The Grindhouse is broken
It looks like there will be no DVD release for Grindhouse in the immediate future.
Death Proof and Planet Terror are getting seperate releases this fall.
Death Proof will come as a 2 DVD set with 30 additional minutes of footage, four featurettes a Double Dare trailer and an art gallery. Likewise Planet Terror will come on 2 discs with deleted scenes, featurettes and trailers.
Both titles will be available seperately for $29.95.
Death Proof arrives on September 18th and Planet Terror follows on October 16th. Let's hope the full versions of Grindhouse is on the way as well.
James Bond's Origin Story Isn't Over
Daniel Craig has been out talking about that next Bond movie. By the way, for those of you keeping track The Bourne Ultimatum had a bigger opening than Craig’s reboot prequel flick. Take that 007.
But, the next Bond film will soldier on anyway, even in the face of overwhelming Bourne supremacy. IGN caught up with Craig, and he tells them that they aren’t done playing around with the whole James Bond origins thing. “I think the process [of how he becomes Bond] is still happening,” he says.
“Bond is still maybe too headstrong and he doesn't make all of the right decisions. I want to continue what we've set up in the last movie.” So expect more Bond bumbling. If that worked for you in the first movie, you should be happy.
Truth be told, Jason Bourne messing up a bad guy by punching him in the neck with a book has raised the stakes for Bond again!
Instead of cars in Bond 22, it looks like James may be riding horses. IGN also dug up a story from TimesOnline.co.uk which indicates that they’re shooting a scene at the Palio, a centuries-old bareback horse race which PETA hates because the riders mounts sometimes have a tendency to drop dead. Whoops. Murdering horses, now that’s certainly a new twist for 007.
iTunes now selling John Lennon tracks
LOS ANGELES - Apple Inc. has begun selling downloads of tracks from 16 of John Lennon's post-Beatles albums, including "Working Class Hero" and "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band," on iTunes, the company said Tuesday.
The albums represent Lennon's recording output while he was with Capitol Records, a unit of Britain's EMI Group PLC.
While many of the late singer-songwriter's solo recordings have been available for download commercially elsewhere, this marks the first time they have been available on Apple's market-leading online music service.
Songs on two albums — "Lennon Legend" and "Acoustic" — were being made available for download exclusively on iTunes, the company said.
Video content was also being included with the purchase of some of the albums for a limited time.
The Lennon tracks will also be available without copy-protection restrictions and in higher-quality audio for $1.29 each. Regular versions are priced at 99 cents each.
"John would have loved the fact that his music will now be available in a format suited to a new generation of listeners," Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, said in a statement released by Apple.
Duet for Elvis and daughter Lisa Marie
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A new video of Lisa Marie Presley singing "In the Ghetto," accompanied by her late father, Elvis Presley, will be posted Friday on the AOL Internet site Spinner.com, a company spokesman said Tuesday.
To mark the 30th anniversary of her father's death, Lisa Marie Presley's voice was added to the original version of her father's hit song from 1969. The video duet also features images of her late father.
Spinner.com will post the video along with the transcript of an interview with Lisa Marie Presley, AOL spokesman Kurt Patat said. In the interview, Lisa Marie Presley said the project was emotionally stirring.
"We had two hours to lay down my vocals," she says. "So the next morning, I heard the rough ... and ... I've never cried when I've done anything ... ever ... but I just lost it when I heard it.
Lisa Marie Presley also talks in the interview about how she was offended to see her father's song "Viva Las Vegas" used in a Viagra commercial. "I find that revolting," she said. "Some songs we have no control over. I know we didn't license that one."
Proceeds from the new song and video will be used to help build temporary housing for the homeless in New Orleans, she said. The project is to be similar to Presley Place, a 12-unit apartment building for the homeless built in Memphis by Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. in 2001.
At the time, Elvis Presley Enterprises was owned by Lisa Marie Presley. She sold 85 percent of the company two years ago to CKX Inc., which now controls the worldwide business in marketing Elvis' name and image.
Elvis Presley died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on Aug. 16, 1977, and thousands of fans are in town this week for the 30th anniversary of his death.
Lisa Marie Presley, 39, is scheduled to attend a concert Thursday in Memphis that will feature her father performing on video, with live support from his former backup singers and band members.
Her most recent album of her own music was "Now What" in 2005, but she said in the interview that she hopes to put out a new album soon.
"I'm definitely going to do it," she said. "I just have to figure out the right way. I'm on a clean slate right now — I just got off my label (Capitol Records). So I'm figuring out my next route."
Yankees' Rizzuto dies at 89
NEW YORK - Phil Rizzuto, the Hall of Fame shortstop during the Yankees' dynasty years and beloved by a generation of fans for exclaiming "Holy cow!" as a broadcaster, died Tuesday. He was 89.
His death was confirmed by the Yankees. Rizzuto had been in declining health for several years and was living at a nursing home in West Orange, N.J.
Rizzuto, known as "The Scooter," was the oldest living Hall of Famer. He played for the Yankees throughout the 1940s and '50s, won seven World Series titles and played in five All-star games.
Rizzuto was a flashy, diminutive player who could always be counted on for a perfect bunt, a nice slide or a diving catch in a lineup better known for its cornerstone sluggers. He played for 13 seasons alongside the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.
He stood just 5-foot-6 but was equipped with a productive bat, sure hands and quick feet that earned him his nickname. A leadoff man, Rizzuto was a superb bunter, used to good advantage by the Yankee teams that won 11 pennants and nine World Series between 1941 and 1956.
Rizzuto tried out with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants when he was 16, but because of his size was dismissed by Dodgers manager Casey Stengel, who told him to "Go get a shoeshine box." He went on to become one of Stengel's most dependable players.
A Rizzuto bunt, a steal and a DiMaggio hit made up the scoring trademark of the Yankees' golden era, and he played errorless ball in 21 consecutive World Series games. DiMaggio said the shortstop "held the team together."
Rizzuto came to the Yankees in 1941 and batted .307 as a rookie, and his career was interrupted by a stint in the Navy during World War II. He returned in 1946 and four years later became the American League MVP. He batted .324 that season with a slugging percentage of .439 and 200 hits, second most in the league. He also went 58 games without an error, making 288 straight plays.
He led all AL shortstops in double plays three times and had a career batting average of .273 with at least a .930 fielding percentage. He played in five All-Star games.
After the Yankees released him in 1956, Rizzuto began a second career as a broadcaster, one for which he became at least equally well known.
In his decades on the radio and TV, Rizzuto's favorite phrase was "Holy cow!" It became so common, the team presented him with a cow wearing a halo when they held a day in his honor in 1985. The cow knocked Rizzuto over and, of course, he shouted, "Holy cow!"
"That thing really hurt," he said. "That big thing stepped right on my shoe and pushed me backwards, like a karate move."
Yankee fans also loved his unusual commentary. In an age of broadcasters who spout statistics and repeat the obvious, Rizzuto delighted in talking about things like his fear of lightning, the style of an umpire's shoes or even the prospect of outfielder Dave Winfield as a candidate for president.
He liked to acknowledge birthdays and anniversaries, read notes from fans, praised the baked delicacies at his favorite restaurant and send messages to old cronies. And if he missed a play, he would scribble "ww" in his scorecard box score. That, he said, meant "wasn't watching."
Despite his qualifications, Rizzuto was passed over for the Hall of Fame 15 times by the writers and 11 times by the old-timers committee. Finally, a persuasive speech by Ted Williams pushed Rizzuto into Cooperstown in 1994.
Williams, a member of the committee, argued that Rizzuto was the man who made the difference between the Yankees and his Red Sox. He was fond of saying, "If we'd had Rizzuto in Boston, we'd have won all those pennants instead of New York."
As in his playing days, Rizzuto was overshadowed by the headliners, teammates like DiMaggio, Mantle, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra. All of them reached the Hall of Fame before he did.
"I never thought I deserved to be in the Hall of Fame," Rizzuto would say. "The Hall of Fame is for the big guys, pitchers with 100 mph fastballs and hitters who sock homers and drive in a lot of runs. That's the way it always has been and the way it should be."
Old-timers still talk about his suicide squeeze in the ninth inning during the 1951 pennant race to score DiMaggio, beating Cleveland 2-1 and putting the Yankees in first place for the rest of the season.
Rizzuto remembers Aug. 25, 1956, as a day he thought was the "end of the world," the day Stengel released him to make room for clutch-hitting Enos Slaughter in the pennant drive.
"It was Old-Timers Day, and I was out taking pictures, as I did every year," Rizzuto remembered. "The bat boy came over and told me that Casey Stengel and George Weiss wanted to see me in Stengel's office. It was the last day to add a player to the roster and have him eligible for the World Series. We were trading for Enos Slaughter because Stengel said we needed another outfielder, so we had to send someone down to make room on the roster.
"They asked me to read through the list of players and to check each player's eligibility, to see who we could let go," he said. "I sat there thinking that I was a veteran and they wanted my opinion. As we read through the list I pointed out a few players who I thought could be sent down, a pitcher we had hardly used and a catcher who had been in only nine games. But each time they said, 'No, we might need him.' We started to go through the list a second time, and then half way through it dawned on me."
"The Scooter" was done.
Rizzuto is survived by his wife, the former Cora Anne Esselborn, whom he married in 1943; daughters Cindy Rizzuto, Patricia Rizzuto and Penny Rizzuto Yetto; son Phil Rizzuto Jr.; and two granddaughters.
French Harry Potter publisher lets teen translator off the hook
The French publisher of the Harry Potter books has decided not to sue the overeager high school student who posted segments from his own French-language translation of the highly anticipated final novel.
A spokeswoman for Paris-based publisher Gallimard said that, in agreement with author J.K. Rowling, the unnamed 16-year-old from Aix en Provence will not be sued, nor will the company seek compensation from him.
"The aim [of the initial police complaint] was never financial, it is only aimed to protect authors' rights," the spokeswoman said over the weekend.
French anti-piracy investigators came across what they described as the teen's "near-professional" translations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the internet during their probe of organized pirating networks shortly after the book's English-language release worldwide on July 21.
The teen, who was arrested and briefly detained, said that he had not sought to profit from his unauthorized translation, which has been taken offline.
Gallimard's official French translation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter et les reliques de la mort) is set to hit stores Oct. 26.
The seventh and final instalment of Rowling's blockbuster Harry Potter series sold more than 11 million copies in North America and the U.K. in the first weekend of sales.
The previous six books about the teen wizard have sold more than 325 million copies around the globe and been translated into more than 60 languages, turning Rowling into one of the world's best-known authors.
New CD Releases, Aug. 14: 'High School Musical 2,' Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Blaqk Audio
"High School Musical 2" Original Soundtrack
Attention all other CDs: just step away from the charts. A new boss is about to arrive. And, to paraphrase The Who, this new boss looks pretty much the same as the old boss.
What are people expecting from the soundtrack to "High School Musical 2"? Nothing short of complete chart domination, which is basically what happened with the first "High School Musical" release. That disc spent much time at No. 1 on the charts, even making repeat visits to the spot, and wound up being the top-selling album of 2006.
The Disney Channel juggernaut doesn't appear to have lost its grasp on tweens across the country. What began as an original TV movie has expanded into a multi-media sensation, which now includes a concert tour, theatrical performances and an ice show.
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Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds "Live at Radio City Music Hall"
Say what you want about Dave Matthews, but the mega-star takes care of his old friends. Case in point: ol' Virginia pal, Tim Reynolds.
During his sporadic breaks from the Dave Matthews Band, the vocalist has continued to find ways to collaborate with guitarist Reynolds. Notably, that resulted in the pair recording 1999's multi-platinum "Live at Luther College." Now, the musical chums return with another concert recording, "Live at Radio City Music Hall."
This new 2-disc set, also available as a 2-DVD package, was recorded at the landmark NYC venue back in April. The setlist includes Dave and Tim performing such fan favorites as "Bartender," "Crash Into Me" and "Lie In Our Graves."
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Blaqk Audio "Cexcells"
Davey Havok and Jade Puget take a break from AFI to release their debut record as Blaqk Audio. This side project is said to be more synthesizer driven and electronic-music oriented than AFI.
"Cexcells" (read "Sex Sells") was recorded while AFI was touring in support of 2006's chart-topping "Decemberunderground" and was mixed by Dave Bascombe (Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode).
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Paul Van Dyk "In Between"
The popular DJ has enlisted an impressive array of talents for his latest release. Contributors include David Byrne and Pussycat Doll Jessica Sutta. Van Dyk is one of the most successful DJs on the planet, having received a Grammy nomination in 2005 for Best Dance/Electronic Album for "Reflections."
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Linda Thompson "Versatile Heart"
The talented vocalist, best known for her work with ex-husband Richard Thompson, returns with her first new album in five years. "Versatile Heart" features contributions from Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons), Martha Wainwright and Thompson's son Teddy.
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More new releases:
Luke Bryan, "I'll Stay Me" (Capitol)
Stewart Copeland, "The Stewart Copeland Anthology" (Koch)
Eisley, "Combinations" (Reprise)
Erik Friedlander, "Block Ice and Propane" (SkipStone)
Halfway to Hazard, "Halfway to Hazard" (Mercury Nashville)
Dean Martin, "Forever Cool" (Capitol)
Lori McKenna, "Unglamorous" (Warner Bros.)
Matt Nathanson, "Some Mad Hope" (Vanguard)
Recoil, "Subhuman Deluxe" (Mute U.S.)
12 Stones, "Anthem for the Underdog" (Wind-Up)
Y&T, "Live: One Hot Night" (Locomotive)
Soundtracks and scores:
"As You Like It" (Varese)
"Entourage" (Atlantic)
"The Last Legion" (Varese)