her probation officer; and by the nature of the new assault charges.

An official at the Williamson County sheriff's office just south of Nashville said McCready was being booked Wednesday night.

McCready's previous attorney, Lee Dryer, did not immediately return calls to his office on Wednesday after business hours, though information from the Williamson County Court Clerk showed Dryer had withdrawn as her lawyer. It was not yet known if she had a new attorney.

She was on probation for obtaining the painkiller OxyContin fraudulently at a pharmacy in 2004. Still pending was another probation violation charge resulting from a drunken driving arrest in May 2005.

McCready had a hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time," but has struggled in recent years amid personal problems. Her album "Ten Thousand Angels" sold 2 million copies that year.

The singer was found not guilty of the DUI charge in July 2006 but guilty of driving on a suspended license. She then pleaded guilty to violating her probation but has petitioned to withdraw that plea.

"Chuck and Larry" overtakes "Potter" at box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Adam Sandler's faux gay comedy, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," charmed moviegoers, who spent $34.8 million at weekend movie box offices, sweeping "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" from the No. 1 spot, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

"Potter," the fifth film based on the blockbuster fantasy book series that saw its seventh and final novel debut this weekend, had a weekend box office sweep of $32.2 million.

"Hairspray," the movie musical starring a cross-dressing John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer as a racist and a chubby singer as its star, brought in $27.8 million to land at No. 3.

HOMER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

To say that “The Simpsons Movie” has been a long time coming is like saying Homer is a bit full-figured or principal Skinner has a few mommy issues. Severe understatement.

In the years between when the film was first proposed and when it finally made it to the big screen, baby Maggie could have grown nearly old enough to get legally Duff-faced at Moe’s.

The film finally - finally - hits screens Friday, but its genesis actually goes back to the early days of the series, which enters its 19th season this fall and is celebrating 20 years since it debuted on “The Tracey Ullman Show” in 1987.

“When I heard they were making a movie, I felt like a lot of people. I thought, what took them so long?” says Joe Mantegna, who voices gangster “Fat Tony” in the movie and TV series. “I was surprised they hadn’t done one sooner, because they’ve made movies of lesser things a lot sooner. I kept hearing, ‘It’s coming out next month, next week, next year.’ There’s been a buzz about it for a long time.”

Assembling the resources for a full-length feature proved to be the holdup.

“In the early years of the show, a movie was talked about in an offhand way. Really, we didn’t have enough writers and directors to do a show and the film simultaneously. We only had eight writers and five directors,” says Al Jean, one of the film’s writers, who’s been with the series since its beginning.

“We were all busy on the show,” says writer David Mirkin, who joined the show in its fifth season. “It takes a year and a half to do one season of the show. It takes nine months to do one episode. We’re literally working on two seasons at once, with no time off.

There always were just a handful of people who really knew how to write the show, and there were never enough of us to peel off and do the film.”

Then, six years ago, the pieces - and more important, the legal contracts - to get a movie made fell into place.

“We accumulated more [staff] over the years, and in 2001, when the cast signed a deal to do the new seasons, they also signed a deal to do a film,” Jean says.

With the cast in place, series executive producer and guiding force James L. Brooks - a veteran of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Taxi” - began assembling writers to hammer out the script. And those he picked have fans - even lapsed ones who haven’t watched the show in a few seasons - as excited as Ralph Wiggum after 11 Pixy Stix.

“When Jim finally decided [to move forward with the film], he chose the classic writers, the show runners, and that’s how the team came to be. It was Jim’s vision that it be this group who are considered the key Writers,” Mirkin says.

If you’ve been watching the show for any length of time, the names should be familiar. In addition to Jean and Mirkin, Brooks tapped John Swartzwelder (who holds the writing record for most episodes of the series at nearly 60), Ian Maxtone- Graham, George Meyer, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman and Jon Vitti.

The group commenced writing in November 2003 - and alarmingly enough, were making changes up until just a few weeks ago. The script went through at least 100 revisions over the years. Scenes, even those that had been fully animated, were cut and reworked, and Jean estimates that enough for an entire film was left on the cutting-room floor. Look for some of it on the DVD.

But the forces behind the film are adamant that you shouldn’t wait for the DVD. They insist “The Simpsons Movie” is a cinematic experience that differs from the TV show.

“We’re trying to tell a story that’s emotionally involving for 90 minutes, that compels you to not just sit there and laugh, but to care about what happens for the full length of a movie - as they do in a Pixar film or a great Disney film,” Jean says. “It’s also in wide-screen format. We tried to be more ambitious in the directing, in the use of color and shadow.”

Plus, you reportedly get to see Bart’s wee-wee. “I can’t confirm or deny that,” says Nancy Cartwright, who voices the oldest Simpson child.

There’s not much else anyone can confirm or deny about the movie, because the producers have been incredibly secretive about plot details, giving guest stars only their relevant script pages (with the star’s name plastered on every page, to prevent leaking) and booking recording sessions under a fake movie title.

What we do know is that the plot centers around Homer’s biggest d’oh moment yet. He poisons Springfield with a silo full of pig droppings, incurring the wrath of his family, the town - and president Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yep.

“I think the movie will be successful. It’ll be interesting to see,” says Albert Brooks, who has done frequent guest voices over the years and has a role in the movie. “I think if they can pull this off, it’ll be considered an amazing achievement. There’s all these people with preconceived notions of, oh, what’s it gonna be? Is it too late? Is it the right time? You’re getting a lot of people walking in with something they think they should be seeing.

“Listen, that’s one of the pitfalls of being the most successful animated series in the history of the world.”

Everyone's talking Potter; last book out

NEW YORK - The books are out; the word is spreading. "The last Potter is amazing. It has definitely gone way beyond what I expected," Deb Kiehlmeier, 16, of the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill, N.J., says of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which was released Saturday to worldwide ecstasy.

"Harry Potter fans are always trying to predict what will happen next, and J.K. Rowling always gives them something different," Kiehlmeier, who had completed the book 759-page book by late Saturday afternoon, told The Associated Press.

On Day 1 of the A.H. (After Harry) Era, reviewers and readers mourned the end of a historic series that proved young people can still crave the written word like the crispiest French fry. It was a day for the sleepless and the sleepy to enjoy and to recall one last, fresh taste of Potter.

The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune were among those bowing before Rowling's achievement. She was compared to the greats of children's and fantasy authors — J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Roald Dahl — and held in awe for living up to the most intimidating standards.

"To create such an extraordinary world, fill it with complicated characters and convergent back stories is beyond the reach of most writers," wrote the Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara.

"To sustain that world and grow those characters over seven books filled with plot twists, folklore and even a magical curriculum and then bring it all to an articulate, emotionally wrenching conclusion — that is a truly epic quest."

The AP's Deepti Hajela called the seventh and final Potter a "classic," writing that Rowling "completes her entertaining, compulsively readable series with a book that is both heartbreaking and hopeful, one that left this reader sad to say goodbye to Harry but thoroughly satisfied at how it all went."

Some readers, ironically, were tougher than the critics, especially about the 759-page book's brief epilogue. One reader on the Potter fan site http://www.mugglenet.com even suggested skipping the last chapter, or at least getting to it later so the rest of the book could be thoroughly enjoyed first.

For those who can't wait to find out whether Harry lives, Potter fan Julie Neal advises patience. In a customer review on Amazon.com, she writes, "Regardless of the temptation, don't skip to the end. It doesn't work. The answers to all those key questions everyone wants to know unfold throughout the story."

Potter is a pastime and a business. Before the release date, booksellers competed worldwide to sell the $34.99 book, with some cutting the price by two-thirds. Now, the re-sales are starting. On Amazon.com, some individuals were hawking used copies, and some new ones, for as little as $16, $1.99 less than Amazon's price. On eBay, where just a few days ago a pre-release copy was worth $250, "Deathly Hallows" was offered Saturday for immediate purchase for $10.99.

The first six Potter books have sold more than 325 million copies, and in some places demand for "Deathly Hallows" is already exceeding supply. Taylor Books, an independent book store in Charleston, W.Va., quickly sold out of the 100 copies of the book it had put on sale.

Employee Dane Klingaman said Saturday that customers had been asking for the book all morning, but that only 12 copies that had been specially ordered remained.

"I've had to turn people away," he said.

Seven of the top 10 best sellers on Amazon.com were Potter books Saturday, including a box set of the whole series coming out in September with a list price of $195. The British retailer Asda Group Ltd., which discounted "Deathly Hallows" to $10, said Saturday it had sold 450,000 copies of the book between midnight and 4 p.m. and was selling it twice as fast as the previous Potter. Waterstone's, a British bookstore chain, said that at the height of the overnight sales frenzy, staff members were serving 20 customers a second.

Even people in war zones are reading Harry Potter. About 50 foreigners working in Afghanistan got their hands on a copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on its release date, beating many of their friends back home.

"I sent several text messages to friends and none of them had it yet, and they all said 'I can't believe you're in Kabul and you got the book before us,'" said U.N. worker Jayne Cravens, 41, of Henderson, Ky.

John Connolly, an executive with Paxton International, a logistics and moving company, bought 50 copies of the book in Dubai at 3:01 a.m. Saturday, the exact time of the book's release in London. He boarded a plane to Kabul a couple hours later with the books on board.

"Harry Potter is released worldwide at the same time. As a logistics company based in Afghanistan for five years, we saw every reason to include Afghanistan," said Connolly, who asked customers to donate a book to the American University in Kabul in exchange for the free shipping on the book. "It was not on the publisher's list, that's for sure."

The Couch Potato Report - July 21st, 2007

This week The Couch Potato Report peels four films that might entertain you on a hot summer night and documentary about coffee.

As I am sure you know, it is summer.

This is the time of year when many of us spend most of our leisure time outside in the sun having fun.

The folks at most of the movie studios know this, and they are out doing the same.

That at being the case, there haven't been any huge new DVD releases of late.

The studios are saving those films for release at the end of the summer, just in
time for Back To School sales and the impending holiday buying season.

But there are still new movies being released each week on DVD, and I have four of them for you that you might mildly enjoy, even though none of them are what you might call "a great movie".

First up is a film called GRAY MATTERS.

In this film Canadian actor Tom Cavanagh from TV's ED and the beautiful Heather Graham from BOOGIE NIGHTS star as a brother and sister who both fall in love...with the same woman.

The two are so close that they live together and dance together and even finish each other's sentences, and after an incident at a party when they are thought to be a couple, they decide that they need to start looking for other people to love.

So Sam agrees to look for a guy for his sister and Gray, that is his sister's name, Gray says she'll look for a girl for her brother.

And Gray succeeds!

But once Gray realizes that she loves the woman too, she has to ask some serious questions...like, does she even like men.

GRAY MATTERS isn't great, and it has an awful ending, but it does have a good heart at it's core, and some nice characters.

So if you are looking for a light romantic comedy to watch on a summer evening, this one might do the trick.

Next up is FACTORY GIRL.

This movie tells a fictionalized story of mid-sixties socialite and Andy Warhol
superstar Edie Sedgwick.

Edith Minturn Sedgwick - better known as Edie - was an American model actress, and heiress who starred in many of Andy Warhol's short films in the 1960s.

I could sit here and give you multiple facts about Edie, but all of them would just
be things I found on Wikipedia.

No, prior to watching FACTORY GIRL the only reason I knew who she was came courtesy of a song.

The band The Cult wrote a song about her life called "Edie (Ciao Baby)" which was on their Sonic Temple album released in 1989.

Other than that...I only knew she was one of Andy Warhol's gang who all gathered and worked and hung out at a place in New York called The Factory.

But after watching this movie, I guess I know a little bit more...however, I am not really that curious about her.

I suspect the real Edie Sedgwick lead a very interesting life, but the movie about
her isn't very interesting at all.

The problem with this film has nothing to do with the cast - Sienna Miller is great
as Edie, Guy Pierce is spectacular as Andy Warhol, and Canadian actor Hayden
Christensen from the STAR WARS films does a good enough job Bob Dylan impersonation as a character who is, but isn't named Bob Dylan- but their movie is just too artsy fartsy.

The filmmaker uses multiple camera angles and technicques, shoots on video, digital and film, and is constantly changing from film mode to documentary mode to too many other modes to care about.

And I get it, Edie Sedgwick and the Andy Warhol gang were creative and artistic, so they want the film to be artistic...but it ends up being a movie that has too much style and not enough substance.

I like artistic films that take chances, but FACTORY GIRL is just too artistic...thus, it is too artsy fartsy for me.

And yes, that is the first time I have ever called any film that...and hopefully it
is the last!

If you want to see something that is a bit different than the mainstream films that are the norm, the FACTORY GIRL is for you.

If you don't...check out THE ASTRONAUT FARMER.

Billy Bob Thornton plays a former NASA astronaut who was forced to retire years earlier so he could save his family farm.

But he has never give up his dream of space travel, and he builds his own rocket in his barn and plans on going into space...despite the government's threats to stop him.

THE ASTRONAUT FARMER isn't a movie based in reality.

It is a story of a dreamers, and a movie for full of hope, and as such it requires
the viewer to take a huge leap of faith.

I was willing to do that, and I found it to be a good little film with some great
surprises, none of which I will spoil for you now.

So, if you suspend disbelief, and maybe dream just a little, you might enjoy THE
ASTRONAUT FARMER as well.

I mentioned that if you suspend disbelief, and maybe dream just a little, you might enjoy THE ASTRONAUT FARMER.

Well, if you have a kid who can do that, and that kid has never seen E.T. - THE
EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, well then they might enjoy THE LAST MIMZY.

THE LAST MIMZY is a fantasy film for the whole family about a brother and a sister who discover a mysterious box while they are at the beach.

They open it and inside they find a magical stuffed rabbit who tells the girl that
it's name is Mimzy.

Also inside that box are other mystical toys, which give the children some unique
and exceptional powers.

Soon, the kids begin to attract the attention of their parents, teachers... and even the FBI.

The source material for THE LAST MIMZY pre-dates E.T. by nearly four decades, but that film is so iconic that this movie suffers by comparison.

It isn't a bad movie, in fact, it is a pretty good movie for kids, but as an adult,
all I kept thinking was: this would be a pretty good movie for kids.

So, if you have some young kids you need to entertain, or just need some grown-up time this summer, this might be the film for you...I mean them.

Finally this week, our FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD continues with the British
documentary BLACK GOLD about the international coffee trade and its ramifications for the farmers who grow coffee.

Around the world, more than two billion cups of coffee are drunk everyday and coffee is an eighty-billion-dollar-a-year business.

Personally, I have never had a cup of coffee in my life, so I sat down to watch this film with the eyes of an outsider.

However, if you do drink coffee, and you see this film, you may start to look
differently at your cups of java from now on.

BLACK GOLD takes us from the first Starbucks in Seattle to the region in Ethiopia where they grow some of the beans the chain uses.

In moments, we go from excess to famine.

If you are a coffee drinker, you might want to avoid this movie or your cup of black gold may never taste the same!

BLACK GOLD is entertaining, interesting and very insightful. It is a superb
documentary and the latest entry in our FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD!

The superb documentary BLACK GOLD, and the good but not great quartet of THE LAST MIMZY, THE ASTRONAUT FARMER, FACTORY GIRL and GRAY MATTERS are all available now on DVD.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

Jim Carrey stars as a man who can't escape THE NUMBER 23 and the classic cartoon UNDERDOG returns to DVD

Plus, our FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD continues with the documentary IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, featuring stories from modern day Iraq as told by Iraqis living in a time of war, occupation and ethnic tension.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

Emmy voters snub serial killer, teen athletes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - While mob boss Tony Soprano was embraced once again by Emmy voters on Thursday, they apparently drew the line at serial killers.

Michael C. Hall is a critics' favorite for his title role on the Showtime network drama "Dexter," playing a charming forensics investigator who murders criminals by night. But he was one of several noteworthy Emmy prospects who failed to clinch a nomination.

Hall earned a nod in 2002 for his portrayal of the prodigal son who returns to run his family's funeral business on HBO's now-departed hit "Six Feet Under."

Many critics thought he was equally deserving of a mention for his chillingly nuanced role as Dexter Morgan.

Another glaring omission from this year's race, for some Emmy watchers, was the NBC football drama "Friday Night Lights." The freshman show, nearly canceled due to low ratings, was a leading critics' choice for best drama but failed to make the cut except in two minor categories.

Some popular past Emmy winners also failed to secure a spot in the leading categories this year.

Last year's big victor, the Fox espionage thriller "24," was shut out of the top drama contest, as was the 2005 champion, ABC's hit castaway thriller "Lost," which got snubbed for a second year in a row.

The lack of Emmy love for "Lost" was especially surprising in light of revised voting rules designed to address flaws blamed for the show being overlooked last year, said show-business awards pundit Tom O'Neil, host of the Los Angeles Times' Web site www.TheEnvelope.com.

Meanwhile, Fox's smash hit "American Idol" earned seven more nominations on Thursday, including a fifth bid for best reality competition program. It remains to be seen whether it will lose again to CBS rival "The Amazing Race."

O'Neil says "Idol,' whose Emmy tally now stands at zero wins for 22 total nominations, is just three losses away from tying the record held by Bob Newhart's second sitcom, "Newhart," as biggest series loser in Emmy history -- zero wins for 25 nominations.

Still, Hall's failure to land a nomination for "Dexter" was "the single biggest disappointment on the acting side" for many critics, he said.

Not that the voters of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences are unwilling to recognize the work of actors who play morally corrupt or emotionally damaged characters.

James Gandolfini has three best-actor Emmys, and was nominated again this year, for his role as conflicted New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano.

And all four of his latest rivals for best actor in a drama play checkered roles. James Spader stars as an ethically challenged lawyer on "Boston Legal," Hugh Laurie as a pill-popping, grouchy doctor on "House," Denis Leary as firefighter battling all manner of personal demons in "Rescue Me" and Kiefer Sutherland (last year's winner) as a secret agent who tortures people on "24."

'Bury My Heart,' 'Sopranos' top Emmy nods

LOS ANGELES - "The Sopranos," the mob series that went to its grave with a shockingly inconclusive finale, found a happy ending Thursday with 15 Emmy nominations including best drama. The made-for-TV movie "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" led all nominees with 17 bids.

James Gandolfini, who played the emotionally conflicted mob boss on HBO's "The Sopranos," and Edie Falco, who played his wife, both received top acting nominations.

The other best-drama series were "Boston Legal," "Grey's Anatomy," "House" and freshman sci-fi sensation "Heroes."

"The Sopranos" emerged with the most nominations for a series, followed by "Ugly Betty" with 11 and, with 10 each, sexy medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" and critical favorite "30 Rock."

"Grey's Anatomy," which came through a difficult year in which star Isaiah Washington was fired after twice using an anti-gay slur, wasn't hurt when it came to Emmy bids. Besides best drama series, there were nominations for four supporting cast members and two guest actors.

The miniseries "The Starter Wife" also was a top nominee with 10 bids.

The freshman hit, "Ugly Betty," based on a Colombian telenovela, made it into the ranks of best comedy series nominees. It's joined by "Entourage," "30 Rock," "Two and a Half Men" and last year's winner in the category, "The Office."

"Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera was recognized with a nod for her starring role.

Joining Gandolfini among lead drama series actor nominees were Hugh Laurie of "House," Denis Leary of "Rescue Me," James Spader of "Boston Legal" and last year's winner Kiefer Sutherland of "24." Last year's drama series winner was "24" but it was snubbed this time.

Falco will compete with Patricia Arquette of "Medium," Minnie Driver of "The Riches," Sally Field of "Brothers & Sisters," Kyra Sedgwick of "The Closer" and last year's winner, Mariska Hargitay of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

Sedgwick got the news immediately. She helped announce bids for the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in a brief ceremony at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre.

"Friday Night Lights," the critically acclaimed but low-rated high school football drama that needed an Emmy boost, failed to gain major nominations.

"The Sopranos," which premiered in January 1999 and had an on-and-off cable run, capped its final episode this year with an ambiguous ending that left fans in the dark about the fate of lead character Tony Soprano, last seen sitting in a diner with his wife and children. A suddenly black screen suggested sudden violence — or not.

The series' other nominees included Michael Imperioli, who received a bid for best supporting dramatic actor for his role as the ill-fated Christopher. Aida Turturro, who played Tony's tough sister Janice, and Lorraine Bracco, who co-starred as his conflicted psychiatrist Dr. Melfi, were nominated for supporting actress.

Along with Ferrera in the lead comedy actress category were Felicity Huffman of "Desperate Housewives," Tina Fey of "30 Rock," Mary-Louise Parker of "Weeds" and last year's winner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus of "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Their actor counterparts included last year's winner, Tony Shalhoub of "Monk," Ricky Gervais of "Extras," Steve Carell of "The Office," Charlie Sheen of "Two and a Half Men" and Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock."

Like "Grey's" Washington, Baldwin drew unflattering attention this year, in his case because of a leaked recording of an angry telephone call to his daughter, who is caught in a legal dispute with ex-wife Kim Basinger.

In June, judges screening potential nominees for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences made their picks from a list of 10 top contenders for the best drama and best comedy series categories.

The top 10 lists given to the judges were based on polling of the general academy membership. Five nominees in each category ultimately were to be chosen, based on a combination of the panelists' votes and the general polling.

The three-hour Emmy Awards ceremony will be broadcast Sept. 16 by Fox from the Shrine Auditorium.

Other Emmy honors, including those for technical achievement and guest actors and actresses in series, will be given at the creative arts ceremony on Sept. 8.

Students in 5 provinces awarded Hnatyshyn Foundation arts grants

Performing arts students from Quebec, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan are the latest recipients of $10,000 grants each from the Hnatyshyn Foundation, a charity founded by the former governor general.

Gerda Hnatyshyn, widow of the late Ramon John Hnatyshyn, announced from Ottawa on Wednesday the names of nine recipients of the developing artists grants for students enrolled in post-secondary education.

Instead of the originally planned eight grants, organizers decided to award nine because of two exceptional finalists in the classical orchestral instrument category.

The 2007 recipients are:

Victor Fournelle-Blain, 19, violinist from Sainte-Julienne, Que.

Keith Dyrda, 18, a trombonist from Oakbank, Man.

Devon Joiner, 18, a pianist from Nanaimo, B.C.

Eli Bennett, 18, a saxophonist from Vancouver.

Alyssa Stevens, 18, a ballet dancer from Surrey, B.C.

Megan Nadain, 20, a contemporary dancer from Vancouver.

Lindsey Angell, 23, a stage actress from High River, Alta.

Claudiane Ruelland, 23, a stage actress from Quebec City.

Allison Cecilia Arends, 24, a soprano from Regina.

The grants are to be used for the students' studies in September.

A devoted arts partron, Ray Hnatyshyn, as he was known, established the foundation in the mid-1990s, after completing his term as governor general. The goal was to promote and support the arts and arts education.

Since Hnatyshyn's death in 2002, his widow has served as the foundation's president and board chair.

D'oh! Massive Homer Simpson next to fertility symbol riles pagans

A massive chalk drawing of a nearly nude Homer Simpson, sitting in the English countryside next to an ancient fertility landmark, has raised the ire of a British group.

Created by artist Peter Stuart, the 70- by 50-metre portrait depicts the famous cartoon patriarch dressed only in a pair of briefs and hoisting a beloved doughnut.

The Homer drawing sits neighbouring the Cerne Abbas Giant, the famed British landmark featuring a nude, club-wielding male figure carved into the natural chalk ground (located underneath the topsoil) on the hill above Cerne Abbas in Dorset.

Dating from at least the 17th century, the Giant is revered by pagans as a symbol of fertility.

In ancient times, some travelled to the Cerne Abbas to view the figure and pray for a child. Over the years, couples struggling to conceive have also been rumoured to sneak up the hill — now a protected site that tourists must view from below — for a romantic liaison.

Stuart, a fan of the long running TV series The Simpsons, began working on the massive Homer portrait — which uses water-based, biodegradable paint — early Sunday morning. He was commissioned by the publicity team behind The Simpsons Movie, set for release July 27.

However, the Homer drawing, its location and the accompanying encouragement for young couples to "do it in the doughnut" have angered members of the Pagan Federation.

A spokeswoman for the group has denounced the Homer artwork as an eyesore, "very disrespectful and not at all aesthetically pleasing."

Ann Bryn-Evans, the foundation's joint Wessex district manager, has told various news outlets the group will attempt "some rain magic" in hopes it will soon wash the offending portrait away.

The team promoting the upcoming Simpsons movie have engaged in a headline-grabbing campaign in the lead-up to the film's release.

They transformed a number of 7-11 convenience stores in North America into the Kwik-E-Mart store depicted on the show, and they have run a contest to pick which U.S. town of Springfield — one of the country's most common town names and home to TV's Simpson family — would host the film's premiere.

New Mr. Bean film to be his last

MONTREAL (CP) - Better get your fill of Mr. Bean in his new movie because it's probably the last time you're going to see him.

Rowan Atkinson says that with the completion of "Mr. Bean's Holiday," his dim-witted character will probably fall silent for good. "I think it is true that it might be his last outing," Atkinson said as he arrived for the North American premiere of the movie on Tuesday. "I think it's unlikely that I will do any more Mr. Bean, highly unlikely.

"It's not impossible. You must never say never, so I'm never going to say never but I think it's unlikely."

If the character has run his course, as Atkinson suggests, he's had a full life. Mr. Bean has gone from sketch comedy on stage, to international stardom on TV, before making the jump to the big screen in two films, all without uttering a full sentence.

With his reliance on physical rather than verbal comedy, Mr. Bean has been catapulted to pop culture icon status. Atkinson has even been dubbed the modern Charlie Chaplin for his loopy exploits.

Appropriately, "Mr. Bean's Holiday" premiered at Montreal's Just for Laughs comedy festival, the same place North Americans got their first look at Mr. Bean during an appearance by Atkinson in 1987.

Fans have gone without new Bean adventures for a few years, but Atkinson chuckles when it's suggested the character has been off the cultural radar.

"He tends to appear quite constantly on television repeats, but in filmic form we haven't seen him since 1997."

Atkinson says he decided to revisit the character for a movie because he wasn't completely happy with the 1997 film "Bean."

"We were determined that one day we would make another movie because I always felt that the first Mr. Bean movie lacked in certain areas," he said.

"It was very successful and I think it's quite a funny movie, but it was a very American style movie whereas I think this is a slightly more European style. I think it's still funny, but it's got quite a different tone to the first film."

In "Mr. Bean's Holiday," the hapless Bean wins a vacation trip to France as well as a video camera.

But it's not just the language barrier that Bean has to hurdle when he reaches France. Things as simple as carrying coffee on a train, tackling a seafood platter or driving - a Mr. Bean staple - throw him for a loop with chaotic results.

The plot thickens when he accidently separates a Russian film director and his son at a train station as they head for Cannes and then tries to reunite them, only to have the vacation footage from his video camera screened at the famous film festival.

Atkinson chuckles when he's asked if he or the ever-silent Mr. Bean picked up any French making the movie, which was shot in France. In it, Mr. Bean answers "Gracias" when he's complimented on his French, which seems to consist simply of "oui" and "non."

"Sadly despite the fact that "Mr. Bean's Holiday" was shot almost entirely in France and I was there for three months with an entirely French crew, I managed to advance my French-speaking almost not at all."

Crowds lined up for the premiere Tuesday as Atkinson fielded questions in a series of rapid-fire interviews. He said he's not surprised at Mr. Bean's popularity or longevity.

"If I had to be honest, no, it hasn't surprised me very much because in many ways that's why he was conceived. He was conceived to be a timeless, ageless character with international appeal.

"I always felt sort of deep inside me that it had the potential to have a global acceptance, you might say, and so it has turned out to be."

"Mr. Bean's Holiday" goes into wide release next month.

Vintage AC/DC, Nirvana still big-sellers

NEW YORK - Much of the rock 'n' roll and pop canon is well established.

Buying the albums of `60s and `70s acts like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley is akin to a rite of passage for any young music fan. These are the artists that baby boomers love to keep buying, and with whom seemingly every teenager at some point experiments. (Remember A.J. hearing Bob Dylan for the first time in the "Sopranos" finale?)

Now that the `80s and `90s are ancient history, what albums are people still buying from those decades? Do critical favorites like Radiohead and the Pixies grow more popular with time? Or do the Backstreet Boys and Madonna still rule the charts?

The short answer is that, above all, people are buying vintage Metallica, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Guns 'N Roses and, well, Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

AC/DC's "Back in Black" (1980) last year sold 440,000 copies and has thus far sold 156,000 this year, according to the Nielsen SoundScan catalog charts, which measure how well physical albums older than two years old are selling. (All figures for this article were provided by Nielsen SoundScan.)

Those "Back in Black" numbers would make most contemporary CDs a success. Metallica's self-titled 1991 album is altogether the second-biggest selling album of the Nielsen SoundScan era, which began in 1991. "Metallica" sold 275,000 copies last year.

Bon Jovi's greatest hits collection "Cross Road" last year sold 324,000 copies, while Guns 'N Roses "Appetite for Destruction" (1987) sold 113,000. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" (1996) continues to be a holiday favorite; it was bought 289,000 times last year.

Greatest hits compilations are counted as catalog releases, and account for the majority of vintage best-sellers. Artists that commercially peaked in the `80s or `90s that have had lucrative best-of collections include Garth Brooks, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tim McGraw, Creed, Queen, Tom Petty, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Def Leppard, Aerosmith and Lionel Richie.

U2, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Celine Dion, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Dave Matthews Band and the ever-touring Jimmy Buffett also all continue to sell large amounts of old records.

Michael Jackson, of course, still has one of the most desirable back catalogs. His best- selling "Thriller" moves over 60,000 copies a year and his "Number Ones" collection yielded 162,000 sales last year.

Avid fans may be buying everything their favorite artist puts out, but there's more than nostalgia fueling vintage sales.

"Young fans aren't excluded from catalog sales — especially the ones who really get interested in music, there's always that sense of discovery," says Geoff Mayfield, the director of charts at Billboard Magazine.

Not everything maintains long-term success. Asia's self-titled 1982 album was the biggest seller of 1982, but only sold 5,000 copies last year. Whitney Houston's 1985 debut, also self-titled, was 1986's top album, but now sells about 7,000 discs a year.

The same trajectory has befallen past mega-hits like Ace of Base's "The Sign," Bobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel" and the Spice Girl's "Spice." Though one of the best selling artists of all time, Mariah Carey's self-titled debut sold a measly 5,000 copies last year. The Backstreet Boys' "Millennium" managed only 9,000 sales.

Alas, the turning wheel of fortune isn't always kind to boy bands.

"The only thing that kept coming to mind to me was that line in the Bruce Springsteen song: `Someday we'll look back at this and it will all seem funny,'" recalls Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke.

Now, some critical hits that were trounced on their initial release by the likes of 'N Sync can claim a measure of commercial superiority. The Flaming Lips' "Soft Bulletin," often hailed as one of the best albums of the `90s by critics, sold a solid 38,000 copies last year.

Radiohead's legendary "OK Computer," currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary, last year sold 94,000 copies. Nirvana's "Nevermind" has done even better; it sold 143,000 copies in 2006.

Current events can alter the charts. When Ray Charles died, his older albums spiked for months, says Mayfield. A new album from Alanis Morissette would surely increase sales of her 1995 disc "Jagged Little Pill," one of the best selling albums of the past 20 years.

Likewise, recent reunions of the Police and Genesis can be expected to increase sales of their catalogs. The Police's 1986 compilation "Every Breath You Take" has already doubled its already strong 2006 sales by selling 107,000 copies so far this year.

Many well-regarded albums continue to do healthy business, including: U2's "Joshua Tree," Dr. Dre's "The Chronic," Beck's "Odelay," Wu-Tang Clan's "Enter the Wu-Tang," the Clash's "London Calling," Weezer's "Weezer," and the Pixies' "Doolittle." Each sold at least 20,000 copies last year.

Still, many albums that are consistently revered on critic top-ten lists of the `80s and `90s have not sold much. Joy Division's "Closer," the Smiths' "The Queen is Dead," My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless," and REM's "Murmur" all sold 12,000 copies or less last year.

Labels often reissue classic releases to capitalize on the devotion of die-hard fans and to attract a new audience. In the past few years, revered indie label Matador Records has released Pavement's first three albums, including "Slanted and Enchanted," a disc frequently ranked among the best in the `90s.

"It's almost like a new release for us," says Matador founder Chris Lombardi. "We probably sold in a one-year period, pretty much what those records sold in their first year period when they were initially released."

Though hip-hop continues to rule today's charts, many of its most historic albums don't enjoy the catalog sales that those from rock's heyday do. Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" sold 15,000 copies last year; Beastie Boys' "Paul's Boutique" sold 22,000; and Run DMC's "Raising Hell" sold far less than both.

So far this year, catalog sales are down 11.7 percent, but that's stronger than overall sales, which are down 14.7 percent, according to Billboard. It's a major portion of the music business. This year's total catalog sales of 95.6 million copies accounts for about 40 percent of all albums sold physically.

When people switched from cassette tapes to compact discs, catalog sales received a windfall as people re-bought their collections. The onset of digital downloading hasn't had that affect because CDs can easily be downloaded to your iPod, but digital stores do have the advantage of unlimited (virtual) store space to sell older music.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has pegged catalog downloads as 64 percent of all download sales in the U.S. (Apple declined to share its iTunes data on catalog sales.)

That still leaves illegal downloads unaccounted for, as well as a more important quantity: cultural impact. Though bands like Sonic Youth, the Ramones and Public Enemy may never sell as much as other acts, their influence remains immeasurable.

"Impact is not strictly about sales," says Fricke. "Otherwise everyone would be running around forming bands that sound exactly like Poison."

Raincoast pleads with Potter fans to keep final book a secret

TORONTO (CP) - Raincoast Books is pleading with Harry Potter fans to keep the boy wizard's final adventure a secret.

"We would want to make a public appeal for fans around the world to be patient until the end of this week when everybody will discover the secret together," Raincoast spokesman Jamie Broadhurst said from Vancouver.

The request came Monday after rumours that a Vancouver man had discovered the manuscript for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on a file-sharing website.

Broadhurst wouldn't comment on that specific case, but said that any potential breach of security surrounding the final Potter book - to be released Saturday at 12:01 a.m. - is being investigated.

"There will be lots and lots of speculation online. It happens every time," he said.

"There are many, many, many rumours. All those rumours do get explored."

Raincoast has gone to great lengths to keep a lid on Potter secrecy in the past. Measures have included legal action to prevent the contents of the books from being revealed before the official publication date.

New Releases, July 17: Suzanne Vega, 'Legally Blonde,' Garbage

Suzanne Vega "Beauty and Crime"

The singer/songwriter returns with her first new studio record in nearly six years. "Beauty & Crime," Vega's seventh album, follows 2001's "Songs in Red and Gray."

The new disc, which marks Vega's debut on prestigious jazz label Blue Note, was produced by Jimmy Hogarth (Sia, Corinne Bailey Rae) and features the leadoff single "Frank & Ava."

Vega will launch a tour in support of the new CD Sept. 15 in Poughkeepsie, NY.

* * *
Various Artists "Legally Blonde (2007 Original Broadway Cast)"

Most of us know the story of Elle Woods, the pretty-in-pink sorority gal who, on a whim, decides to give law school a try. Its first incarnation came as a popular Hollywood film that starred Reese Witherspoon. It later became a musical, which had its debut in San Francisco before moving on to much success on Broadway.

Fans can now enjoy Elle's adventures on their home stereos, thank to this 2007 original Broadway cast recording. The disc features all the fan favorites, including such fun ditties as "Omigod You Guys."

* * *
Garbage "Absolute Garbage"

The Grammy-nominated pop-rock band releases its first ever retrospective, a 17-song disc that features such well-known tracks as "Queer" and "Only Happy When It Rains." "Absolute Garbage" is also available as a limited-edition 2-CD set, which includes remixes by such big names as Massive Attack, Crystal Method and U.N.K.L.E.

* * *
Colbie Caillat "Coco"

The SoCal singer/songwriter made a name for herself thanks to the wonders of MySpace. Now, Caillat will attempt to jump from Internet celebrity to mainstream success story with the release of her full-length CD, "Coco."

* * *
The Chemical Brothers "We Are the Night"

The electronica pioneers crank up the samplers and keyboards once again for "We Are the Night." The band is looking to further solidify its status as one of the top electronica acts in the business, which the Chemical Brothers earned with the release of such acclaimed albums as 2005's "Push the Button" and 2002's "Come With Us."

* * *

Other new releases:
A Fine Frenzy, "One Cell In the Sea" (Virgin)
Behemoth, "The Apostasy" (Century Media)
Canibus, "For Whom the Beat Tolls" (Micclub)
Judy Collins, "Judy Collins Sings Lennon & McCartney" (Wildflower)
Minnie Driver, "Seastories" (Zoe)
Editors, "An End Has a Start" (Fader)
Emerson Hart, "Cigarettes and Gasoline" (Manhattan)
The Knife, "Silent Shout" (Mute)
Raul Malo, "After Hours" (New Door)
Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy, "Cornell 1964" (Blue Note)
Nile, "Ithyphallic" (Nuclear Blast)
Rooney, "Calling the World" (Geffen)
Teddy Thompson, "Up Front and Down Low" (Verve Forecast)
Various Artists, "Music From the Mound" (EMI)
Various Artists, "Now, Vol. 25" (UTV)
Yellowcard, "Paper Walls" (Capitol)

Seinfeld Gets Piece of the 'Rock'

Jerry Seinfeld hasn't done much prime-time TV since exiting his iconic NBC sitcom nine years ago -- a guest voice on "Dilbert" here, a "Seinfeld" special there.

And come October, a headline-grabbing (or so NBC hopes) appearance on "30 Rock."

Seinfeld, who's also doing a series of shorts about the making of his "Bee Movie" for NBC, will appear on the season premiere of "30 Rock" on Thursday, Oct. 4. He'll play himself and butt heads with NBC exec Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin).

"I was thrilled to be asked to guest star on NBC's hit comedy '30 Rock,'" Seinfeld says in a statement. "I think it's going to be so refreshing for me to be playing myself in a show that has nothing to do with neurotic, dysfunctional New York characters."

To hear NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman tell it, landing Seinfeld for the guest spot was a matter of timing.

"I reached out to Jerry and had such a fun conversation with him," Silverman said Monday at NBC's press tour sessions. As the two talked about his "Bee Movie" shorts, "I asked him if he'd be part of the show, and he said, 'You know what, I love that show. You hit me on the one thing I'm predisposed to, because I really like the show.' ... It was great. It couldn't have been more positive and exciting, and he also loves the show. I think it was the right call around the right show to the right guy."

Carrie Underwood's Fall Follow-Up

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Carrie Underwood doesn't want to spend her life jaded, waitin'—or just resting on her laurels.

Arista Records and 19 Recordings announced Monday that the follow-up to the country crossover star's mega-hit debut Some Hearts has been slated for an Oct. 23 release.

While it seems as if Underwood must be on her third or fourth album by now, that's only because the multiplatinum-selling Some Hearts took up residence at number one on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart back in 2005… and managed to return to that spot multiple times over the next two and half years.

The hit-filled album, which dropped Nov. 15, 2005, has been certified six-times platinum in the U.S., is the best-selling country disc/download of 2007 so far, with nearly 1.1 million copies sold just this year.

After the American Idol-assisted success of the Grammy-winning "Jesus Take the Wheel," it was unsure whether Underwood would have mass-market appeal, but with spunky tunes such as "Before He Cheats" and "Wasted," she's become a powerhouse on the pop charts, as well. Some Hearts was named the best-selling album of all genres at the Billboard Music Awards in December, Underwood's eighth sales-fueled trophy in two years.

Two Grammys (Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Jesus Takes the Wheel"), five Academy of Country Music Awards, three CMT Music Awards, two CMA's and one American Music Award after coming out on top on the fourth season of Idol, Underwood's doing okay.

Some Hearts spawned seven singles, three of which went platinum, and Underwood also had a hit with her cover of the Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You," which she performed on the Idol Gives Back charity special in April.

The 24-year-old Oklahoman's as-yet untitled sophomore effort is being produced by Some Hearts collaborator Mark Bright and will feature some more songwriting by Underwood, who co-penned the tune "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore" on Some Hearts.

Before she repeats, however, Underwood can be heard on Brad Paisley's latest album, 5th Gear, on the tune "Oh Love," and she's set to help kick off New York's Fall Fashion Week by performing Sept. 6 at the fourth annual Fashion Rocks! gala at Radio City Music Hall.

Also scheduled to perform at the event, to be hosted by Jeremy Piven and broadcast the following evening on CBS, are Aerosmith, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Usher, Fall Out Boy, Jennifer Hudson, Fergie, Jennifer Lopez, Ludacris, Martina McBride and Santana.

Alicia Witt cops `Law & Order: CI' role

NEW YORK - Add Alicia Witt to the "Law & Order" lineup.

The 31-year-old actress, whose previous TV credits include "Cybill," has joined the cast of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," it was announced Monday.

Witt will play police detective Nola Falacci, who will be partnered with detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth). She'll be a temporary replacement for Julianne Nicholson, who is on maternity leave.

Witt costarred with Cybill Shepherd on the CBS sitcom "Cybill" for three years. The series ended in 1998. Her films include "The Upside of Anger" and "Two Weeks Notice."

Original episodes of "Criminal Intent" this coming season will air first on cable's USA network and then later, with no date yet specified, on NBC. "CI" reruns have ranked among USA's most popular shows.

When it announced its fall schedule in the spring, NBC explained that it had room only for two of the three "Law & Order" series. It brought back the highest-rated, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and the original "Law & Order." The "CI" episodes that will run first on USA would be a midseason replacement, the network said.

Internet flooded with new Prince CD after giveaway

A day after it was distributed free inside a British newspaper, music icon Prince's latest album is widely accessible after countless fans posted it online.

An estimated three million copies of Planet Earth were packaged as a promotional "covermount," or giveaway, with the Mail on Sunday newspaper — a move that raised an uproar among U.K. record retailers and even caused Prince's British distributor to nix its own sales launch of the album.

As of Monday morning, the 10-track album could easily be downloaded from numerous file-sharing websites. The physical CD is also being offered for sale on auction website eBay.

The album is scheduled to begin selling in international markets on Monday, but the North American release is not until July 24.

Recently, when asked why he chose to give his latest CD away for free, the 49-year-old was unrepentant and called the move "direct marketing."

"I don't have to be in the speculation business of the record industry, which is going through a lot of tumultuous times right now," said the Minneapolis-born artist.

The eclectic, prolific artist has long fought against the traditional recording industry structure.

He once officially changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol to protest a record contract and has also appeared in public with the word "slave" scrawled across his cheek as his comment on another recording industry battle.

More recently, he drew criticism from the industry for giving a copy of his 2004 album Musicology to each fan who attended one of his concerts.

For years, Prince, whose real name is Prince Rogers Nelson, has also explored distributing his music via his own website.

"Prince's only aim is to get music to those who want to hear it," according to a spokesman on the artist's official website.

The award-winning singer, songwriter and musician "feels that charts are just music industry constructions and have little or no relevance to fans or even artists today."

Prince's ample catalogue of diverse hits includes 1999, Kiss, Let's Go Crazy, Diamonds and Pearls, When Doves Cry and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.

In August, he will give 21 concerts in London, at each of which he is also scheduled to hand out free copies of his latest album.

Second "X-Files" pic moving toward production

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The "X-Files" film sequel is heating up.

Co-star David Duchovny indicated Saturday during the Television Critics Association press tour that the film, which has been the subject of speculation for the past few years, is one step closer to becoming a reality.

"I'm supposed to see a script next week," Duchovny said at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, adding that creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz wrote the screenplay and that Carter is set to direct.

Duchovny also reiterated past remarks that he and "X-Files" co-star Gillian Anderson "are on board" the follow-up to the 1998 film and the series that ran on Fox from 1993 to 2002.

The film reportedly was delayed in part because of a now-settled lawsuit filed by Carter in late 2005 against 20th Century Fox Television alleging breach of contract, contractual interference and other claims over payments allegedly owed to him from the series.

Duchovny was at TCA promoting his upcoming Showtime comedy series "Californication," which debuts August 13.

'Potter' works magic in $77.4M debut

LOS ANGELES - Harry Potter remains a box-office charmer.

The Warner Bros. fantasy sequel "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" conjured up a $77.4 million debut to lead the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That raised the movie's total domestic gross to $140 million since opening Wednesday.

"Order of the Phoenix" also has taken in an additional $190.3 million in 44 other countries where it began rolling out Wednesday.

"Transformers," the DreamWorks-Paramount sci-fi tale that was the previous weekend's No. 1 movie, slipped to second place with $36 million, lifting its total to $223 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, grisly horror story "Captivity" from Lionsgate and After Dark Films, opened out of the top 10 with $1.55 million, coming in at No. 12. The movie stars Elisha Cuthbert as a model who is abducted and tortured.

"Order of the Phoenix" expanded overall business for Hollywood. The top 12 movies took in $171.1 million, up 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was No. 1 with $62.3 million.

The fifth chapter in the movie series based on J.K. Rowling's novels about the teen wizard, "Order of the Phoenix" has Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) leading a secret society of students to prepare for the coming showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort.

The previous four "Harry Potter" flicks all had bigger first weekends, ranging from $88.4 million to $102.7 million, but those all debuted Friday. "Order of the Phoenix" was the first to get a jump on the weekend with a Wednesday opening.

"We're in the middle of summer, and we just said why not, because kids are out of school," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. "It certainly turned out to be the right decision."

"Order of the Phoenix" did more business in five days than each of the first three "Harry Potter" movies did in their first full week, and it nearly matched the $146 million first week total of the fourth film, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Fellman said.

Warner Bros. counts on the "Harry Potter" frenzy to persist with the publication next Saturday of the final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

"People are going to have Potter mania happening again when the book comes out," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "They'll be walking book in hand into the movie theater."

In limited release, Focus Features' film biography "Talk to Me" opened strongly with $390,754 in 33 theaters. The film stars Don Cheadle as an ex-con who becomes an outspoken social commentator on the radio in the 1960s.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," $77.4 million.
2. "Transformers," $36 million.
3. "Ratatouille," $18 million.
4. "Live Free or Die Hard," $10.9 million.
5. "License to Wed," $7.4 million.
6. "1408," $5.01 million.
7. "Evan Almighty," $5 million.
8. "Knocked Up," $3.7 million.
9. "Sicko," $2.65 million.
10. "Ocean's Thirteen," $1.9 million.

The Couch Potato Report - July 14th, 2007

This week The Couch Potato Report peels two Canadian films and we learn Esma's secret.

On Friday in Chicago, a jury of nine women and three men found former Canadian media baron Conrad Black guilty of three counts of criminal fraud and the serious charge of obstruction of justice -- but cleared him of racketeering, wire fraud and tax evasion.

The convictions mean Black faces a maximum sentence of 35 years, if served consecutively, and $1 million US in fines.

Sentencing will take place at a later date and as expected, Black's attorneys announced they will appeal the guilty verdicts.

New on DVD this week is CITIZEN BLACK - a documentary that chronicles Conrad Black's downfall.

And this isn't one of those documentaries that only features interviews and comments friends, relatives, and former co-workers of Mr. Black's.

No, CITIZEN BLACK features the man himself.

Black didn't actually sit down for a one on one interview with filmmaker, and former CBC employee, Debbie Melnyk but she did correspond with him by email, and she did follow him around as he promoted his book about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States.

CITIZEN BLACK isn't a spectacular documentary as too often it tells Debbie Melnyk's story and not Conrad Black's, but it is very, very good.

It is a movie with a great sense of humour, and it also gives us a look at Mr. Black's personal life and some of the eccentricities that he and his wife posess.

Debbie Melnyk is no Michael Moore, but through all of her films flaws, I respect her tenacity in trying to get Mr. Black to sit down for an interview as she chases him from one book signing to another.

And the film was always interesting, so ultimately I think CITIZEN BLACK is a film that is worth your time.

Up next this week is the Canadian film PARTITION.

Generally, a partition is a splitting of something into parts.

The Partition of India led to the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on August 14th, 1947, and the Republic of India on August 15th, 1947, upon the granting of independence to British India from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The movie PARTITION is about these events, but it is primarily a love story played out against a backdrop of political and religious upheaval.

Determined to leave the ravages of war behind, a Sikh soldier resigns from the British Indian Army to a quiet life.

His world is soon thrown in turmoil, when he suddenly finds himself responsible for the life of a young Muslim woman, traumatized by the events that separated her from her family.

Slowly, resisting all the taboos, they fall in love.

Canadian actresses Kristin Kreuk (Kroook) from the televison series SMALLVILLE and Neve Campbell of the SCREAM films atar along with the Indo-British actor Jimi Mistry in PARTITION, and they all give great performances.

Plus, the locations in British Columbia and Northern India where the movie was made look incredible, but in the end the film just never caught my attention.

I am a huge fan of TITANIC and THE ENGLISH PATIENT, and several other films that use actual historical events as a background for a love story.

But as much as PARTITION strives to be a good as those films, it just isn't.

There are just too many side stories that ultimately have no relevance, and at one point a period of five years passes, and no one seems to change or age at all.

So, if you enjoy very romantic love stories set against turbulant times, perhaps you will enjoy PARTITION more than I did.

I didn't dislike it, but I can't fully recommend it either.

Finally this week, the action filled, very loud, check-your-brain-at-the-door summer movie season continued in theatres this week with HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.

If you'd prefer an alternative, each week during the summer movie season I will tell you about at least one current release on DVD that you'll need your brain to enjoy.

This is the FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL on DVD!

This week's entry is ESMA'S SECRET, a movie from Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany and Croatia.

ESMA'S SECRET focuses on the Balkan War's painful aftermath on a Bosnian woman named Esma and her daughter Sara who live in a quarter of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

Esma works several jobs and does laundry and tailoring for her friends and neighbours to earn money and when Sara wants to go on a school trip, her mother struggles to find the money.

Esma has told her daughter that her father is a war hero, and even though a certificate proving that would allow her a discount for the trip, Esma tries to find a way to pay the full price.

The reason why, is Esma's secret.

ESMA'S SECRET doesn't show any scenes of the horrific war and genocide in the former Yugoslavia, but by the end of the movie you will know what the pain of war feels like.

It is a very interesting film that features people and locations that we don't normally get to see, either in films or in real life, and it all adds up to a movie that will get you thinking.

Like I said, you'll need your brain to enjoy the selections I have for you in this summer's FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL on DVD!

The very interesting ESMA'S SECRET, the Canadian film PARTITION and the documentary CITIZEN BLACK are all available now on DVD.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

GRAY MATTERS stars Tom Cavanagh and Heather Graham as a brother and sister who both fall in love with the same woman.

FACTORY GIRL tells a fictionalized story of mid-sixties socialite and Andy Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick; Billy Bob Thornton stars in THE ASTRONAUT FARMER as a farmer who builds his own rocket; and our FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD continues with the British documentary BLACK GOLD about the international coffee trade and its ramifications for the farmers who grow coffee.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

Summer box office hits & misses

As clashes between titans go, the summer box office has been less Optimus Prime versus Megatron than drunk David Hasselhoff versus a cheeseburger.

That's a letdown for studio executives who were stoked for a record-scorching, sequel-stuffed season.

Instead, they'll have to make due with just doing fine. After all, while no film has dominated, no one is losing their shirt in the melee, either.

Which is more than we can say for The Hoff.

The following is a rundown of who hit, who missed and who surprised in the summer of 2007.

Like they say, success has many fathers, failure's an orphan and blame gets passed around like Paris Hilton at a convention of Greek shipping tycoons.

THE HITS

You didn't need tarot.com to tell you the triumvirate of Spider-Man 3, Shrek The Third and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End would reap a bounty worthy of Johnny Depp's slurring, swishy sea dog, Capt. Jack Sparrow.

But it might have informed you all three -- having each grossed more than $300 million US --would nevertheless fall short of their predecessors.

The massive opening of Transformers ($150 million in its first week) bodes well for its chances at dethroning Spider-Man 3 as the summer's top-earner, but to do so, the refugees of Cybertron will have to flex legs of iron.

It's premature to predict how Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will fare, but judging by its predecessors it will likely conjure up around $270 million in North America.

Among non-franchises, with $130 million, the charmingly-raucous Knocked Up out-performed The 40-Year-Old Virgin, securing Judd Apatow's anointment as Hollywood's prince of comedy.

Meanwhile, the summer's finest entertainment, Disney-Pixar's Ratatouille, has dug in and, buoyed by gushing reviews and word of mouth, should cook up $230 million -- finishing ahead of 2006's inert animated Cars.

THE MISSES

The Noah's ark-themed Evan Almighty stands as the costliest dud to float to the top, as it's expected to make back only half of its $175-million budget.

Also a flop? The Robin Williams-led License to Wed.

And while Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer rode the tasty waves to a $50 million-plus opening weekend, it quickly sank like a stoner, making a third film less than a certainty.

THE SURPRISES

Granted, Live Free and Die Hard hardly represented an artistic gamble, but many wondered if its aging star and analog appeal would be squashed by the synthesized mayhem of Transformers.

Turns out, no.

Instead, the Bruce Willis sequel has shown to be nearly as Teflon-coated as John McClane himself and should wind up with an admirable $140 million.

Even more unanticipated is the popularity of 1408, which attracted audiences seeking sophistication, not splatter, in their horror. The John Cusack thriller should scare up $80 million -- several times the gross of the torture-porn travesty Hostel Part II.

THE STARS

Actors may sell bundles of magazines, but their power to lure moviegoers is decidedly more dubious. Case in point: The just-okay-thanks haul of $100 million and change for Ocean's Thirteen.

That's more or less the same as the second instalment, but far less than the original's $180 million -- meaning George Clooney is going to have to find another cash-cow to offset the films he really cares about.

Meanwhile Angelina Jolie's A Mighty Heart, although mightily praised, collapsed. Look for her to keep adopting orphans until she has a fanbase.

THE OLD GUY

Every year, a studio drops an adult-geared film smack dab into the cinematic sugar rush, hoping grown-ups will seek out sophisticated material.

This time that chimp-in-a-space-capsule was Kevin Costner's Mr. Brooks.

Too bad it imploded on the launch pad.

Neither crew nor the myth of counter-programming survived.

Toronto Theatre Legend Ed Mirvish Gets a Salute from Broadway

Broadway theatres will dim their marquee lights July 13 for one minute in the memory of Ed Mirvish, the entrepreneur, theatrical impresario and Broadway producer who was known as "Honest Ed."

American-born Mirvish died in Canada July 11 of natural causes. He was 92.

He is best known in the theatrical world for restoring the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto in 1963, the Old Vic in London, England, and for building the award-winning Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto in 1993 with his son, David Mirvish. His Broadway credits include the award-winning productions Stones in His Pockets, Spoils of War and The Mikado.

He launched the Toronto theatre empire Mirvish Productions, run by his son, David.

Mirvish was a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a Member of the Order of Canada and the recipient of more than 250 awards.

Paul Shaffer working on his memoir

NEW YORK - David Letterman's longtime sidekick, Paul Shaffer, is stepping into the spotlight with a memoir about his show business career.

"These anecdotes have been accumulating in my mind for the past three-plus decades; it's been a nutty ride, and I felt it imperative to finally commit my reflections to the page ... at least Volume One," Shaffer, 57, said in a statement issued Wednesday by Flying Dolphin Press, an imprint of Random House, Inc.'s Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group.

The book, currently untitled, is scheduled to come out in 2009. Shaffer will work on it with David Ritz, who has collaborated on memoirs by Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles among others.

Shaffer was a musician and performer during the early years of "Saturday Night Live," perhaps best remembered as the piano playing foil for Bill Murray's Nick the Lounge Singer. He was musical director for John Belushi's and Dan Aykroyd's "Blues Brothers" act and is known to "Spinal Tap" fans as radio promoter Artie Fufkin.

Since 1982, Shaffer has worked alongside Letterman, heading up "The World's Most Dangerous Band." He has also played and recorded with countless musicians, including Bob Dylan, B.B. King and Warren Zevon, and co-wrote the 1980s dance classic, "It's Raining Men."

Media mogul Black guilty of fraud

CHICAGO - Former media mogul Conrad Black was convicted Friday of swindling the far-flung Hollinger International newspaper empire he once ran out of millions of dollars, becoming the latest in a wave of disgraced corporate executives to face prison time for financial fraud.

Black, 62, who once renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a member of the British House of Lords, was found guilty by a federal jury of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice for spiriting documents out of his Toronto office in defiance of a court order.

Black was acquitted of nine other counts ranging from tax fraud to the most serious charge — racketeering. He was also acquitted of fleecing Hollinger shareholders through such perks as taking the corporate jet on a two-week vacation to the island of Bora Bora.

The three-month trial drew international media attention, heightened by the silver-haired British lord's posh lifestyle and sometimes haughty comments. When shareholders grumbled about the cost of the Bora Bora trip, he wrote a memo saying: "I'm not prepared to re-enact the French revolutionary renunciation of the rights of the nobility."

Three other former Hollinger executives, John Boultbee, 65, of Victoria, British Columbia, Peter Y. Atkinson, 60, of Oakville, Ontario, and Mark Kipnis, 59, of Northbrook, Ill., were also convicted of fraud charges.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to have Black jailed immediately, saying he could face approximately 15 years to nearly 20 years in federal prison for the con