Trebek hospitalized with heart attack
LOS ANGELES - Longtime "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek was hospitalized Tuesday after a minor heart attack, a spokesman for the game show said.
Trebek, 67, was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center late Monday night and was expected to remain there about two days for tests and observation, said show spokesman Jeff Ritter.
"Thankfully it was a minor heart attack," Ritter said. He did not give other details.
A post on the official "Jeopardy!" Web site said Trebek was "resting comfortably in a Los Angeles hospital, and he will be back in the studio for the next scheduled tapings in January." His heart attack was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight."
Trebek escaped a car crash unhurt in 2004 when he fell asleep at the wheel, sideswiped a string of mailboxes and wound up in a ditch, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Jan 30, 2004, accident happened in the town of Templeton, not far from Trebek's thoroughbred horse ranch.
"Jeopardy!" has been one of television's top-rated syndicated programs for more than 20 years. The Canadian-born Trebek has been its host since 1984.
He has been nominated numerous times for daytime Emmy Awards for game show host, winning twice.
Trebek, who holds a philosophy degree from the University of Ottawa, was a TV and radio reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Company before moving to the United States. He became a U.S. citizen in 1998.
He launched his U.S. game show career in 1983 as host of a show called "The Wizard of Odds." Other shows he's hosted include "Pitfall," "Battlestars," "The $128,000 Question," "Double Dare," "High Rollers," "Strategy" and "Reach for the Top." He also hosts the annual National Geography Bee in the U.S. and Canada.
New CD Releases, December 11: Pink Floyd, Wu-Tang Clan, Dave Matthews Band
Pink Floyd "Oh By the Way"
Looking to thrill the Floyd fan on your holiday shopping list? You simply can't do it in a more impressive fashion than by giving this 16-disc box set as a gift. But, mind you, it will cost you a little more than a pair of socks or a necktie--the list price for this set is $257.49.
For that sizable amount of dough, you get a sizable amount of Floyd. Indeed, this set contains the entire Pink Floyd studio collection, from "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" through "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall" to the group's last studio outing, "The Division Bell."
"Oh By the Way" also includes a poster of the band and two Pink Floyd coasters--perfect, we assume, for resting your eggnog this holiday season.
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Wu-Tang Clan "The 8 Diagrams"
The groundbreaking rap group finally returns with a follow-up to 2001's "Iron Flag." "The 8 Diagrams" is the first offering since Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard died in 2004.
The record features work from Wu-Tang warriors Method Man, Ghostface Killa, GZA, RZA, Raekwon, U-God, Inspecta Deck and Masta Killa. R&B vocalist Erykah Badu also lends a hand on the tune "The Heart Gently Weeps."
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Dave Matthews Band "Live at Piedmont Park"
Fans apparently just can't get enough of the Dave Matthews Band in concert. Not only is the group consistently among the top-grossing touring acts of each year, it's also managed to do big business with a steady succession of live recordings.
Having recently released the 10th volume of its Live Trax series, which was recorded in 2007 in Portugal, the band now delivers "Live at Piedmont Park." The set was recorded in front of 50,000-plus fans at the Meadow of Piedmont Park in Atlanta this past September. It's available both as a 3-CD set and as a 2-DVD release.
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Radiohead "Radiohead"
This limited edition deluxe box set spans the band's first decade of recordings (1993-2003). It features all seven of Radiohead's full-length albums on EMI, including such highly acclaimed offerings as "OK Computer," "Kid A" and "Hail to the Thief."
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Bow Wow and Omarion "Face Off"
The two young hip-hop stars "Face Off" on this collection of collaborations. Beyond the studio, Bow Wow is co-headlining a major tour with R&B sensation Chris Brown, which includes a two-night New Year's Eve stand (Dec. 30-31) at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA.
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Other new releases:
Alizee, "Psychedelices" (RCA)
Chambao, "Con Otro Aire" (Sony)
The Dream, "Lovehate" (Def Jam)
Alejandro Fernandez, "15 Anos De Exitos" (Sony)
Gucci Mane, "Back to the Traphouse" (Atlantic)
Sun Ra, "Intergalactic Research" (Transparency)
Sun Ra Arkestra, "The Creator of the Universe" (Transparency)
Sevendust, "Retrospective, Vol. 2" (Asylum)
Beanie Sigel, "The Solution" (Def Jam)
Various Artists, "Pop Ambient 2008" (Kompakt)
Edgar and Johnny Winter, "Together--Live" (Beat Goes On)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Alien vs. Predator: Requiem" (Varese)
"The Great Debaters" (Atlantic)
"The Tudors: Music From the Showtime Original Series" (Varese)
"Into the Wild" leads Critics' Choice nominations
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sean Penn's adventure tale "Into the Wild" garnered the most Critics' Choice award nominations on Tuesday, including best picture, best actor for Emile Hirsch and best director for Penn.
With seven nominations, "Into the Wild," directed by Penn, edged out "Juno," the offbeat comedy about a pregnant teenager played by Ellen Page that received six nods, including best picture and best actress for Page.
Five films snagged five nominations apiece: "Atonement," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "Sweeney Todd" and "Hairspray."
Joining "Into the Wild" and "Juno" with best picture nods were: "American Gangster," "Atonement," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "The Kite Runner," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "Sweeney Todd," and "There Will Be Blood."
Besides Hirsch, best actor nominations went to George Clooney for "Michael Clayton," Daniel Day-Lewis for "There Will Be Blood," Johnny Depp for "Sweeney Todd," Ryan Gosling for "Lars and the Real Girl," and Viggo Mortensen for "Eastern Promises."
Along with Page, others getting best actress nods were Amy Adams for "Enchanted," Cate Blanchett for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Julie Christie for "Away From Her," Marion Cotillard for "La Vie en Rose," and Angelina Jolie for "A Mighty Heart."
"No Country for Old Men," the dark crime thriller from brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, has already won top film honors from New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. The Coens scored a best director nod from the Critics' Choice awards on Tuesday.
Such critical nods are helpful for the studios' marketing campaigns as they vie for Oscar attention for their films. Next on the awards season's agenda are the Golden Globe nominations on Thursday.
The Critics' Choice nominees were announced by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, which has more than 200 members in the United States and Canada representing television, radio and online critics. The winners will be announced on January 7.
A full list of the nominations is available at http://criticschoice.vh1.com.
Gillian Anderson to host `Masterpiece'
NEW YORK - After 37 years, PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" is getting spruced up.
The revered anthology series will be split into three mini-seasons, each with its own theme and host — one of whom is Gillian Anderson, already familiar to "Masterpiece" fans for her 2006 performance as Lady Dedlock in "Bleak House."
Anderson, even better known as Agent Dana Scully from the Fox series "The X-Files," will make her debut as host of the renamed "Masterpiece Classic" on Jan. 13. Through May, she will present 10 programs that include adaptations of all six of Jane Austen's novels plus a new biopic; "Cranford," a three-part miniseries starring Judi Dench; "My Boy Jack," starring Daniel Radcliffe and Kim Cattrall; and a new adaptation of E.M. Forster's "A Room with a View" by Andrew Davies.
In the summer, "Masterpiece Mystery!" will absorb the "Mystery!" anthology series, a PBS fixture since 1980. Then, in the fall, "Masterpiece Contemporary" will focus on dramas set in the present day. Hosts for these two "Masterpiece" cycles will be announced later.
"Masterpiece Theatre," which premiered in Jan. 1971, was closely identified with its drawing-room host, Alistair Cooke, until he retired in 1992. The series has not had a host since his successor, New York Times writer Russell Baker, stepped down in 2004.
"Our viewers told us that they miss having a host to lead them into the programs," said executive producer Rebecca Eaton.
The series, which has been without corporate underwriting since 2004, when ExxonMobil ended its decades-long support, has since been funded by PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Quiet Riot singer died of overdose
LAS VEGAS - The death last month of Kevin Dubrow, lead singer for the 1980s heavy metal band Quiet Riot, has been ruled an accidental cocaine overdose. Clark County coroner spokeswoman Samantha Charles confirmed the cause Monday after toxicology results were received Monday.
Dubrow was found dead Nov. 25 at his Las Vegas home. He was 52.
Quiet Riot was perhaps best known for its 1983 cover of "Cum on Feel the Noize." The song, featuring Dubrow's powerful, gravelly voice, appeared on the band's album "Metal Health" — which was the first by a metal band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart.
DuBrow recorded a solo album in 2004, "In for the Kill," and the band's last studio CD, "Rehab," came out in October 2006.
Rave reviews for Led Zeppelin concert
LONDON - On the morning after Led Zeppelin's long-awaited reunion concert, the music reviewers were already calling for more.
Playing a full set for the first time in nearly three decades, the authors of "Stairway to Heaven" and "Whole Lotta Love" rocked the O2 Arena on Monday for more than two hours, leaving fans from around the world gasping in delight.
"With a synergy like this going on, it would be an act of cosmic perversity to stop now," Pete Paphides of The Times of London wrote.
The band's three surviving members — singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones — were joined at the sold-out benefit show by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums.
The 16-song set mixed the classics with the thumping "Kashmir" and the hard-rocking "Dazed and Confused," which Plant introduced by saying, "There are certain songs that have to be there, and this is one of them."
Plant's high-pitched screeches and moans also filled the arena, while Page used a cello bow during the solo in "Dazed and Confused" and picked on his double-necked guitar to ring out the famous notes to "Stairway."
Although a full tour remains a mystery — Plant is reportedly due to tour with bluegrass star Alison Krauss — the band surely proved that it still had what it takes to keep an audience interested.
"Page dispensed power chords like an aged Thor lobbing down thunderbolts for kicks," Paphides wrote about "Black Dog," the band's third song of the night.
Other media also hailed the show as a success.
"They sound awesomely tight," Alexis Petridis wrote in Tuesday's The Guardian. David Cheal of The Daily Telegraph said the band's "familiar old sinew and swagger were still there."
The Independent was a little less effusive in its praise, but Andy Gill did write that the call-and-response routine between Plant and Page during "Black Dog" was "one of the night's more engaging moments."
Gill also singled out Bonham, who was sitting in for his father. John Bonham died in 1980 after choking on his own vomit, leading to the band's breakup a few months later.
"Jason Bonham makes a more than merely able replacement for his father on drums: indeed, there's a stronger funk element to his playing which kicks the songs along with more elan," Gill wrote.
In the Evening Standard, John Aizlewood gave the concert five stars.
"Two hours and 10 minutes after they began `Good Times Bad Times,' ... they had assuaged the doubts and delivered a show of breathtaking power and spine-tingling excitement," Aizlewood wrote.
The New York Times reviewer Ben Ratliff said Plant "was authoritative; he was dignified."
"As for Mr. Page, his guitar solos weren't as frenetic and articulated as they used to be, but that only drove home the point that they were always secondary to the riffs, which on Monday were enormous, nasty, glorious," Ratliff wrote.
Kim Murphy of the Los Angeles Times said the band "played the first sets with easygoing confidence. Their good humor built into triumphant intensity as the night wore on."
Daily Star writer James Cabooter may have written what all Zep fans have been thinking since the concert was announced months ago.
"Led Zep were pure class," he wrote. "Now bring on the full reunion tour."