SCTVers reunite for charity event

TORONTO - For some, it was Catherine O'Hara's unhinged Lola Heatherton, for others it was Eugene Levy's impersonation of a near-comatose Perry Como, for still others it was Tex and Edna Boyle and their bizarre organ emporium.

Almost every Canadian has a favourite SCTV character, moment or routine - and so, too, do a litany of comics who have been paying tribute to the zany and groundbreaking troupe as some of its most famous members prepare to reunite next week in Toronto for two shows.

"It's tremendously uplifting and one of the greatest rewards, to hear your peers, and these really great comic minds, saying they look up to us," the U.S.-born Joe Flaherty, 66, said Wednesday from his home in Toronto, where he's lived since the early 1970s.

"It's the best you can do, to get those kinds of accolades."

Dave Foley, currently touring North America with the Kids in the Hall as they enjoy a reunion of their own, says he was an insanely devoted fan of "SCTV" as soon as it started airing on the CBC in 1976.

"When I was a kid we lived in Creemore, which is about an hour out of Toronto, and we only got two TV channels clearly," Foley recalled in a recent interview from Boston.

"We had this old antenna lying on the floor in our attic and I'd have to go up for about two hours of fiddling with this antenna so that we could watch 'SCTV' each week. I would be up there ... shouting out the window to my brother downstairs: 'Can you see anything?' We had to do that every single week because we loved that show so much right from its first airing."

SCTV, in fact, had a huge impact on "The Kids in the Hall" as Foley and the four other Kids decided where to take their TV show a decade later.

"They were a big part of why we don't do any parodies - because of how much we loved 'SCTV,"' he said. "'SCTV' just did it way better than we could ever do it."

Foley counts the SCTV spoof "The Grapes of Mud," Levy's imitation of an Alex Trebek type on "Half Wits" and any time the late John Candy showed up as the smarmy Johnny LaRue as among his favourite SCTV moments, but was quick to add that it was almost impossible to name favourites.

British-born comic Tracey Ullman recalls moving to the U.S. more than 20 years ago and immediately becoming enthralled with "SCTV" and the hysterical goings-on at the local TV station in the fictional town of Melonville.

"It was so cutting edge compared to anything else they were doing in the U.S. at the time - it was brilliant and really, it still is brilliant," Ullman said recently in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.

As a female comic, Ullman said she was particularly blown away by Catherine O'Hara - especially her portrayal of a kooky D-list entertainer who frequently appeared on the Sammy Maudlin talk show and shrieked: "I love you! I want to bear your children!"

"The impersonation of Lola Heatherton was just fabulous because Catherine O'Hara is such a great actress. It was more than an impersonation, it wasn't a surface impersonation - there was a lot of stuff underneath that was brilliant. She's the absolute funniest."

Brent Butt, star and creator of CTV's hit comedy "Corner Gas," said he still watches SCTV whenever he can and marvels at how sharp and funny the humour remains.

"It holds up better than a lot of shows and is still every bit as funny as it was then," Butt said from Vancouver.

"But the two who really stand out for me are Johnny LaRue and Bobby Bittman. Bobby Bittman because I always wanted to be a standup, and here was this guy who was this cartoonish stereotype of all the bad standups in the world - this guy was the guy not to be, but you were always pulling for him," he said. "Johnny LaRue was so pathetic, but so funny."

The jovial Flaherty, whose memorable "SCTV" characters included poker-faced news anchor Floyd Robertson and an alcoholic Hugh Beaumont in a "Leave It to Beaver" parody, said he's not nervous about taking to the stage next Monday and Tuesday nights in Toronto.

The shows - featuring him, O'Hara, Levy, Andrea Martin, Martin Short and Harold Ramis - are aimed at raising funds for veteran artistic and support personnel from "SCTV" and the Second City theatre troupe who are facing health or financial hardships.

No media have been accredited to cover the shows, and they were conceived simply as low-key affairs meant to raise charity money.

"We're only going to rehearse on Sunday," Flaherty said.

"We're doing some SCTV characters, we're doing some stage stuff that we all did on stage at Second City, and we're doing some improvisation. It should be interesting, that's for sure, but the best thing is that it's put us all in touch again."

Flaherty says age, however, has slowed everyone down slightly.

"Yes, we're all together and we're a lot older," he said with a laugh. "The more I look at it, the more I see why comedy works so well for the young."

Nine Inch Nails hammers scalpers with new policy

NEW YORK (Billboard) - In a move meant to get fans into premium seats and bypass ticket brokers and scalpers, industrial-rock band Nine Inch Nails has reserved tickets to each of its upcoming summer tour dates for registered users of its Web site, NIN.com.

The limited allotment of tickets will be made available through online pre-sales only to users registered under their legal names on NIN.com. Tickets acquired through these pre-sales will be marked with the purchaser's name and will have to be picked up at the appropriate venue on the date of the event. A valid government-issued ID matching the name printed on the ticket will be required for entrance.

The pre-sales will begin about 72 hours before general online ticket sales for each event.

Nine Inch Nails' summer tour kicks off July 25 at the Pemberton Festival in Pemberton, British Columbia, and continues through September 6.

Nine Inch Nails' new fan ticketing procedure follows similar strategies from bands like Pearl Jam and Maroon 5, who have also required fans who purchase tickets from their Web sites to pick up tickets with valid I.D. at the concert only.

MADD attacks 'Grand Theft Auto IV'

LOS ANGELES - Mothers Against Drunk Driving wants a stricter rating on "Grand Theft Auto IV."

The organization is calling on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, the independent organization that assigns video-game ratings, to reclassify "GTA IV" as an Adults Only game. The action-driving game, which includes the ability to drive while intoxicated, is currently rated Mature.

"Drunk driving is not a game, and it is not a joke," MADD said in a statement released Tuesday. "Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable."

MADD is also calling on publisher Take-Two Interactive and developer Rockstar Games to consider stopping distribution of the game — which analysts expect to sell 9 million copies and make over $400 million at launch — "out of respect for the millions of victims/survivors of drunk driving."

In the critically acclaimed open-world game, players have the choice of patronizing a bar and then attempting to drive drunk. While virtually under the influence, the screen becomes blurred and the controls are more difficult to use. Players also have the option of hailing a taxi or walking. The intoxication effects wear off after a few minutes in the game.

"We have a great deal of respect for MADD's mission, but we believe the mature audience for 'Grand Theft Auto IV' is more than sophisticated enough to understand the game's content," Rockstar Games said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday. "For the same reason that you can't judge an entire film or television program by a single scene, you can't judge 'Grand Theft Auto IV' by a small aspect of the game."

"GTA IV" follows the criminal exploits of protagonist Niko Bellic, an imigrant-turned-gangster who travels from Eastern Europe to Liberty City, the game's fictional locale based on New York City. As Bellic, players can hijack cars, earn cash for criminal activities, shoot innocent bystanders and visit strip clubs.

MADD declined to comment further about their statement.

McCready back to recording after Clemens report

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Mindy McCready has "caught her breath" and gone back to work on a new album following her admission of a long-standing relationship with Roger Clemens, a representative for the country star said Wednesday.

"The first day was really difficult for her. She really has caught her breath," her management consultant, John Dotson, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "She did vocals yesterday and will do vocals today.

McCready told The New York Daily News on Monday that she "cannot refute anything" in the newspaper's original report posted Sunday night on its Web site. The story said Clemens and McCready met in a Florida karaoke bar when she was a 15-year-old aspiring singer and he was a 28-year-old pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and a married father of two.

"This is Roger's situation to deal with and we've come back to work," Dotson said. "We didn't go looking for this. They called us. We have a record to make and are in the middle of negotiating a deal on a reality show."

Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper said McCready went with Clemens to his hotel room after their first meeting, but that they did not have sex. The relationship turned intimate after she later moved to Nashville and became a country star, the paper said.

Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, confirmed that the pitcher and singer had known each other for a long time but told the newspaper that no sex was involved. At no time did Clemens engage in inappropriate or improper relationship with her, said Hardin, who described McCready as a longtime friend of Clemens and his family.

Still, the report could undermine Clemens' reputation, which is central to a defamation lawsuit he filed against former personal trainer Brian McNamee.

McNamee contends Clemens used performance-enhancing substances during his major league career.

The 32-year-old McCready came to Nashville in 1994 with tapes of her karaoke vocals and earned a contract with BNA Records. Two years later, her song "Guys Do It All the Time" hit No. 1 on the country charts.

But her subsequent albums didn't sell as well, and she lost her record deal. Attempts to restart her career tanked.

McCready, who's currently signed to Denver-based Iconic Records, has had a string of legal and personal problems in recent years and was sentenced last September for violating probation from a 2004 drug arrest. She was released from jail Dec. 30.

The newspaper reported that Clemens sent cash to McCready to help her with legal issues and reached out to her when she was in jail.

Dotson said McCready will be meeting with a New York-based public relations firm this week to "see what to do next."

"We want to be sure we don't inadvertently do something wrong," he said.

The Kids in the Hall are back

Men dressed as women. Jokes that skewer religion. A sex-crazed chicken lady.

About 1,600 Kids in the Hall fans roared their approval in Winnipeg on Sunday night as the envelope-pushing comedy troupe made the first Canadian stop on its reunion tour.

Scott Thompson, reprising the flamboyant Buddy Cole character he made famous on the Kids' TV series, got some of the biggest laughs of the night when he tried to make the case that Jesus was gay.

"He's a 33-year-old unmarried man who wanders the desert with 12 other bachelors. They're drinking a lot of wine and scrubbing each other's feet," Thompson said.

It's the type of joke to be expected from a troupe that once re-enacted Christ's crucifixion to a Dr. Seuss-style rhyming narrative.

The Kids – Thompson, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney – scored a big hit with their TV show that ran on the CBC from 1989 to 1995 and continues to air in reruns. Their first reunion tour ended in 2002.

They had always planned to reunite again, and the recent writers' strike in Hollywood gave them some free time by putting some of their current projects on hiatus.

Having already played several American cities, the Kids in the Hall bring their show to Coquitlam, B.C., Calgary and Edmonton next month, and have two dates scheduled for Toronto in June.

New Releases, April 29: Madonna, Def Leppard, Steve Winwood

Madonna "Hard Candy"

The legendary "Material Girl" will look to add to her already substantial wealth with the release of her 11th studio record. This follow-up to 2005's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" includes the hit single "4 Minutes," which features guest stars Timbaland and Justin Timberlake.

Madonna reportedly has stated in radio interviews that she intends to tour this year in support of "Hard Candy." Her last batch of road work came with 2006's "Confessions Tour," which was one of that year's top grossing tours.

The vocalist, who became one of the first of the new generation of MTV stars with 1984's "Like a Virgin," was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Hall's class of 2008 also included John Mellencamp and Leonard Cohen.

* * *
Def Leppard "Songs From the Sparkle Lounge"

The multi-platinum rock act, known for the '80s mega-hit albums "Pyromania" and "Hysteria," returns with its 14th studio record. "Songs From the Sparkle Lounge" follows 2006's all-covers release "Yeah!" and is the band's first set of newly written material since 2002's "X."

The 11-track offering includes the single "Nine Lives," which is a collaboration with country crooner Tim McGraw. The song has been selected as the featured track in a special opening segment recorded for NBA games airing on ABC television.

Def Leppard plans to support "Sparkle Lounge" on the road, yet it's had to cancel some shows recently while lead vocalist Joe Elliott recuperates from an upper respiratory tract infection, according to a statement on the band's website.

* * *
Steve Winwood "Nine Lives"

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, inducted in 2004 as a member of Traffic, is set to release his first studio album in five years. "Nine Lives" follows 2003's "About Time" and, indeed, consists of nine tracks, including the first single, "Dirty City," which features a guest appearance from Eric Clapton.

"Nine Lives" is yet another milestone in what's already been a big year for Winwood. Most notably, the singer/songwriter made major headlines when he reunited with Clapton (his old bandmate in Blind Faith) for a three-show run at Madison Square Garden in New York City earlier this year.

He'll join up with another legendary rock act--Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers--for a massive tour that kicks off May 30 in Grand Rapids, MI. The trek will stop in roughly 40 cities and continues through August.

* * *
Mudcrutch "Mudcrutch"

Before there were the Heartbreakers, there was Mudcrutch. This band--featuring Tom Petty on vocals and bass, Mike Campbell on guitar, Benmont Tench on keyboards, Tom Leadon on guitar and vocals, and Randall Marsh on drums--only recorded one single and dissolved in 1975.

Gone, but Mudcrutch was not forgotten--at least not by Petty aficionados, who always wanted to get the chance to hear Petty's pre-Heartbreakers band. With the release of this eponymous debut, those fans will finally get to hear Mudcrutch perform its swamp-flavored country-rock tunes.

* * *
Portishead "Third"

The trip-hoppers are back with--you guessed it--their "Third" studio album. The new album follows the studio efforts "Dummy" and "Portishead" from, respectively, 1994 and 1997, as well as the 1998 concert disc "Roseland NYC Live." The band performed last weekend at Southern California's mammoth Coachella Valley music festival.

* * *
More new releases:
Augustana, "Can't Love, Can't Hurt" (Sony)
Mark Chesnutt, "Rollin' with the Flow" (Lofton Creek)
Brian Culbertson, "Bringing Back the Funk" (GRP)
Estelle, "Shine" (Atlantic)
Lyfe Jennings, "Lyfe Change" (Sony)
Mana, "Arde el Cielo" (Warner Bros.)
Martina McBride, "Live in Concert" (RCA)
Sarah McLachlan, "Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff, Volume 2" (Arista)
The Roots, "Rising Down" (Def Jam)
Santogold, "Santogold" (Downtown)
Carly Simon, "This Kind of Love" (Hear Music)
Phil Stacey, "Phil Stacey" (Lyric Street)
Testament, "The Formation of Damnation" (Nuclear Blast)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Lost: Season 3" (Varese)

Yorke: Radiohead's 'Rainbows' Strategy Was A 'One-Off'

It was a pivotal moment for the music industry which many thought sounded the death knell for recorded music sales, but Radiohead won't be repeating their decision to let fans choose what to pay for their downloads, frontman Thom Yorke told the Hollywood Reporter.

"I think it was a one-off response to a particular situation," Yorke said of the band's decision last October to let viewers pay what they wanted for digital downloads of their album "In Rainbows."

"Yes. It was a one-off in terms of a story. It was one of those things where we were in the position of everyone asking us what we were going to do. I don't think it would have the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away again. It was a moment in time."

Radiohead's decision to allow fans to pay into the online equivalent of an honesty box for the album came shortly after they walked away from troubled record label EMI, sparking acres of comment about the future direction of the music industry and the dwindling revenue pot from CD sales.

The band has remained quiet about whether the experiment was a success, with many fans thought to have downloaded the album without paying anything at all. "In Rainbows" was later released conventionally as a CD.

But the groundbreaking move towards potentially free music has been adopted by a number of artists including Prince and Nine Inch Nails. Most recently Coldplay said Monday (April 28) that they would give away their new single "Violet Hill" free of charge, resulting in the site crashing due to demand.

Speaking as Radiohead were promoting their pro-social anti sex and labor trafficking initiative with MTV, Yorke said that successful bands had new ways to communicate directly with fans.

"We are about that direct relationship (now) because we are big enough to establish that."

Under the music broadcaster's EXIT (end exploitation and trafficking) campaign, MTV and Radiohead have jointly produced a video for "In Rainbows" track "All I Need" which will premiere on all MTV's channels and sites globally on May 1.

Yorke said the band had linked with MTV to highlight such issues as child slavery, enforced servitude and sex trafficking because it was "about exploiting a situation while you have the chance."

"All power to MTV for taking this on because its obviously going to be difficult for them in terms of the advertisers," he said. "If you talk about slave labour, then the issue of cheap goods from the East is all about that.

With the [All I Need] video their lawyers had to beg to make sure there wasn't a single white [sneaker] with a logo on it because the implication would be a little too close. But the implication is still there," he concluded.

"If [MTV] are able to break the taboo of enslavement and put it onto the agenda then its a good thing. If they get people to think in terms of the profits we make in the West because of cheap labor, then that's a good thing."

MTV vice chairman Bill Roedy said the initiative would raise awareness.

"Trafficking is a crime which violates the basic rights of its victims ... we endeavor to support and advocate these rights -- and empower our audience -- through initiatives like MTV EXIT and other MTV projects."

Label: Winehouse's 'Bond' Theme 'Speculation'

Amy Winehouse might well be working on the theme song to the next installment of the James Bond series, but her record company is downplaying the move.

Winehouse has been in the studio working with Mark Ronson, producer of her hit sophomore album "Back To Black," an Island Records spokesman confirms.

"She has been doing some work in the studio, but [the Bond theme] is speculation, basically."

Ronson told BBC 6Music that the pair had been working on a track for the upcoming Bond film "Quantum Of Solace." He told the digital station that there was no official guarantee that the fruits of their recording efforts would be included in the action movie, which is due for a theatrical release in November.

"It would be lovely," adds the Island spokesman, "but there's nothing to confirm at this stage."

'Scrubs' is sewn up -- quietly

Like a tipsy party guest, it's going to be pretty tough for "Scrubs" to gracefully exit NBC.

The network's final "Scrubs" episode airs next week, concluding its run with the network after seven seasons. But you'd never know it from watching NBC or perusing the entertainment media.

At the conclusion of what was the comedy's third-to-last episode on NBC on Thursday, viewers were simply urged to check out the show's interactive features on NBC.com. The usual array of creator and cast interviews that usually accompany the final episodes of a concluding series are likewise largely absent.

The super low-key exit for "Scrubs" is tied to what's become the worst-kept secret in Hollywood: that the veteran comedy is moving to ABC. The long-pending deal for ABC to pick up 18 episodes of "Scrubs" for next season is effectively, pretty much, essentially, done.

Production has been under way for weeks, while cast and crew have been encouraged to keep quiet. A television studio producing a comedy costing north of $1 million per episode without anybody saying who the episodes are for is considered highly unusual, if not a little weird.

ABC plans to confirm the acquisition at next month's upfront presentation.

Holding series pickup news until the upfronts is a typical network strategy this time of year. In the case of "Scrubs," ABC also is waiting for the show to end its Peacock run. NBC came out swinging when news of the series' move to ABC first leaked, accusing producer ABC Studios of violating NBC's right of first negotiation. The parties have since patched things up, but a premature celebration by ABC could inflame the situation.

That leaves NBC in the similarly odd position of promoting a farewell to a longtime series that's headed across the dial.

A network spokesperson said NBC will run promos for the final "Scrubs" episode and gamely bill it as "a season finale" rather than "a series finale." Back in 2001, WB Network called its last episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" the "WB series finale" rather than acknowledge the show had scored a second life on UPN.

In an interesting twist, "Scrubs' " stock has shown some life on NBC recently.

When paired with NBC's hit "The Office" since the conclusion of the strike, the medical comedy has outperformed its average last year by 17% with a 3.5 average rating among adults 18-49. But the show's real test will come when it moves to ABC, where it will likely have to help jump-start a freshman comedy.

The Couch Potato Report - April 26th, 2008

This week The Couch Potato Report peels a man and a mannequin, a boxer and a reporter and the made-in-Quebec film Summit Circle.

Had anyone...anyone else played the lead role in this week's Hot Potato, the film could have been dismissed as an interesting premise, poorly realized or a stupid high concept comedy.

But since the lead in LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is played by Canadian Ryan Gosling, a tremendous actor who has played a drug addicted inner-city teacher in HALF NELSON, a Jewish man who develops a fiercely anti-Semitic worldview in THE BELIEVER, and a guy with a broken heart who hopes to win back the love of his life in THE NOTEBOOK, since Gosling is playing Lars, what could have come off as a lewd, crude or just disturbing film instead plays as one that is very believable, smart and thoughtful.

I really liked this movie!

So, all that said, let me tell you what LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is about.

Gosling plays Lars, a socially awkward man who spends his days working in a cubical and his nights alone in the garage-turned-apartment he lives in outside of his parents old house.

His brother Gus and sister-in-law Karin now live in that house, and he repeatedly turns down their invitations to eat with them.

But then, one night, Lars knocks on their door and announces that he has met someone, and when he asks Gus and Karen if she can stay in the extra room in the house they are overwhelmed...until they "meet" her.

You see, "Bianca" is actually a life-sized, anatomically correct doll - for adult use - one of the high priced ones, not the cheap blow-up models - and Lars talks to her and treats her as if she was real.

The local psychiatrist, believes that the best approach to Lars' delusion is to play along with it, so the entire town starts to treat Bianca with respect, and act as if she is real.

As I said, I really liked this movie, and if you can suspend your disbelief that everyone in the movie's small town would play along, then I think you will too.

Yes, it does get a little slow towards the end, but Gosling is so good that he pulls this premise off in a way that many actors could not.

Whether you watch it with friends, or with a "Bianca" of your own, I hope you enjoy LARS AND THE REAL GIRL as much as I did!

The made-in-Calgary film RESURRECTING THE CHAMP is our next challenger this morning.

This film, weighing in at 112 minutes, was inspired by a true story...or as the film's tagline reads: Based on a true story, that was based on a lie.

In this picture, an up-and-coming newspaper sports reporter rescues a homeless man from some teenagers who are beating him up, only to find out that the man may just be a former heavyweight boxing contender who is long believed to have passed away.

Josh Hartnett from SIN CITY and LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN plays the reporter, and Mr. Samuel L. Jackson is The Champ, but the newspaper story they tell - however compelling - just might not be true...and - if that is the case - they are both to blame for that

But, whether the story is or isn't true made the film compelling enough for me to want to stick around to see how it ended.

Sadly, the ending of RESURRECTING THE CHAMP is a bit too Hollywood perfect, and along the way it does drag at times, but I still found the film interesting and engaging.

While not a technical knock out, this film still wins by a split decision on my score card.

Finally this week is the made in Quebec film SUMMIT CIRCLE.

It focusses on Réjeanne - a long-time switchboard operator whose life is thrown into turmoil after her husband Gilles suffers a debilitating stroke.

The movie takes place in both the past and in the present, with the latter revolving around a police lieutenant's attempts to solve Gilles' murder and the former storyline dealing dealing with Réjeanne and Gilles' crumbling relationship after his troke, and the eventual loss of their home on Summit Circle.

As the movie plays out, and Réjeanne's difficulties increase, it becomes increasingly difficult not to sympathize with her plight, and the time-shifting structure employed by the director is very effective...but unfortunately it all builds to an ending that isn't completely satisfying, and as such, I enjoyed SUMMIT CIRCLE, but I can't completely recommend it.

The made-in-Montreal, good but not great SUMMIT CIRCLE, the made-in-Calgary split decision RESURRECTING THE CHAMP and the filmed-in-Toronto LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, which I really enjoyed, are all available now on DVD.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

The Academy Award nominated foreign film THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY debuts on DVD along with the would-be fantasy epic THE GOLDEN COMPASS, Disney's CLASSIC CABALLEROS COLLECTION featuring SALUDOS AMIGOS and THREE CABALLEROS; and also next week is a Canadian Classic...the FIRST Canadian film with sound, in fact...the made in Newfoundland THE VIKING.

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!

Stores prepare for Grand Theft Auto

Retailers are planning for an onslaught of video game fans early Tuesday morning, when Grand Theft Auto IV is scheduled for release, despite the fact that the video game was hacked and posted online earlier this week.

Retailers such as Best Buy and Future Shop are opening their doors 12:01am on April 29 to handle the crowds expected to snap up the game, produced by Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s Rockstar Games.

Ironically, the game, as the name suggests, lets you carjack any vehicle in Liberty City, and challenges players to work their way up the criminal underworld by performing missions for seedy characters.

Savvy Xbox 360 gamers can now download this GTA sequel from Bit Torrent sites including the popular PirateBay.org, which has replaced is main logo with a large graphic of the game's protagonist, Niko, and the words "Liberty Bay."

But the number of hoops players will have to go through to steal a digital version of this "Mature"-rated game suggest that only a small percentage will likely try and succeed.

For one, you first need to download a 7 gigabyte file, which is more than 2,000 times the size of a typical MP3 song. Then you need to burn this file onto a dual-layer DVD – capable of storing up to 8.5GB of data, compared to a single-layer DVD's 4.7GB of space – with a compatible dual-layer DVD burner in your PC. Finally, the Xbox 360 has to be modified or "chipped" to play the downloaded and burned game, especially as there are both NTSC and PAL versions for different geographical regions.

Co-operative and competitive multiplayer modes, which are one of the key new features in this sequel, may also not work online since they're not official copies of the game, not to mention you might be missing some single-player missions or cut-scene story sequences.

Analysts said the pirated versions of Grand Theft Auto IV are unlikely to significantly affect Take-Two's sales of the game.

This is the latest release in a highly successful game franchise from Rockstar Games. According to Take Two Interactive, the Grand Theft Auto franchise has sold more than 70 million units world-wide.

The last release, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, was mired in controversy when it was discovered that a patch (called Hot Coffee), made it possible for the main character to engage in explicit sex acts during game play.

The latest game will be released on the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox platforms. There is no date set for a PC release.

Austin Powers 4 Not Happening

Recent speculation that Gisele Bundchen might be in talks for Austin Powers 4 had everyone convinced that a fourth movie was already happening, but we should have been suspicious. Before the rumors of her possible involvement, the film was nowhere on the radar. Now it looks like despite those rumors, it still isn’t.

Austin Powers star Seth Green recently talked to MTV and told them that as far as he knows it’s not happening and there’s no script. He says, “Austin Powers 4 is nothing more than something Mike Myers talked about off-handedly during the ‘Shrek’ press.”

Sounds pretty definitive to me. I’ll take the son of Dr. Evil’s word for it. Besides, it never made any sense. Mike Myers has clearly moved on. He’s focused on his new Love Guru character, and the whole Austin Powers thing has long since run its course. No Austin Powers 4? Count me relieved!!!

'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' Will Be Back

Judgment Day won't come for at least one more season.

FOX has picked up its freshman series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" for 2008-09. The show earned a 13-episode order for 2008-09, on the heels of its strike-shortened and reasonably successful nine-episode run earlier this year.

The pickup isn't a big surprise; FOX Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly said in an interview last week that the show was already hiring staff.

"The Sarah Connor Chronicles" enjoyed a big premiere in January following an NFL playoff game, drawing better than 18 million viewers. The show's ratings fell off in its regular home on Mondays, but it still averaged 10.8 million viewers and a 4.5 rating among adults 18-49. In the latter category it's the top-rated new scripted series this season.

The series stars Lena Headey as the title character, who's obsessed with protecting her son John ( Thomas Dekker), the future leader of the human resistance against the machines that will one day wipe out most humanity. Summer Glau and Richard T. Jones also star, and Brian Austin Green, who appeared in five episodes this season, will be a regular next year.

FOX has several shows in development that could form a sci fi-tinged block with "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," including Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" and "Fringe," from J.J. Abrams' company.

Snipes gets 3 years, apologizes for `costly mistakes'

OCALA, Fla. - After haggling with revenue agents, criminal investigators and eventually U.S. prosecutors for almost a decade, Wesley Snipes finally caught them by surprise.

Hours before he was to be sentenced Thursday for failing to file income taxes he insisted he never had to pay, the action star cut the federal government three checks for $5 million, delivered in court.

So taken aback were prosecutors that they first declined the cash. But by the end of the day, the government took the money and more — a maximum three-year sentence for its highest-profile criminal tax target in decades.

"The sentencing court sends the right message to the American taxpayer — you've got to pay your taxes," U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill told reporters outside the usually quiet central Florida courthouse. "Rich, poor, it doesn't matter. We all pay our taxes."

Though Snipes was convicted of three counts of willfully failing to file returns, his trial was held by some as proof of victory for the tax protest movement. Snipes was acquitted of five other charges, including felony tax fraud and conspiracy, that would've exposed him to 13 more years in prison.

Criminal tax prosecutions are relatively rare — usually the cases are handled in civil court, where the government has a lower burden of proof.

Snipes' attorneys argued the sentence was too stiff for a first-time offender convicted of three misdemeanors, and recommended he be given home detention and ordered to make public service announcements.

But U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges said Snipes exhibited a "history of contempt over a period of time" for U.S. tax laws.

"In my mind these are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanors," Hodges said.

The action star of the "Blade" trilogy, "White Men Can't Jump," "Jungle Fever" and other films hasn't filed a tax return since 1998, the government alleged. Snipes and the IRS still must determine how much he owes, plus interest and penalties. The government alleged Snipes made at least $13.8 million for the three years in question, owing at least $2.7 million in back taxes on them alone.

Snipes read aloud from a prepared apology, calling his actions "costly mistakes" but never mentioning the word "taxes." He said he was the victim of crooked advisers, a liability of wealth and celebrity that attract "wolves and jackals like flies are attracted to meat."

"I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance," Snipes said.

His lawyers said he was no threat to society, and offered three dozen letters from family members, friends and even fellow actors Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington attesting to his compassion, intelligence and value as a mentor. They called four character witnesses Thursday, including television's Judge Joe Brown, who incited applause from the gallery by suggesting Snipes was no different than "mega-corporate entities" that legally avoid taxes.

Hodges twice halted the proceedings to quiet the crowd, threatening to clear everyone out if they made another outburst.

Snipes' co-defendants, Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, were convicted on both felony counts on which the actor was acquittal. Kahn, who refused to defend himself in court, was sentenced to the maximum 10 years, while Rosile received 4 1/2 years. Both will serve three years of supervised release.

Snipes and Rosile remain free and will be notified when they are to surrender to authorities. Defense attorney Carmen Hernandez signaled in court that Snipes would pursue an appeal.

Kahn was the founder of American Rights Litigators, and a successor group, Guiding Light of God Ministries, that purported to help members legally avoid paying taxes. Snipes was a dues-paying member of the organization, and Rosile, a de-licensed accountant, prepared Snipes' paperwork.

The actor maintained in a yearslong battle with the IRS he did not have to pay taxes, using fringe arguments common to "tax protesters" who say the government has no legal right to collect. After joining Kahn's group, the government said, Snipes instructed his employees to stop paying their own taxes and sought $11 million in 1996 and 1997 taxes he legally paid.

Defense attorneys Hernandez and Daniel Meachum said Snipes was unfairly targeted because he's famous. Meachum called prosecutors "big game hunters," selectively prosecuting the actor while Kahn's some 4,000 other clients remained free.

Hodges was not swayed.

"One of the main purposes which drives selective prosecution in tax cases is deterrence," the judge said, while denying it had anything to do with his sentence. "In some instances, that means those of celebrity stand greater risk of prosecution. But there's nothing unusual about it, nor is there anything unlawful about it. It's the way the system works."

Guillermo del Toro to direct `The Hobbit' movies

LOS ANGELES - Guillermo del Toro is directing "The Hobbit" and its sequel, New Line Cinema announced Thursday.

The 43-year-old filmmaker will move to New Zealand for four years to make the films back-to-back with executive producer Peter Jackson.

Del Toro wrote and directed "Pan's Labyrinth," which earned six Oscar nominations in 2006 and won three awards. He is also the director of the upcoming sequel "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," whose monsters bear the unmistakable surreal vision of the Mexican-born filmmaker.

"I am indeed blessed to become a part of the filmmaking community that Peter, Fran and their extraordinary team of collaborators have created in New Zealand," del Toro said in a statement. "Contributing to the 'Lord of the Rings' legacy is an absolute dream come true."

Jackson and Walsh called del Toro "a cinematic magician who has never lost his childlike sense of wonder."

"We have long admired Guillermo's work and cannot think of a more inspired filmmaker to take the journey back to Middle-Earth," they said in a statement.

Jackson co-wrote, co-produced and directed the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which won 17 Oscar and 30 nominations.

Reports: Fallon to succeed Conan on 'Late Night'

NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Fallon appears to be inching closer to Conan O'Brien's "Late Night" chair. For months, Fallon has been widely considered the top choice to succeed O'Brien when he steps down next year. On Thursday, published reports said Fallon has signed, or soon will sign, a deal with NBC.

NBC had no comment Thursday on the stories by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. The network had been expected to announce its choice of host within the next few weeks, possibly at its May 12 presentation for advertisers.

A former regular on "Saturday Night Live," Fallon, 33, would take over sometime next year as host of the 12:30 a.m. talk show. O'Brien is to replace Jay Leno on NBC's "Tonight" show, aired at 11:30 p.m. each weeknight.

Fallon taking over "Late Night" is the only part of this talk-show turnover that remained in any doubt. The succession plan at the "Tonight" show, including Leno's departure, was announced by NBC in 2004.

But as long ago as last summer, NBC late-night boss Rick Ludwin was quoted as saying that Fallon "is at the top of our short list."

Latest from Egoyan, Eastwood, Soderbergh vie for Cannes top prize

New movies from Atom Egoyan, Clint Eastwood, Steven Soderbergh and Wim Wenders will compete for the top prize at the upcoming Cannes International Film Festival, organizers announced in Paris Wednesday.

Canadian director Egoyan is also among the 19 directors who will vie for the Palme d'Or at the famed French festival in May.

The Toronto filmmaker's new title, Adoration, revolves around a teen who believes he is the offspring of a doomed historical couple. The film also deals with how today's youth define themselves through technology.

Eastwood will bring his 1920s-era thriller The Changeling to the 61st edition of the festival, while Soderbergh will present Che, his Che Guevara biopic starring Benicio Del Toro.

Other celebrated international filmmakers competing this year will include Germany's Wenders, with The Palermo Shooting, and Linha De Passe from Brazil's Walter Salles.

Rounding out the competition lineup are:

24 City, directed by Jia Zhangke (China).

A Christmas Story, directed by Arnaud Desplechin (France).

Delta, directed by Kornel Mondruczo (Hungary/Germany).

Gomorra, directed by Matteo Garrone (Italy).

Il Divo, directed by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy).

La Mujer Sin Cabeza, directed by Lucretia Martel (Argentina/Spain).

La Frontiere De L'Aube, directed by Philippe Garrel (France).

Le Silence De Lorna, directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (France/Belgium).

Leonera, directed by Pablo Trapero (Argentina/South Korea).

My Magic, directed by Eric Khoo (Singapore).

Three Monkeys, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey/France/Italy).

Serbis, directed by Brillante Mendoza (Philippines).

Synecdoche, New York, directed by Charlie Kaufman (USA/France).

Waltz With Bashir, directed by Ari Folman (Israel).

Films to be screened out of competition include Steven Spielberg's eagerly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Woody Allen's latest, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and the animated comedy Kung-Fu Panda.

Screening in other programs are films from Emir Kusturica (Maradona), Terence Davies (Of Time and City), Wong Kar Wai (Ashes of Time Redux) and Marina Zenovich (Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired).

Oscar-winning U.S. actor and director Sean Penn will helm this year's jury.

His judging panel will also include U.S. actress Natalie Portman, German actress Alexandra Maria Lara and four filmmakers: Mexico's Alfonso Cuaron, France's Rachid Bouchareb, Italy's Sergio Castellitto and Thailand's Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

The Cannes film festival runs May 14 to 25.

Megan Fox tops FHM's sexiest women list

LOS ANGELES - Megan Fox is the sexiest woman in the world — at least according to FHM magazine.

The "Transformers" co-star tops FHM's annual 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll of FHM readers. The 21-year-old model-actress beat out the likes of Angelina Jolie (No. 12), Rihanna (No. 14), Kim Kardashian (No. 17), Paris Hilton (No. 77) and last year's champion, Jessica Alba (No. 3).

Fox debuted on the annual list in 2006 at No. 68 and ranked at No. 65 in 2007. Joining her in the top 10 this year are — in descending order — Jessica Biel, Alba, Elisha Cuthbert, Scarlett Johansson, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Hilary Duff, Tricia Helfer, Blake Lively and Kate Beckinsale. Britney Spears came in last place at No. 100.

The women from MTV's "The Hills" duke it out on the list with Heidi Montag (No. 44) beating out Audrina Patridge (No. 80) and Lauren Conrad (No. 95). Current "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Shannon Elizabeth (No. 46) returned to the ranking after being absent last year, joining professional dancers Cheryl Burke (No. 40) and Karina Smirnoff (No. 78).

FHM said nearly 9 million votes were cast for the 14th edition of the annual poll.

New CD Releases, April 22: Ashlee Simpson, Flight of the Conchords, Lyrics Born

Ashlee Simpson "Bittersweet World"

Jessica's younger sister returns with her third album, which follows 2004's "Autobiography" and 2005's "I Am Me." "Bittersweet World" includes the single "Little Miss Obsessive," which features guest vocals from Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T's.

Simpson has been supporting "Bittersweet World" with a bevy of radio spots, Wal-Mart in-store appearances, midnight club gigs and TV appearances. Plans reportedly are also in the works for a summer tour.

* * *
Flight of the Conchords "Flight of the Conchords"

The self-titled, full-length debut from comedy/music act Flight of the Conchords is finally set to land in stores. "Flight of the Conchords" follows the group's 2007 EP, "The Distant Future," which won this year's Grammy for Best Comedy Album.

Comedians/musicians Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement have been flying high ever since their hit TV series "Flight of the Conchords" premiered on HBO last summer. The show follows the trials and tribulations of a digi-folk duo from New Zealand as they try to make a name for themselves in their adopted home of New York City. The series is expected to return for a second season next year.

The Conchords will support the new album with a 12-show, coast-to-coast trek that includes a two-night stand in New York City and a performance at George, WA's Sasquatch! Festival.

* * *
Lyrics Born "Everywhere at Once"

The San Francisco Bay Area rapper is back with a follow-up to his acclaimed concert disc, "Lyrics Born Live." The hip-hop star, whose real name is Tom Shimura, is best known for his popular single "Callin' Out," which also served as the soundtrack to a Diet Coke commercial that starred actor Adrien Brody.

* * *
Whitesnake "Good to be Bad"

The melodic heavy metal troupe is finally ready to break its silence and release its first album of new studio material since 1997's "Restless Heart." The group was last heard on its 2006 concert offering, "Live: In the Shadow of the Blues." All 11 tracks on "Good to be Bad" were written by Whitesnake's David Coverdale and Doug Aldrich.

* * *

Donny Osmond "From Donny With Love"

This new compilation focuses on the love songs from Osmond's lengthy catalog. The 18-track offering includes such fan favorites as "Puppy Love," "Let's Stay Together" and "Right Here Waiting."

* * *
More new releases:
Atmosphere, "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That (Expletive) Gold" (Rhymesayers)
Billy Bragg, "Mr. Love & Justice" (Anti)
Armin van Buuren, "Imagine" (Ultra)
Elbow, "The Seldom Seen Kid" (Geffen)
Carole King, "Tapestry-Legacy Edition" (Sony)
Love, "Forever Changes" (Rhino)
Replacements, "Hootenanny" (Rhino)
Replacements, "Let It Be" (Rhino)
Replacements, "Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash" (Rhino)
Replacements, "Stink" (Rhino)
Tantric, "The End Begins" (Silent Majority)
Tokyo Police Club, "Elephant Shell" (Saddle Creek)
Phil Vassar, "Prayer of a Common Man" (Universal)
The Weepies, "Hideaway" (Nettwerk)

Soundtracks and scores:
"John Adams" (Varese)

Night Ranger tours behind new album

Veteran rockers Night Ranger are getting ready to release their first studio album in a decade and have launched a world tour to support it.

The band, which is currently in Japan, will return to North America in time to kick off its spring and summer jaunt May 11 in Oklahoma City, OK. The primarily US tour includes a June 14 stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and an Aug. 9 gig in Windsor, Ontario. On select shows, Night Ranger will team with REO Speedwagon; Foreigner; Styx and Boston; and Cinderella and Warrant.

So far, Night Ranger's schedule shows a steady string of dates through late August, with one-off gigs in September and October. Confirmed shows are listed below, and more performances are expected, according to a press release.

Night Ranger--which comprises original members Jack Blades (bass/vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums/vocals) and Brad Gillis (guitarist), along with guitarist Joel Hoekstra and keyboardist Christian Cullen--is commemorating its 25th anniversary with the July 1 US release of "Hole in the Sun." The self-produced set--Night Ranger's eighth studio album and first for VH1 Classic Records--is said to capture the vintage spirit of the '80s rockers.

"We wanted to sound new, but still keep our roots," Keagy said in a statement. "We grew up in the '70s, when pop music was really starting to thrive. Sometimes it drove you crazy because the songs were so poppy that you couldn't get them out of your head, but they were still amazing songs. We wanted to portray some of that on this album."

A couple of tracks from "Hole in the Sun" are streaming at Night Ranger's MySpace page.

The band has been supporting the new album with tour dates all over the world in the past few months, including a stop at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay to perform for US military personnel.

"Going to Guantanamo Bay Cuba to play for the troops is right up there as one of the wildest things Night Ranger has ever done," Blades said in a press release. "We've been all over the world, but never have we sung '(You Can Still) Rock in America' in a Communist country with armed Cubans watching us in guard towers just a few clicks away."

Night Ranger reached rock stardom with the 1982 release of its debut album, "Dawn Patrol," which spawned hits including "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" and "Sing Me Away." The following year's "Midnight Madness" garnered even more success with radio hits "Sister Christian" and "(You Can Still) Rock in America."

May 2008
11 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheatre (with REO Speedwagon)
22 - Trinidad, CA - Cher-Ae Heights Casino
25 - St. Louis, MO - Soldiers Memorial Park

June 2008
7 - West Wendover, NV - Montego Bay Casino & Resort
14 - San Juan, Puerto Rico - Anfiteatro Tito Puente
19 - Oshkosh, WI - Waterfest Concert Series
20 - Brookville, IN - Bicentennial Celebration
21 - Sioux City, IA - The Awesome Biker Rally
22 - The Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (with Styx/Boston)
28 - Cheyenne, WY - William H. Brimmer Amphitheatre

July 2008
2 - Arlington Heights, IL - Frontier Days Festival
3 - Hays, KS - Frontier Park
4 - Glenview, IL - Great Lakes Naval Base
5 - Kettering, OH - Fraze Pavilion at Lincoln Park
6 - San Jose, CA - Discovery Meadow Park
11 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma
12 - Grapevine, TX - Glass Cactus at Gaylord Texan
19 - Fort Smith, AR - Harry E. Kelly Park
25 - St. Clair, MI - Palmer Park
26 - Maquoketa, IA - Jackson County Fair Iowa
27 - Lake Ozark, MO - Horny Toad Entertainment Complex

August 2008
2 - Rifle, CO - Garfield County Fair
9 - Windsor, Ontario - Lakeshore Soccer Park
10 - Des Moines, IA - Iowa State Fair/Grandstand (with Cinderella/Warrant)
17 - St. Joseph, MO - Trails West Festival
23 - Tower, MN - Fortune Bay Casino
30 - Pittsburgh, PA - Heinz Field
31 - Sparks, NV - John Ascuaga's Nugget

September 2008
28 - Jackpot, NV - Cactus Petes Casino/Ameristar Amphitheater (with Foreigner)

October 2008
1 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa State Fair

'30 Rock,' 'Scrubs' Swap Timeslots

It seems almost fitting that as its time on NBC winds down, "Scrubs" would have to deal with one more time-slot change.

The long-running comedy, whose NBC finale is coming in a few weeks, will move to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays starting this week. It's switching places with "30 Rock," which will move to the 9:30 p.m. spot following "The Office."

The switch gives "30 Rock" a stronger lead-in. Since its return on April 10, "The Office" has averaged about 9.5 million viewers and a 4.8 rating among adults 18-49, compared to 6.9 million and 2.8 for "My Name Is Earl," which previously served as "30 Rock's" lead-in.

Over the past couple of weeks, "Scrubs" has averaged just under 7 million viewers, compared to 6.1 million for "30 Rock." Its adults 18-49 and adults 18-34 ratings have also been significantly higher, thanks in part to airing after "The Office."

"Scrubs" has bounced around the NBC schedule throughout its seven-season run, undergoing more than 15 timeslot changes in that time. It may go through one more significant change once its time on NBC ends -- there's a good chance the Disney-produced show could end up on Disney-owned ABC next year.

Elvis Costello Reveals All About 'Momofuku'

Elvis Costello has taken to his Web site to reveal the story behind "Momofuku," his new album that was released exclusively on vinyl today (April 22).

The album includes a download card that can be activated on May 1; a CD release follows on May 6 via Lost Highway.

"The absence of much advance notice or information might seem a little strange and perverse but the record was made so quickly that I didn't even tell myself about it for a couple weeks," Costello says.

The sessions for "Momofuku" were inspired by work Costello did on Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis' forthcoming solo album, which featured Costello's Imposters bandmates Davey Faragher (bass) and Pete Thomas (drums).

Afterward, he booked a Los Angeles studio for six days in February to record eight newly written songs. One other song, "Song With Rose," sports lyrics co-written with Rosanne Cash, while "Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve" came out of a writing session with Loretta Lynn last year.

Thomas' daughter Tennessee, who plays drums in the Like, guests on "Stella Hurt," while Lewis and her beau Johnathan Rice contributed to a number of the tracks. As many as nine musicians played on "Turpentine" and "Song for Rose," which Costello calls "a fine old noise."

"Every record has its own method. This was the one for these songs," Costello says. As for the unusual name, it is not related to the hip New York restaurant Momofuku Noodle Bar, bur rather "a tribute to Momofuku Ando, the inventor of the Cup Noodle. Like so many things in this world of wonders, all we had to do to make this record was add water."

Alison Moyet fulfils wish with Yazoo reunion

LONDON (Billboard) - For Alison Moyet, the upcoming Yazoo reunion tour represents a chance to complete some unfinished business.

Although the British singer has carved out a hugely successful career as a solo artist since parting ways with her Yazoo protagonist Vince Clarke in the early 1980s, Moyet says she has always hankered to play the duo's electro-driven pop hits on stage.

"I wanted to do it, and never stopped wanting to do it," she tells Billboard. "If it had been one gig, it would have been good. I just wanted to do it."

As it turns out, the public wanted more than one gig. The duo's Reconnected tour itinerary has grown significantly since it was first announced last year. It will now begin May 26 in Copenhagen and proceed to Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"I don't know how much of a window we'll be able to get in that kind of time," Moyet says of potential additional dates. "And I don't know how long that window's going to stay open for. We've had some really interesting things we've had to turn down just because of logistics. I like to not know things too far in advance because I get cabin fever."

Yazoo (or Yaz as they are known in the U.S.) enjoyed a brief, but fruitful recording career, which yielded just two albums. Both sets, "Upstairs at Eric's" and "You and Me Both," were commercial and critical successes, and generated a raft of hit singles including "Only You," "Don't Go" and "Nobody's Diary."

Next month, "In Your Room," a four-disc collection of remasters, remixes, B-sides, a DVD and the band's two studio albums will hit stores. Would Moyet consider recording new material?

"I hate the idea of just making a record because we can," she says. "It would have to be if when we were together and sparking creatively and we get some great ideas, we would consider it. There's absolutely no set-in-stone plan. But if we wrote a brilliant song while we were half-pissed after a gig, then that'd be fantastic. But if we don't, then f--k it."

Asbury Park's Stone Pony to host Federici memorial

ASBURY PARK, N.J. - Friends and fans of keyboardist Danny Federici will gather at the famous Stone Pony nightclub Wednesday evening to pay tribute to the original E Street Band member who died at 58 Thursday after a three-year battle with melanoma.

Federici had performed with Bruce Springsteen since the late 1960s and became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen emerged from the Jersey shore club scene to achieve international stardom.

Stone Pony house promoter Kyle Brendle said those attending would have the opportunity to share their memories of Danny and would be invited to contribute to a memorial fund set up in his memory at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

'Corner Gas' pumped for finale

Corner Gas has only two finales left, and one of them is tonight.

The popular Canadian sitcom will air its fifth-season finale this evening on CTV. This comes on the heels of the announcement that season No. 6 will be the last for the show.

Fans can expect something special tonight, as regularly has been the case with the previous season-finales of Corner Gas.

Remember last year when we all were set up to believe that massive changes had occurred? And then, well, nothing actually changed. It was all a dream, and life went on as usual in Dog River.

As things begin tonight, it's 30 minutes before midnight, at which point Brent -- played by series creator Brent Butt -- will turn 40.

As you would expect, the other seven main characters -- Lacey, Wanda, Hank, Oscar, Emma, Davis and Karen -- are planning a big bash. But as you equally would expect, those party plans go awry.

With the final season set to begin shooting next month in Saskatchewan, Butt said he has taken the time to appreciate what a unique endeavour Corner Gas has been. After all, Canadian sitcoms usually stink; and even when they're good, usually nobody watches; so to have one that doesn't stink and people actually watch it, too? Well, sound the trumpets.

"It was an anomaly and the likelihood of having a million and a half people watch whatever I do next is pretty slim," admitted Butt, who presumably will continue to develop other projects for CTV.

'SMELL THE AUTHENTICITY'

"So I am kind of intellectually aware of that aspect. But the idea isn't to create Corner Gas again. The idea is to do the same thing I did with Corner Gas, which is, not worry about what the response is or how many people watch. Just worry about doing a funny show, and then no matter what happens, you can walk away with your head held high."

Corner Gas also has benefited from the fact that it isn't directed at any specific portion of the TV audience.

"One of the things I was most appreciative of was that CTV never gave me a demographic to write to, or any type of agenda," Butt said. "And I think people smell the authenticity of that, or felt it, you know?

"They knew we weren't trying to be something we weren't. A lot of shows try to be hip and edgy and adult, and generally fail, right? I always have found it kind of ironic that shows that consider themselves 'adult' are often the same type of show somebody in Grade 7 would write. 'And then they jump into bed and have sex, and then they go skateboarding.' "

Hmmm ... have you copyrighted that one, Brent?

In any event, tonight isn't the end of Corner Gas, but merely the beginning of the end.

"It's one of those things, kind of a no-win situation in a way," Butt said of the decision to stamp an expiry date on his pride and joy. "But I have no doubt this was the right time.

"That's the rock I'm hanging onto through all this. Whenever I seriously ask myself, 'Was this the right time?' the answer always comes back, 'Yes.' "

AC/DC confirms new album in the works in Vancouver

Australian hard rockers AC/DC have announced they will be releasing their first album in eight years, to be launched in 2008.

"The waiting is almost over! AC/DC fans can expect the band's next album of new material sometime later this year," the band said in a posting on its website Friday.

"The band are currently recording in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien and long-time audio engineer Mike Fraser," they added.

It will be the band's first work of new material since the release of Stiff Upper Lip in 2000, which opened at No. 7 on the Billboard charts and sparked a year-long world tour.

O'Brien has worked with major bands including Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Velvet Revolver.

"He's a great guy," AC/DC singer Brian Johnson said about O'Brien in an interview with Los Angeles radio station KLSX Free FM on Friday.

"He knows exactly what we want, and so far, it sounds really good. I'm well pleased."

Johnson said he believes a tour will be in the offing but would not confirm it.

"Everybody's enjoying being back together again and the buzz is still there and the excitement."

Formed in 1973, AC/DC's list of rock anthems includes Thunderstruck, Let There Be Rock, You Shook Me All Night Long, Whole Lotta Rosie and Highway to Hell.

The band, whose only remaining original members are founding brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide.

AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2003.

'Forbidden Kingdom' fights to top of box office with $20.9M

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A martial arts dream team — Jackie Chan and Jet Li — won the weekend as their movie matchup "The Forbidden Kingdom" debuted at No. 1 with $20.9 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The tale of a modern American teen hurtled back in time to a kung fu adventure in ancient China, "The Forbidden Kingdom" features Asian superstars Chan and Li in multiple roles and their first big-screen duel.

"I couldn't believe it had never been done before," said Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Co. released "The Forbidden Kingdom" along with partner Lionsgate.

Universal's romantic comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," starring Jason Segel as a nice guy who's dumped by his glamorous girlfriend (Kristen Bell), opened in second place with $17.3 million. It's the latest from producer Judd Apatow ("Knocked Up").

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the slasher remake "Prom Night," fell to third with $9.1 million, raising its total to $32.6 million.

Al Pacino's serial killer thriller "88 Minutes," from Sony's TriStar Pictures, was a dud, premiering at No. 4 with $6.8 million. The movie stars Pacino as a crime profiler who receives a call telling him he has 88 minutes to live.

"Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," a rare documentary opening in wide release, debuted at No. 9 with $3.1 million. Released by Rocky Mountain Pictures, the film features Ben Stein as he challenges Darwinian theories that prevail in academic circles and suggests that life could have emerged through intelligent design.

In narrower release, the Weinstein Co. documentary "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?" bombed with just $143,299 in 102 theaters, averaging a paltry $1,405 a cinema. "Forbidden Kingdom" averaged $6,623 in 3,151 theaters.

A globe-trotting hunt for the al-Qaida leader, "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?" was directed by Morgan Spurlock, who made the hit documentary "Super Size Me."

With a PG-13 rating, "The Forbidden Kingdom" proved a family friendly film compared to more action-intense martial arts flicks. The movie is part of a new Asian line of films from the Weinstein Co., including an upcoming remake of "Seven Samurai."

"I have three daughters who have never seen a martial arts movie, and they loved this," Weinstein said. "A lot of females identify with it. That's the audience that's going to grow. I think we'll get young girls and moms next weekend."

Overall receipts were up for the first time in a month as Hollywood lumbers through a prolonged dry spell. The top 12 movies took in $82.1 million, up 12 percent from the same weekend last year.

"There is a collective sigh of relief in Hollywood," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "This is overdue and much needed as we head toward the beginning of the summer season."

Movie attendance is running 6.5 percent behind that of 2007, according to Media By Numbers.

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 Forbidden Kingdom," $20.9 million.
2. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," $17.3 million.
3. "Prom Night," $9.1 million.
4. "88 Minutes," $6.8 million.
5. "Nim's Island," $5.7 million.
6. "21," $5.5 million.
7. "Street Kings," $4 million.
8. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!", $3.5 million.
9. "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," $3.1 million.
10. "Leatherheads," $3 million.

The Couch Potato Report - April 19th, 2008

This week The Couch Potato Report peels one film that you have heard of, and three you might not have.

It is inevitable when a film does well at the box office, receives critical acclaim, AND garners multiple Academy Award nominations, that there will be at least one person who says they don't like it, or that they have problems with it.

Well, when it comes to this week's Hot Potato - the four-time Oscar nominated, $140 million box office success, made in British Columbia film JUNO - on this day, that one person is me.

Admittedly, I am a huge fan of the last 38 minutes of the movie…but with few exceptions, the first 58 minutes just didn't work for me.

And I attribute that to two things - the lead actress, Oscar nominee Ellen Page - and the majority of the dialogue, which even Diablo Cody won an Oscar for it, just seems fake.

Now I know that people who are very close friends sometimes talk to each other in shorthand,...we all use slang in our daily conversations, and that is true whether you are a teenager, or haven't been in years, so I could have been able to cut the film some slack for that, but that slack goes out the window when our lead character - a 16 year old who is faced with an unplanned pregnancy and decides to give it up for adoption - meets the people she is going to give the baby to, and their lawyer, and she talks to them the same way she talks to her friends.

It was at moments such as those that I actually found the lead character unlikeable.

No, the dialogue in the first 58 minutes of JUNO did not ring true, or appeal to me, even though it won an Oscar. It is self indulgent, not very witty, and I think it hurts the movie.

The other reason I had a problem with The first 58 minutes of JUNO, and I also just didn't care for the actress who plays Juno, Halifax's Ellen Page - who received an Oscar nomination as Best Actress for her work.

The problem that I have with Page is the fact that she plays the same character in every film....she always plays the "I'm smarter than you, know it all teen." She did it in this film, she did it in the film HARD CANDY in 2005, and if you go to see the film SMART PEOPLE, which is in theatres right now, she is playing the same character again!!

Alright, enough negativity...that is what I didn't like about JUNO...let me get to what I liked, because even with a self-indulgent first hour, there is a lot to like in this film...and it all starts when Juno runs into Jennifer Garner's Vanessa, the woman she is giving her baby to, in the mall and Vanessa puts her hands on Juno's very pregnant stomach.

That scene is magic, and at that point of the movie, even the filmmakers seem to realize that the forced and indulgent dialogue, and the fact that Page is playing Juno as the "I'm smarter than you, know it all teen." has to end, and it becomes a very entertaining film.

One with real people, in real situations, dealing with the problems they encounter - however unfortunate - the way that you and I might, and I think that is why it struck a chord with audiences the way it has.

I loved the last 38 minutes of JUNO...however, the film has to be looked at as an entire 96 minute piece...so would I recommend it to you?

I would...even with all of it's flaws in the first two-thirds, there are still some entertaining and funny moments, and the script allows Juno's parents to seem like real people, not movie people...so I happily tell you that this is a film that I think you should see.

And if you don't care for the film at the start, just know that it builds to a beautiful conclusion!


Okay, four other films to get to this week, and I will start with BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, the latest from the director who gave us TWELVE ANGRY MEN, SEPRICO, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and THE VERDICT.

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD is a great, tension filled heist picture about two down-on-their-luck brothers who organize the robbery of their parents' jewelery store, but the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that change the lives of everyone around them.

This film has a tremendous cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Albert Finney and Marissa Tomei, and it is very well written, but it starts off so stong that just can't maintain it's frantic and unique pace for the entire film...in fact it really slows down toward the end, but it is still very interesting and engaging, and you will definitely want to see how it all wraps up.

That is not the case with RESERVATION ROAD, as tragic as the story is at the centre of this picture, you might not care how it ends.

One night, a family stops at a gas station and their young son Josh wanders off toward the road.

Dwight is driving past the same station with his son in the SUV when he accidentally swerves over to the other lane and hits Josh.

He knows he has hit a kid, he is the only witness, but he doesn't stop.

Haunted by the tragedy, both fathers - Dwight and Ethan - wrestle with their new lives and their new realities.

Will Dwight turn himself in?

Will Ethan find his son's killer before he goes insane?

RESERVATION ROAD features Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo as the fathers, and has Oscar winners Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino in supporting roles as their wives, but while the cast is great, and the script has a few unique twists and turns, ultimately this is not a film that I can recommend. It is just too slow, and takes waaay too long to get to it's conclusion.

Now, the suspence thriller P2 is a film that I recommend...especially if you you enjoy smart and interesting films with a horrific twist, no matter how uncomfortable they make you while you watch them!

Filmed in Toronto, P2 is about a businesswoman who is being pursued by a pursued by a psychopath after being locked in a parking garage on Christmas Eve.

Yes, there are some very predictable moments in this film, but there are also more than a few plot elements and twists that we haven't seen before, plus there are several horrific scenes that aren't for the faint of heart.

If you enjoy suspence thriller or horror films, then P2 is a must see!

And if you do enjoy those types of movies, then perhaps you were part of the audience that made the remake of the 1980 film PROM NIGHT number one at the Box Office last weekend.

The first PROM NIGHT film came out in 1980, and it was a very original horror film, in it's day, and a huge success, spawning three sequels, which each had less and less in common with the original, and each were less and less worthy of your time.

However, in the unique first one, a masked killer stalks four teens responsible for the accidential death of a child six years earlier at their high school's senior prom.

THE PROM NIGHT COLLECTION contains the original four films in the series, and if you are fans of them, then this box set is for you.

Plus, it contains one of the last serious roles that Saskatchewan's own Leslie Nielsen did before he became a comedic actor with the release of AIRPLANE!

THE PROM NIGHT COLLECTION, the interesting suspence thriller P2, the not great film RESERVATION ROAD, the tension filled BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, and JUNO - the Academy Award winning film that has a great final 38 minutes, but a not-as-great first hour - are all available now on DVD.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling stars as a man who falls in love with a life size mannequin in LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

And the made-in-Calgary film RESURRECTING THE CHAMP is about a reporter who meets a homeless man who may just be a former boxing champion.

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!

Bryan Adams gets intimate with US fans

Bryan Adams has booked a string of intimate, solo-acoustic shows across the US next month to promote his new album, "11."

The 16-date trek is scheduled to kick off May 3 in New York City and make its way to California by mid-month. Dates have already sold out in the Big Apple, Boston and the Baltimore area, according to Adams' website.

Following his solo run, the veteran Canadian rocker will head to Europe for six weeks and then return to the US for another round of dates in July and August. The summer tour, which launches July 15 in Augusta, ME, pairs Adams with Foreigner through July 26 and Rod Stewart thereafter. Adams will follow that with another European jaunt in the fall. American dates are detailed below and Adams' overseas shows are listed at his website.

The singer/songwriter's new album, "11," has already shot to No. 1 in Canada and will be released May 13 in the US exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, according to a press release. The set will also be available at walmart.com in CD and MP3 formats.

Appropriately enough, "11" is Adams' 11th album of original music and it features 11 songs that he recorded in hotel rooms and backstage areas of concert venues across Europe over the last two years. A couple of songs from the record are streaming at his MySpace page.

Adams' previous studio album, "Room Service," was released in the US in 2005 and marked his first set of new music in almost seven years, with the exception of the 2002 film soundtrack for "Spirit," which Adams composed and performed in English and French. A single from the soundtrack, "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," scored a Grammy for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture.

Meanwhile, Adams continues to make a name for himself in the photography world, exhibiting his work all over the globe. The Canadian Music Hall of Famer recently shot the 2008 ad campaign for Guess, all the proceeds from which will be donated to his namesake charitable foundation, according to a statement.

May 2008
3 - New York, NY - The Concert Hall
4 - Towson, MD - Recher Theatre
5 - New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
6 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
7 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
8 - Rochester, NY - Water Street Music Hall
9 - Albany, NY - Lewis Swyer Theatre at The Egg
10 - Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
12 - Long Island, NY - YMCA Boulton Center
13 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theatre
14 - Orlando, FL - B.B. King's Blues Club
15 - Columbus, OH - Southern Theatre
16 - Minneapolis, MN - Pantages Theatre
17 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
18 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
19 - Hollywood, CA - Roxy Theatre

July 2008
15 - Augusta, ME - Augusta Civic Center*
16 - Mashantucket, CT - MGM Grand at Foxwoods Casino*
18 - Portsmouth, VA - nTelos Wireless Pavilion*
19 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater*
20 - Alpharetta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater*
22 - Jacksonville, FL - Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena*
24 - Selma, TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater*
25 - Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion*
26 - Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center*
30 - Paso Robles, CA - California Mid-State Fair**

August 2008
1 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater**
2 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand**
5 - Hoffman Estates, IL - Sears Center Arena**
6 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theater**
8 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center**
9 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center**

*Shows with Foreigner
**Shows with Rod Stewart

Jackie Chan, Jet Li set for box office supremacy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Action heroes Jackie Chan and Jet Li will grab the keys to the "Kingdom" at the North American box office this weekend.

"The Forbidden Kingdom," a martial arts fantasy that marks their first onscreen pairing, is likely to bow at No. 1 with up to $20 million during its first three days.

"We'll be very happy with a gross of $15 million or beyond, but tracking certainly indicates that we have a shot at doing in the high teens or better," said Steve Rothenberg, president of distribution at Lionsgate, which is partnered on the project with the Weinstein Co.

"Kingdom," directed by Rob Minkoff ("Stuart Little"), has earned mixed early reviews but should attract mostly younger moviegoers who eschew critics' brickbats.

Universal has mounted an edgy campaign for its R-rated comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," with billboard messages including "You suck, Sarah Marshall" getting lots of free ink.

"It's nice when people out there comment, almost completely positively, about a campaign," said Adam Fogelson, Universal's president of worldwide marketing and distribution. "But clever for the sake of clever doesn't win you anything."

Toss in solid reviews, and you might have something. Fortuitously, prerelease tracking on "Marshall" doesn't suck, so a bow in the mid-teen millions seems safely within reach.

If the tough-to-track college crowd comes out in big numbers for "Marshall" -- which counts comedy kingpin Judd Apatow among its producers -- something a bit more lucrative could be in the offing. Apatow's openings have proven hard to forecast, but the April slotting for "Marshall" suggests that it should bow somewhere between the $21.4 million rung up by "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" in August 2005 and last month's disappointing $10.3 million debut for "Drillbit Taylor."

Elsewhere, Sony's thriller "88 Minutes" has drawn tough reviews. Yet it appears that the Al Pacino starrer could fetch as much as $10 million, targeting older moviegoers.

Also this weekend, the creation-theory documentary "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" opens in 1,000-plus locations. It purports an establishment conspiracy to keep the "intelligent design" creation theory from being discussed in public schools, with actor-pundit Ben Stein serving as interviewer.

Advance ticket sales through church groups have been robust, and a bow in the single-digit millions seems likely.

E Street Band mamber Danny Federici dies at 58

NEW YORK (AP) — Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising," died Thursday. He was 58.

Federici, who had battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. News of his death was posted late Thursday on Springsteen's official Web site.

According to published reports, Federici last performed with Springsteen and the band last month, appearing during portions of a March 20 show in Indianapolis.

Springsteen concerts scheduled for Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Saturday in Orlando were postponed after news of Federici's death.

He was born in Flemington, N.J., a long car ride from the Jersey shore haunts where he first met kindred musical spirit Springsteen in the late 1960s. The pair often jammed at the Upstage Club in Asbury Park, N.J., a now-defunct after-hours club that hosted the best musicians in the state.

It was Federici, along with original E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, who first invited Springsteen to join their band.

By 1969, the self-effacing Federici — often introduced in concert by Springsteen as "Phantom Dan" — was playing with the Boss in a band called Child. Over the years, Federici joined his friend in acclaimed shore bands Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and the Bruce Springsteen Band.

Federici became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen rocketed from the boardwalk to international stardom. Springsteen split from the E Streeters in the late '80s, but they reunited for a hugely successful tour in 1999.

"Bruce has been supportive throughout my life," Federici said in a recent interview with Backstreets magazine. "I've had my ups and downs, and I've certainly given him a run for his money, and he's always been there for me."

Federici played accordion on the wistful "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" from Springsteen's second album, and his organ solo was a highlight of Springsteen's first top 10 hit, "Hungry Heart." His organ coda on the 9/11-inspired Springsteen song "You're Missing" provided one of the more heart-wrenching moments on "The Rising" in 2002.

In a band with larger-than-life characters such as saxophonist Clarence Clemons and bandana-wrapped guitarist "Little" Steven Van Zandt, Federici was content to play in his familiar position to the side of the stage. But his playing was as vital to Springsteen's live show as any instrument in the band.

Federici released a pair of solo albums that veered from the E Street sound and into soft jazz. Bandmates Nils Lofgren on guitar and Garry Tallent on bass joined Federici on his 1997 debut, "Flemington." In 2005, Federici released its follow-up, "Out of a Dream."

Federici had taken a leave of absence during the band's tour in November 2007 to pursue treatment for melanoma, and was temporarily replaced by veteran musician Charles Giordano.

At the time, Springsteen described Federici as "one of the pillars of our sound and has played beside me as a great friend for more than 40 years. We all eagerly await his healthy and speedy return."

Besides his work with Springsteen, Federici played on albums by an impressive roster of other artists: Van Zandt, Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker, Gary U.S. Bonds and Garland Jeffreys.

Outraged, disrespected Canadians go on strike on 'South Park'

Canada-baiting has been a hilarious feature of the popular "South Park" animated show for years, and now Canadians on the weekly series are saying enough is enough.

In an episode airing Friday night entitled "Canada on Strike," outraged Canadians go on strike when "Canada Appreciation Day" in the U.S. does not bring their native land the respect they think it deserves.

With echoes of the recent Hollywood screenwriters' strike, the head of the World Canadian Bureau leads the country into the protracted strike. They're quickly replaced by Danes - calling themselves the "Canadians of Europe" - who show up to cross picket lines and take their place.

It's up to Cartman and the gang, longtime Canadian sympathizers, to negotiate a settlement for the long-suffering Canucks. In the meantime, flatulent Canadian duo Terrance and Phillip are conflicted about whether to join the strike, instead working to uncover the truth behind the cost of the walkout.

The show airs Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET on the Comedy Network.

Collection Of Early Beach Boys Hits Set For June Release

A new box set of Beach Boys' singles from their early days at Capitol Records will be released June 10 as a limited edition box set, as well as a digital download, according to a press release.

The 16-CD limited edition boxed set, "The Beach Boys: U.S. Singles Collection - The Capitol Years (1962-1965)," will feature original singles and their B-sides. The collection also will include additional versions of most tracks, ranging from mono and stereo mixes to live recordings. The collection's 66 tracks also include previously unreleased mixes.

The CD boxed set, featuring "lavish packaging, faithfully reproduced original single artwork and a 48-page hardbound photo book," will feature some of the band's best known hits including "Surfin' Safari," Help Me Rhonda," Surfin' USA," "Surfer Girl," and "Be True To Your School," among numerous others.

'X-Files' movie title is out there: `I Want to Believe'

LOS ANGELES - The truth is finally out there about the new "X-Files" movie title.

The second big-screen spinoff of the paranormal TV adventure will be called "The X-Files: I Want to Believe," Chris Carter, the series' creator and the movie's director and co-writer, told The Associated Press.

Distributor 20th Century Fox signed off on the title Wednesday.

The title is a familiar phrase for fans of the series that starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents chasing after aliens and supernatural happenings. "I Want to Believe" was the slogan on a poster Duchovny's UFO-obsessed agent Fox Mulder had hanging in the cluttered basement office where he and Anderson's Dana Scully worked.

"It's a natural title," Carter said in a telephone interview Tuesday during a break from editing the film. "It's a story that involves the difficulties in mediating faith and science. `I Want to Believe.' It really does suggest Mulder's struggle with his faith."

"I Want to Believe" comes 10 years after the first film and six years after the finale of the series, whose opening credits for much of its nine-year run featured the catch-phrase "the truth is out there."

Due in theaters July 25, the movie will not deal with aliens or the intricate mythology about interaction between humans and extraterrestrials that the show built up over the years, Carter said.

Instead, it casts Mulder and Scully into a stand-alone, earth-bound story aimed at both serious "X-Files" fans and newcomers, he said.

"It has struck me over the last several years talking to college-age kids that a lot of them really don't know the show or haven't seen it," Carter said. "If you're 20 years old now, the show started when you were 4. It was probably too scary for you or your parents wouldn't let you watch it. So there's a whole new audience that might have liked the show. This was made to, I would call it, satisfy everyone."

Hardcore fans need not worry that the movie will be going back to square one, though, Carter said. The movie will be true to the spirit of the show and everything Mulder and Scully went through, he said.

"The reason we're even making the movie is for the rabid fans, so we don't want to insult them by having to take them back through the concept again," Carter said.

Carter said he settled on "I Want to Believe" from the time he and co-writer Frank Spotnitz started on the screenplay. It took so long to go public with it because studio executives wanted to make sure it was a marketable title, he said.

The filmmakers have kept the story tightly under wraps to prevent plot spoilers from leaking on the Internet, a phenomenon that barely existed when the first movie came out in 1998.

"We went to almost comical lengths to keep the story a secret," Carter said. "That included allowing only the key crew members to read the script, and they had to read it in a room that had video cameras trained on them. It was a new experience."

Bruce Springsteen endorses Obama for president

WASHINGTON - Rock star Bruce Springsteen endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president Wednesday, saying "he speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years."

In a letter addressed to friends and fans posted his Web site, Springsteen said he believes Obama is the best candidate to undo "the terrible damage done over the past eight years."

"He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next president," the letter said. "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where '...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.' "

The bard of New Jersey is known for his lyrics about the struggles of working-class Americans, particularly in the economically ravaged factory towns of the Northeast.

Springsteen and his E Street band were part of the Vote for Change tour, a coalition of musicians opposed to the re-election of President Bush in 2004. He wrote the anti-war ballad "Devils and Dust" about Iraq.

Springsteen did not directly mention Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, in his letter, but appeared to take issue with her recent criticisms of comments made by Obama about working-class voters in small towns in Pennsylvania and controversial statements by his pastor.

"Critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships," Springsteen wrote. "While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision ... often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment."

'Potter' fan weeps in court

NEW YORK - A Harry Potter fan who wants to publish an encyclopedic guide to the wildly popular fantasy novels broke down and cried on the witness stand Tuesday as he faced off in federal court against his idol J.K. Rowling.

The British author sued Steven Vander Ark's publisher RDR Books last year, claiming that their "Harry Potter Lexicon" - based on Vander Ark's fan website - infringed on her copyright.

Vander Ark wiped away tears when he was asked to reflect on what the case has done to his relationship with the community of Harry Potter fans. The former middle school librarian, who fell in love with the books in the late 1990s and has devoted years to studying them and indexing their content online, could barely speak.

"It's been . . . it's been," he stammered, choking on his words. "It's been difficult because there has been a lot of criticism, obviously, and that was never the intention. . . . This has been an important part of my life for the last nine years or so."

Vander Ark testified on the second day of a trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, pitting his publishing company, RDR Books, against Rowling and Warner Bros., the maker of the Harry Potter films and owner of all the intellectual property related to the Potter books and movies.

Rowling and the media company are trying to prevent publication of the "Harry Potter Lexicon," which Vander Ark and Michigan-based RDR had sought to publish last fall. Its release was delayed pending the outcome of the suit; Rowling has argued that the book borrows too heavily from her novels.

During his testimony on Tuesday, Vander Ark acknowledged that he, too, had substantial concerns all along about whether publishing an encyclopedia based on Rowling's Potter universe would constitute copyright infringement. He said he was talked into doing it by the publishing company.

Rowling, testified Monday that the Harry Potter characters she created are as dear as her children, too precious to allow an inferior Potter encyclopedia to be published without letting the world know the ordeal is draining her of her will to write.

"I believe that it is sloppy, lazy and that it takes my work wholesale, verbatim. This book constitutes wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work," she said of Vander Ark's effort.

She also said she recently started work on her own encyclopedia but does not expect to complete it for two to three years. If Vander Ark's lexicon is published, "I'm not at all convinced that I would have the will or the heart to continue with my encyclopedia," she said.

The case caused her to stop working on a new novel, as well, she told the packed courtroom.

"It's really decimated my creative work over the last month," she said. "Again, it's very hard to describe to someone who's not engaged in creative writing, but you lose the threads, you worry if you will be able to pick them up again in exactly the same way."

In his opening statement, RDR lawyer Anthony Falzone defended the lexicon as a reference guide, calling it a legitimate effort "to organize and discuss the complicated and very elaborate world of Harry Potter." The small publisher is not contesting that the lexicon infringes upon Rowling's copyright but argues that it is a fair use allowable by law for reference books.

The nonjury trial will be decided by U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson Jr., who must determine whether the use of the material is legal because Vander Ark added his own interpretation, creativity and analysis. The testimony and arguments could last most of the week.

The trial comes eight months after the publication of Rowling's final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The seven books have been published in 64 languages, sold more than 400 million copies and produced a film franchise that has pulled in US$4.5 billion at the worldwide box office.

Charlottetown has concert venue but still no band

The Eagles are coming to Moncton, Paul McCartney seems likely for Halifax, but so far all Charlottetown has confirmed is a place for a big-name artist to play.

At its council meeting Monday, Charlottetown approved the use of lands at Upton Farm, in the north of the city, as a concert venue. More than 12 hectares of land has been set aside, which should easily hold the 30,000 people organizers hope to attract.

But while rumours continue to fly about who might come, time to book an act is growing short. Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee, however, said he's confident Charlottetown will get a concert.

"We've been having off and on discussions with different promoters thinking we would have a site, those discussions could have only gone so far until a site was confirmed," said Lee.

"I feel fairly confident we'll have a concert this summer. Who it's going to be I don't know. Quite honestly, to find an acceptable location was the biggest challenge."

For the last two years the city has hosted major concerts at the Charlottetown Driving Park — the Black Eyed Peas in 2006 and Aerosmith in 2007 — but there were complaints from people living nearby that the concerts were too loud.

Foos, Plant/Krauss, Beck To Rock Austin City Limits

Foo Fighters, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Beck, Manu Chao, John Fogerty, David Byrne, the Raconteurs and the Mars Volta are among the top acts booked for this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival, set for the city's Zilker Park from Sept. 26-28.

The seventh ACL Fest, produced by Austin-based promoter/producer C3 Presents, will feature more than 125 acts over three days. Also on the bill are Gnarls Barkley, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, N.E.R.D., Tegan & Sara, Iron & Wine, G. Love & Special Sauce, Neko Case, Band Of Horses, the Swell Season, Silversun Pickups, Gogol Bordello, Gillian Welch, the Black Keys, Against Me!, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Hot Chip, Spiritualized, Drive-By Truckers, Vampire Weekend and Duffy.

The ACL lineup boasts several acts with a Texas connection, among them Erykah Badu, Robert Earl Keen, Patty Griffin, Eli Young Band, Kevin Fowler, Flyleaf, Roky Erickson, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Black Joe Lewis & the Honey Bears and White Denim.

Three-day passes are available for $170, including fees and a print-at-home option, at ACLfestival.com until sellout or show time. Sponsors are AT&T, AMD, Dell, Austin Ventures, WaMu, BMI, H-E-B, Heineken, Blackstone Winery and Sweet Leaf Tea.

The ACL festival was the fourth-ranked festival in the world in 2007, based on its gross of $11.3 million and attendance of 225,000 from three sold-out days, according to Billboard Boxscore.

Veteran Disney animator Ollie Johnston dies at 95

LOS ANGELES - Ollie Johnston, the last of the "Nine Old Men" who animated "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Fantasia," "Bambi" and other classic Walt Disney films has died. He was 95.

Johnston died of natural causes Monday at a long-term care facility in Sequim, Wash., Walt Disney Studios Vice President Howard E. Green said Tuesday.

"Ollie was part of an amazing generation of artists, one of the real pioneers of our art, one of the major participants in the blossoming of animation into the art form we know today," Roy E. Disney, nephew of Walt Disney and director emeritus of the Walt Disney Co., said in a statement.

Walt Disney lightheartedly dubbed his team of crack animators his "Nine Old Men," borrowing the phrase from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's description of the U.S. Supreme Court's members, who had angered the president by quashing many of his Depression-era New Deal programs.

Although most of Disney's men were in their 20s at the time, the name stuck with them for the rest of their lives.

Perhaps the two most accomplished of the nine were Johnston and his close friend Frank Thomas, who died in 2004 at age 92. The pair, who met as art students at Stanford University in the 1930s, were hired by Disney for $17 a week at a time when he was expanding the studio to produce full-length feature films. Both worked on the first of those features, 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Johnston and Thomas and their families became next-door neighbors in the Los Angeles suburb of Flintridge, and during their 45-minute drive to the Disney Studios each day, they would devise fresh ideas for work.

Johnston worked as an assistant animator on "Snow White," became an animation supervisor on "Fantasia" and "Bambi" and animator on "Pinocchio."

He was especially proud of his work on "Bambi" and its classic scenes, including one depicting the heartbreaking death of Bambi's mother at the hands of a hunter. That scene has brought tears to the eyes of generations of young and old viewers.

"The mother's death showed how convincing we could be at presenting really strong emotion," he remarked in 1999.

Johnston's other credits included "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan" "Lady and the Tramp," "Sleeping Beauty," "101 Dalmatians," "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle Book," "The Aristocats," "Robin Hood" and "The Rescuers."

"(People) know his work. They know his characters. They've seen him act without realizing it," said film historian Leonard Maltin. "He was one of the pillars, one of the key contributors to the golden age of Disney animation."

After Johnston and Thomas retired in 1978, they lectured at schools and film festivals in the United States and Europe and co-authored the books "Bambi; the Story and the Film," "Too Funny for Words," "The Disney Villains" and the epic "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life." They were also the subjects of the 1995 documentary "Frank and Ollie," produced by Thomas' son Ted.

The pair's guide to animation is considered "the bible" among animators, said John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar animation studios and Johnston's longtime friend.

Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. was born on Oct. 31, 1912, in Palo Alto, Calif., where his father was a professor at Stanford. He once noted that he and Thomas "were bound to be thrown together" at the university, as they were two of only six students in its art department at the time. When not in class, they painted landscapes and sold them at a local speakeasy for meal money.

Johnston had planned on becoming a magazine illustrator but fell in love with animation.

"I wanted to paint pictures full of emotion that would make people want to read the stories," he once said. "But I found that here (in animation) was something that was full of life and movement and action, and it showed all those feelings."

Johnston was honored with a Disney Legends Award in 1989 and, in 2005, he was the first animator honored with the National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony.

He was also a major train enthusiast. The backyard of his Flintridge home boasted a hand-built miniature railroad, and Johnston restored and ran a full-size antique locomotive at a former vacation home in Julian, Calif.

Johnston's wife of 63 years, Marie Worthey, died in 2005. Johnston is survived by sons Ken and Rick and daughters-in-law Carolyn Johnston and Teya Priest Johnston. The Walt Disney Studios is planning a life celebration for Johnston. Funeral services will be private.

'Lost,' 'Grey's Anatomy' Tack on Episodes

Fans of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost" will get a little more of the shows they love this season. Eventually.

ABC announced Monday (April 14) that it's adding another episode to each show's season, allowing both to have two-hour season finales. That will make for 17 total episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" for the season and 14 of "Lost" (two short of the initially planned 16).

However, because ABC had scheduled its post-writers' strike episodes so tightly, the finale of "Grey's Anatomy" will force "Lost" off the air for a week in May.

Both shows had been scheduled to end their seasons on Thursday, May 22. Now, though, "Lost" will cede its place on the schedule that night to make room for the two-hour "Grey's Anatomy" finale. It will return on Thursday, May 29 for its own two-hour finale. (Both finales, incidentally, will fall outside Nielsen's May sweeps period, which ends Wednesday, May 21.)

ABC's other Thursday show, "Ugly Betty," will also have its season finale on May 22, as planned.

The network initially ordered five episodes of both series when the strike ended. Once the shows were up and running again, a combination of the ABC wanting the extra hours and the producers of the two shows believing they had more stories to tell resulted in the additional episodes.

Bill Cosby to release rap album in May

LOS ANGELES — Bill Cosby's path has taken him from pudding pops to hip hop.
The 70-year-old has recorded a hip-hop CD set for release next month. Cosby Narratives Vol. 1: State of Emergency blends the comedian's concepts and stories with a hip-hop, pop and jazz soundtrack.

"I do not rap on any of these things," Cosby told The Associated Press Monday. "I wouldn't know how to fix my mouth to say some of the words."

What Cosby does know, though, is that the hip-hop music he hears is profane and degrading. His album is "the opposite of what I think is the profanity for no particular reason, the misogyny for no particular reason. It really looks at the frustration and the anger that a young man may have," he said.

The album, assembled by Cosby's longtime musical collaborator Bill "Spaceman" Patterson, has guest rappers providing the rhymes. The subject matter? "The value of an education. The value of respecting one's self and ... giving (listeners) a chance to raise their self-esteem and confidence," Cosby said.

Patterson said he was surprised when Cosby first inquired about making a rap record — until the comedian revealed he wouldn't be the one doing the rapping.

"People started speculating — is he going to rap about Jell-O Pudding Pops or what?" Patterson said. "But he's always been involved in music and he was there for the first generation of spoken word ... He has always understood rap's potential, but he was appalled by the foul language and the misogyny — the way people used a medium that could be used to elevate people, to open their eyes and provoke thought."

Cosby made the album as a companion to his 2007 best-selling book, Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors. And though he doesn't expect the CD to be a huge hit, it won't be his last hip-hop venture.

"We can do even better," he said. "The next one will be even more cheerleading."

Inauguration alters 2009 Oscar calendar

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - What's more significant: the inauguration of a new U.S. president or the announcement of the year's Oscar nominees? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided politics takes precedence, announcing Monday that it has delayed the nominations announcement by two days.

Oscar nominees are usually revealed on a Tuesday about four weeks before the big show, which is typically held the last Sunday in February. For 2009, though, the targeted Tuesday — Jan. 20 — is Inauguration Day.

So the 81st annual Oscar nominees will be revealed Thursday, Jan. 22, and the Academy Awards will be presented Sunday, Feb. 22 — the earliest Oscars ever.

"It didn't make any sense for us to try to compete with (the inauguration) from a news point of view," academy Executive Administrator Ric Robertson told The Associated Press.

But the change will put the squeeze on the rest of the calendar, Robertson said.

"Ballots are due Jan. 12, and nominations are announced 10 days later, so that's getting pretty close to the minimum," he said. "The most critical path is the balloting-voting process. Since we remain committed, for security reasons, to paper balloting, and all PricewaterhouseCoopers tabulating is done by hand, it's not done by computers. ... They can turn things around quickly but they still need time."

Delaying the nominations also tightens production time for the Oscar telecast, since the show's makeup depends largely on the nominees. Producers of the ceremony usually have four and a half weeks to prepare. In 2009, it will be one month to the day.

"I know that whoever produces the show would like to have more time," Robertson said, "and this will be two days less than they've had in past years."

The 2009 presidential inauguration isn't the first event that prompted the academy to alter its calendar. The Oscar show was moved from the last Sunday in February in 2006 so it wouldn't conflict with the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, Robertson said.

"We have to look at other major global events," he said.

The academy's board of governors decided in 2004 to move the Oscar show from late March to late February to combat "awards fatigue" and "to maintain a higher level of interest and excitement," Robertson said.

Key dates for the 2009 Academy Awards are:

• Dec. 26, 2008: Nominations ballots mailed.

• Jan. 12: Nominations ballots due.

• Jan. 22: Nominees announced.

• Jan. 28: Final ballots mailed.

• Feb. 17: Final ballots due.

• Feb. 22: 81st annual Academy Awards.

Swift, Pickler, win big at CMT awards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Taylor Swift won video of the year and female video for her smash "Our Song" while newcomer Kellie Pickler took home three awards during Monday's Country Music Television awards. "I wrote that song in the 9th grade for a talent show," said the 18-year-old Swift, who won the night's top honor over Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Sugarland.

"I never thought it would be on an album, never thought I'd record it, never thought it would be a single, never thought it would be No. 1 and certainly never thought it would win video and female video of the year."

Pickler, 21, won breakthrough video, tearjerker video and performance of the year for "I Wonder," a song about a daughter's feelings for her mother that she says connects deeply with fans. Like Carrie Underwood, Pickler is a former "American Idol" contestant.

"Thank you 'American Idol,' you are the rocket that launched my career," Pickler said from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Paula Abdul, who introduced Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's performance of "I Need You," remarked, "There are so many 'American Idol' alum here that I feel this is a reunion and I'm a proud mom."

Trace Adkins won best male video for "I Got My Game On." Adkins was something of a surprise winner, topping videos by Chesney, Paisley, Toby Keith and Keith Urban.

"I'm having a good year. So far it's been great. I never felt the support from the fans like I do this year," said Adkins, who recently finished second on NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice."

LeAnn Rimes and Bon Jovi won best collaborative video for the steamy video "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore." Rimes, who accepted the award without Bon Jovi, cracked, "I had a lot of fun rolling around with Jon in bed." Then she looked over at her husband in the crowd and added, "Sorry, honey. I love you. You're hotter."

The show was hosted by "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus and her father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. The pair performed their duet "Ready, Set, Don't Go." During their opening segment, Billy Ray Cyrus joked about his daughter's popularity.

"I know what's going on here, OK. I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday ... it's pretty obvious what you're all doing. You're just using Miley to get to me."

Alison Krauss and former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant won wide open video for their duet "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)."

"I'd like to say how peculiar it is to be here. It's a great honor to have made a record in Nashville that sounds so good. I'd like to thank Don and Phil Everly for getting me through my teenage years, and I'd like to thank Alison for helping me get through my late 50s."

Paisley's "Online" won comedy video, while Sugarland's "Stay" won duo video. The two were the most nominated artists of the night.

The show opened with a skit about Adkins trying to get tickets to the show and featured presidential candidates Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Urban opened the musical portion with "Raise the Barn" and was joined by Brooks & Dunn.

Sugarland, Little Big Town and Jake Owen performed the '80s hit "Life in a Northern Town" by the British folk rock group The Dream Academy.

Snoop Dog joined Jason Aldean to introduce Alan Jackson's performance of "Good Time." The rapper wore a black outfit and cowboy hat in honor of the late Johnny Cash, who he said was the inspiration for his single, "My Medicine."

The fan-voted awards show aired live on CMT from Belmont University in Nashville.

So I Married An Ax Murderer returns in June

So I Married An Ax Murderer has made its way onto Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s release schedule with a new Deluxe Edition DVD and a Blu-Ray Disc version in June.

Comedy sensation Mike Myers stars with Nancy Travis in this hatchet-driven romantic comedy about a wedlock-shy coffee house poet who finally meets the perfect woman. When it comes to love, Charlie Mackenzie has had his share of bad luck: Sherri was a klepto - Charlie still can't find his cat. Jill was unemployed - but Charlie knew she really worked for the Mafia. Pam smelled like soup - beef vegetable soup. Good thing for Charlie these shortcomings become apparent, if only to him. Good thing for Charlie he discovered the truth before things went too far - before he stumbled into MARRIAGE! Because to Charlie the "M" word is just one step away from the fate foretold in that chilling phrase: "Till death do us part." When Charlie meets Harriet Michaels everything changes. Harriet's not like the others. She's smart, sexy, and crazy about Charlie. This time Charlie is determined to overcome the fears that sabotaged his past relationships. This time, he's ready for some commitment. Sure, Harriet may have her shortcomings - but so what? After all those other women, what's the worst she could be? An axe murderer?

No exact details have been announced for this release but we will make sure to keep you posted as soon as exact specs and bonus materials come in.

“So I Married An Axe Murderer” will arrive in storeso n June 17 and will carry a $19.94 sticker price for the DVD version and a $28.95 price tag on the Blu-Ray version.

Lee still gets a Rush

You'd think, at this stage of his career, no performance could give Rush singer/bassist Geddy Lee the butterflies. But he gets them when he knows a show is being recorded for a live album.

"There's always a bit of nerves when you're recording, even though we played about six million shows and we've done so many live recordings that it's getting ridiculous," Lee tells Sun Media. "When you know that you're being recorded you want to put your best foot forward.

"Sometimes that translates into you rising to the occasion, and sometimes that translates into you tightening up a little bit. All you're really after is trying to get an honest impression of what it's like to be at one of our shows musically."

The two-disc, 27-track new album was recorded over two nights last October in Holland. It contains new songs off Snakes & Arrows as well as a bevy of staples such as Freewill, Tom Sawyer and The Spirit of Radio.

The live recording process also went a bit smoother than 2003's Rush In Rio, a one-shot affair that presented several logistical nightmares.

"That was basically cross-your-fingers," Lee says. "With this one, we recorded both nights and there are songs on there from both nights -- so it gives you a bit more comfort. You're a bit more relaxed about it knowing if you screw it up at night one, you can nail it on night two. All in all I think we played very well those two nights."

And unlike groups releasing a combined live CD/DVD package, Rush aren't rushing the DVD portion out until the fall. Lee says the DVD will have the obligatory bonus footage and extras.

"We filmed both nights and it turned out really terrific, we're really quite excited about that," he says.

Rush spent a large chunk of 2007 touring, but they're already on another 49-date North American trek, which kicked off in Puerto Rico on the weekend. They play Canadian shows May 24 in Winnipeg, May 25 in Regina, May 27 in Edmonton, May 29 in Vancouver, June 12 in Montreal and July 9 in Toronto.

Lee says this current leg sees four or five changes in the set list, with some rarities played last year replaced by more signature material.

"We're playing more cities on this tour that we haven't played in quite some time," he says. "And I think those fans kind of want to hear more of the classic tracks."

The request for rarities isn't something the band ignores, but Lee says deciding which ones to dust off isn't an easy process.

"We try them out at rehearsal to see which old songs we can still stomach, and which old songs we can actually improve upon," he says.

Lee also says that the newer songs are often the toughest to pull off in concert, because of their newness and intricacies.

"When we record there are so many layers, that means we have to have a lot of samplers and sequencers that we have to trigger with our feet," he says. "And early in a tour it's always difficult to learn to sing and play at the same time. When you record it you do those things separately."

Rush have a few things in the planning stages, including a new studio album they see somewhere on the horizon. A possible Feedback II covers album of '50s and '60s rock songs is also something Lee doesn't close the door on.

"It would be fun," he says. "I think my manager goes to sleep having dreams that we'll do that. It was really a lot of fun to do and pretty easy. You never know, maybe when we're on the verge of our 50th anniversary."

A Rush documentary is also in the works, but Lee is a bit miffed why anyone would want to film the trio.

"A filmmaker thinks that we're interesting," he says. "We're doing our best to disappoint."

New Releases, April 15: Asia, Mariah Carey, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, Rush

Asia "Phoenix"

Asia’s eponymously titled debut album in 1982 was both ecstatically received and the biggest selling album of the year. It spawned a trio of US top 10 singles in "Heat of the Moment", "Only Time Will Tell" and "Sole Survivor." Over the greater part of the 80s, Asia racked up 15 million in global record sales.

Rising from the ashes in 2008, the Multi-Platinum Supergroup Asia returns with "Phoenix," the first new album featuring the original line up in 25 years. With a revered musical pedigree, Geoff Downes (Yes, The Buggles), Steve Howe (Yes), Carl Palmer (ELP), and John Wetton (King Crimson) have returned to their hit making roots. Featuring the anthemic lead track "Never Again", and the poignant "An Extraordinary Life," Asia’s revived the sound that made them radio staples.

* * *
Mariah Carey "E=MC²"

The mega-platinum singer returns with her eleventh studio album. "E=MC²" follows 2005's chart-topping "The Emancipation of Mimi," which won three Grammy Awards and scored two No. 1 singles.

The first single from the new Einstein-inspired title is "Touch My Body," which was written and produced by Mariah Carey, C. "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream. Other star producers on the set include Jermaine Dupri, DJ Toomp, Stargate, Will.I.Am and Bryan Michael Cox.

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Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus "The Best of Both Worlds Concert"

Mariah's main competition for chart supremacy this week appears to come from Disney queen Miley Cyrus, who is still vastly better known by her stage name, Hannah Montana.

The CD/DVD combo "The Best of Both Worlds" documents Cyrus' recent blockbuster tour, during which she appeared onstage as both herself and as Hannah Montana. The set includes the young diva performing with the equally red-hot Jonas Brothers on the track "We Got the Party."

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Rush "Snakes & Arrows Live"

The Canadian prog-rockers are back with a two-disc set that documents their 2007 amphitheater tour. "Snakes & Arrows" features such fan favorites as "Tom Sawyer," "The Spirit of Radio" and "YYZ." It also reportedly includes, as fans would expect, a mega drum solo by Rush's Neil Peart.

Rush is currently on the road and supporting this live set, which follows last year's studio album, "Snakes & Arrows." The trek is scheduled to hit major North American amphitheaters through late July.

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Black Francis "Svn Fingers"

Having reclaimed his old moniker Black Francis with 2007's "Bluefinger," the artist otherwise known as Frank Black [ tickets ] sticks with that same artistic billing for the release of this mini-album. Black (whether used as his first or last name) is, of course, best known as the frontman for the Pixies. Yet, he's released a sizable catalog outside of that legendary alt-rock group. The compilation "Frank Black 93-03," also released last year, highlights some of his most-acclaimed work as a solo artist.

* * *
The Kooks "Konk"

The British indie-pop-rockers are ready to "Konk"-er America with this sophomore set. The band has already taken much of the rest of the globe by storm, having moved some 2 million copies worldwide of "Inside In/Inside Out." The Kooks will tour North America, beginning with a May 18 date in San Diego.

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More new releases:
Children of Bodom, "Blooddrunk" (Frontiers)
Gaither Vocal Band, "Lovin' Life" (Spring House)
Marilyn Horne, "The Complete Decca Recitals" (Decca)
Lady Antebellum, "Lady Antebellum" (Capitol)
M83, "Saturdays=Youth" (Mute)
James McMurtry, "Just Us Kids" (Lightning Rod)
The Naked Brothers Band, "I Don't Want to Go to School" (Sony)
Ours, "Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy)" (American)
Tristan Prettyman, "Hello" (Virgin)
Dianne Reeves, "When You Know" (Blue Note)
Kate Rusby, "Awkward Annie" (Pure)
Frank Sinatra, "Sinatra at the Movies" (Capitol)
Thrice, "Alchemy Index, Vol. 3 & 4: Air and Earth" (Vagrant)
Various Artists, "Miles from India" (Four Quarters)

Actors' petition doesn't sway SAG board

LOS ANGELES - The prospects are looking dim for the proposal to limit which Screen Actors Guild members can vote in upcoming contract talks.

SAG's board of directors on Saturday referred the matter to committee rather than immediately act on it, as more than 1,400 guild members demanded in a petition. It sought to restrict voting to actors who work at least one day a year.

The proposal ran into strong opposition from board members who argued it would exclude most guild members.

The majority of SAG's 120,000 members don't work regularly. Supporters of the proposal reason that nonworking members would be more likely to favor a walkout.

Contract negotiations with studios begin Tuesday.

'Prom Night' carves out $22.7M debut

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Audiences made a date with "Prom Night," the remake of the 1980 slasher flick that took in $22.7 million to debut as the weekend's No. 1 movie, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The movie, released by Sony's Screen Gems banner, stars Brittany Snow as a teen terrorized by a psycho killer on prom night. It overcame the critical drubbing handed to most fright films, which have a built-in audience that often turns out in big numbers on opening weekend regardless of reviews.

"Audiences today, they're so savvy in regards to what they want to see or don't want to see. Particularly a younger audience, they pretty much make up their own mind," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.

With prom season also at hand, that "brings an element of fun," Bruer said.

Opening in second place was 20th Century Fox's "Street Kings," a cop drama starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker that took in $12 million.

The new movies bumped Sony's "21," which fell to third place with $11 million after two weekends at No. 1. The Vegas blackjack tale raised its three-week total to $62.3 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, Miramax's "Smart People," opened at No. 7 with $4.2 million. "Smart People" stars Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church in a comic drama about a crusty English professor and his oddball family and associates.

Hollywood's box office doldrums continued, with the top 12 movies taking in $82.6 million, down 16 percent from the same weekend last year. This year's movie attendance is running 6.6 percent behind 2007's, according to box office tracker Media By Numbers.

That gap could widen when the industry's busy summer season arrives.

The superhero saga "Iron Man," starring Robert Downey Jr., is expected to put up big numbers to kick off Hollywood's summer on May 2. But it is unlikely to approach the record $151.1 million debut of "Spiderman 3" over the same weekend a year ago.

"We're counting on `Iron Man' to be the film that turns things around, but the box office was so strong a year ago that comparisons are going to be really tough," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "I think we're going to see a lot of downtrending weekends even into summer because last year was so strong, especially in May."

Overture Films' acclaimed drama "The Visitor" opened solidly with $88,383 at just four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles. "The Visitor," which expands gradually over the next few weekends, stars Richard Jenkins as a widowed economics professor whose dreary life gets a welcome jolt when he encounters a Syrian immigrant and his Senegalese girlfriend living in his little-used New York apartment.

Also in limited release, Fox Searchlight's documentary "Young @ Heart" took in $52,312 at four theaters over the weekend and $63,606 since opening Wednesday. The film follows a chorus of elderly singers averaging about 80 who sing punk and pop songs by the Clash, Coldplay, the Talking Heads and other modern bands. It expands to 28 more theaters Friday.

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. "Prom Night," $22.7 million.
2. "Street Kings," $12 million.
3. "21," $11 million.
4. "Nim's Island," $9 million.
5. "Leatherheads," $6.2 million.
6. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!", $6 million.
7. "Smart People," $4.2 million.
8. "The Ruins," $3.3 million.
9. "Superhero Movie," $3.1 million.
10. "Drillbit Taylor," $2.1 million.

The Couch Potato Report - April 12th, 2008

This week The Couch Potato Report peels a very bad television show, sharks, Bonnie, Clyde, Harold AND Kumar.

I have said it before, and I shall say it again - I am a very lucky man.

I say that because one of the things I get to do each and every week is watch the newest releases on DVD, and then tell you about them.

It is a something that I truly enjoy, even when something is a complete waste of my time.

Since I don't have a lot of time in this forum each week, I usually just ignore any releases that fall into that category.

However, even though I think this week's Hot Potato is absolutely awful...I am still going to talk about it because it is a Canadian show, and who knows, maybe you will like it.

I doubt it...but who knows.

That show, and this DVD is RENT-A-GOALIE, a real service that is actually provided to rec hockey teams in Toronto, but all told this show has very little to do with hockey.

Sure, occasionally it does feature the game, but for the most part it is just a show about unlikable people who find themselves in unfortunate situations, ususally as a result of something they did.

The stupidity of the characters in thsi show made it hard to sit through, but the main thing that I couldn't get past was the language. Now I am not easily offended by any means, but this show - which airs on the cable channel Showcase and is intended for mature audiences - uses profane and highly objectional language, just because it can!

The language doesn't seem to take place because the characters or on-screen situation warrants it, they just know they CAN use this language, so they do.

And they do that, and other hard to fathom things, a lot!!

Even the guest stars - such as hockey greats Tiger Williams and Phil Esposito - seem to show up, just so they can swear on a TV show!

Truth be told, RENT-A-GOALIE wants to be CHEERS, especially as it attempts to re-create the Sam & Diane dynamic between it's two lead characters.

But the characters in CHEERS were likable, they had something to say, and they were funny.

The characters in RENT-A-GOALIE have nothing to say, and they are not funny, and even during the few, brief moments when you do maybe start liking them, the writers make them say or do something, and you just don't care again.

If you like the low-life characaters and humour of TRAILER PARK BOYS, then maybe...MAYBE you will find something to like in SEASON ONE of RENT-A-GOALIE.

Otherwise, this 2-DVD set is just a complete waste of time. This is time I am never getting back!!

Up next this week is a film that I liked a lot more than RENT-A-GOALIE, however, I did not love SHARKWATER - a film that seeks to debunk historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks - and I fully expected to.

But...while I didn't love it, SHARKWATER is a film that I would still recommend.

For filmmaker Rob Stewart, exploring sharks began as an underwater adventure. What it turned into was a beautiful and dangerous life journey into the balance of life on earth.

Driven by passion fed from a lifelong fascination with sharks, filmmaker Rob Stewart takes us under and above water with him as he travels to some of the most beautiful locations in the world to save sharks from being put on the endangered species list.

There are some amazing stories in SHARKWATER, some spectacular undersea footage, and some unique facts.

For instance, did you know that pop machines kill more people each year than sharks?

But in the end, what causes SHARKWATER's ultimate downfall is the fact that filmmaker Stewart starts to tell his story, not the sharks.

So instead of spending extra time with renegade conservationists, or seeing more of the battles with shark poachers in Guatemala, or additinal footage of boat rammings or gunboat chases, we spend time with Stewart as he is laid up in a hospital bed, due to injuries he suffered while making the film.

Less filmmaker, more sharks would have made SHARKWATER a better film, but even the way it is, this is still a film I liked. I didn't love it, but I liked it.

It is great to look at, and at times it is very informative.

Nope, didn't love SHARKWATER, I liked it, but BONNIE & CLYDE, now that is a film I love!!

BONNIE & CLYDE is an Academy Award winnning film from 1967 about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the real-life bank robbers who roamed the central United States during the Great Depression.

It it's day BONNIE & CLYDE was regarded as the first film of the New Hollywood era, in that it was very violent and sexual, and it was popular with younger audiences.

On this day, the film stands up, over forty years later! This is a true Hollywood clasic, and the cast and filmmakers seem to know that as the new Two-Disc Special Edition has some great retrospective documentaries that features almost all of the principles, from director Arthur Penn, to stars Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway and even publicity shy Warren Beatty.

Yup, BONNIE & CLYDE is a classic, and to some, the made-in-Toronto stoner comedy HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE - about two guys just trying to get some hamburgers, even though Murphy's Law is preventing that from happening - is a classic too!

With the sequel HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY due in theatres in two weeks, this new DVD version features deleted scenes & outtakes; interviews and commentaries and much more.

Harold And Kumar are this generation's Cheech & Chong and HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE still makes me laugh.

The still funny stoner comedy HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE, the still classic film BONNIE & CLYDE, the very informative and interesting SHARKWATER and SEASON ONE of the awful Canadian television series RENT-A-GOALIE are all available now on DVD.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

JUNO - the Academy Award winning film that everyone seems to love, except for me - debuts on DVD; so does BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, the latest from the director who gave us TWELVE ANGRY MEN, SEPRICO, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and THE VERDICT.

Also next week is the horror film P2; in RESERVATION ROAD, one father loses a son and another tries to live with the guilt of a hit-and-run accident; And THE PROM NIGHT COLLECTION contains the four original films in the Prom Night Franchise including the original film from 1980 starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Saskatchewan's own Leslie Nielsen.

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!

Coldplay Indulges Experimentation On Fourth Album

Coldplay lets its creative flag fly on its fourth studio album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," due June 17 via Capitol. "We're still obsessed with making songs that can be sung to the rafters," frontman Chris Martin says. "We just wanted to present them differently."

To accomplish that goal, the group turned to co-producers Brian Eno and Markus Dravs, who adorn the material with grandiose embellishments the likes of which have never been heard before on a Coldplay album.

"Viva La Vida" begins with a strident instrumental, "Life in Technicolor," built as much on an arpeggiated synth foundation as it is on an acoustic guitar melody. The same instrumental is tacked onto the final song, "Death and All His Friends," as a hidden track dubbed "The Escapist."

In between, the band frequently breaks from verse-chorus-verse constructions, particularly on "42," which is comprised of three distinct, seemingly unrelated sections. "Yes" shifts from a string- and tabla-driven rocker into a shoegazer-y breakdown, while a funky groove emerges from out of nowhere in the middle of "Death and All His Friends."

Elsewhere, Martin and the piano are at the forefront of the shimmering "Reign of Love," while "Cemeteries of London" conjures a foreboding vibe apropos of its title and "Lost!" swells with massive-sounding church organ strains.

Drummer Will Champion credits Eno with upending Coldplay's usual working habits in the studio. "Brian has this amazing ability to demystify wonderful music and make it seem very achievable," he says. "We weren't afraid to try anything."

Coldplay recorded a number of other songs that did not wind up making the final track list, including "Postcards From Far Away," "Lukas," "Rainy Day," "The Goldrush" and "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground," but it's unknown if they will be released in some form down the road.

Here is the track list for "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends":

"Life in Technicolor"
"Cemeteries of London"
"Lost!"
"42"
"Lovers in Japan"/"Reign of Love"
"Yes"
"Viva La Vida"
"Violet Hill"
"Strawberry Swing"
"Death and All His Friends"

AC/DC Recording With Brendan O'Brien

AC/DC is recording its first studio album in eight years with producer Brendan O'Brien. No release date has yet been announced for the Columbia project.

The news came via a Web post from Supersuckers frontman Eddie Spaghetti, who said his own band's album is being delayed due to O'Brien engineer Billy Bowers' work with AC/DC. Bowers is producing the Supersuckers' as-yet-untitled disc.

"[Bowers] wants to make some last-minute tweaks and, well, he can't right now," Spaghetti wrote. "He's been detained by a little Australian band called, uh, AC/DC."

AC/DC is expected to tour in support of the album, with dates to be announced.

Beastie Boy makes basketball documentary

NEW YORK - Some of college basketball's brightest stars, including Kansas State's Michael Beasley and UCLA's Kevin Love, are featured in Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's new documentary, "Gunnin' for That No. 1 Spot."

And while it's less than two years since he followed the then-high school players for a week, he still can't get over how much they've changed.

"They already look different, and I think it will be really interesting to look at this doc five or 10 years from now and see these guys when they were high school students. There's a good chance that several of them may be superstars in the NBA," Yauch told The Associated Press in an interview this week. "They were like babies in this picture."

Yauch took his camera to Harlem's famed Rucker Park, made famous by streetballers, in September 2006 to document some of the nation's top high school talent, who were playing in an event there.

Yauch said he was struck by how the players — who also included Jerryd Bayless of Arizona, Donte Green of Syracuse and Kyle Singler of Duke — could act like kids one minute, yet live in such an adult world.

"They have this infrastructure around them, and they are being groomed for stardom," he said.

"When I was in high school I wasn't getting the quantity of media that these guys are," he said. "But it's not necessarily a bad thing."

Yauch, 43, said the documentary, which premieres April 28 at the Tribeca Film Festival, doesn't make a judgment on the world where the precocious teens lived, but does give viewers a glimpse into it. He added: "The people around these kids really do care about them."

"Gunnin' for That No. 1 Spot" is slated for wide release June 27.

"Prom Night" eyes box office crown

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Either "Prom" or "King" could rule the domestic box office this weekend.

Fox Searchlight's cop drama "Street Kings" and Sony's horror film "Prom Night" have the most playdates among the three wide openers as well as the most identifiable target audiences.

Miramax's comedy "Smart People" -- unspooling in about half as many locations -- will try to capture the date-night set but appears unlikely to climb out of the single-digit millions during the frame.

"Prom" and "Kings" will both shoot for the teen millions, but the R-rated "Kings" is more restricted in its potential audience reach than the PG-13 "Prom."

A remake of the 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis starrer about a vengeful killer, "Prom" will play best with younger moviegoers and horror fans.

If things go smoothly, "Prom" should open north of "Kings," but much depends on whether famously fickle youthful moviegoers decide that they are back in the mood for the recently slack horror genre. That's difficult to gauge from tracking data, as teens tend to make last-minute movie choices.

"It's been tough for some of the (recent horror) pictures that have preceded us," Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said. "But we feel good about the picture. Prom night is a common sort of experience, and our marketing materials seem to be resonating with moviegoers."

Sony has ruled the box office for the past two weekends with its young-skewing gambling drama "21."

Teen girls tend to be the best draw for horror films. So it could prove a complementary market coupling with "Kings," which is tracking best among younger males in prerelease data.

Keanu Reeves plays a Los Angeles cop faced with havoc in his life and career in "Kings," whose ensemble cast includes Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie and Chris Evans. The film is based on an original screenplay by crime novelist James Ellroy, whose literary yarns have been spun into noir films including "L.A. Confidential" (1997) and "The Black Dahlia" (2006).

Starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church and Ellen Page, the R-rated "Smart People" is a genre hybrid -- playing as part romantic comedy and part family drama. Perhaps because of that neither-fish-nor-fowl dilemma, prerelease tracking data has been inauspicious. It marks the feature debut of commercials director Noam Murro.

A free singer in Paris

NEW YORK - Worn down a bit by work, singer Tift Merritt poured herself a glass of wine one night, sat at the computer and typed "Paris," "apartment" and "piano" into an Internet search engine.

She quickly found some possibilities, and set out on what she figured would be a two-week vacation.

Instead, it turned into an adventure of more than three months that refreshed her personally and professionally. The results can be heard on her new disc, "Another Country," made up of songs written on a piano in a Paris apartment.

Merritt, a North Carolina native who now lives in New York, was nominated four years ago for a best country album Grammy Award. But she's been in a common trap since then, her music considered not quite country enough for country radio stations and too country-flavored for pop music stations. Her new disc leans more toward the pop singer-songwriter territory.

Merritt had briefly thought of quitting after being discouraged by a year on the road prior to her Paris trip.

"It really takes the sap out of you," she told The Associated Press. "You're kind of giving yourself to people you don't know really well, and then you return to your life and it isn't there anymore."

She had spent time in France as a student; now, in her 30s, she remembered enough of the language to get by. Being in a society where everyone speaks a different language can be disorienting — and electric.

"You have to look at people differently," she said. "You have to look longer. You have to really make an effort to communicate and figure out what's going on and you see the sort of elemental things that happen to us every day that most of the time we just walk past."

It was a relief not to take things for granted. "There's something simple and direct that runs through this record because of that," she said.

At the start, the piano was there for fun and companionship — not for work. That changed.

"I was really surprised that I was writing," she said, "because I was really at a point where I didn't have anything to say at all. I needed to catch up on sleep and eat more vegetables. When I wrote `Another Country,' that was my best attempt at capturing that feeling of being like a stranger in the world."

You'd assume the title has dual meanings — references to both her trip and her uneasy relationship with the country music establishment.

Instead, a third becomes obvious, about getting lost in the world of another person. "Love is another country," Merritt sings, "and I want to go."

After her first trip to Paris ended, she went back two or three times to wrap up her writing. She even wrote a song in French that she debuted at a concert there.

Merritt is tired of being told by people that her music isn't easy to categorize. Maybe it will be harder on her career, but she said she's not going to play that game anymore. She made "Another Country" to be direct — one person talking to another.

The music business' continuing collapse may work in her favor.

"There is so much wisdom in customizing your career to what you like, what you want to do," she said. "It's really an exciting time, and it's certainly much better than the `my way or the highway' type of situation."

Ferguson tops O'Brien for first time

NEW YORK - Recently sworn-in U.S. citizen Craig Ferguson is being embraced by his new countrymen: The late-night comic hit a ratings milestone last week with his first victory over NBC's Conan O'Brien.

The CBS "Late Late Show" averaged more viewers than O'Brien's "Late Night" (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first week during which they each competed with all-original shows since Ferguson started in January 2005.

It caps a slow and steady climb for Ferguson and raises a red flag for future "Tonight" show host O'Brien, although NBC says it is still happy with O'Brien's audience.

"He's getting looser and looser all the time and for the last few months it's clear that he's having such a good time that you can't resist it as a viewer," said veteran late-night hand Peter Lassally, Ferguson's executive producer.

Ferguson, a Scotsman, passed an American citizenship test and was formally sworn in on Feb. 1. He'll be host of the annual White House correspondents' dinner in Washington later this month, a high-profile gig for a comic.

Although Ferguson had slowly become more competitive with O'Brien in the ratings, the writers strike was crucial to the surge, said producer Michael Naidus.

"It was a tough thing but for us it just let us play with the show in a looser way," Naidus said. "We threw out everything and now just have our writers doing a comedy show."

The strike also put a brighter spotlight on late-night programming and Ferguson benefited from the attention, with correspondents from newspapers and magazines writing flattering stories about him, Naidus said.

NBC acknowledged Ferguson's victory but noted O'Brien — the designated successor to Jay Leno when Leno steps down next year — still led among viewers aged 18-49, the youthful demographic the network bases its advertising sales on. Among the younger half of that demographic, O'Brien gets more viewers than David Letterman, NBC said.

NBC also noted that CBS got a boost by having all-original shows at the 10 p.m. hour last week, possibly increasing its audience in late-night, while NBC was still in reruns.

'Corner Gas' calling it quits

TORONTO - After six years of pumping gas, pouring coffee and pontificating about life and love, the "Corner Gas" gang is packing it in.

The hit CTV comedy, one of the most successful Canadian sitcoms ever made, is coming to an end after the upcoming sixth season, the show's star and creator, Brent Butt, said Thursday.

The final 19-episode season, about the hijinks at a small-town gas station in the fictional town of Dog River, Sask., begins shooting next month in Saskatchewan, with the series' finale airing some time in the spring of 2009.

"It's a very difficult decision, but the right decision, and one I felt I had to make," Butt said in a news release.

"When I told CTV about my decision, they made it clear that they were keen to do more seasons. They didn't want it to end yet. But for the good of the show, I wanted to exit gracefully, on top of our game, when we're at our prime - because that's how I want viewers to remember 'Corner Gas': at its very best."

"Corner Gas" has been a ratings winner for CTV for years and has won numerous Gemini awards. It also airs in syndication in countries around the world, including Australia and the United States, where it outperforms shows like "Heroes" and "Prison Break" on the cable channel Superstation WGN.

CTV's Susanne Boyce lauded the show.

"This is not goodbye, it's see you later," she said. "Brent and his team have accomplished something that has never been achieved before. They said it couldn't be done, but 'Corner Gas' did it anyway. The series has paved the way for other Canadian productions by proving that if you make great TV, Canadians will watch."

"Corner Gas," which also stars Eric Peterson, is shot entirely in Saskatchewan and will end its run on its 107th episode.

-

'Corner Gas' chronology

June 2003 Production begins on Season 1 of "Corner Gas."

Jan. 22, 2004 - More than a million viewers tune into the series premiere.

Oct. 4, 2004 - "Corner Gas" is nominated for an International Emmy Award.

Oct. 5, 2004 - More than 1.5 million viewers tune into Season 2 premiere.

Oct. 1, 2005 - Finland becomes the first of 26 countries around the world to purchase the show for broadcast outside of Canada.

Oct. 31, 2005 - Prime Minister Paul Martin makes cameo appearance on "Corner Gas," attracting a record audience of 2.2 million viewers. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson, Darryl Sittler and Ben Mulroney, among many other notable Canadians, also make appearances in later episodes.

Nov. 19, 2005 - "Corner Gas" wins two Gemini Awards.

Dec. 12, 2005 - "Merry Gasmas," a "Corner Gas" holiday special, attracts record-setting audience of 2.43 million viewers.

Nov. 4, 2006 - "Tales from Dog River: The Complete Corner Gas Guide" is released and becomes a bestselling book across Canada.

Nov. 4, 2006 - "Corner Gas" wins its second Gemini Award for best comedy series.

Nov. 24, 2006 - "Corner Gas" secures U.S. broadcast deal with Superstation WGN.

Sept. 17, 2007 - "Corner Gas" premieres on Superstation WGN in the U.S.

Oct. 28, 2007 - "Corner Gas" takes home three Gemini Awards including its third for best comedy series.

April 10, 2008 - Brent Butt announces that "Corner Gas" will end at the conclusion of Season 6 in 2009.

Source: Prairie Pants Productions.

Sarah Polley protests Bill C-10

OTTAWA - Oscar nominee Sarah Polley appears before a Senate committee Thursday to fight a rule change she says "attacks the very heart of Canadian programming."

Bill C-10 would allow Heritage Minister Josee Verner or a government committee to refuse tax credits to film or television productions considered offensive and "contrary to public policy."

"It is against freedom of speech and everything we stand for," said Polley, an actor and director representing the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).

"Canadians won't be able to see the Canadian programs they love," she said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Polley will be joined by a company of influential players in Canada's film industry including Brian Anthony, CEO of the Directors Guild of Canada.

Edgy shows such as Little Mosque on the Prairie and the Trailer Park Boys are most at risk, Anthony said.

"It's a homogenization of the nature of productions - you will see more productions about kittens, puppies, bunnies and cute little kids."

Anthony added the move will damage an already ailing industry. The soaring loonie has kept many American productions down south, and the recent writers' strike had a profound effect in B.C., where many American programs are filmed.

The existing tax credit enables producers to apply for a bank loan for the production of a film or television piece, if they meet Canadian content rules. They receive the credit only after the production is completed.

The power to make a ruling on acceptable content after a program has been filmed has many in the artistic community upset.

In addition, the amendment is only applicable to Canadian productions and does not affect American programs applying for funding.

Maureen Parker, representing the Writers Guild of Canada, says the government bill unjustly punishes Canadian actors, directors and script writers, while leaving their American counterparts off the hook.

A one-hour drama developed in Canada costs roughly $1.4 million, or about a quarter of the cost of an American drama of the same length, she said from Toronto.

"It is totally unfair. In order to meet these needs, Canadian producers have to bank the tax credit, they have to borrow against the tax credit and use that money to interim finance the production."

Randy Bachman, Colin James join tribute to Jeff Healey

Details have been released about a pair of Toronto tribute concerts to honour Canadian guitar great Jeff Healey, who died March 2 of cancer.

Guitarists Randy Bachman and Colin James and singers David Wilcox and Alannah Myles are among the artists who will participate, Healey's wife, Cristie, announced Wednesday.

Jeff Healey's backup band Jazz Wizards will open the first tribute concert May 3.

Cream vocalist and bass player Jack Bruce and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan also will appear during an evening that will focus on Healey's contribution to rock.

The second event, to be held May 4, will be for lovers of Healey's jazz career and include artists such as Marty Grosz, Brad Kay and Vince Giordano.

Proceeds from the shows will go to the Healey Family Trust and to Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund, a charity that assists the families of children with retinoblastoma, the rare cancer that claimed Healey's sight when he was one year old.

"The shows will provide a great way for his friends and fans to pay tribute to his memory, and support a cause that was so very important to Jeff," Cristie Healey said in a statement.

"This has been a great reminder for Jeff's family and close circle of friends of how many people were touched by Jeff and his music," she added. "I think we have assembled an incredible collection of talent, and created two shows that Jeff would love."

Healey played guitar, trombone, trumpet and keyboard. He began his career as a blues-rock artist and later returned to his early love, jazz. He was 41 when he died.

Tickets for both events go on sale Friday in Toronto.

Mike Myers tapped to host upcoming MTV Movie Awards

The upcoming edition of MTV's irreverent movie awards show will have Canadian film star Mike Myers take the stage as host, organizers announced Wednesday.

The awards gala, which presents trophies in unconventional categories such as best kiss and best villain, will be broadcast live on June 1.

The Toronto-born Myers, who previously hosted the show in 1997, "blew us away last time he hosted the MTV Movie Awards with his Lord of the Dance [routine] and over-the-top musical productions," Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music, Logo and Films Group, said in a statement Wednesday.

Toffler also praised the former Second City and Saturday Night Live star for "creating iconic film characters that have been etched in the minds of MTV's audiences forever."

Organizers of the MTV Movie Awards have typically enlisted popular, "of-the-moment" celebrity hosts, including comedian Sarah Silverman and actors Jessica Alba, Jimmy Fallon and Lindsay Lohan in recent years.

Myers, 44, is set to release his latest film, a comedy titled The Love Guru, across North America on June 20.

From early trailers and other promotional material, the film appears to continue Myers' tradition of playing randy-but-loveably-goofy characters in the vein of his Wayne's World and Austin Powers films.

Nominees for the 17th MTV Movie Awards will be announced in May.

Battle over 'Star Wars' costumes

LONDON - It's a storm in a Stormtrooper's helmet.

Lawyers for George Lucas' Lucasfilm Ltd. and a British prop designer faced off in London's High Court on Tuesday over rights to the moulded white Stormtrooper uniforms from the "Star Wars" films.

Standing alongside the bewigged, black-robed lawyers in court was the object of their dispute - a six-foot tall, helmeted warrior of the evil Galactic Empire. Lucasfilm lawyer Michael Bloch called the menacing figure "one of the most iconic images in modern culture."

Lucasfilm claims violation of copyright and trademarks by prop designer Andrew Ainsworth, who sculpted the Stormtrooper helmets for the first "Star Wars" movie in 1977. London-based Ainsworth sells replicas of the helmets and armour, which he says are made from the original moulds, on his Web site.

Lucasfilm won a US$20-million judgment against Ainsworth in a California court in 2006, and is seeking to have it enforced in Britain.

Ainsworth is countersuing, claiming the copyright rests with him and seeking a share of merchandising revenue from the six "Star Wars" films, which his lawyers estimate at $24 billion.

Lucasfilm and its lawyers claim the design of the Stormtroopers was created by Lucas and his artistic team, and was already in place by the time Ainsworth was hired to create the helmets.

"The look to be created had been worked on by a large team of people for perhaps more than a year," Bloch said at the start of the 10-day hearing.

Any extra security the Stormtroopers might provide wasn't sitting well with Judge Anthony Mann, who cast a glance at the silent props standing beside him.

"Are they going to stay there for the entire trial?" he asked.

Jason Reitman, Kevin Smith blog for NHL

LOS ANGELES - Jason Reitman, Lauren Conrad, Dierks Bentley and Kevin Smith are among the celebrities who will blog about their love of hockey on the National Hockey League's Web site.

Beginning Wednesday, more than a dozen celebs will follow their favorite teams through the Stanley Cup playoffs, said NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur.

"As NHL.com bloggers, they can be irreverent and candid about their love for the NHL," she said.

A native Canadian who grew up in Los Angeles, Reitman, 30, became a hockey fan seven years ago. Since then, the Oscar-nominated director ("Juno") has dedicated himself to the cause, directing commercials for the NHL and serving on its entertainment advisory board.

"I'd come to really love the game and I was just a little upset because I felt there was more of an opportunity for particularly Americans to know about the game and follow the game," he told The Associated Press.

Reitman told the league to call him if he could be of any help and they asked him to blog.

"This year is a little depressing because my two teams, the (Vancouver) Canucks and the (Los Angeles) Kings, neither of them are in the playoffs," he said, adding that the invitation came "when the Canucks still had a chance."

"Now the Canucks aren't in it. So what I decided is that I'm going to write a kind of mythical blog about what the Canucks and Kings would be doing had they still been in," he said. "In my version, for the first time in NHL history, the Canucks and the Kings will be the first two Western Conference teams to actually meet in the Stanley Cup finals."

Conrad described herself as "a casual hockey fan" who has followed the Kings for the past two seasons.

"I'm blogging about the NHL playoffs because I love live hockey and I thought this would be a fun way to get more involved with the postseason," the reality-TV star said in a statement.

This is the second year that stars from movies, music and television have brought their hockey fan-dom to the blogosphere. Celebrities blogging about the 2008 quest for the Stanley Cup include David Boreanaz, A.J. Buckley, Tom Cavanagh, William Fichtner and Geoff Stults.

Junos a big hit for CTV

The CTV audience for the 2008 Juno Awards was up a whopping 56% from last year's broadcast.

This year's Junos, which were held in Calgary on Sunday and were hosted by comedian Russell Peters, attracted an average audience of 1.45 million viewers to CTV. Last year's awards, which were held in Saskatoon and were hosted by singer Nelly Furtado, pulled in an average of 925,000 viewers.

The '08 ceremonies were the most-watched Junos presentation since 2003, when 2.18 million watched Shania Twain host the event in Ottawa.

A total of 4.3 million Canadians watched at least part of the two-hour Junos broadcast on Sunday. The audience peaked at 1.7 million when Anne Murray took the stage with Jann Arden and Sarah Brightman.

Dylan, Tracy Letts win Pulitzer nods

NEW YORK - Thanks to Bob Dylan, rock 'n' roll has finally broken through the Pulitzer wall.

Dylan, the most acclaimed and influential songwriter of the past half century, who more than anyone brought rock from the streets to the lecture hall, received an honorary Pulitzer Prize on Monday, cited for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

It was the first time Pulitzer judges, who have long favored classical music, and, more recently, jazz, awarded an art form once dismissed as barbaric, even subversive.

"I am in disbelief," Dylan fan and fellow Pulitzer winner Junot Diaz said of Dylan's award.

Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," a tragic but humorous story of desire, politics and violence among Dominicans at home and in the United States, won the fiction prize. Diaz, 39, worked for more than a decade on his first novel — "I spent most of the time on dead-ends and doubts," he told The Associated Press on Monday — and at one point included a section about Dylan.

"Bob Dylan was a problem for me," Diaz, who has also published a story collection, "Drown," said with a laugh. "I had one part that was 40 pages long, the entire chapter was organized around Bob Dylan's lyrics over a two year-period (1967-69). By the end of it, I wanted to throttle my like of Bob Dylan."

The Pulitzer for drama was given to Tracy Letts' "August: Osage County," which, like Diaz's novel, combines comedy and brutality. Letts calls the play "loosely autobiographical," a bruising family battle spanning several generations of unhappiness and unfulfilled dreams.

"It's a play I have been working on in my head and on paper for many years now," said Letts, reached by the AP in Chicago at the Steppenwolf Theater Company, where "August: Osage County" had its world premiere last summer.

"There were just some details from my grandmother, my grandfather's suicide (for example) that I had played over and over in my head for many, many years. I always thought, `Well, that's the stuff of drama right there.'"

Former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass, already a National Book Award winner for "Time and Materials," won the poetry Pulitzer, as did Philip Schultz's "Failure."

"This is the book ... I have always wanted to write," Schultz told the AP. "Everyone is expert on one subject and failure seems to be mine. ... I was born into it. My father went bankrupt when I was 18 and he died soon afterward out of (a) terrible sense of shame. And we lost everything, my mother and I."

Other winners Monday: Daniel Walker Howe, for history, for "What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848"; Saul Friedlander, general nonfiction, for "The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945"; for biography, John Matteson's "Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father."

"I wrote my book in a way that is generally accessible to the curious literate reader," Howe said. "And I think that's very important, and I wish more books were written that way."

"It's a special honor because it ties me even more to the country of which I'm now a citizen," said Friedlander, who became a U.S. citizen seven years ago and won the German Booksellers Association's 2007 Peace Prize for his work on documenting the Holocaust.

"I am surprised, grateful, overjoyed — and a little embarrassed to do this with my first book," said Matteson, a professor of English at John Jay College in New York City who added that his 14-year-old daughter was an inspiration.

"Not only did I understand parenting better after writing the book, but being a parent helped me to write the book."

Dylan's victory doesn't mean that the Pulitzers have forgotten classical composers. The competitive prize for music was given to David Lang's "The Little Match Girl Passion," which opened last fall at Carnegie Hall, where Dylan has also performed.

"Bob Dylan is the most frequently played artist in my household so the idea that I am honored at the same time as Bob Dylan, that is humbling," Lang told the AP.

Long after most of his contemporaries either died, left the business or held on by the ties of nostalgia, Dylan continues to tour almost continuously and release highly regarded CDs, most recently "Modern Times." Fans, critics and academics have obsessed over his lyrics — even digging through his garbage for clues — since the mid-1960s, when such protest anthems as "Blowin' in the Wind" made Dylan a poet and prophet for a rebellious generation.

His songs include countless biblical references and he has claimed Chekhov, Walt Whitman and Jack Kerouac as influences. His memoir, "Chronicles, Volume One," received a National Book Critics Circle nomination in 2005 and is widely acknowledged as the rare celebrity book that can be treated as literature.

According to publisher Simon & Schuster, Dylan is working on a second volume of memoirs. No release date has been set.

New CD Releases, April 8: Nine Inch Nails, The Breeders, Leona Lewis and more!

Nine Inch Nails "Ghosts I – IV"

The industrial-rock troupe's four-disc all-instrumental outing is finally set to hit traditional retail outlets. Many of the band's fans, however, already own the music.

The first nine selections from "Ghosts I-IV" were made available for free download several weeks ago on the band's website, where fans could also purchase the entire 36-song package for $5.

NIN also is offering "Ghosts" in a variety of deluxe packages ranging from $10 to the $300 "ultra-deluxe limited edition," which sold out almost immediately, according to the band.

Trent Reznor and crew will support "Ghosts" on the road. The band has announced its first batch of concerts, which kicks off with a July 25 appearance at British Columbia's outdoor Pemberton Festival. The first headlining show follows a day later in Seattle.

* * *
The Breeders "Mountain Battles"

The veteran alt-rock troupe, originally formed in the late '80s as a side project for Pixies' bassist Kim Deal and then-Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly, is ready to release its fourth album. "Mountain Battles" is the first new Breeders offering since 2002's "Title TK" and it features production work from, among others, Steve Albini, who famously produced the Pixies' seminal 1988 record "Surfer Rosa."

This version of The Breeders features sisters Kim and Kelley Deal (who both contribute guitar and vocals this time around), as well as bassist Mando Lopez and drummer Jose Medeles.

The Breeders will hit the concert trail in support of the album, beginning with an April 25 slot at Indio, CA's Coachella festival. The group will then mount a 27-city headlining trek, which starts April 28 in San Diego and lasts through a mid-June date in Atlanta.

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Leona Lewis "Spirit"

The British singer/songwriter, a past winner of the British talent show "X Factor," is already a huge star in her native UK. Her single "Bleeding Love" was the best-selling single of 2007 in Britain, where her debut album, "Spirit," is also a chart smash.

Now, the vocalist is crossing the pond to try her luck on this side of the Atlantic, with the stateside release of "Spirit." So far, so good--"Bleeding Love" has already hit the top of the Billboard singles chart.

* * *
P.O.D. "When Angels and Serpents Dance"

The heavy rockers return to their original lineup--which includes guitarist Marcos Curiel, who left the platinum-selling group in 2003--for the release of "When Angels and Serrpents Dance." Also joining the party are such guest stars as Helmet's Page Hamilton, Suicidal Tendencies' Mike Muir, the Marley Sisters and a gospel choir.

The set was produced by Jay Baumgardner (Evanescence) and its first single is "Addicted." "When Angels and Serpents Dance" follows a pair of 2006 releases: "Testify," which landed at No. 9 on The Billboard 200, and "Greatest Hits (The Atlantic Years)."

* * *
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds "Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!"

Having last toured the States as part of the no-frills rock outfit Grinderman, the 50-year-old Australian rock legend returns to his better-known band, the Bad Seeds, for the release of the exclamation point happy "Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!" The new album follows 2004's two-disc set "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus."

* * *
More new releases:
Ashes Divide, "Keep Telling Myself It's Alright" (Island)
Marcia Ball, "Peace, Love & BBQ" (Alligator)
Hayes Carll, "Trouble in Mind" (Lost Highway)
Cut Copy, "In Ghost Colours" (Interscope)
Marié Digby, "Unfold" (Hollywood)
The Duke Spirit, "Neptune" (Artist First)
Fleet Foxes, "Sun Giant" (Sub Pop)
Foals, "Antidotes" (Sub Pop)
Paul Gilbert, "Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar" (Shrapnel)
Kamelot, "Ghost Opera: The Second Coming" (Steamhammer)
Man Man, "Rabbit Habits" (Anti)
Colin Meloy, "Colin Meloy Sings Live!" (Kill Rock Stars)
Marie Osmond, "Dancing with the Best of Marie Osmond" (Curb)
James Otto, "Sunset Man" (Warner Bros.)
Was (Not Was), "Boo!" (Rykodisc)

Feist makes it 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Juno wins

CALGARY - Canadian indie sensation Leslie Feist is counting a little higher than her hit single "1 2 3 4" after raking in five trophies at the Juno Awards following an exceptional year of international accolades and commercial success.

Sunday's splashy televised bash served as a triumphant homecoming for the Calgary-bred singer, who took the night's biggest awards, including best single, album and pop album.

"I wrote a whole bunch of stuff down on my arm," Feist said as she took the stage to accept the first trophy of the night, for best single. "Should I try to chip through it?" she asked, going on to thank a slew of friends and bandmates.

She was called back to the podium roughly 20 minutes later for the pop album trophy, and appeared genuinely stunned by the announcement.

"I'm so, so grateful," Feist said. "I'm very, very grateful and I meant to say thank you. I forgot to say that before."

Feist's triple victory Sunday followed two wins on Saturday for best artist and best songwriter, handed out along with the bulk of awards at a private ceremony. The petite singer jumped in the air and clicked her heels as she took the podium at the industry-only event.

In the end, Feist swept all five categories she was nominated in, while industry veterans Celine Dion, who had six nominations, and Avril Lavigne, who had five, were shut out entirely.

Jazz crooner Michael Buble, nominated for five awards, walked away with the fan choice award.

"This is huge. Of course I'd like to thank you fans. Thank you, Canada," Buble said. "This is for all those people that said that I couldn't vote for myself enough times to win."

The only other multiple winner was country-pop band Blue Rodeo, named group of the year Sunday after the disc "Small Miracles" took top adult alternative album and the single "C'mon" took best video on Saturday.

"This is stunning; we were sitting there with Finger Eleven and Hedley," said Blue Rodeo frontman Jim Cuddy, referring to the other contenders in the best band category, which also included Arcade Fire and Kain. "I don't think we really expected to win."

Halifax quintet Wintersleep was named best new group and Calgary's Paul Brandt took country recording of the year for his disc "Risk."

But the night belonged to 32-year-old Feist, a delicate-voiced crooner born in Amherst, N.S., who started out shouting with a Calgary punk band as a teen. She later became known as an indie-rock poster girl with Toronto bands By Divine Right and Broken Social Scene, then as a Parisian ex-pat with sultry jazz leanings that earned her a best new artist Juno in 2005.

But it was an iPod TV commercial - featuring her song "1 2 3 4" and an accompanying video - that catapulted her to mainstream success last year. Record sales soon followed and her eclectic disc "The Reminder" garnered four Grammy nominations in February and a Brit Award nomination for best international female.

Feist, who has managed to achieve a rare combination of mainstream appeal and street cred, boasted Saturday that the pinnacle of her newfound fame has been an appearance on the children's show "Sesame Street."

Backstage on Sunday, she noted that for the children's show, "1 2 3 4" was retooled to be followed by the lyric: "Monsters crawling across the floor."

"They rewrote the lyrics and it was so cathartic," explained Feist, who was accompanied to the ceremony by her mother and her father, brother and sister from Toronto.

"I've sung that song so many times on TV but never with furry creatures peering up at me and chickens in bikinis. It was everything you've ever dreamed of about the Muppets."

It's the second year in a row that an artist has swept the Junos with five wins - last year's "it" girl, Nelly Furtado, achieved the same feat with a series of club-thumping hits and the chart-topping disc "Loose."

Dion had led the nominees with six nods for her two discs, the francophone "D'elles" and the English-language "Taking Chances," regarded by many as a comeback of sorts after a successful five-year residency in Las Vegas. Lavigne, meanwhile, had five nods going in for her disc "The Best Damn Thing" and the summer single "Girlfriend."

Show host Russell Peters opened the bash with a swipe at Alberta superband Nickelback, whose lead singer Chad Kroeger was convicted earlier this week for driving under the influence and lost his licence for a year.

Other targets included Lavigne and an absent Dion.

"Rene, I think, just lost her in a high-stakes poker game," quipped Russell, referring to Dion's husband, Rene Angelil.

Performers included Lavigne, Anne Murray, Buble, Hedley and Feist.

Other wins over the weekend included Serena Ryder for best new artist, Finger Eleven for best rock album and Montreal's Arcade Fire, who took best alternative album for their disc "Neon Bible." That disc also took the prize for CD/DVD artwork of the year Saturday.

Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" was named best international album.

Heston left cinematic, political mark

LOS ANGELES - Nancy Reagan was heartbroken over Charlton Heston's death. President Bush hailed him as a "strong advocate for liberty," while John McCain called Heston a devotee for civil and constitutional rights.

Even Michael Moore, who mocked Heston in his gun-control documentary "Bowling for Columbine," posted the actor's picture on his Web site to mark his passing.

Heston, who died Saturday night at 84, was a towering figure both in his politics and on screen, where his characters had the ear of God (Moses in "The Ten Commandments"), survived apocalyptic plagues ("The Omega Man") and endured one of Hollywood's most-grueling action sequences (the chariot race in "Ben-Hur," which earned him the best-actor Academy Award).

Better known in recent years as a fierce gun-rights advocate who headed the National Rifle Association, Heston played legendary leaders and ordinary men hurled into heroic struggles.

"In taking on epic and commanding roles, he showed himself to be one of our nation's most gifted actors, and his legacy will forever be a part of our cinema," Republican presidential candidate McCain said in a statement that also noted Heston's involvement in the civil-rights movement and his stand against gun control.

Heston's jutting jaw, regal bearing and booming voice served him well as Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar" and "Antony and Cleopatra," Michelangelo in "The Agony and the Ecstasy," John the Baptist in "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and an astronaut on a topsy-turvy world where simians rule in "Planet of the Apes."

"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life," Heston's family said in a statement. "We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather with an infectious sense of humor. He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity."

The actor died at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife, Lydia, at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said. He declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details Sunday.

One of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Heston's work dwindled largely to small parts and narration and other voice roles from the 1980s on, including an uncredited cameo as an ape in Tim Burton's 2001 remake of "Planet of the Apes."

In 2002, near the end of his five years as president of the NRA, Heston disclosed he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease.

The disclosure was soon followed by an unflattering appearance in Moore's 2003 best documentary winner "Bowling for Columbine," which took America to task for its gun laws.

Moore used a clip of Heston holding aloft a rifle at an NRA rally and proclaiming "from my cold, dead hands." The director flustered the actor in an interview later in the film by pressing him on his gun-control stance. Heston eventually walked out on Moore.

Moore's Web site, http://www.michaelmoore.com, on Sunday featured a photo of Heston, the date of his birth and death and a note from the actor's family requesting that donations be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund in lieu of flowers.

There was no other reaction on the site from Moore about Heston's death. Moore did not immediately respond to e-mail and phone requests seeking comment.

Like fellow conservative Ronald Reagan, Heston served as president of the Screen Actors Guild. Former first lady Nancy Reagan said in a statement that she was heartbroken to hear of his death.

"He was one of Ronnie's and my dearest friends," she said. "I will never forget Chuck as a hero on the big screen in the roles he played, but more importantly I considered him a hero in life for the many times that he stepped up to support Ronnie in whatever he was doing."

Bush — who in 2003 presented Heston the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor — called Heston a "man of character and integrity, with a big heart."

Decades before his NRA leadership, Heston was a strong advocate for civil rights in the 1960s, joining marches and offering financial assistance.

Civil-rights leaders in Los Angeles held a moment of silence in Heston's memory Sunday after an unrelated news conference.

Heston had contributed and raised thousands of dollars in Hollywood for Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement, said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Round Table.

"We certainly disagree with his position as NRA head and also his firm, firm, unwavering support of the unlimited right to bear arms," Hutchinson said. But, he added, "Charlton Heston was a complex individual. He lived a long time, and certainly, there were many phases. The phases we prefer to remember were certainly his contributions to Dr. King and civil rights."

Fans remember Heston for some of the most epic moments on film: Parting the Red Sea as Moses in "The Ten Commandments," cursing his self-destructive species as he stumbles on the remnants of the Statue of Liberty in "Planet of the Apes," tearing hell-bent through the chariot race in "Ben-Hur."

"Ben-Hur" earned 11 Oscars, the most ever until 1997's "Titanic" and 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" tied it.

Born Charles Carter in a Chicago suburb on Oct. 4, 1923, Heston grew up in the Michigan wilderness, where his father operated a lumber mill.

Heston took up acting after serving in the Army during World War II. He took his professional name from his mother's maiden name, Charlton, and the last name of his stepfather, Chester Heston, whom she married after his parents' divorce.

After his movie debut in two independent films by a college classmate, Heston was put under contract by producer Hal B. Wallis ("Casablanca"). Cecil B. DeMille cast him as the circus manager in "The Greatest Show on Earth" and then as Moses in "The Ten Commandments."

He followed with Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil," William Wyler's "The Big Country" and the sea saga "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" before "Ben-Hur" elevated Heston to the top of Hollywood's A-list.

His later films included "Earthquake," "El Cid," "The Three Musketeers," "Midway" and "Soylent Green."

In recent years, Heston drew as much publicity for his crusades as for his performances. In addition to his NRA work, he campaigned for Republican presidential and congressional candidates and against affirmative action.

He resigned from Actors Equity, claiming the union's refusal to allow a white actor to play a Eurasian role in "Miss Saigon" was "obscenely racist." He attacked CNN's telecasts from Baghdad as "sowing doubts" about the allied effort in the 1990-91 Gulf War.

Heston also feuded with liberal Edward Asner, one of his successors as Screen Actors Guild president. In a statement Sunday, Asner said Heston "was a worthy opponent and certainly helped create work for a lot of actors."

When Heston stepped down as NRA president, he told members his time in office was "quite a ride. ... I loved every minute of it."

Heston and his wife had a daughter, Holly Ann, and a son, Fraser Clarke, who played the infant Moses in "The Ten Commandments."

In the 1990s, Heston's son directed his father in several TV and big-screen films, including "Treasure Island" and "Alaska."

The Hestons celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1994 at a party with Hollywood and political friends. They had been married 64 years when he died.

'21' doubles up with $15M weekend

LOS ANGELES - The gambling tale "21" kept up its winning streak as it took in $15.1 million to stay on top of the box office for a second-straight weekend, leaving George Clooney's "Leatherheads" and the family tale "Nim's Island" to scrimmage for second place.

"Leatherheads" — a 1920s football comedy directed by Clooney, who co-stars with Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski — had a soft opening of $13.5 million, below distributor Universal's expectations.

20th Century Fox's "Nim's Island" was right behind with $13.3 million. The family adventure centers on a bold girl (Abigail Breslin) alone on an island and her e-mail pen pal (Jodie Foster), an obsessive-compulsive, shut-in author.

"Leatherheads" and "Nim's Island" were so close that their rankings could switch after final weekend numbers are released Monday.

"Leatherheads" is Clooney's third directing effort, a commercial turn after his acclaimed Edward R. Murrow drama "Good Night, and Good Luck" and the Chuck Barris fantasy thriller "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."

Yet "Leatherheads" earned mixed reviews and mainly drew theatergoers in their 30s and 40s, failing to connect with younger crowds that are the box office's mainstay, according to Universal.

"I'm disappointed for us, I'm disappointed for George. I think he's a great guy and think he's got tons of directing talent," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "I wish I could have that crystal ball and tell you what went wrong."

He said some parents who might otherwise have gone to see "Leatherheads" may have been tied up taking children to see "Nim's Island" or the family hit "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!"

20th Century Fox, which had been tracking "Nim's Island" slightly ahead of "Leatherheads," was pleased with the results of its film, said distribution executive Chris Aronson.

"This movie was targeted for families, and we hit the families," Aronson said of "Nim's Island."

Sony's "21," featuring Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess in a Vegas blackjack romp, raised its 10-day total to $46.5 million.

Overall, however, it was another dreary weekend for Hollywood, where business has lagged nearly every weekend since January. The top 12 movies took in $80.9 million, down 27 percent from the same weekend last year.

Revenues are at $2.24 billion so far this year, off 1.8 percent from 2007, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers. Factoring in higher ticket prices, movie attendance is running 5 percent behind last year's.

This weekend's other new wide release — Paramount's horror story "The Ruins," about tourists who discover an ancient evil during a jungle trip — debuted at No. 5 with $7.8 million.

In narrower release, Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert film "Shine a Light," distributed by Paramount Vantage, did fair business with $1.5 million.

Wong Kar Wai's romantic drama "My Blueberry Nights," starring singer Norah Jones and Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman and David Strathairn, took in a solid $73,742 opening in six theaters.

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. "21," $15.1 million.
2. "Leatherheads," $13.5 million.
3. "Nim's Island," $13.3 million.
4. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!", $9.1 million.
5. "The Ruins," $7.8 million.
6. "Superhero Movie," $5.4 million.
7. "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns," $3.51 million.
8. "Drillbit Taylor," $3.5 million.
9. "Shutter," $2.9 million.
10. "10,000 B.C.", $2.8 million.

KILLER JOKES

THE 50 BEST BITS, GAGS AND QUIPS THAT CRACK UP PRO COMICS - AND MAY HAVE YOU SPLITTING YOUR SIDES

To assemble this collection of jokes, The New York Post contacted dozens of comics, ranging from top-dollar headliners in Vegas to regulars on "Late Night" and "The Daily Show" to up-and-comers who do alt-comedy at local bars. They asked them to tell us the best gag they'd written in the past year and their favorite punch line delivered by another comedian. So according to some of the funniest people on earth, these are the 50 most hilarious jokes of the last 12 months, whether they were told in nightclubs, on television or around a platter of fries at a late-night diner meal. Feel free to incite your own laugh riot.

Roseanne
A doctor tells a guy: "I have bad news. You have Alzheimer's, and you have cancer." Guy says, "Thank God I don't have cancer."

Jackie Mason
Hillary Clinton says she's the most qualified because she was married to a president for eight years. Now let me ask you, if a brain surgeon quit his job, would everyone in the operating room say, "Wait, let's get his wife."

Lisa Lampanelli
I was watching Gene Simmons' TV show, "Family Jewels." Or as it's known in the business, " 'The Osbournes' Without the Talented Father."

Laura Kightlinger
After miraculously surviving two heart surgeries, pneumonia and a mild stroke, at 82 my grandfather was no longer able to care for himself. Now he lives with my aunt who spoon-feeds him, takes him to the bathroom, etc. Proof that what doesn't kill you makes you a burden to someone else.

Bill Maher
Barack Obama bowled a 37. Is he black enough for you now?

Bobby Slayton
I got a teenage daughter and a menopausal wife. One's getting breasts, one's getting whiskers. My life is over.

Jeffrey Ross
John McCain is so old that running for President is on his bucket list.

Tomi Walamies
My uncle is in a coma - he's living the dream. (Paul Provenza's favorite)

Nick Dipaolo
I think I might vote for Barack Obama. Because I live in New York City and have been giving black guys change for the past 10 years. I want to see what it feels like for a black guy to give me change.

Artie Lange
Alex Rodriguez never gets clutch hits in October, yet his fans insist on comparing him to Babe Ruth. So A-Rod tries to get as close as he can to Ruth-type achievements. Before the playoffs last year, A-Rod went to a hospital and promised a dying kid that he'd ground out to second Base for him. And I was at the game, people, it's true - A-Rod pointed to second Base.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
At the Tony Awards: I'm here with Harvey Fierstein, nominated tonight for the "I Hate Vagina Monologues."

Seth Herzog
I took nine years of French, but I can't remember any of it. I realized on the plane ride over that if someone doesn't ask me what color my hat is, I'll have nothing to talk about for two weeks.

Earthquake
You know why the US can't find Osama Bin Laden? They're using the wrong agency to look for him. Don't send the Army, Navy, Marines or the CIA - send Child Support!

Harland Williams
I was eating an orange the other day and a friend said, "Did you know nothing rhymes with 'orange?' " So, I threw the orange at his head and said, "Now your face is swollen red 'cause I just threw an orange at your big fat head. Does that rhyme with 'orange,' you jackass?"

Conan O'Brien
To America, there's just something about Charlie Sheen working with children that "feels right." (Bill Maher's favorite)

Wendy Liebman
My husband wanted one of those big-screen TVs for his birthday. I just moved his chair closer to the one we already have.

Seth Meyers
During a "Weekend Update" segment about Eliot Spitzer: And you wanted to have sex with a hooker but you didn't want to wear a condom? Really?!? That might not be scary if you were client number 1, but you were client number 9. I wear a condom if I'm ninth in line at the deli. (Robert "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" Smigel's favorite)

Hannibal Buress
I got a fortune cookie today. It said I should invest in something fun on four wheels. I don't know if that meant I should get a new car, or a prostitute on one roller skate.

Louis C.K.
On his daughter's diaper: There was so much poop. It didn't look like a baby's poop. It looked like a 55-year-old alcoholic took a dump. (Nick Dipaolo's favorite)

Emo Philips
Cellphones are like a dog's nipples. You don't have to shout into them!

Nick Thune
Tupac Shakur's mother was a Black Panther. His father was a regular panther. (Russell Peters' favorite)

Jonathan Katz
I was a kid during the height of the Cold War. If I did something wrong, my parents just accused me of being a communist.

Jim Florentine
I'm sick of Heather Mills. Now that she's divorced, let her go marry the drummer from Def Leppard. They can rub their stumps together.

Ophira Eisenberg
I'm still in my first marriage. I know, it's wrong to talk about it so temporary like that. My current husband hates it when I do that.

Jim Norton
I never liked Eliot Spitzer until he got busted with a hooker. Then I was sorry to see him leave office. I felt like there was finally someone in the government who represented my interests.

Sean Keane
My girlfriend said, "I hate it when you finish my sentences." So I said, "Period." (Harland Williams' favorite)

George Carlin
Why do they put alcohol on the arm of a death row inmate before they give him the needle? Are they afraid he might get an infection? (Jackie Mason's favorite)

Greg Proops
They say Hillary Clinton has a bad personality. Really? I forgot about Dick Cheney's wow factor.

Robert Duchaine
Almost all serial killers are men. That's 'cause women like to kill one man slowly over many, many years. (Bobby Slayton's favorite)

David Brenner
Gasoline prices are highest in Hawaii, closing in on $4 a gallon. President Bush said, "See, I told you it wasn't only in our country!"

John Oliver
One hundred and fifty years ago, England was fueled primarily from burning Catholics. It's a naturally renewable resource. (Seth Herzog's favorite)

Liam McEneaney
They say gay people have "gaydar," which lets them figure out who else is gay. Waiters in expensive restaurants have something similar, called "poor-dar." They always know I shouldn't be there, and I can tell by the way they talk to me: "Sir, can I take your coat - out back and burn it?" "Can I call you a car - or will you be riding a boxcar out of town?"

Carolyn Castiglia
My mom says to me, "Honey, I don't want you to think I have diabetes because I'm fat. I have diabetes because it runs in our family." I said, "No, mom, you have diabetes because no one runs in our family!" (Adira Amram's favorite)

David Wain
Have you heard they're doing a sequel to "Brokeback Mountain?"
No, what's it called?
"Brokeback Mountain 2."

Desiree Burch
I don't wear vanilla-scented lotion or perfume. Most girls love that crap, but I can't do it. 'Cause I can't be the fat girl that smells like Rice Krispie treats. Can't do it. People are all like, "God, Desiree! Did you eat again?!"

Marc Maron
It's significant Barack Obama is running. I think it's important for black people to have a chance to be misrepresented by one of their own. (Greg Proops' favorite)

Todd Levin
I just got engaged. My fiancée won't take my name because "Lisa Levin" sounds awful. So she's just going to remain Lisa Hitler. I understand - it's a family name.

Josh Comers
I had a bully as a kid. He was dyslexic, so he used to stick "Me Kick" signs on my back. Then everyone thought I was the bully - with bad grammar and the courtesy to give a heads up. (Liam McEneaney's favorite)

Freddie Roman
A couple is married for 47 years and the woman dies. At the funeral, the pallbearers swing the coffin, which hits a wall. From inside the coffin, the woman yells, "Oh, my God!" She lived another four years. She dies again. The pallbearers are swinging the coffin. The husband yells, "Watch out for the wall!" (David Wain's favorite)

Dave Attell
I hate to travel. I guess it's because my father used to beat me with a globe. (Todd Levin's favorite)

Feist named artist of year

CALGARY -- Winning Junos is one thing, but appearing on Sesame Street is something else entirely.

Just ask Calgary-raised, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Feist, who picked up best artist and best songwriter honors at last night's non-televised Junos during a gala dinner held at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre.

While Feist alternately kicked up her heels and danced on her way up to the podium, she was still hugely stoked about her recent appearance on Sesame Street, which she taped a few days ago in New York City doing a reworked version of her breakthrough hit, 1234.

"I mean, c'mon please, it's the Muppets we're talking about," said Feist, who was so flustered winning her second award that she didn't initially recognize hockey great Lanny McDonald when he handed her the songwriting award.

"(1234) brought me two days ago to Sesame Street and it was the Muppets and it was the best day of my life. I'm sorry Junos, but the Muppets trump everything!"

A five-time nominee heading into the awards, Feist, whose first name is Leslie although she just uses her last name professionally, will also compete for best album and pop album for The Reminder, and best single for 1234 at tonight's televised Juno Awards being broadcast live on CTV from the Pengrowth Saddledome.

After an incredible year, including four Grammy nominations and a Grammy performance, and a high-profile nano iPod commerical that used the 1234 video, Feist is a favourite to win in those categories as well -- although veteran Anne Murray could upset her in the best pop album race.

In this year's biggest controversy, Murray's all-star Duets collection was mistakenly left out of the best album race due to a sales calculation screw up and then added later, bringing her total nominations to two.

"I want to thank the Junos for a chance to get a bit dressed up and to mark a moment in the blur of all the cities we go to," said Feist, who had written her acceptance speech down on her palm, last night.

"And the fact that it's in Calgary, my mom threw a party for us last night, that's bringing it hometown, full circle!" she said.

Thirty-two Junos were handed out during the gala celebration, plus previously announced honours were given to Toronto TV pioneer Moses Znaimer (The Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award) and Albertan country star Paul Brandt (The Allan Walters Humanitarian Award).

The remaining seven trophies, plus the induction or Toronto rock trio Triumph into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, will be awarded during the live show tonight.

The telecast will be hosted by comic Russell Peters and feature performances by many artists including other five-time nominees Avril Lavigne, originally from Napanee, Ont., and Vancouver crooner Michael Buble.

Six-time nominated French Canadian pop diva Celine Dion is currently on tour in Australia.

Feist's win in the artist of the year category meant a loss for Lavigne, Dion, Buble and the other nominee, Pascale Picard.

Her songwriting victory also meant Lavigne, Joel Plaskett, Rufus Wainwright and Daniel Belanger went home empty handed in that category.

The only other mutiple winners last night were Toronto country-rock-pop veterans Blue Rodeo, who picked up two trophies for best adult alternative album for Small Miracles and best video for C'mon.

Montreal champer-pop act Arcade Fire's Neon Bible won alternative album of the year while the CD/DVD artwork design on the record won a trophy for director/designer Tracy Maurice and photographer Francois Miron.

Early Juno winners

CALGARY -- The bulk of the Juno Awards were handed out at a private gala Saturday. A look at the winners:

- International album of the year: Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna

- Artist of the year: Feist

- New artist of the year: Serena Ryder

- Songwriter of the year: Feist

- Adult alternative album of the year: Small Miracles, Blue Rodeo

- Alternative album of the year: Neon Bible, Arcade Fire

- Rock album of the year: - Them vs. You vs. Me, Finger Eleven

- Vocal jazz album of the year: Make Someone Happy, Sophie Milman

- Contemporary jazz album of the year: Almost Certainly Dreaming, The Chris Tarry Group

- Traditional jazz album of the year: Debut, Brandi Disterheft

- Instrumental album of the year: The Utmost, Jayme Stone

- Francophone album of the year: L'echec du material, Daniel Belanger

- Children's album of the year: Music Soup, Jen Gould

- Classical album of the year: Solo or chamber ensemble: Alkan Concerto for Solo Piano, Marc-Andre Hamelin

- Classical album of the year: Large ensemble or soloist(s) with large ensemble: Korngold, Barber & Walton Violin Concertos, James Ehnes, Bramwell Tovey, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

- Classical album of the year: vocal or choral performance: Surprise, Maesha Brueggergosman

- Classical composition of the year: Constantinople, Christos Hatzis

- Rap recording of the year: The Revolution, Belly

- Dance recording of the year: All U Ever Want, Billy Newton-Davis vs. Deadmau5

- R&B/Soul recording of the year: Revival, Jully Black

- Reggae recording of the year: Don't Go Pretending, Mikey Dangerous

- Aboriginal recording of the year: The Dirty Looks, Derek Miller

- Roots & traditional album of the year: Solo: Right of Passage, David Francey

- Roots & traditional album of the year: Group: Key Principles, Nathan

- Blues album of the year: Building Full of Blues, FATHEAD

- Contemporary Christian/Gospel album of the year: Holy God, Brian Doerksen

- World music album of the year: Agua Del Pozo, Alex Cuba

- Jack Richardson producer of the year: Joni Mitchell, Shine by Joni Mitchell

- Recording engineer of the year: Kevin Churko, Black Rain by Ozzy Osborne

- CD/DVD artwork design of the year: Neon Bible, Arcade Fire

- Video of the year: C'mon, Blue Rodeo

- Music DVD of the year: 666 Live, Billy Talent

Film legend Charlton Heston dead at 84

LOS ANGELES - Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.

Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.

"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played," Heston's family said in a statement. "No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country."

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."

With his large, muscular build, well-boned face and sonorous voice, Heston proved the ideal star during the period when Hollywood was filling movie screens with panoramas depicting the religious and historical past. "I have a face that belongs in another century," he often remarked.

Publicist Michael Levine, who represented Heston for about 20 years, said the actor's passing represented the end of an iconic era for cinema.

"If Hollywood had a Mt. Rushmore, Heston's face would be on it," Levine said. "He was a heroic figure that I don't think exists to the same degree in Hollywood today."

The actor assumed the role of leader offscreen as well. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1950s. With age, he grew more conservative and campaigned for conservative candidates.

In June 1998, Heston was elected president of the National Rifle Association, for which he had posed for ads holding a rifle. He delivered a jab at then-President Clinton, saying, "America doesn't trust you with our 21-year-old daughters, and we sure, Lord, don't trust you with our guns."

Heston stepped down as NRA president in April 2003, telling members his five years in office were "quite a ride. ... I loved every minute of it."

Later that year, Heston was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. "The largeness of character that comes across the screen has also been seen throughout his life," President Bush said at the time.

He engaged in a lengthy feud with liberal Ed Asner during the latter's tenure as president of the Screen Actors Guild. His latter-day activism almost overshadowed his achievements as an actor, which were considerable.

Heston lent his strong presence to some of the most acclaimed and successful films of the midcentury. "Ben-Hur" won 11 Academy Awards, tying it for the record with the more recent "Titanic" (1997) and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). Heston's other hits include: "The Ten Commandments," "El Cid," "55 Days at Peking," "Planet of the Apes" and "Earthquake."

He liked to the cite the number of historical figures he had portrayed:

Andrew Jackson ("The President's Lady," "The Buccaneer"), Moses ("The Ten Commandments"), title role of "El Cid," John the Baptist ("The Greatest Story Ever Told"), Michelangelo ("The Agony and the Ecstasy"), General Gordon ("Khartoum"), Marc Antony ("Julius Caesar," "Antony and Cleopatra"), Cardinal Richelieu ("The Three Musketeers"), Henry VIII ("The Prince and the Pauper").

Heston made his movie debut in the 1940s in two independent films by a college classmate, David Bradley, who later became a noted film archivist. He had the title role in "Peer Gynt" in 1942 and was Marc Antony in Bradley's 1949 version of "Julius Caesar," for which Heston was paid $50 a week.

Film producer Hal B. Wallis ("Casablanca") spotted Heston in a 1950 television production of "Wuthering Heights" and offered him a contract. When his wife reminded him that they had decided to pursue theater and television, he replied, "Well, maybe just for one film to see what it's like."

Heston earned star billing from his first Hollywood movie, "Dark City," a 1950 film noir. Cecil B. DeMille next cast him as the circus manager in the all-star "The Greatest Show On Earth," named by the Motion Picture Academy as the best picture of 1952. More movies followed:

"The Savage," "Ruby Gentry," "The President's Lady," "Pony Express" (as Buffalo Bill Cody), "Arrowhead," "Bad for Each Other," "The Naked Jungle," "Secret of the Incas," "The Far Horizons" (as Clark of the Lewis and Clark trek), "The Private War of Major Benson," "Lucy Gallant."

Most were forgettable low-budget films, and Heston seemed destined to remain an undistinguished action star. His old boss DeMille rescued him.

The director had long planned a new version of "The Ten Commandments," which he had made as a silent in 1923 with a radically different approach that combined biblical and modern stories. He was struck by Heston's facial resemblance to Michelangelo's sculpture of Moses, especially the similar broken nose, and put the actor through a long series of tests before giving him the role.

The Hestons' newborn, Fraser Clarke Heston, played the role of the infant Moses in the film.

More films followed: the eccentric thriller "Touch of Evil," directed by Orson Welles; William Wyler's "The Big Country," costarring with Gregory Peck; a sea saga, "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" with Gary Cooper.

Then his greatest role: "Ben-Hur."

Heston wasn't the first to be considered for the remake of 1925 biblical epic. Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster and Rock Hudson had declined the film. Heston plunged into the role, rehearsing two months for the furious chariot race.

He railed at suggestions the race had been shot with a double: "I couldn't drive it well, but that wasn't necessary. All I had to do was stay on board so they could shoot me there. I didn't have to worry; MGM guaranteed I would win the race."

The huge success of "Ben-Hur" and Heston's Oscar made him one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood. He combined big-screen epics like "El Cid" and "55 Days at Peking" with lesser ones such as "Diamond Head," "Will Penny" and "Airport 1975." In his later years he played cameos in such films as "Wayne's World 2" and "Tombstone."

He often returned to the theater, appearing in such plays as "A Long Day's Journey into Night" and "A Man for All Seasons." He starred as a tycoon in the prime-time soap opera, "The Colbys," a two-season spinoff of "Dynasty."

At his birth in a Chicago suburb on Oct. 4, 1923, his name was Charles Carter. His parents moved to St. Helen, Mich., where his father, Russell Carter, operated a lumber mill. Growing up in the Michigan woods with almost no playmates, young Charles read books of adventure and devised his own games while wandering the countryside with his rifle.

Charles's parents divorced, and she married Chester Heston, a factory plant superintendent in Wilmette, Ill., an upscale north Chicago suburb. Shy and feeling displaced in the big city, the boy had trouble adjusting to the new high school. He took refuge in the drama department.

"What acting offered me was the chance to be many other people," he said in a 1986 interview. "In those days I wasn't satisfied with being me."

Calling himself Charlton Heston from his mother's maiden name and his stepfather's last name, he won an acting scholarship to Northwestern University in 1941. He excelled in campus plays and appeared on Chicago radio. In 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and served as a radio-gunner in the Aleutians.

In 1944 he married another Northwestern drama student, Lydia Clarke, and after his army discharge in 1947, they moved to New York to seek acting jobs. Finding none, they hired on as codirectors and principal actors at a summer theater in Asheville, N.C.

Back in New York, both Hestons began finding work. With his strong 6-feet-2 build and craggily handsome face, Heston won roles in TV soap operas, plays ("Antony and Cleopatra" with Katherine Cornell) and live TV dramas such as "Julius Caesar," "Macbeth," "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Of Human Bondage."

Heston wrote several books: "The Actor's Life: Journals 1956-1976," published in 1978; "Beijing Diary: 1990," concerning his direction of the play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" in Chinese; "In the Arena: An Autobiography," 1995; and "Charlton Heston's Hollywood: 50 Years of American Filmmaking," 1998.

Besides Fraser, who directed his father in an adventure film, "Mother Lode," the Hestons had a daughter, Holly Ann, born Aug. 2, 1961. The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1994 at a party with Hollywood and political friends. They had been married 64 years when he died.

In late years, Heston drew as much publicity for his crusades as for his performances. In addition to his NRA work, he campaigned for Republican presidential and congressional candidates and against affirmative action.

He resigned from Actors Equity, claiming the union's refusal to allow a white actor to play a Eurasian role in "Miss Saigon" was "obscenely racist." He attacked CNN's telecasts from Baghdad as "sowing doubts" about the allied effort in the 1990-91 Gulf War.

At a Time Warner stockholders meeting, he castigated the company for releasing an Ice-T album that purportedly encouraged cop killing.

Heston wrote in "In the Arena" that he was proud of what he did "though now I'll surely never be offered another film by Warners, nor get a good review in Time. On the other hand, I doubt I'll get a traffic ticket very soon."

Here is a partial list of some of Charlton Heston's films:

"Peer Gynt," 1942

"Julius Caesar," 1949

"Dark City," 1950

"The Greatest Show on Earth," 1952

"The Savage," 1952

"Ruby Gentry," 1952

"The President's Lady," 1953

"Pony Express," 1953

"Arrowhead," 1953

"Bad for Each Other," 1953

"The Naked Jungle," 1954

"Secret of the Incas," 1954

"The Far Horizons," 1955

"The Private War of Major Benson," 1955

"Lucy Gallant," 1955

"The Ten Commandments," 1956

"Three Violent People," 1957

"Touch of Evil," 1958

"The Big Country," 1958

"The Buccaneer," 1958

"The Wreck of the Mary Deare," 1959

"Ben-Hur," 1959

"El Cid," 1961

"The Pigeon That Took Rome," 1962

"Diamond Head," 1963

"55 Days at Peking," 1963

"The Greatest Story Ever Told," 1965

"Major Dundee," 1965

"The Agony and the Ecstasy," 1965

"The War Lord," 1965

"Khartoum," 1966

"Counterpoint," 1968

"Planet of the Apes," 1968

"Will Penny," 1968

"Number One," 1969

"Julius Caesar," 1970

"Beneath the Planet of the Apes," 1970

"The Hawaiians," 1970

"The Omega Man," 1971

"Call of the Wild," 1972

"Antony and Cleopatra," 1972 (also director)

"Skyjacked," 1972

"Soylent Green," 1973

"The Three Musketeers," 1974

"Airport 1975," 1974

"Earthquake," 1974

"The Four Musketeers," 1975

"The Last Hard Men," 1976

"Midway," 1976

"Two-Minute Warning," 1976

"The Prince and the Pauper" (or "Crossed Swords)," 1977

"Gray Lady Down," 1978

"Mountain Man," 1980

"The Awakening," 1980

"Mother Lode," 1982 (also director)

"Solar Crisis," 1990

"Almost an Angel," 1990

"Wayne's World 2," 1993

"Tombstone," 1993

"True Lies," 1994

"In the Mouth of Madness," 1995

"Alaska," 1996

"Hamlet," 1996

"Hercules," 1997

The Couch Potato Report - April 5th, 2008

This week The Couch Potato Report peels Florida, Heaven, Mist, Tomorrow, The Beatles and more!!

Sometimes the reason we like the films we like only stems from the fact that one film or another reminds us of something that we have personally experienced.

You might have fallen in love with FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL or WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, as you were falling in love.

SLAPSHOT might have become your favourite movie as you were learning how to play hockey.

And the BACK TO THE FUTURE films may have struck your fancy once you returned from the year 2015.

Personally, I watched this week's Hot Potato - the 1993 Canadian film LA FLORIDA, about a Quebec family who buys a motel and moves to south Florida. - right after I got back from Fort Lauderdale and south Florida.

So fresh with the smell of the sea air, the sight of palm trees, and the memory of beautiful women in bikinis on the beach in my mind, I liked it.

Now, had I not just spent a week, and had a great time in The Sunshine State...I am not sure I would have liked it very much.

But that is the power of life and the movies!!

Yes, in LA FLORIDA, tired of rough winters, a Quebec family buys a motel in south Florida.

But life is not as easy as they think it is going to be as the competition is fierce, and a land developer is trying to buy them out and send them home.

At times LA FLORIDA is a very nice film with some sweet moments, and it also has some great scenes featuring the beaches in Hollywood, Florida. It might be a bit long, but I liked it.

And if you have just returned from a Floridian vacation, I think you might like it too.

If you have just returned from the land where predictable romantic comedies are beloved by all, then you might also enjoy the film ALMOST HEAVEN.

This easy-to-figure-out film is set around the director, star and cast of a fishing show that is made for Canadian television.

A down on his luck former director has to go to Scotland to work with his ex-wife who is the star of the TV show in ALMOST HEAVEN, but as soon as he meets a beautiful local fishing guide, you can tell where this film is going to go.

And that is too bad because as soon as it takes the turn toward the land or predictable romantic comedies you can easily connect the dots to how it will end, and I didn't want it to!

That is because the cast, including Ottawa's Donal Logue from THE TAO OF STEVE and Vancouver's Joely Collins from the TV show COLD SQUAD, are charming and likeable, and the scenery in Scotland and British Columbia is spectacular to look at!!

Yes, there are some great moments in ALMOST HEAVEN...just not enough of them to make the film one I would recommend.

That is also the case with THE MIST, the film that brings Stephen King's horror novella to life.

There are also some great moments in this one, but at two hours and six minutes this film could have used a good editor to come in and tighten it up and heighten the suspense!

Well, because this is based on a Stephen King story, you know it isn't two fronts meeting, left over from any type of storm!

Nope, there is evil in that thar mist!!

In THE MIST something evil is unleashed upon a small town, and a small group of residents are trapped inside a grocery store, fighting for their lives.

THE MIST was written and directed by Frank Darabont, the man who also gave us the films THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE based on Stephen King works, but while this film does have some good, old fashioned scares, and the ending is one-of-a-kind, some of the bibilical fire and brimstone stuff goes on for way too long, and...for me, there weren't really any characters who I wanted to survive this ordeal...and when you are left with no one to root for in a horror/suspence or monster movie...you aren't left with much.

I have two unique titles to conclude The Couch Potato Report with this week, starting with OPERATION: FILMMAKER. This is a documentary about some Hollywood film stars and filmmakers who give an Iraqui wannabe filmmaker the opportunity of a lifetime.

Unfortunately, they give that opportunity to the wrong guy!!

Actor and director Liev Schrieber, who has been in many films, and more recently appeared as Michael Keppler on the TV show CSI.

Soon after the fall of Baghdad in 2003 he and a group of others decide to give a young film student named Muthana a chance to work on their film EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED in Prague after they see his story on MTV.

After initially being treated like a star, due to the news coverage and the fact that this documentary was being filmed, eventually Muthana is expected to work...but he really liked being treated as a star.

OPERATION: FILMMAKER is not a spectacular documentary, but at times it is very engaging, especially once you realize that Muthana is looking for everyone else to give him opportunities and money, including filmmaker Nina Davenport, who becomes increasingly entangled in his life, even giving him money on more than one occasion.

Yes, they gave a young man the opportunity of a lifetime...but they gave it to the wrong guy!!

Finally this week is a DVD that I think succeeds for several reasons....primarily since it is the first DVD release since the great talk show host Tom Snyder died last July...but also due to that fact that it contains what became John Lennon's last televised interview

Yes, THE TOMORROW SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER - JOHN, PAUL, TOM & RINGO features the late-great television host's interviews with three of the fab four.

In addition to John's interview from 1975, there is also a chat with Paul and Linda from 1979, and a 1981 interview with Ringo.

THE TOMORROW SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER - JOHN, PAUL, TOM & RINGO features real people giving honest answers to honest questions from a true broadcasting original and if you are a fan of JOHN, PAUL, TOM or RINGO, then this is a must have!

The very interesting THE TOMORROW SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER - JOHN, PAUL, TOM & RINGO, OPERATION: FILMMAKER - where the wrong guy gets the chance of a lifetime, the less-than-succesful cinematic version of Stephen King's THE MIST, the failed romantic comedy ALMOST HEAVEN and the Quebec film LA FLORIDA, a film you will enjoy if you have been to Florida recently, are all available now on DVD.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

SEASON ONE of the Canadian television series RENT-A-GOALIE debuts on DVD.

SHARKWATER seeks to debunk historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks.

In RESERVATION ROAD, one father loses a son and another tries to live with the guilt of a hit-and-run accident.

THE 11TH HOUR is Leonardo DiCaprio's look at the state of the global environment.

And THE PROM NIGHT COLLECTION contains the four original films in the Prom Night Franchise including the original film from 1980 starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Saskatchewan's own Leslie Nielsen.

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!

Russell Peters warning Juno censors to be ready

CALGARY - Juno Award hosts seem to have a way of making an entrance.

Last year, Nelly Furtado flew over the crowd "like a bird." The year before, Pamela Anderson played up her most "obvious" assets. And four years ago, Alanis Morissette kicked off her stint as MC wearing a nude foam body costume.

So what does comedian Russell Peters have planned when he helms the 2008 Junos on Sunday night?

"My tricks are talent," Peters said Friday as CTV unveiled the set for the show. "I don't need foam or planes or big (breasts). I do need the latter of the three - not on me but in my life."

"That's corny. I can't do any of that stuff. I'm me. I'm the real guy and so I'm going to use these legs and walk right to that spot," he said, pointing to the podium, "and start talking."

The comic, whose parody of ethnic stereotypes has won him a global following, has admitted he has never watched the Juno Awards - which celebrate the best of Canadian music - in his life.

But that didn't stop him from jumping into his shtick Friday.

"I really am looking forward to hosting the show on Sunday and making it somewhat watchable," Peters deadpanned.

"Let's face it. It's kind of sucked in the past. But I mean that in a nice way," he chuckled. "Like sucked in a good way and we're going to have a good time, that's what I'm saying."

The show's executive producer thinks that Peters is the perfect host for this year.

"This is a guy who sold out the (Air Canada Centre) for two nights - 30,000 tickets. It's unheard of and almost back to Steve Martin," said John Brunton.

"He's huge in Dubai, he's huge in Australia, he's huge in New Delhi and hopefully he'll be huge here in Calgary. I love the fact Russell lives in the moment."

Peters will be subject to a five second tape delay during the peformance - just in case.

"I don't think it's for me - it's for the network," Peters laughed. "They're the ones who will be thinking we really need to censor this guy. Welcome to free speech."

Peters wasn't the only comic on the stage Friday. Group of the Year nominee Hedley, featuring former "Canadian Idol" runner-up Jacob Hoggard had a few gems of their own.

"If we don't win we're going to kill ourselves," said Hoggard, whose group has been nominated before.

"For me, it's something I could have to make my parents refer to me only as 'Juno Award-winning Jacob Hoggard' - as opposed to 'son."'

This nomination is different, he said.

"Maybe it's because we're jaded jerks but I thought: 'Oh man,' then I saw who else was nominated and I thought: 'Great, that's a fantastic way to just set us up again,"' he joked.

As for the show itself, Quebec diva Celine Dion drew six nods, while indie darling Feist, punky princess Avril Lavigne and crooner Michael Buble each racked up five nominations.

Performers will include Lavigne, Feist, Anne Murray and opera star Measha Brueggergosman.

Montreal's Arcade Fire, Finger Eleven of Burlington, Ont., and Toronto's Blue Rodeo each earned three.

The best artist category includes Lavigne, Dion, Feist, Buble and Pascale Picard.

Sex Pistols concert DVD set for summer release

LONDON (Billboard) - The first-ever full-length in-concert Sex Pistols title to be authorized by the band is due to appear this summer.

"The Sex Pistols: There'll Always Be an England" features the pioneering punk outfit's original lineup of Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock performing at November 2007 reunion shows at London's Brixton Academy.

The project reunites the band with documentary filmmaker Julien Temple, who previously directed "The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle" and "The Filth and the Fury."

The DVD, recorded in HD/5.1 surround sound, will appear in the United Kingdom in June, to coincide with European festival dates. U.S. release details are not yet finalized, but it's expected to hit racks in August or September.

It is being distributed by FremantleMedia Enterprises, the U.K.-based commercial arm of "American Idol" producer FremantleMedia.

"All key international territories will have the DVD released by August," said Pete Kalhan, FremantleMedia Enterprises' senior VP of home entertainment & archive sales. "It'll be through our own label in the U.K. and a couple of other territories; elsewhere, we sub-license."

International marketing plans are at an early stage, but will be led by cinema screenings in selected cities. Kalhan hoped Temple and/or the band would participate in a Q&A session at the London launch.

In addition to the main concert footage, the DVD package will include an 80-minute Temple-directed feature called "The Knowledge," showing each band member revisiting his old London hunting grounds.

'Galactica' set for final showdown

Like all good things -- life, love, that particularly good chorizo empanada you had for lunch -- even Battlestar Galactica must come to an end.

The Peabody Award-winning series, hailed as one of the decade's finest TV offerings, is spooling up the faster-than-light drive for its fourth and final season, premiering tomorrow night on sci-fi channel Space.

It's the beginning of a bittersweet last leg for the cast and crew, including stars Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park. On screen, there's been much friction between their characters; Sackhoff plays tough-but-vulnerable ace pilot Kara (Starbuck) Thrace, while Park's Sharon (Boomer) Valerii (please, we call her Athena now) is a Cylon, the race of androids who destroyed humanity's homeworlds.

But in person during a recent visit to Toronto, they're as close and comfortable as sisters, alternating between finishing each others' sentences and ragging on each other without mercy.

"It's like having friends without trying," Vancouver native Park said of shooting a series as tight-knit and intense as Battlestar. "You see some of these people more often than you see your own family, and you have experiences that are deeper than the things you'll have with most of your friends."

What began as a huge TV gamble -- resurrecting the name and premise of a cheeseball 1970s Star Wars ripoff and giving it a gritty, politically aware edge -- has paid off with mainstream recognition, a ferociously devoted fanbase and significant fame for its stars.

Fame that includes a recent GQ magazine photo shoot featuring Sackhoff, Park and Canadian former supermodel Tricia Helfer (who plays smokin' hot Cylon Number Six) posing on motorcycles. In leather chaps. And bikinis.

"You get close. Literally," said Park, turning to coo at Sackhoff: "Your skin is so soft."

"Grace is laying on my back and Tricia's ass is my face," recalled Sackhoff. Fans, enjoy the mental image. GQ, enjoy the readership spike.

Between talk of how the writers' strike had some fearing Battlestar wouldn't come back ("We were drinking Irish whiskey at 9:30 a.m. on the last day because we pretty much thought it was the end," said Park) and a wild tangent about Sackhoff's brother biting the head off a crab that attacked him ("Do you think that crab was like, 'What the f---! Normally I go in the pot first!' "), we revisit the inevitable question: Why does political and religious commentary like Battlestar's have to be cloaked in a shield of sci-fi?

"It allows people a sense of comfort, to be talking about heavy issues but in the back of their minds to be able to dismiss their emotion toward the issue as science fiction," said Sackhoff.

"Everyone talks about it, but not addressing it directly," said Park. "And being able to do it in green flight suits and jetting off into space and FTL drives makes it that much easier.

"If someone gets their back up too much, someone else says, 'Look, it's called Battlestar Galactica.' "

It's not all metaphysics and Iraq war pokes, of course. But fans tuning in tomorrow night to discover what's up with Starbuck's miraculous return, find out whether or not the fleet will locate Earth and learn the identity of the final Cylon are going to have to wait awhile.

Sackhoff and Park, who were shooting Episode 14 of 20 at the time of our talk, said even they don't know the answers yet. They will come, though. All in good time.

"I think there's a tremendous freedom in what (the show's creators) want to say, but they know that they need to wrap it up, and they've got a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up," Sackhoff said.

"There's no way that we're going to be disappointed."

The last Cylon? Even the writers might not know

It is this TV season's "Who shot J.R.?" or "Which Simpsons character is gay?" Who is the last, yet-to-be-revealed Cylon in the Battlestar Galactica universe?

Of the 12 models of androids who've infiltrated human society, seven were identified over the first two seasons, and another four in Season 3's shocking finale, including crusty Col. Tigh and goodhearted Chief Tyrol.

But who is the final Cylon? Is it Admiral William Adama? President Laura Roslin? Apollo? Starbuck? Baltar? Some Viper pilot who has only been half-glimpsed in a couple of episodes?

Forget about prying the secret out of series stars Katee Sackhoff and Grace Park, though. They can't even agree with each other about who it is.

"We're already fighting about it," Park said. "She (Sackhoff) thinks she knows, and I think it's not true."

"Oh, I think it's not true, too," Sackhoff countered. "But I know. We all know. You think it's not real, I think it's real but they're going to have to change their minds."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on a second. Change their minds? About one of the series' biggest surprises?

"I think they're going to have to just pick a person out of thin air when we get to that episode, and make it make sense, or everyone's going to find out," Sackhoff said.

Plugging ears now! Don't want to hear that something so significant to the Galactica story arc could be decided on a whim at a writers meeting!

"It's not that casual, and you want to believe that something so great was contrived, that they meant to do it," Sackhoff said. "But I think that sometimes the things that are so great in life are by accident."

CBC to cut Calgary Newsworld unit, hire more Alberta reporters

CBC News is shutting down the Calgary unit of its 24-hour Newsworld television service as of the end of May, and introducing additional positions for newsgathering, the public broadcaster said Thursday.

Staff in Calgary were told that the decision will result in 32 redundancies.

However, 25 new positions — largely reporters, camera operators and other field production posts — will be created in Calgary and Edmonton as part of an ongoing attempt by CBC News to boost newsgathering and local coverage by putting more "feet on the street."

The two hours of programming Calgary's Newsworld unit produced each weekday will be shifted to the Toronto bureau.

"We came to the position for reasons of organization and technology. Doing the couple of hours of Newsworld out in Alberta didn't make any sense any longer. We could do it more efficiently or effectively in Toronto, where we do the other hours," CBC News publisher John Cruickshank said Thursday afternoon.

"What we're centralizing is the production piece and the advantage we get …is to decentralize the newsgathering. That's the front lines of the business," he said.

"We have to spend taxpayers' money wisely and efficiently. We won't retreat from seeking efficiencies and making sure that the investment gets made in great reporting."

According to Cruickshank, the new jobs will be "multimedia," with individuals hired into television positions, "but we'll be looking for people who can file for CBCNews.ca" as well.

Cruickshank said he expects the new jobs will result in Alberta being better represented across all media lines of CBC News.

"This is really going to increase the ability to get Alberta news on Newsworld, on [CBCNews.ca] and certainly improve the local shows," he said, adding that the new positions will put "more people in the field in Alberta for The National as well."

Watchdog criticizes cuts

However, Thursday's announcement was criticized as another step "in a long-term trend towards a centralization of CBC's operations … in Toronto" by the group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.

"It moves CBC into a model of a metropolis, Toronto, and a hinterland, the rest of Canada," Ian Morrison, spokesman for the Canadian content watchdog, told CBC News.

While Morrison commended the creation of the new positions to tell Alberta stories, "that is at a grassroots reporting level, not at a resource-allocation, editorial decision-making level," he said.

"I think it would be a great idea to reduce the bureaucratic over-burden, particularly at senior management levels within the broadcast centre in Toronto, and to deploy such resources — to use Mr. Cruickshank's words — for grassroots, people on the street."

New Kids on the Block to Reunite

BOSTON - They may be pushing 40, but the New Kids are returning to the block. The Boston boy band New Kids on the Block, which sold 70 million albums in the 1980s and early 1990s, has reunited and plans to release a new album and go on tour. The reunion comes 20 years after the release of the group's multi-platinum album, "Hanging Tough."

The group released a new photo Wednesday and reportedly will appear on the Today show Friday morning — the same time an unmarked countdown clock on http://www.nkotb.com ends.

"The fan response to this has been incredible," band member Donnie Wahlberg told the Boston Herald.

Wahlberg said he was convinced to get back together with his former bandmates — Joey McIntyre, brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood — when they decided to record new music. Wahlberg said he wrote 80 percent of the new material with McIntyre and Jordan Knight.

"I had no interest going out on a nostalgia tour and singing the same material," said Wahlberg, 38.

But he added, "We absolutely will do the old songs for sure."

Producer Maurice Starr formed the group in Boston in the 1980s, hoping to recreate the success he had with another teen group from the city, New Edition.

At the height of their popularity, New Kids sold out world tours, marketed millions of dollars in merchandise and spawned a Saturday morning cartoon.

The group disbanded in 1994. Wahlberg has acted on television and in movies, while Jordan Knight, McIntyre and Wood released solo albums. Jonathan Knight became a real estate developer.

Seinfeld unhurt after Hamptons car wreck

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. - Jerry Seinfeld was in a harrowing rollover wreck but was unhurt after the brakes on one of his vintage cars failed.

Seinfeld was driving alone when the brakes on his 1967 Fiat BTM stopped working Saturday evening, East Hampton Town Police Chief Todd Sarris told the New York Post. Seinfeld tried the emergency brake, to no avail, and then swerved to keep the car from careering into an intersection, Sarris said.

The two-door sedan flipped over and came to a stop just yards from the highway, Sarris said, adding that the comic's maneuver "probably avoided a very serious accident."

The wreck was attributed to mechanical failure, and no summonses were issued, Sarris said. Seinfeld, 53, did not require medical attention and returned to his East Hampton home.

"He was a little shocked when he walked in and it started to dawn on him what happened," his wife, Jessica, told the Post.

The comedian took the crash in snide.

"Because I know there are kids out there, I want to make sure they all know that driving without braking is not something I recommend, unless you have professional clown training or a comedy background, as I do," the Post quoted him as saying. "It is not something I plan to make a habit of."

The sitcom star, who co-wrote, co-produced and starred in last year's animated "Bee Movie," is also an auto aficionado. He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in November that his favorite car in his collection is a 1955 Porsche Spyder.

'Scrubs' Is Done at NBC

NEW YORK -- NBC confirmed on Wednesday that "Scrubs" will end its seven-season run on the network in May. Which doesn't necessarily mean the show is going away for good.

It's widely expected that "Scrubs" will end up on ABC next season, given that it's produced by the network's Disney brother ABC Studios and network entertainment chief Stephen McPherson helped develop the show back when he ran the studio. Recent reports have said a deal with ABC is near completion; ABC will announce its schedule in mid-May, during the traditional upfront week.

NBC boss Ben Silverman managed to get in a diss of ABC in noting that following its season finale in May, "Scrubs" will be a free agent. "If they can go 1-for-21, good for them," Silverman said, referring to ABC's less-than-stellar recent record at developing comedy hits.

Spinoff of "The Office" highlights new NBC shows

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC will launch a spinoff of its popular workplace comedy "The Office" following the broadcast of the National Football League's Super Bowl championship next February, the network said on Wednesday.

The announcement came as NBC unveiled its upcoming programming lineup, including plans to bring back the acclaimed hospital drama "ER," which launched the career of movie star George Clooney, for a 15th and final season next fall.

Another returning show is the low-rated but critically acclaimed series "Friday Night Lights," a drama centered on football in a small Texas town that will be back next winter.

Among new shows set to debut next season in a prime-time schedule heavy on fantasy and action fare is a remake of the 1980s hit "Knight Rider," a series titled "Merlin" and a modern warrior drama called "Kings," inspired by the themes in David and Goliath.

Other highlights include new dramas "The Philanthropist," about a renegade billionaire who uses his wealth to help people, and "My Worst Enemy," starring Christian Slater as a suburban dad who lives a secret life as a spy.

NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman, hired last year to help the network recover from a long ratings slump, said we wanted to bring "inspirational, heroic, escapist" drama to the schedule.

"We've watched a lot of dark stuff not work -- and we've learned from that," he said.

NBC, majority-owned by General Electric Co, took the wraps off its programming plans six weeks ahead of the other major broadcast networks, saying it wanted to give advertisers time to plan long-term campaigns and build their marketing around the programs.

In all, the major TV networks will sign about $9 billion worth of advertising deals in the coming weeks, as they unveil their new schedules after a miserable 2007-2008 season. Prime-time ratings are down about 12 percent from a year ago.

NBC UNDER PRESSURE

NBC, struggling since favorites "Friends" and "Frasier" ended their runs four years ago, is facing particularly intense pressure to rebound. It could again finish the season last in the ratings race behind Fox, ABC and CBS, and its poor performance in recent years has given rise to talk that GE may consider selling NBC Universal.

In one notable programming move for next season, NBC said it would air four half-hour editions of the late-night sketch comedy series "Saturday Night Live" in prime time on Thursdays, with plans to schedule at least some of them the same weeks as U.S. presidential debates.

But the long-rumored spinoff of "The Office," the comedy starring Steve Carell as a cluelessly offensive boss at a Pennsylvania paper company, drew the most attention from journalists and advertisers gathered in New York for NBC's "upfront" presentation of its new shows.

In a bid to give the spinoff the widest possible exposure, the new series will premiere back-to-back with an episode of the parent show following NBC's coverage of the Super Bowl, which ranks as the most watched U.S. telecast every year.

However, executives offered no information about the casting or premise of the new series, other than to say it is from the same creative team as the original NBC show.

Indeed, details about all the new shows announced by NBC were extremely sketchy given that the network lacked any promotional trailers or pilots to showcase them.

"We've got so many terrific plans already in place, there was no reason to wait," said Marc Graboff, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment.

Since NBC announced its schedule before competitors, however, there could be changes in coming weeks and months.

"We always obviously have to react to the three-dimensional chess game we're playing," Silverman said. "Clearly, if something happens that requires us to make an adjustment, we'll make that adjustment."

Walt Disney Co's ABC, News Corp's Fox and CBS Corp's CBS will unveil their lineups in May, the traditional month of the upfronts, when negotiations between networks and advertisers hit full stride.

Jimmy Kimmel marks milestone show

LOS ANGELES - Ben Affleck might be history. Jimmy Kimmel is trying for video magic with someone else to mark the 1,000th episode of his late-night talk show Thursday.

"This morning I woke up with Richard Simmons in my bedroom for something we're preparing for the show. I don't want to give too many details, but suffice it to say that Sam Elliot and Richard Simmons were hovering over me," Kimmel told The Associated Press earlier this week.

Whether the taped bit can top Kimmel's video duel with girlfriend Sarah Silverman remains to be seen. Kimmel himself marvels at the online popularity of the comic films, one in which Silverman and Matt Damon sing of their faux hot love affair and the other with Kimmel striking back by claiming a romance with Damon's pal Affleck.

Last time Kimmel checked, he said, 25 million people had viewed the videos online. "I guess this Internet is useful for something other than pornography," he said.

There's a chance Silverman might contribute to the 90-minute "Jimmy Kimmel Live" anniversary special, airing at 11:35 p.m. EDT Thursday on ABC (a half-hour ahead of its usual start time). Eva Longoria Parker and Kid Rock are among the scheduled guests.

"I'm aware there are plans being laid I'm not supposed to know about," Kimmel said. He has mixed feelings about a possible surprise, he said, "but it usually works out OK."

Kimmel recalled his early ambitions for the show.

"When I started, I said I won't stand up and do a monologue, I won't wear a tie. ... Most of that didn't work out," he said, and the show ended up reverting to "tried and true" conventions.

But he prides himself on bringing his own twists to the format, such as showcasing unexpected talent like the parking lot guard who has become a show staple.

"No one is too small to put on TV. If someone makes us all laugh around the office, then they'll make the audience laugh, too," he said.

The late-night scene is facing upheaval in 2009, when NBC has said Jay Leno will turn "Tonight" over to Conan O'Brien. There has been speculation that ABC might make a bid for Leno and fit him into its late-night lineup.

Does Kimmel ponder how that scenario might affect him?

"I try not to worry about it too much," he said. "It seems like every year something like that comes up. I used to obsess about it. ... But five years later, we're still here."

He attributes that to dedication, among other factors.

"We've been on long enough and proven that we can put a pretty good show on. That's pretty rare, when you look around. It takes a combination of things to be a talk show host — one is being a good host and committing your life to that completely."

No one is good enough to do the job just by breezing in, he said, pointing to Chevy Chase's short-lived 1993 talk show as a cautionary tale.

But if Kimmel finds himself hit by fallout from late-night's coming changes, he's ready.

"I'm planning to open a bait and tackle shop," he quipped.

Mariah Carey surpasses Elvis in No. 1s

LOS ANGELES - With her 18th chart-topper "Touch My Body," Mariah Carey has passed Elvis Presley for the most No. 1 singles on the Billboard singles chart, and is now second only to the Beatles. But while the diva was in full celebration mode after learning of her latest milestone, she was also quick to put her accomplishment in perspective.

"I really can never put myself in the category of people who have not only revolutionized music but also changed the world," Carey told The Associated Press on Tuesday via phone from London. "That's a completely different era and time ... I'm just feeling really happy and grateful."

Carey's single is the new No. 1 single on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart: The song also is No. 1 on the trade magazine's digital download chart thanks to a precedent-setting 286,000 downloads in its debut week. She had been tied with Presley with 17 No. 1 singles; the Beatles are the all-time leaders with 20. (Madonna also beat a Presley record this week, surpassing the King for the most top 10 hits with her 37th for her hit "4 Minutes.")

Carey said being in such company was gratifying not only because of her personal success, but what it meant for women and minorities.

"For me, in my mind the accomplishment is just that much sweeter," she said. "In terms of my ethnicity, always feeling like an outsider, always feeling different ... for me it's about saying, 'Thank you Lord, for giving me the faith to believe in myself when other people had written me off.'"

"Touch My Body" is the first single off of Carey's upcoming album "EMC2," due out April 16. It is the follow-up to her Grammy-winning disc "The Emancipation of Mimi," released in 2005, that year's best-selling album with five million copies sold; it marked a huge comeback for the multiplatinum superstar after personal and professional setbacks.

Like that album, Carey said "EMC2" continues her sense of freedom and rebirth: "It's like emancipation of Mariah Carey to the second power and beyond."

Carey, 38, said this is the most enjoyable point of her nearly two-decade old career, and that's her priority these days, not trying to set sales records or even making pop history.

"I've gone through enough of my life worrying about that kind if thing," said Carey.

"I want to encourage anyone else out there who feels like maybe they can't overcome an obstacle, I feel like I'm living proof ... never lose your faith," she added. "I'm seriously a grateful individual right now."

The Eagles to land in Moncton

Country-rock veterans the Eagles will headline the 2008 Magnetic Hill Music Festival in Moncton, organizers announced on Monday.

The Eagles agreed to the Aug. 2 concert at Moncton's Magnetic Hill Concert Centre because of Moncton's central location in the Maritimes, said show co-producer Donald K. Tarlton.

Halifax and Moncton have long been competing to bring the American group to the Maritimes.

John Fogerty, KT Tunstall and the Sam Roberts Band will also play at the summer festival.

The $109.50 tickets go on sale on April 11.

Outgoing Moncton Mayor Lorne Mitton said he is thrilled to have rolled in with the Stones in 2005 and will now fly out with the Eagles.

Last year's album Long Road out of Eden was the group's first full studio effort in 28 years and contained the Grammy-winning track How Long.

'Air Farce' ends its 15-year run

TORONTO - CBC-TV's long-running comedy show, "The Royal Canadian Air Farce," is ending its 15-year run, a mutual decision by the show's producers and the network.

Producers Don Ferguson and Roger Abbott, who also star on the beloved sketch comedy series, have informed the cast and crew that there will be a truncated, 10-episode season starting in the fall, with a final "Air Farce" farewell edition airing on New Year's Eve.

"All good things must come to an end," Ferguson said Tuesday. "Our last deal with the CBC was made after our 12th season and it was for three years, and the feeling was that would be long enough."

He added the new regime of CBC programming executives seemed to agree.

"It's all new people here since then ... there's a totally new regime, and what they want to do, and I agree with them completely, is they want to do their own thing," he said.

"The thing about TV time-slots is you can't make new ones. The only way you can get your hands on one is if somebody vacates. If they're going to come in and do their job, they don't want to feel they have to carry every predecessor's decision."

Other cast members of the show, in particular Luba Goy, are disappointed by the decision to call it quits, Ferguson added.

"She's upset; this has been her main gig forever and ever," Ferguson said.

"I have kind of mixed feelings about it. Thirty-five years is a long time, and if there's a chance we're ever going to do anything else in our lives besides this, we have to stop this first. But personally I feel bad for all the other people on the staff and the cast - none of them wanted to stop. So I am feeling kind of responsible in a sense."

Kirstine Layfield, CBC's head of network programming, paid tribute to the show on Tuesday, and added Canadians have likely not seen the last of the "Air Farce" crew.

"We remain in discussions with them about upcoming projects. It's too soon to say what's next, but we look forward to continuing to work with them," she said.

"We're paying special tribute to it this year as we bid it a fond farewell. 'Air Farce' has meant a lot to the CBC and its fans and we want to celebrate a great partnership unprecedented in television."

"Air Farce" debuted on CBC Radio in December 1973 and boasted more than 600 radio broadcasts over 20 years before making the leap to television in 1993. Its last radio broadcast was in 1997.

In 2007, it returned to a live format with "Air Farce Live."

The union representing Canadian actors bemoaned the end of the show's run, assailing the CBC for pulling the plug.

"We were hoping this was an April Fool's prank," Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's national executive director, said in a statement.

"'Air Farce' is one of the few remaining Canadian television programs that the CBC hasn't cancelled. We can only hope they will replace this pillar of Canadian programming with something equally as rooted in Canada's culture."

Throughout its run, the show has poked mostly gentle fun at politicians, journalists and other famous Canadians - everyone from Stephen Harper to Jean Chretien and George Stroumboulopoulos.

"Politicians are so mealy-mouthed, they would never admit if we'd angered them," Ferguson said. "We can be occasionally nasty but we're not mean-minded. We've never been sued or anything; it's not our style. We wanted our stuff to sting a little bit, but there's no real pleasure in personally attacking somebody."

Fans of the show were upset to learn the show was ending.

"Oh my God, say it isn't so - a Canadian institution gone?" Philip Elliott wrote on the Facebook group devoted to "Air Farce Live."

"CBC needs to be drawn and quartered for the way it's destroying its institution. Just as I'm introducing my American partner to Canadian culture, the best of it is being killed off. A sad day for all of us."

Other TV watchers welcomed the news, saying the show had long passed its prime.

Craig Lauzon, a cast member whose robotic impersonation of Harper is a hit with fans, says he's sad to see the show ending.

"It's my fifth year, so that's a pretty good run for anybody," he said. "But the younger members of the troupe wanted to keep going for sure. As an actor you always like to keep working, so I am disappointed on that front, because I am going to have to start looking for another job. But it's an honour to have been involved with 'Air Farce' at all."

The final show of this season of "Air Farce" airs on Friday night.