The Couch Potato Report - May 31st, 2008

This week The Couch Potato Report peels the WHA, the fall of the Roman Empire, and we remember a great director.

There will be a lot of remembering this week here on The Report, and we will start that with the HOT POTATO by remembering the World Hockey Association.

I am sure that you know that the WHA operated from 1972 to 1979, and I am also quite sure that you know that after the 1978-79 season the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets joined the National Hockey League, so I won't spend any time this morning recapping the league's history.

Instead, let me add to the knowledge and memories you have by telling you that THE WHA CHRONICLES - a 3 DVD Set celebrating the league - is now available and it includes three full games, including Game Six of the Avco Cup final between the Oilers and Jets at Winnipeg Arena.

And for you trivia buffs...here is the answer to the question: Who scored the last ever goal in the WHA?

Yes, Dave Semenko scored the final goal in WHA history, even while a man who is the most renowned goal scorer in the history of hockey was also on the ice.

This set also lets us see the WHA play of some other very familiar names, and Hockey Hall Of Famers in their own right.

Including a certain, Mr. Hockey!!

In addition to the games, this Limited Edition set also has a six minute fight reel, a feature on the history of the league, all new interviews with Bobby Hull and Wayne Gretzky, and much more!

THE WHA CHRONICLES isn't an all-encompassing history lesson on this onetime rival to the NHL, but since many of it's games were never shown on television, or even filmed, it does a great job preserving what is available.

This is a great DVD Set, whether you remember the WHA yourself, or have just heard about it for years.

Now while are remembering...hey, remember when John Cusack made fantastic films?

In movies like SAY ANYTHING, HIGH FIDELITY, GROSS POINTE BLANK, ONE CRAZY SUMMER, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, and THE SURE THING Cusack was so good playing an unconventional hero that you couldn't imagine anyone else playing the roles.

But as I mentioned a few weeks ago when I spoke about Cusack's film MARTIAN CHILD, he seems to have lost his way of late, picking films that just don't work, and the results have been some really bad movies.

Sadly, that downward trend continues with GRACE IS GONE.

In this well-meaning movie Cusack plays a man who's wife dies in Iraq, and he just can't bring himself to tell that to his two young daughters...so he takes them on a trip.

GRACE IS GONE has some touching moments, but it is lacking in emotion. A woman, a mother, a soldier has died, and since the movie doesn't let us meet her, there is no real emotional attachement to that death, however meaningful it might be.

Plus, there are more than a few scenes in the film that don't seem to really fit in with the rest of the story, and the end result is a film that I just can't recommend.

I don't necessarily blame John Cusack for the failure of GRACE IS GONE....I just wish he could remember how solid his choices used to be, and try to find a film worthy of his talent...and legacy.

Nope, when it comes to John Cusack films, he doesn't make 'em like he used to.

And when it comes to Hollywood and epic motion pictures, they don't make 'em like they used to!!

Hey, remember the good old days of filmmaking?

Well, if you do, and you miss them, THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE is one from that era!!

This is one of those classic films that had me saying: "They don't make them like this anymore!!"

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE is a 1964 epic film that stars legendary Canadian actor Christopher Plummer, the always beautiful Sophia Loren, Sir Alec Guinness, James Mason, Omar Sharif, and a cast of thousands.

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE features the glory, the greed and grandeur that was Rome, all recreated and filmed for you to enjoy.

The film was a financial failure at the box-office, and at three hours it is a bit long....but it remains one of the great screen epics and it is finally available on DVD for the first time in a digitally remastered 3-DVD deluxe edition.

Nope, "They don't make them like this anymore!!" and as a film fan who remembers when they did, that is too bad.

Up next this week is DARFUR NOW. And this film serves to remind us that while we get to enjoy a mostly peace filled life, (START THE CLIP NEW!!) there are others who don't.

There have been so many unbelievable things have happened to the people of Sudan over the course of the past decade - that it is getting more difficult every day to fathom the suffering caused by the ongoing civil war and burgeoning ethnic strife.

DARFUR NOW is not a completely compelling documentary, but it does succeed at shedding more light on the region, and clarifying the ongoing conflict as it offers up inspirational stories of regular people - and celebrities like Don Cheadle and George Clooney - who have actually made a difference there...and here.

If you want to see DARFUR NOW, you can actually buy it for about $8. And by buying it for just a few dollars more than it would cost you to rent it, after you've seen it, you can pass it on to others to watch.

Finally this week, it had been my intention to begin this year's FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD back this week, as an alternative to the action filled, very loud, check-your-brain-at-the-door summer movie season.

But on Monday, a great filmmaker and actor passed away, so I will tell you about the Dutch film WAITER next week.

This week, we remember and celebrate Academy Award-winning director Sydney Pollack who died on Monday at the age of 73.

Pollack was a Hollywood mainstay who achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with films like THE FIRM, THE WAY WE WERE, ABSENSE OF MALICE, THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN, BOBBY DEERFIELD, THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, the period drama OUT OF AFRICA, and the gender-bending comedy TOOTSIE.

In addition to his work as a director, Sydney was also an actor, having recently appeared on the TV shows WILL & GRACE and THE SOPRANOS an dthe films MADE OF HONOUR and MICHAEL CLAYTON.

Pollack died of cancer Monday afternoon at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, and he was surrounded by family.

I have been surrounded by his work for as long as I can remember, and I will always be a fan.

Sydney Pollack, thank you for the movies and memories! May you rest in peace!!


Sydney Pollack's TOOTISE, MICHAEL CLAYTON, OUT OF AFRICA, THE WAY WE WERE and many of his other films are all available now on DVD, along with the new releases GRACE IS GONE, THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, DARFUR NOW, and the great, limited edition, 3-DVD Set - THE WHA CHRONICLES.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

THE WILD HORSE REDEMPTION is a film about hardened criminals who are given 90 days to tame wild mustangs.

THE BRONX IS BURNING is the television mini-series that features baseball's triumph over the turmoil and hysteria of the summer of 1977 in New York City.

SEMI-PRO is the latest sports comedy from Will Ferrell

Also next week, VINCE VAUGHN'S WILD WEST SHOW is a documentary about Vaughn and four stand-up comedians living on a bus and performing in 30 cities.

And if you need an alternative to the action filled, very loud, check-your-brain-at-the-door summer movie, well, once again next week I will give you one as THE FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD returns with the Dutch film WAITER!

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

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

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

"Sex and the City" tickets sell at brisk pace

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With Friday's opening of "Sex and the City" shaping up as a big girls-night-out event at U.S. movie theaters, industry analysts say the film seems poised to set a new box office standard for "chick flicks."

Estimates for the film's first weekend in North America range from $25 million to $40 million, and one leading tracking service, Los Angeles-based Media By Numbers, estimated a Friday-through-Sunday tally in the mid-$30 millions.

Online ticket retailer Fandango reported "Sex and the City" was accounting for 90 percent of its advance sales, with tickets being snapped up at the rate of seven per second.

"At this fast pace, we expect to sell out more than 1,000 'Sex and the City' showtimes by day's end," said Fandango CEO Rick Butler. "The advance ticket sales are nothing short of extraordinary for a female-driven comedy-drama."

"Sex" already has grossed nearly $12 million in overseas business since mid-week, including more than $7 million in Britain, nearly $3 million in Germany and $1.3 million in France, according to studio figures.

The film is based on the hit HBO television series of the same name starring Sarah Jessica Parker as a fashion-conscious, Manhattan magazine columnist, Carrie Bradshaw, writing about urban romance and the singles scene.

Carrie and her three best pals -- Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha -- are all picking up their lives where they left off when the TV show went off the air in 2004.

An online survey of more than 10,000 moviegoers buying tickets from Fandango found that 94 percent were women, and that 67 percent planned to attend the movie this weekend with a group of female friends.

That translates to a lot of women swarming theaters after downing Cosmopolitans -- a favored cocktail of the "Sex and the City" women -- notwithstanding early mixed reviews.

"It might be a really fun place to be for guys this weekend at the theater, because the ratio of women to men is going to be huge, said Paul Dergarabedian, head of Media By Numbers.

But Brandon Gray, president of the movie Web site Box Office Mojo, said the commercial potential may be limited by a promotional campaign aimed primarily at the devoted but finite female fan base of the TV show.

"Because the marketing is preaching to the converted, one wonders whether it will have legs beyond the opening," Gray told Reuters.

The film opens in nearly 3,300 North American theaters. Perhaps the closest comparison for a female-skewing, fashion-themed, big-screen "dramedy" set in New York is "The Devil Wears Prada," which opened in more than 2,800 theaters in 2006 with $27.5 million its first weekend.

That film went on to gross $124.8 million in its domestic run, Dergarabedian said.

But "Devil" was aimed at younger audiences, whereas "Sex and the City" is targeted at moviegoers aged 17 and older.

Moreover, "Sex and the City" is expected to play second fiddle this weekend to blockbuster holdover "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which grossed over $100 million from its first Friday-through-Sunday frame, Dergarabedian said.

Even if "Indiana Jones" drops 50 percent in its second weekend -- a typical decline for many big Hollywood action movies -- the bullwhip-cracking archeologist is likely to easily eclipse the four Cosmo-swilling girls from the city.

Brangelina rents French villa; twin births denied

CORRENS, France - The Brangelina clan began settling into a villa in the south of France as reports that the couple's twins had been born were refuted by other celebrity news outlets.

"Entertainment Tonight" first reported on its Web site Friday that Angelina Jolie had given birth in France, citing a "source close to Jolie." Then People magazine posted a story online saying that Jolie had not given birth, and E! and US Weekly followed with their own stories saying the babies remained unborn.

"Entertainment Tonight" did not immediately return a call for comment; visitors to the show's Web site saw a blank screen or a message that read "technical difficulties."

Representatives for Jolie and her companion, Brad Pitt, did not respond to phone and e-mail requests from The Associated Press.

Jolie has said previously that her twins are due in August. She and Pitt have four other children: 6-year-old Maddox, 4-year-old Pax and 3-year-old Zahara, who are adopted, and 2-year-old Shiloh.

In southern France, where locals say the couple recently moved, officials at the Etoile Maternite Catholique de Provence in Aix-en-Provence, one of the region's top maternity clinics, said that Jolie had not been there and did not appear scheduled to come.

Privacy rules about health matters are extremely strict in France.

The pair recently moved into the Miraval Estate villa in the French hamlet of Correns, in the Provence region, according to the mayor and a local inn owner.

Traditionally, the region has lured tourists mostly for rock-climbing excursions on the rolling hills of the verdant region and leisurely strolls in its quaint medieval villages.

Mayor Michael Latz trumpets Correns as France's first town where all locally grown produce is organic — and his villagers teem with pride about that reputation, and seem mostly bemused about the invasion of Hollywood buzz.

"I like to joke that I'm happy to be able to contribute to the image of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, because Correns is so well known," Mayor Michael Latz said with a smile outside the ochre-colored town hall.

Latz said that Tom Bove, an American businessman who owns Miraval, recently told him that Jolie and Pitt had agreed to a three-year lease on the property, known for producing high-quality organic wine.

The couple is "in the process of moving in," said Latz, adding that he hadn't met them and knew nothing about whether Jolie had given birth or not.

"They are people who I hope will live normally here," he said. "I would think the choice of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ... is tied to the quality of life in Correns."

Latz also rejected speculation about an imminent wedding, and said that under French law they'd need to alert local authorities if they want to officially tie the knot here.

Security guards were blocking the gates to the estate Friday, while a postal truck and other maintenance vehicles regularly passed in and out. The castle and accompanying buildings can't be seen from public roads.

Onno Stijl, owner of the L'Auberge du Parc inn, said it was a good thing they were moving in and could help business. He said he gets his wine from the estate's vineyards.

"It's a couple living here now like everyone," he said.

The area, he said, "is a bit isolated but that gives it a certain ... privacy."

According to its Web site, the Miraval estate dates from pre-Roman times. It includes fountains, aqueducts, moats, a lake and vineyards that produce an organic wine distributed worldwide.

Pitt and Jolie may be Miraval's first movie stars in residence, but Miraval has seen its share of rock stars. The estate includes a studio which has hosted the likes of Sting, the Cranberries and Pink Floyd, who recorded tracks for "The Wall" album there.

Eddie Murphy back in 'Beverly Hills'

On the heels of the successful revival of the "Indiana Jones" franchise, Paramount has set in motion a fourth installment of "Beverly Hills Cop."

Eddie Murphy is attached to reprise his role as Detroit detective Axel Foley, and Brett Ratner is negotiating to direct.

Studio is aiming for a 2009 production start and a summer 2010 release.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original "Beverly Hills Cop" trilogy with late partner Don Simpson, won't be actively involved in the new film.

Murphy approached the studio about reviving the franchise that cemented his status as a B.O. mega-star. Par brass were eager to land another picture with Murphy after he finished the Karey Kirkpatrick-directed "NowhereLand," which Paramount releases in June 2009.

That film was also produced by Di Bonaventura, who is working on the summer 2009 releases "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers 2."

The studio canvassed a number of directors before choosing Ratner. A writer will be hired shortly.

Released in 1984, the original "Beverly Hills Cop" grossed $316 million worldwide and spawned two sequels. All told, the three pics grossed $712.9 million worldwide. The last was released in 1994.

Murphy is currently toplining the Brian Robbins-directed "A Thousand Words" for DreamWorks.

Ratner has been developing the Hugh Hefner biopic "Playboy" for Universal and Imagine.

Wife of entertainer Bill Murray files for divorce

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The wife of entertainer Bill Murray has filed for divorce after nearly 11 years of marriage, alleging he abused her and is addicted to marijuana and alcohol.

Jennifer Butler Murray filed divorce papers May 12 in Charleston County. She owns a home on Sullivans Island, S.C., where she lives with the couple's four children.

The complaint was first reported by The Post and Courier of Charleston. It also alleges frequent abandonment by the former "Saturday Night Live" star.

Bill Murray's attorney, John McDougall, wouldn't comment on the allegations, but said the entertainer "is deeply saddened by the breakup of his marriage."

"He and his wife made loving parents and they are committed to the best interests of their children," McDougall said.

Jennifer Murray's attorney, Robert Rosen, said he had no comment.

The couple signed a prenuptial agreement, which was filed as an exhibit with the divorce papers, before they married in 1997. As part of the agreement, both waived their right to alimony or support if the marriage broke up. However, Murray agreed to pay $7 million to his ex-wife within 60 days of a final divorce decree.

The complaint, which doesn't specify instances of Murray's alleged marijuana or alcohol use, alleges he would often leave without telling his wife and says he "travels overseas where he engages in public and private altercations and sexual liaisons."

It also alleges Murray physically abused his wife and last November "hit her in the face and then told her she was `lucky he didn't kill her.'"

The documents obtained by The Post and Courier were sealed by the court last week.

Murray, the star of movies such as "Ghostbusters," "Caddyshack" and "Groundhog Day," is a co-owner of the Charleston RiverDogs minor league baseball team.

The 57-year-old actor earned an Oscar nomination for his role in "Lost in Translation."

"Star Trek" theme composer Alexander Courage dies

LOS ANGELES - Alexander "Sandy" Courage, an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated arranger, orchestrator and composer who created the otherworldly theme for the classic "Star Trek" TV show, has died. He was 88.

Courage died May 15 at the Sunrise assisted-living facility in Pacific Palisades, his stepdaughter Renata Pompelli of Los Angeles, said Thursday. He had been in poor health for three years.

Over a decades-long career, Courage collaborated on dozens of movies and orchestrated some of the greatest musicals of the 1950s and 1960s, including "My Fair Lady," "Hello, Dolly!" "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "Gigi," "Porgy and Bess" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

But his most famous work is undoubtedly the "Star Trek" theme, which he composed, arranged and conducted in a week in 1965.

"I have to confess to the world that I am not a science fiction fan," Courage said in an interview for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation's Archive of American Television in 2000. "Never have been. I think it's just marvelous malarkey. ... So you write some, you hope, marvelous malarkey music that goes with it."

Courage said the tune, with its ringing fanfare, eerie soprano part and swooping orchestration, was inspired by an arrangement of the song "Beyond the Blue Horizon" he heard as a youngster.

"Little did I know when I wrote that first A-flat for the flute that it was going to go down in history, somehow," Courage said. "It's a very strange feeling."

Courage said he also mouthed the "whooshing" sound heard as the starship Enterprise zooms through the opening credits of the TV show.

"Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry later wrote lyrics to the tune, which were never sung on the show but entitled him to half the royalties, Courage said.

Among the many other projects Courage worked on was the 1987 TV special "Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas," for which he won an Emmy for musical direction.

He and Lionel Newman shared Academy Award nominations for their adapted scores for 1964's "The Pleasure Seekers" and 1967's "Doctor Dolittle."

A friend and colleague of movie composers John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, he also provided the orchestration for such movies as "The Poseidon Adventure," "Jurassic Park," "Basic Instinct" and "The Mummy" and supplied arrangements for the Boston Pops while Williams was conductor in the 1980s and early 1990s.

For "Star Trek" he composed music for only a few episodes, in addition to the theme and the music for the pilot. But that theme was reprised in the TV sequel "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in the "Star Trek" movies.

Courage was born Dec. 10, 1919, in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey. After graduation from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., in 1941, Courage enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

After the war, he became a composer for CBS radio shows and then became an orchestrator and arranger at MGM.

Beginning in the 1960s he composed music for TV shows, including "The Waltons," "Lost in Space" and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," although the only themes he created were for "Star Trek" and "Judd For the Defense."

Steven Tyler goes to rehab for 'quiet environment'

LOS ANGELES - Steven Tyler checked into a rehab facility in search of a "safe environment" to recover from several foot surgeries and physical therapy, the Aerosmith frontman said in a statement Thursday.

Tyler said the surgeries were to correct long-time foot injuries resulting from his physical performances as the singer for the blues-rock band.

"The doctors told me the pain in my feet could be corrected but it would require a few surgeries over time," Tyler said in the statement. "The 'foot repair' pain was intense, greater than I'd anticipated. The months of rehabilitative care and the painful strain of physical therapy were traumatic. I really needed a safe environment to recuperate where I could shut off my phone and get back on my feet."

The 60-year-old was known for heavy drug and alcohol abuse in the 1970s and early 1980s, but completed rehabilitation in 1986, after which Aerosmith enjoyed a successful revival.

'Carol Burnett' star Harvey Korman dies at 81

LOS ANGELES - Harvey Korman, the tall, versatile comedian who won four Emmys for his outrageously funny contributions to "The Carol Burnett Show" and played a conniving politician to hilarious effect in "Blazing Saddles," died Thursday. He was 81.

Korman died at UCLA Medical Center after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm four months ago, his family said. He had undergone several major operations.

"He was a brilliant comedian and a brilliant father," daughter Kate Korman said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He had a very good sense of humor in real life. "

A natural second banana, Korman gained attention on "The Danny Kaye Show," appearing in skits with the star. He joined the show in its second season in 1964 and continued until it was canceled in 1967. That same year he became a cast member in the first season of "The Carol Burnett Show."

Burnett and Korman developed into the perfect pair with their burlesques of classic movies such as "Gone With the Wind" and soap operas like "As the World Turns" (their version was called "As the Stomach Turns").

Another recurring skit featured them as "Ed and Eunice," a staid married couple who were constantly at odds with the wife's mother (a young Vickie Lawrence in a gray wig). In "Old Folks at Home," they were a combative married couple bedeviled by Lawrence as Burnett's troublesome young sister.

Korman revealed the secret to the long-running show's success in a 2005 interview: "We were an ensemble, and Carol had the most incredible attitude. I've never worked with a star of that magnitude who was willing to give so much away."

Burnett was devastated by Korman's death, said her assistant, Angie Horejsi.

"She loved Harvey very much," Horejsi said.

After 10 successful seasons, Korman left Burnett's show in 1977 for his own series. Dick Van Dyke took his place, but the chemistry was lacking and the Burnett show was canceled two years later. "The Harvey Korman Show" also failed, as did other series starring the actor.

"It takes a certain type of person to be a television star," he said in that 2005 interview. "I didn't have whatever that is. I come across as kind of snobbish and maybe a little too bright. ... Give me something bizarre to play or put me in a dress and I'm fine."

His most memorable film role was as the outlandish Hedley Lamarr (who was endlessly exasperated when people called him Hedy) in Mel Brooks' 1974 Western satire, "Blazing Saddles."

"A world without Harvey Korman — it's a more serious world," Brooks told the AP on Thursday. "It was very dangerous for me to work with him because if our eyes met we'd crash to floor in comic ecstasy. It was comedy heaven to make Harvey Korman laugh."

He also appeared in the Brooks comedies "High Anxiety," "The History of the World Part I" and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It," as well as two "Pink Panther" moves, "Trail of the Pink Panther" in 1982 and "Curse of the Pink Panther" in 1983.

Korman's other films included "Gypsy," "Huckleberry Finn" (as the King), "Herbie Goes Bananas" and "Bud and Lou" (as legendary straightman Bud Abbott to Buddy Hackett's Lou Costello). He also provided the voice of Dictabird in the 1994 live-action feature "The Flintstones."

In television, Korman guest-starred in dozens of series including "The Donna Reed Show," "Dr. Kildare," "Perry Mason," "The Wild Wild West," "The Muppet Show," "The Love Boat," "The Roseanne Show" and "Burke's Law."

In their '70s, he and Tim Conway, one of his Burnett show co-stars, toured the country with their show "Tim Conway and Harvey Korman: Together Again." They did 120 shows a year, sometimes as many as six or eight in a weekend.

Korman had an operation in late January on a non-cancerous brain tumor and pulled through "with flying colors," Kate Korman said. Less than a day after coming home, he was re-admitted because of the ruptured aneurysm and was given a few hours to live. But he survived for another four months.

"He fought until the very end. He didn't want to die. He fought for months and months," said Kate Korman.

Harvey Herschel Korman was born Feb. 15, 1927, in Chicago. He left college for service in the U.S. Navy, resuming his studies afterward at the Goodman School of Drama at the Chicago Art Institute. After four years, he decided to try New York.

"For the next 13 years I tried to get on Broadway, on off-Broadway, under or beside Broadway," he told a reporter in 1971.

He had no luck and had to support himself as a restaurant cashier. Finally, in desperation, he and a friend formed a nightclub comedy act.

"We were fired our first night in a club, between the first and second shows," he recalled.

After returning to Chicago, Korman decided to try Hollywood, reasoning that "at least I'd feel warm and comfortable while I failed."

For three years he sold cars and worked as a doorman at a movie theater. Then he landed the job with Kaye.

In 1960 Korman married Donna Elhart and they had two children, Maria and Christopher. They divorced in 1977. Two more children, Katherine and Laura, were born of his 1982 marriage to Deborah Fritz.

In addition to his daughter Kate, he is survived by his wife and the three other children.

Duckman - DVD Date Announced for Duckman - Seasons 1 and 2!!!

Get this classic animated series at last this September!!!

Early this past January we had great news for Duckman fans, passing along a report that CBS DVD's Executive VP and General Manager Ken Ross had gotten his group together to "wrap our brains around figuring a way" to begin releasing the classic adult-targeted animated series on DVD at long last, sometime in 2008.

A couple of days later we were able to bring you confirmation, direct from show creator Everett Peck, that "...it's true! My agent and I have been working closely with CBS to get this to happen. It looks like initial release will be seasons one and two. There will be some value added material but I'm not quite sure how that will shape up at this point."

The Duckman - Seasons 1 and 2 DVD set has been announced this morning for release on September 16th. This will be 22 episodes (13 for the first season, and another nine for the second) being presented on disc in full screen video, and with English Stereo Surround audio. Unfortunately, no other information was available with this morning's quick heads-up announcement. Stay tuned, though, and we'll hopefully be back in the not-too-distant future with more details, including extras and cover art!

Jessica Simpson Country Song Hits Radio

The first fruit of Jessica Simpson's upcoming country album has hit the airwaves. "Come on Over" was serviced digitally yesterday (May 27) to country radio and was spun 21 times on Broadcast Data Systems-monitored stations.

Against acoustic guitar strums and a driving rhythm, the track finds Simpson pleading with a love interest to drop everything and pay her a visit. "Leave your coat behind the door / leave your laundry on the floor / just come on over," she sings.

Simpson's as-yet-untitled album is expected in early fall via Columbia Nashville, according to her spokesperson.

"I am a country girl," she told Billboard late last year in her first interview about the project. "I grew up in Texas, and country music was what I listened to. I always wanted to make a country album, but I wanted to wait until the time was right."

"I think there is a strength in female country artists," she added, citing Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Reba McEntire as some of her inspirations.

Dinner with Pamela Anderson for highest charity bid

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - How much would you pay to have dinner with Pamela Anderson?

The former "Baywatch" star is offering herself as a dinner guest to the highest bidder at an auction in Abu Dhabi on Saturday for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Anderson, 40, will be flying out to Abu Dhabi as the big attraction at the fund-raiser. The United Arab Emirates branch of the international foundation is hoping to make the wishes of 39 terminally ill children come true.

"We are planning to have a lot of fun and make a lot of money for the cause," the Canadian-born actress said in a statement on Wednesday.

CFL legend calling it quits

TORONTO - Veteran CFL quarterback Damon Allen is calling it quits.

A league source requesting anonymity said Tuesday the Toronto Argonauts quarterback has decided to retire after 23 seasons. The source added Allen will make it official at a news conference Wednesday. The source said Allen will remain with the Argos in an unspecified role, but added it's very unlikely Allen will join head coach Rich Stubler's staff.

Dan Lawson, Allen's longtime agent, politely offered no comment when asked if his client had indeed decided to call it a career.

Allen, 44, had maintained as early as last week that he intended to attend training camp and compete for the starter's job.

However, the harsh reality was he would have gone into camp third on the depth chart behind newly acquired Kerry Joseph and veteran Michael Bishop, both of whom signed new deals with the Argos in the off-season.

Allen, a San Diego native, will leave the CFL as pro football's career passing leader with 72,381 yards. The younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen played on four Grey Cup-winning teams and in 2005, he captured the league's outstanding player award.

The six-foot, 190-pound Allen entered the CFL as a free agent with Edmonton in 1985 and also spent time with Ottawa, Hamilton, Memphis and B.C. before the Lions dealt him to Toronto in 2003.

At age 41, Allen led Toronto to a Grey Cup title in '04 against the Lions despite having suffered a fractured tibia earlier in the year. With brother Marcus on hand to watch in Ottawa, Allen captured Grey Cup MVP honours for the third time after completing 23-of-34 passes for 299 yards and one TD. He also ran five times for 10 yards and two TDs.

Allen opened last season as Toronto's starter but was replaced by Bishop in the third quarter of the first game before ultimately dropping to No. 3 on the depth chart behind backup Mike McMahon. Allen later regained the starting job when Bishop was injured and McMahon failed to impress.

However, Allen suffered a toe injury and was ultimately placed on the injured list, giving Rocky Butler the starting job. Allen finished the season 45-of-67 passing for 492 yards and three TDs with no interceptions.

A further sign Allen's time with Toronto had come to an end was the club's blockbuster off-season trade for Joseph, the CFL's outstanding player last year who led Saskatchewan to the Grey Cup.

Allen was a two-sport star at Cal State Fullerton. He led the Titans football team to a pair of Pacific Coast Athletic Association titles but was also a pitcher on the school's baseball team that captured the '84 College World Series. Allen was drafted by Detroit Tigers in '84, the same year that club won the World Series.

Allen never signed with Detroit and instead went to Edmonton in '85. In 1987, Allen replaced injured starter Matt Dunigan in the Grey Cup and captured his first MVP award after leading the Eskimos to victory.

He won his second Grey Cup with Edmonton in 1993 before returning to baseball in '94, signing a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He reported to spring training that year, but left to resume his CFL career with the Eskimos. Allen also won a Grey Cup with the Lions in 2000.

Despite his gaudy aerial numbers, Allen was hardly the typical strong-armed quarterback. Blessed with quick feet and a knack to sense an oncoming rush, Allen often relied on his legs to get himself out of trouble. In 1991 with Ottawa, Allen ran for 1,036 yards, becoming just the second quarterback in CFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season - Edmonton's Tracy Ham ran for 1,096 yards in 1990.

Allen is the CFL's career rushing leader among quarterbacks with 11,920 yards and third overall behind only Mike Pringle (16,425 yards) and George Reed (16,116).

As Allen got older, he showed a maturity that often comes with experience. Rather than risk injury by running downfield at the first sign of trouble, Allen often used his scrambling ability to evade the rush and give his receivers time to get open downfield. In 2005, Allen threw for a career-high 5,082 yards and completed 64.1 per cent of his passes en route to capturing his only CFL outstanding player award.

The following year, though, Allen suffered a broken finger that force him to miss roughly a month of action. He made football history Sept. 4 in Hamilton when he broke former CFL star Warren Moon's all-time passing record of 70,553 yards.

The historic completion was a shovel pass to Arland Bruce III, who took the ball 29 yards. Play was halted briefly as Allen was honoured on the field by then CFL commissioner Tom Wright.

Earle Hagen, 88: Wrote, whistled 'Andy Griffith' theme

LOS ANGELES–Earle H. Hagen, who co-wrote the jazz classic "Harlem Nocturne" and composed memorable themes for The Andy Griffith Show, I Spy, The Mod Squad and other TV shows, has died. He was 88.

Hagen, who is heard whistling the folksy tune for The Andy Griffith Show, died Monday night at his home in Rancho Mirage, his wife, Laura, said Tuesday. He had been in ill health for several months.

During his long musical career, Hagen performed with the top bands of the swing era, composed for movies and television and wrote one of the first textbooks on movie composing.

He and Lionel Newman were nominated for an Academy Award for best music scoring for the 1960 Marilyn Monroe movie Let's Make Love.

For television, he composed original music for more than 3,000 episodes, pilots and TV movies, including theme songs for That Girl, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

"He loved it," his wife said. "The music just flowed from him, and he would take off one hat and put on another and go on to the next show."

Hagen enjoyed the immediacy of the small screen, he told the American Society of Musicians Arrangers & Composers in 2000.

"It was hard work, with long hours and endless deadlines, but being able to write something one day and hear it a few days later appealed to me," he said. "Besides, I was addicted to the ultimate narcosis in music, which is the rush you get when you give a downbeat and wonderful players breathe life into the notes you have put on paper."

Born July 9, 1919, in Chicago, Hagen moved to Los Angeles as a youngster. He began playing the trombone while in junior high school.

"The school actually furnished him with a tuba and his mother made him take it back," his wife said.

He became so proficient that he graduated early from Hollywood High School and at 16 was touring with big bands. He played trombone with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey and arranged for and played with Ray Noble's orchestra.

He and Newman wrote "Harlem Nocturne" for Noble in 1939. It has been covered many times since and served as the theme music for Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer television series in 1984.

In 1941, Hagen became a staff musician for CBS but the next year he enlisted in the military.

After the war, he worked as a composer and orchestrator for 20th Century-Fox studios on dozens of movies, including another Monroe classic, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

In the 1950s, he and Herbert Spencer formed an orchestra partnership that also wrote music for television, including scoring the Danny Thomas hit Make Room for Daddy.

Later, he worked as musical director for producer Sheldon Leonard, sometimes working on as many of five shows a week.

One of his more notable TV scoring efforts was for the 1960s adventure series I Spy, starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp.

Because the show used exotic locations worldwide, Hagen often included ethnic touches in the incidental music, among them hiring Greek musicians to play for some episodes that took place in Greece. On other locations, he collected ethnic music to mix with western music back in Hollywood.

After retiring from TV work in 1986, Hagen taught a workshop in film and television scoring.

He also wrote three books on scoring, including 1971's Scoring for Films, one of the earliest textbooks on the subject. His 2002 autobiography was titled Memoirs of a Famous Composer – Nobody Ever Heard Of.

Besides his wife, Hagen is survived by his sons, Deane and James, both of Palm Desert; stepchildren Rebecca Roberts, of Irvine, Richard Roberts of Los Angeles and Rachael Roberts of Irvine; and four grandchildren. His first wife, Elouise Hagen, died in 2002 following 59 years of marriage.

Backstreet Boys announce 13 Canadian tour dates

The Backstreet Boys, the most successful of the boy bands created by jailed financier Lou Pearlman, are planning a North American tour with 13 Canadian stops.

The band, with four remaining members — Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and A.J McLean — announced their tour plans on Tuesday.

Original member Kevin Richardson left the group in 2006 to begin a family.

The Canadian leg of the tour begins July 30 in St. John's, N.L.

The tour will also go to:

Moncton.
Halifax.
Ottawa.
Montreal.
Toronto.
Sudbury, Ont.
Sault Ste Marie, Ont.
Regina.
Calgary.
Edmonton.
Vancouver.
Victoria.

The group was at the peak of its success 10 years ago with their album Backstreet's Back and hit single Quit Playing Games With My Heart.

The Backstreet Boys had a hiatus from 2001 to 2005, while Carter began a solo career.

They are touring in support of their 2007 album, Unbreakable.

"We couldn't wait to get back on stage with a big extravagant show using this material as the base," Carter said in a statement.

"Half of what we do is vocals and harmonies on our albums, but our other role is as entertainers, which we take great pride in."

Pearlman, the producer who launched the band, was last week sentenced to 25 years in jail on fraud charges.

Sharon Stone: Was China quake `bad karma?'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sharon Stone's "karma" is having an instant effect on her movie-star status in China.

The 50-year-old actress suggested last week that the devastating May 12 earthquake in China could have been the result of bad karma over the government's treatment of Tibet. That prompted the founder of one of China's biggest cinema chains to say his company would not show her films in his theaters, according to a story in The Hollywood Reporter.

"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said Thursday during a Cannes Film Festival red-carpet interview with Hong Kong's Cable Entertainment News. "And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"

Ng See-Yuen, founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, called Stone's comments "inappropriate," adding that actors should not bring personal politics to comments about a natural disaster that has left five million Chinese homeless, according to the Reporter.

UME has branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, China's biggest urban movie markets.

During the brief interview, which has also surfaced on YouTube, Stone also said she cried when she recieved a letter from the Tibetan Foundation asking her to help the quake victims.

"They wanted to go and be helpful, and that made me cry," she said. "It was a big lesson to me that sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who aren't nice to you."

Stone's words created a swell of anger on the Internet, including at least one Chinese Web site devoted solely to disparaging her comments.

An after-hours phone call and email to a representative for Stone were not immediately returned Tuesday night.

"To Sharon Stone's comment, it's unlikely that we will respond," said a woman who answered the phone at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. She refused to give her name or position.

According to the Web-based database imdb.com, Stone has at least four movies coming up between now and 2010, including "Streets of Blood," "Five Dollars a Day" and "The Year of Getting to Know Us."

James Bond returns in new novel 'Devil May Care'

LONDON - A catsuited model in stiletto heels strode the deck of a British warship with Royal Navy helicopters roaring overhead. It was not a bout of naval hijinks, but the year's most-hyped literary event — the publication of a new adventure for super-spy James Bond.

The larger-than-life launch Tuesday of the novel "Devil May Care" proves that 100 years after the birth of 007 creator Ian Fleming, the Bond brand is stronger than ever.

A large crowd of journalists and onlookers gathered to watch model Tuuli Shipster, whose silhouette adorns the cover of the book's British edition, bring the first published copies up the River Thames in a military speedboat before unpacking them aboard HMS Exeter, a destroyer moored near Tower Bridge.

"I can remember Uncle Ian's books being delivered wrapped in brown paper and string by a postman on a bicycle," niece Lucy Fleming said as she stood on the destroyer's gunmetal-gray deck. "The Royal Navy has upped the ante a little."

Britain's military appears happy to play up its ties to the fictional spy, who held the rank of Royal Navy commander before going to work for MI6. The navy loaned the Exeter and its 250-strong crew for an elaborate photo opportunity for "Devil May Care," written by Sebastian Faulks and published to mark Fleming's 100th birthday on Wednesday.

The choice of Faulks — a respected literary novelist whose books include the World War I novel "Birdsong" and the French Resistance saga "Charlotte Gray" — has brought the book serious literary attention, while the promise of sex, spying and exotic locales should help it become a best-seller. The hardcover print run in Britain and the United States is reported to be 400,000 copies.

Fleming, a journalist and wartime intelligence officer who died in 1964, wrote 14 James Bond books. Other writers, including Kingsley Amis and John Gardner, continued the series into the 21st century, with mixed results. But Faulks' license to thrill, which coincides with actor Daniel Craig's reinvigoration of the Bond film franchise, has generated a renewed sense of excitement.

"We didn't want a thriller writer," said Lucy Fleming, part of a family group that controls the author's estate. "We wanted someone who would read Ian's books and see how he did it." Faulks, she said, "has thought himself into Ian's mind."

Faulks said he even adopted Fleming's writing pace, churning out 2,000 words a day for six weeks. He says the resulting novel is about 80 percent Fleming in style.

The book's publishers — Penguin in Britain, Doubleday in the United States — are keeping its contents under wraps until it hits stores Wednesday. This much is known: the book has a 1960s Cold War setting; there are locations in Paris, Rome and the Middle East; there is torture and there is romance.

Bond aficionados were optimistic the result would be classic 007.

"Sebastian Faulks is the Daniel Craig of Bond authors," said Ajay Chowdhury, editor of the Bond fan magazine Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. "It's about quality."

Chowdhury was pleased to see a renewed focus on the books, which he said "show a deeper side of Bond."

"The Bond films are high school; the Bond books are university," he said.

This is a big year for Bond. In addition to the Fleming centenary, the latest 007 movie, "Quantum of Solace," is due for release in the fall.

Neither Faulks nor Fleming would speculate on whether "Devil May Care" would itself be filmed.

Faulks said, however, he would not be writing another Bond book.

"One tribute, one centenary, one book," he said.

The Real Ghostbusters - Time-Life to Release Complete Series This Fall!

It's been nearly a month since we posted rumors that The Real Ghostbusters would be coming to DVD this fall, and now we have some great news to share; Time-Life, the company behind the awesome Get Smart and Man From UNCLE sets, will be responsible for The Real Ghostbusters collection coming in the fall.

Our source tells us this will be a massive 26-disc set covering both The Real Ghostbusters and Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters, the 1988 renaming of the show. With a combined episode count of just over 100 episodes, the 26 discs should have more than enough room for some great bonus material.

This set marks an exciting development: it's the first "complete series" release of an animated program from Time-Life, and it's one of the first times Sony has licensed product to another company. Ghostbusters fans are going to be kept busy soon: first the video game announcement for the fall, and now the animated series on DVD! We'll keep you updated as we get more information.

President says CBC 'could have done better' with songwriters gala

CBC president Hubert Lacroix was grilled by federal MPs on Tuesday over the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame broadcast this spring that did not include prominent francophone artists.

In a presentation to the House of Commons language committee, Lacroix admitted the public broadcaster "could have done a better job under the circumstances."

The 44-minute broadcast of the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala provoked anger in Quebec because it cut out Quebec singer Claude Dubois's performance and acceptance speech.

"This has raised awareness of what we should do to be more sensitive on this issue," Lacroix said.

Cutting of the francophone performer "doesn't help in promoting understanding between cultures," said New Democrat MP Yvon Godin.

He pressed Lacroix over remarks made by Richard Stursberg that the gala broadcast had been cut to appeal to anglophone viewers.

Speaking before the same committee earlier this year, Stursberg said the broadcast was created from an original ceremony lasting three and a half hours and it was cut to target an audience in English Canada.

"He was saying people in English Canada would turn off the channel if a francophone singer came on. This kind of thing hurts us as francophones," Godin said.

Lacroix denied there was any implication that anglophone viewers would turn off the show if a singer performed in French.

There are many other shows on CBC that highlight Canada's linguistic duality, he said, but that was not part of the mandate of the songwriters' gala broadcast.

"As Mr. Stursberg said, the purpose of the 44-minute broadcast was to target an English Canadian audience. That's why it focused on Oscar Peterson and Paul Anka," he said.

He pointed out that Radio Canada, the francophone network, did not air the gala, and that Radio 2 aired it in its entirety.

Lacroix said a cut-down version of the gala has been aired on CBC Television for the past three years. He said the public broadcaster would reconsider how it airs the gala in future.

"If we are going to be doing this type of event, broadcast, we will be more sensitive to issues of diversity," he said.

When pressed by Bloc Québécois MPs, Lacroix refused to speculate how the show would change.

"We've agreed to relinquish our exclusive broadcast rights," he said. "It will be up to the organizers."

MP Raymond Gravel said CBC was failing to fulfil its mandate.

"There were francohones of international calibre on the gala and they were cut," he said. "There's no point in francophones going to the gala next year."

Dubois, who was an inductee into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, called the CBC racist after he learned his performances were excluded from the television version of the Toronto awards.

Shortly after the awards, Stursberg issued a formal apology to all artists whose performances were edited out of the television broadcast.

New Releases, May 27: Usher, Cyndi Lauper, Return to Forever And John Hiatt!

Usher "Here I Stand"

Usher Raymond IV--better known in the entertainment business as just "Usher"--will release his new album a month earlier than initially announced. "Here I Stand" follows 2004's chart-topper "Confessions," which sold some 1.1 million copies during its first week on shelves.

For the new set, Usher worked with some big-name writers and producers, including Jermaine Dupre and Dr. Dre, and called in such guest stars as Beyonce and Jay Z. The first single from "Here I Stand" is "Love in the Club," which is already a radio hit.

* * *
Cyndi Lauper "Bring Ya to the Brink"

Lauper--the original girl who just wants to have fun--returns with a follow-up to 2005's "The Body Acoustic," a work that contained acoustic renditions of past hits. "Bring Ya to the Brink" features the single "Set Your Heart."

The quirky vocalist will also hit the road this summer, leading another edition of the True Colors tour to support the gay-and-lesbian advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. The tour, which also features The B-52's, Rosie O'Donnell and other acts, kicks off May 31 in Boston.

* * *
Return to Forever "The Anthology"

The jazz-rock fusion supergroup made headlines when it announced that it was reuniting for its first tour in 25 years. Return to Forever--featuring keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White--will kick off its tour May 29 with the first of two shows in Austin, TX. From there, it will hit more than 30 other North American cities.

The Grammy-winning band will also have something to sell at these shows--this "Anthology" set. The collection features remixed and remastered tracks from the albums "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy," "Where Have I Known You Before," "No Mystery" and "Romantic Warrior."

* * *
Various artists "Sex and the City: Music From the Original Motion Picture"

HBO's hit comedy TV series is getting a big-screen makeover: "Sex and the City," the motion picture, hits theaters this week. In connection with that highly anticipated film comes this soundtrack, which features tracks by such artists as The Weepies, Jennifer Hudson and Fergie. It also includes some interesting collaborations, such as Al Green teaming with Joss Stone on "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?"

* * *
Al Green "Lay It Down"

The R&B legend is set to drop his highly anticipated new studio album. Green has already been active on the road this spring, playing a few select festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage and the Sonoma Jazz +. He'll kick off his headlining tour in earnest with a June 19 show in Toronto.

* * *
More new releases:
The Browns, "The Complete Hits" (Collector's Choice)
The Byrds, "Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971" (Sundazed)
Eliza Gilkyson, "Beautiful World" (Red House)
Buddy Guy, "Breaking Out" (JSP)
John Hiatt, "Same Old Man" (New West)
Ihsahn, "Angl" (Candlelight)
Kataklysm, "Prevail" (Nuclear Blast)
Sam Phillips, "Don't Do Anything" (Nonesuch)
Jenny Scheinman, "Jenny Scheinman" (Koch)
The Smithereens, "Live in Concert--Greatest Hits and More" (Koch)
36 Crazyfists, "The Tide and Its Takers" (Ferret)
Tobymac, "Alive and Transported" (Forefront)
Various artists, "Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump" (Strut)

Soundtracks and scores:
"A Catered Affair (Original Broadway Cast Recording)" (P.S. Classics)
"Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific" (Sony)

Music Review: John Hiatt's new CD among his best

John Hiatt, "Same Old Man" (New West)

John Hiatt's conversational lyrics sound off-the-cuff, which means they likely resulted from many hours of labor. The work was worth it, because "Same Old Man" ranks with the best music of Hiatt's 34-year recording career.

He sings about love in the opening round and love on the ropes, about food and paper cuts and "doppelganger caterwauling." "Same Old Man" is sweet but not sentimental, tuneful, honest and very, very funny.

On his first release since 2005's fine "Master of Disaster," Hiatt produced and engineered himself, and he puts his voice front and center. As always, Hiatt sings like someone straining to complete the final set of the night at the local roadhouse. The raw vocals are a perfect match for such songs as "Hurt My Baby," where pain is palpable as Hiatt delivers the chorus.

He's supported by bass, drums and Luther Dickinson, who plays guitar and mandolin and provides an ideal counterpoint to the vocals by making every note count. Hiatt's daughter, Lilly, contributes lovely harmony on two songs.

Dad delivers his droll lyrics as if they're throwaways, which makes them even better. "I'm a long shot, baby," he sings. "But they do come in." In fact, "Same Old Man" laps the field.

CHECK THIS OUT: On the hilarious opener "Old Days," Hiatt reminisces about his early touring career and crossing paths with John Lee Hooker, Gatemouth Brown and other bluesmen. He concludes the memories aren't that sweet because "I played practically free."

Appreciation: Pollack's smart and complex films

LOS ANGELES - Sydney Pollack had the rare ability to use his acting experience as adeptly behind the camera as he did in front of it.

He won Academy Awards for best picture and best director for the epic "Out of Africa," but the former student of legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner also turned up on screen in everything from his own productions to television's "The Sopranos" and "Will & Grace."

Think of his scene-stealing performance in 1982's "Tootsie," which he also directed, playing the exasperated agent of Dustin Hoffman's cross-dressing soap star — and that was the first time Pollack had acted on film in 20 years. And of course there was his pull-no-punches supporting role as an old-school lawyer in last year's best-picture nominee "Michael Clayton," which he also co-produced.

Along the way, Pollack, who died Monday of cancer at age 73, used his unique relationship with acting — and Hollywood's finest actors — to craft a career of smart, complex, high-quality films.

Whether they were thrillers like "Three Days of the Condor" and "Absence of Malice," romances like "The Way We Were" and "Out of Africa," or even "Tootsie" — an unusual comedy for a director who clearly had heady ideas — Pollack's movies stirred something within his audiences.

You couldn't just sit there and watch passively; Pollack challenged you to feel, to respond, to walk out a little different than when you walked in.

With typical candor and humor, Pollack joked during a discussion at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival that he enjoyed appearing in other people's films because it was "an excuse to spy on other directors."

"Directors are very territorial," he said. "They're like lions, urinating on every corner of the stage."

And he worked with some of the best: The list of fellow filmmakers who've directed him includes Woody Allen ("Husbands and Wives"), Robert Altman ("The Player") and Stanley Kubrick ("Eyes Wide Shut").

The list of actors he directed, meanwhile, plays like the red carpet on Oscar night: Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, Nicole Kidman, Barbra Streisand and — seven times — Robert Redford. He drew equally strong performances from men and women, and the assured, straightforward nature of his directing style always allowed their work to shine through.

Even his films that weren't exactly commercial successes — "Sabrina" and "Random Hearts," both with Harrison Ford — at least had Pollack's trademark star power.

In all these various vestiges, several traits immediately and repeatedly emerged: intelligence and class.

"Out of Africa" (1985), perhaps Pollack's best-known film, oozed both. The sweeping tale of a woman's tragic love in colonial Kenya earned him both of his Oscars as well as Academy Awards for screenplay, cinematography, score, sound and art direction. It's the kind of complex, classic romance Oscar voters have long favored. But more than two decades later, it still stands up beautifully for both its lush imagery and relevant politics.

In accepting his Academy Award, Pollack was quick to praise the film's star, Streep, who was nominated for best actress but didn't win. "I could not have made this movie without Meryl Streep," Pollack said. "She is astounding — personally, professionally, all ways."

Toward the end of his life, it only made sense for him to team up in a production company with another Oscar-winning director, the late Anthony Minghella, who shared his love for quality material ("The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Cold Mountain"). And fittingly, the last movie Pollack directed paired him with yet another influential figure, architect Frank Gehry, the subject of his 2006 documentary, "Sketches of Frank Gehry."

If this critic had to pick a favorite among Pollack's many films, though, it would be an early one: 1969's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" It was only his fifth movie, but earned Pollack his first Academy Award nomination for best director. The story of a grueling dance marathon during the Depression helped make a serious actress of Fonda, who was best known at that point for the campy "Barbarella." But while she was clearly the star, the film was a provocative portrait about a cross-section of disparate people who share a dream and struggle to keep it alive.

In the years that followed, Pollack clearly shared his dreams with many superb actors, to wonderful effect.

"Most of the great directors that I know of were not actors, so I can't tell you it's a requirement. On the other hand," Pollack once said, "it's an enormous help."

Sydney Pollack dies of cancer at age 73

LOS ANGELES - Academy Award-winning director Sydney Pollack, a Hollywood mainstay who achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with the gender-bending comedy "Tootsie" and the period drama "Out of Africa, has died. He was 73.

Pollack died of cancer Monday afternoon at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, surrounded by family, said his publicist, Leslee Dart. He had been diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago, Dart said.

Pollack, who occasionally appeared on the screen himself, worked with and gained the respect of Hollywood's best actors in a long career that reached prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.

"Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act," actor George Clooney said in a statement issued by his publicist.

"He'll be missed terribly," Clooney said.

Last fall, Pollack played Marty Bach opposite Clooney in "Michael Clayton," a drama that examines the life of fixer for lawyers. The film, which Pollack co-produced, received seven Oscar nominations, including best picture and a best actor nod for Clooney. Tilda Swinton won the Oscar for supporting actress.

Pollack was no stranger to the Academy Awards. In 1986, "Out of Africa" a romantic epic of a woman's passion set against the landscape of colonial Kenya, captured seven Oscars, including best director.

Over the years, several of his other films, including "Tootsie" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" got several nominations, including best director nods.

Pollack's movies frequently had some of Hollywood's best actors: "Absence of Malice" with Sally Field and Paul Newman, "The Yakuza" with Robert Mitchum, "Three Days of the Condor" with Robert Redford, and "The Firm" with Tom Cruise, among others.

In later years, he devoted increasing time to acting, appearing in Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives," Robert Altman's "The Player," Robert Zemeckis' "Death Becomes Her," and Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut."

Pollack's recent producing credits include "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain." His last screen appearance was in "Made of Honor," a romantic comedy currently in theaters, where he played the oft-married father of star Patrick Dempsey's character.

In recent years, Pollack produced many independent films with filmmaker Anthony Minghella and a production company Mirage Enterprises.

The Lafayette, Ind. native was born to first-generation Russian-Americans.

In high school, he fell in love with theater, a passion that prompted him forego college and move to New York and enroll in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater.

"We started together in New York and he always excelled at everything he set out to do, his friendships and his humanity as much as his talents," Martin Landau, a longtime close friend of Pollack's and an associate from the Actor's Studio, said through spokesman Dick Guttman.

Studying under Sanford Meisner, Pollack spent several years cutting his teeth in various areas of theater, eventually becoming Meisner's assistant.

After appearing in a handful of Broadway productions in the 1950s, Pollack turned his eye to directing, where he would ultimately leave his biggest mark. But Pollack, who stood over six feet tall and had a striking presence on the screen, never totally gave up acting.

At the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, Pollack said "Tootsie" star Dustin Hoffman pushed him into playing the actor's exasperated agent.

Pollack said Hoffman repeatedly sent him roses with a note reading, "Please be my agent. Love, Dorothy," — a reference to the lead character's female persona, Dorothy Michaels. At that point, Pollack hadn't acted in 20 years.

"Most of the great directors that I know of were not actors, so I can't tell you it's a requirement," he said. "On the other hand, it's an enormous help."

In the 1982 movie, Hoffman plays an out-of-work actor who pretends to be a woman to land a role on a soap opera.

"I didn't think anyone would believe him as a woman," Pollack said. "But the world did, they went crazy."

Pollack is survived by his wife, Claire; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother Bernie; and six grandchildren.

CBC fall lineup built on established favourites

The CBC launched a fall lineup that relies on established shows, and ratings successes, such as The Tudors, Sophie and Little Mosque on the Prairie.

The biggest change to the fall lineup is the addition of a daily dose of Jeopardy, the game show hosted by Canadian-born Alex Trebek.

Jeopardy will be airing at 7.30 p.m. weekdays, after long-running Coronation Street

Two new mini-series — Celine, the story of the Quebec chanteuse, and Everest, the tale of a 1982 attempt on the world's highest peak by a Canadian team — make their debut this fall on Sunday evenings.

But most of the prime-time schedule is based on returning shows such as Rick Mercer Report, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Nature of Things and Dragon's Den.

It's the first time in recent history the CBC has presented a fall lineup filled with tried and true favourites, said Kirstine Layfield, executive director of network programming at CBC-TV.

"It's a good indication of the success of the shows from last year," she said.

Among the shows debuted in 2007-8 that are coming back for a second year are:

- The Tudors,the story of the lives and loves of Henry VII, starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

- The Border, the action drama series about an elite customs and security unit.

- Heartland, the family series set in ranch country.

- Sophie, the half-hour comedy about a single mom played by Natalie Brown.

- Steven and Chris, the daytime fashion and design show.

"In prime time, we're the network that carries more Canadian shows and tells more Canadian stories to more Canadians than anyone else," Layfield said.

Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of English services, made much of CBC-TV's ratings success with Canadian shows, pointing out the network now has better prime-time ratings than Global. CBC's commercial competitors build their lineup on U.S. shows.

While the half-hour series such as Little Mosque and Sophie are set to run a full-year, the more expensive hour-long series will end mid-season because CBC doesn't have the budget to ask for more episodes, Layfield said.

CBC will announce a new lineup for January 2009 in October, she said.

That will include a drama set in oil country, Wild Roses, and The Session, about a woman who can go back in time and relive moments from her past with the help of a mysterious therapist.

It's also the final year for Royal Canadian Air Farce, the comedy sketch show that will be bowing out after 20 years with a special on New Year's Eve.

For fall, it's paired on Friday night with Dr. Who, the BBC sci-fi drama returning for a fourth season.

In factual programming, CBC is bringing Test the Nation; Canada, Eh? which brings together six teams to test their knowledge about Canada.

Wheel of Fortune, the long-running U.S. game show has been added to the schedule at 5.30 p.m. on weekdays.

'Indiana Jones' earns $311 million worldwide

LOS ANGELES - The most recent Indiana Jones film more than recouped its big budget with an estimated $311 million in global box office sales through the long weekend, according to studio estimates Monday.

Families went in droves to catch "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," a PG-13 adventure starring Harrison Ford as the whip-cracking archaeologist who took 19 years to return to the big screen.

Paramount Pictures estimated the action sequel made $151.1 million in the U.S. and Canada from Thursday to the holiday Monday and $160 million overseas.

It marked the second biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever, behind only "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which made $153 million domestically from Thursday to Monday last year.

Nearly a third of the domestic audience was made up of parents with their children, said Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution.

"Adults really drove this opening. This is one of their favorite franchises and they couldn't wait to take their kids with them," Moore said.

The film cost a reported $185 million to make, even with the principal talent — Ford, director Steven Spielberg and writer George Lucas — deferring their usual fees for a greater share of the profits.

The first three Indy movies raked in $1.2 billion worldwide.

Marketing costs were undisclosed, although the latest "Indiana Jones" received a major push from Paramount. DVDs of the first three movies were re-released, they aired on TV days before the opening and huge billboards sprung up.

The final trailer for the movie rolled before the opening of Marvel Studios' "Iron Man," which was also distributed by Paramount, three weeks earlier.

"It's been a pretty good month," Moore said. "We started the month with 'Iron Man' and finished with 'Indiana Jones.'"

Other movies' receipts over the long weekend paled by comparison.

Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" slashed its way to $28.6 million, for a total $96.7 million over two weeks. "Iron Man" locked up third with $25.7 million in its third week for a total of $257.8 million.

The Wachowski brothers flick "Speed Racer," distributed by Warner Bros., crawled closer to the finish line with $5.2 million for fifth, bringing its domestic total to $37.4 million. It brought in $30 million overseas, and had yet to be released in major markets France, Russia, Japan and Australia.

The studio said it was not ready to wave the checkered flag on the film, which cost $120 million to make.

"If I had my druthers I'd have it in theaters for weeks and months to come," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' executive vice president of distribution.

For the year so far, domestic movie revenues are down more than 4 percent at $3.4 billion, with attendance off nearly 7 percent.

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

1. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," $126 million (plus $25.1 million on Thursday).
2. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," $28.6 million.
3. "Iron Man," $25.7 million.
4. "What Happens in Vegas," $11.2 million.
5. "Speed Racer," $5.2 million.
6. "Made of Honor," $4.2 million.
7. "Baby Mama," $4.2 million.
8. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," $2.2 million.
9. "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," $1.2 million.
10. "The Visitor," $917,000.

Matt Damon Set For Bourne 4!

It shouldn't take as long for Matt Damon to lose his memory again as it did for Harrison Ford to pick the bullwhip back up.

Frank Marshall, who produces both blockbuster franchises, confirms a fourth thriller about amnesiac spy Jason Bourne is in the works with Damon and director Paul Greengrass expected to return for more lightning-paced mayhem.

"We're hoping it takes a few years less than Indiana Jones did," Marshall told Sun Media during a phone interview last week. "We're busily trying to put it together, but it all depends on the script."

That could prove especially challenging because: a) they are out of Ludlum books to (very loosely) adapt and b) Tony Gilroy, the scribe who penned Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum has become a white-hot commodity since helming George Clooney's Michael Clayton.

"Tony's off doing his own thing," Marshall notes, referring to Gilroy's next directorial project, the thriller Duplicity, which is currently shooting with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.

One film buff Marshall knows is looking forward to more Bourne? His longtime friend and Indiana Jones director Steven Spielberg.

"Steven loves the Bourne movies."

Comedic TV star dies at 86

LOS ANGELES -- Dick Martin, the zany half of the comedy team whose "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" took television by storm in the 1960s, making stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and creating such national catch-phrases as "Sock it to me!" has died. He was 86.

Martin, who went on to become one of television's busiest directors after splitting with Dan Rowan in the late 1970s, died Saturday night of respiratory complications at a hospital in Santa Monica, family spokesman Barry Greenberg said.

"He had had some pretty severe respiratory problems for many years, and he had pretty much stopped breathing a week ago," Greenberg said.

He was surrounded by family and friends when he died just after 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

"Laugh-in," which debuted in January 1968, was unlike any comedy-variety show before it. Rather than relying on a series of tightly scripted song-and-dance segments, it offered up a steady, almost stream-of-consciousness run of non-sequitur jokes, political satire and madhouse antics from a cast of talented young actors and comedians that also included Ruth Buzzi, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley and announcer Gary Owens.

Presiding over it all were Rowan and Martin, the veteran nightclub comics whose standup banter put their own distinct spin on the show.

Like all straight men, Rowan provided the voice of reason, striving to correct his partner's absurdities. Martin, meanwhile, was full of bogus, often risque theories about life, which he appeared to hold with unwavering certainty.

Against this backdrop, audiences were taken from scene to scene by quick, sometimes psychedelic-looking visual cuts, where they might see Hawn, Worley and other women dancing in bathing suits with political slogans, or sometimes just nonsense, painted on their bodies.

"Laugh-In" astounded audiences and critics alike. For two years the show topped the Nielsen ratings, and its catchphrases-- "Sock it to me," "You bet your sweet bippy" and "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnall's" -- were recited across the country.

Stars such as John Wayne and Kirk Douglas were delighted to make brief appearances, and even Richard Nixon, running for president in 1968, dropped in to shout a befuddled sounding, "Sock it to me!" His opponent, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, was offered equal time but declined because his handlers thought it would appear undignified.

The two were both struggling actors when they met in 1952. Rowan had sold his interest in a used car dealership to take acting lessons, and Martin, who had written gags for TV shows and comedians, was tending bar in Los Angeles to pay the rent.

Although their early gigs in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley were often performed gratis, they donned tuxedoes for them and put on an air of success.

"We were raw," Martin recalled years later, "but we looked good together and we were funny."

They gradually worked up to the top night spots in New York, Miami and Las Vegas and began to appear regularly on television.

In 1966, they provided the summer replacement for "The Dean Martin Show." Within two years, they were headlining their own show.

The novelty of "Laugh-In" diminished with each season, however, and as major players such as Hawn and Tomlin moved on to bigger careers, interest in the series faded.

After the show folded in 1973, Rowan and Martin capitalized on their fame with a series of high-paid engagements around the country. They parted amicably in 1977.

"Dan has diabetes, and his doctor advised him to cool it," Martin told The Associated Press at the time.

Rowan, a sailing enthusiast, spent his last years touring the canals of Europe on a houseboat. He died in 1987.

Martin moved onto the game-show circuit, but quickly tired of it. After he complained about the lack of challenges in his career, fellow comic Bob Newhart's agent suggested he take up directing.

Soon he was one of the industry's busiest TV directors, working on numerous episodes of "Newhart" as well as such shows as "In the Heat of the Night," "Archie Bunker's Place" and "Family Ties."

Born into a middle-class family in Battle Creek, Mich., Martin had worked in a Ford auto assembly plant after high school.

After an early failed marriage, he was for years a confirmed bachelor. He finally settled down in middle age, marrying Dolly Read, a former bunny at the Playboy Club in London. Survivors include his wife and two sons, actor Richard Martin and Cary Martin.

At Martin's request there will be no funeral, Greenberg said.

Martin lost the use of his right lung when he was 17, something that never bothered him until his final years, when he required oxygen 18 hours a day.

Arriving for a party celebrating his 80th birthday, he fainted and was treated by doctors and paramedics. The party continued, however, and he cracked, "Boy, did I make an entrance!"

"Indiana Jones" leaves box office rivals in dust

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Who says box office superheroes need to sport tights or youthful smirks to win the hearts of moviegoers?

The fantasy adventure "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," in which 65-year-old Harrison Ford reprises his role as an intrepid archeologist, unearthed $126 million during its first four days of release in North American theaters, its distributor said on Sunday.

Paramount Pictures predicted the long-awaited fourth installment of the adventure series would pick up an additional $25 million on Monday -- the Memorial Day holiday in the United States -- to bring its total to $151 million.

The five-day forecast was in line with industry expectations, and falls just $2 million short of the Memorial Day weekend record set last year by "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." The five-day record is held by "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," which opened to $173 million a week before the Memorial Day holiday in 2005.

For the traditional Friday-to-Sunday portion of the weekend, "Indiana Jones" made an estimated $101 million, the biggest opening of the year by that measure. The record was set three weekends ago by the superhero saga "Iron Man," which opened to $98.6 million without any holiday boost.

"Crystal Skull," directed by Steven Spielberg, is the first movie in the lucrative "Jones" franchise to hit theaters in 19 years. Ford, who delivers a few self-effacing remarks about his age in between some old-fashioned stunt work, is joined by Cate Blanchett and Spielberg's hot new discovery, Shia LaBeouf. George Lucas, who created the franchise in 1981, returned as executive producer.

Viacom Inc-owned Paramount, along with the filmmakers, shrouded the film in an unusual amount of secrecy ahead of its glitzy world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last Sunday, stoking the anticipation factor among nostalgic fans. It also opened in 61 foreign countries, but the studio said data would not be available until Monday.

"Indiana Jones" siphoned off some of the audience from last week's leader, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," which slipped to No. 2 with $23 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, a hefty slide of 58 percent.

After a disappointing $55 million opening last weekend, the second film in Walt Disney Co's "Narnia" fantasy series has earned $91 million -- about 20 percent off the pace of its 2005 predecessor, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

"Iron Man," meanwhile, fell to No. 3 with $20.1 million, taking its total to $252.3 million. Paramount distributed the film for its producer, Marvel Entertainment Inc.

French classroom drama wins Cannes' top prize

CANNES, France (AP) — The French film "The Class," a frank tale about classroom life using real students and teachers at a junior high school, won top honors Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival.

Directed by Laurent Cantet, "The Class" ("Entre les Murs") was the first French film to win the main prize, the Palme d'Or, at Cannes since "Under Satan's Sun" in 1987. The docudrama was shot in a raw, improvisational style to chronicle the drama that unfolds over one school year.

The win was a unanimous decision among the nine-member Cannes jury, said Sean Penn, who headed the panel.

"The movie that we wanted to make had to resemble French society, had to be multifaceted, a bit teeming, complex, and had to sometimes portray frictions that the film didn't try to erase," Cantet said.

Italian films won the second-place grand prize and third-place jury prize. Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah," a study of the criminal underworld in Naples, took the grand prize, while Paolo Sorrentino's "Il Divo," a lively portrait of former Premier Giulio Andreotti, won the jury award.

Benicio Del Toro won the best-actor prize for "Che," Steven Soderbergh's four-hour-plus epic about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara. Presented as two films, "Che" follows Guevara and Fidel Castro's triumphant guerrilla campaign to overthrow Cuba's government in the late 1950s and Guevara's downfall and execution after trying to foment a similar rebellion in Bolivia in the 1960s.

Del Toro, who co-starred in Penn's "21 Grams," also won in a unanimous jury vote, Penn said.

"I'd like to dedicate this to the man himself, Che Guevara," said Del Toro. He also thanked Soderbergh, "who got up every day, forced me to this. ... He was there pushing it, and he pushed all of us."

Soderbergh directed Del Toro to the supporting-actor Oscar for 2000's "Traffic."

Sandra Corveloni was chosen as best actress for "Linha de Passe," in which she plays the mother of four brothers struggling to make better lives for themselves in a Brazilian slum. It was her first role in a feature film.

Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan was named best director for "Three Monkeys," which centers on a father who takes the rap for his employer's crime in exchange for financial support for his wife and son, only to have the scheme backfire amid bitter repercussions.

Belgian siblings Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, two-time winners of the Palme d'Or, received the screenplay prize for "Lorna's Silence," about an immigrant woman who enters a sham marriage to gain Belgian citizenship.

The prize for a film by a first-time director went to British filmmaker Steve McQueen's "Hunger," set at a Northern Ireland prison where IRA volunteer Bobby Sands and other inmates seeking Irish independence staged a hunger strike in 1981.

The Cannes jury awarded special prizes to Clint Eastwood, who directed the competition film "Changeling," and Catherine Deneuve, who appeared in two films at Cannes this year.

Eastwood was shut out for key prizes with "Changeling," his warmly received missing-child drama starring Angelina Jolie.

Eastwood, who delivered two best-picture and director Academy Award recipients with "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby," has never won top honors at Cannes after five times in competition there since 1985.

Jury president Penn won the best-actor Oscar for Eastwood's "Mystic River," which was shut out for prizes at Cannes five years ago.

"There was a field of such powerful, emotional, moving movies, performances. There was so many times that we thought, it just can't get better," Penn said.

Critics judged the Cannes lineup more harshly, however. While Cannes presented few outright bombs this time, critics found the films a bit tepid.

Last year's competition included such films as Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men," which went on to win the best-picture Academy Award, and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated coming-of-age tale "Persepolis," which was nominated for the animation Oscar.

A film from Kazakhstan, Sergey Dvortsevoy's "Tulpan," won a secondary competition called "Un Certain Regard." "Tulpan" is the story of an aspiring shepherd on the isolated Kazakh steppes who must wed before he can enter his chosen trade but is refused by the only prospective bride because she thinks his ears are too big.

Bosnian director Aida Begic's "Snow," a drama about villagers struggling with the decision to leave their war-ravaged town, won top honors in another Cannes competition overseen by critics.

After the awards ceremony, the festival closed with the premiere of Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?", starring Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis and Penn in the tale of a fading Hollywood producer trying to rejuvenate his career amid personal and professional crises.

"What Just Happened?" came full circle: A year ago, Levinson and his collaborators were at Cannes filming scenes for the movie.

The Couch Potato Report - May 24th, 2008

This week The Couch Potato Report peels a small Canadian Film that works, a huge Hollywood film that doesn't, and some zombies!

For some reason, I don't have a lot to say about this week's five new releasses.

Admittedly, due to my fondness for The Muppets, there is one of them that I could go on and on about, but I won't...in fact, I won't go on at leangth about any of them.

That includes this week's HOT POTATO - the Canadian film WALK ALL OVER ME is about a small town girl runs into big time trouble as she takes on her roommates identity as a dominatrix to pay the bills.

Filmed in and around Winnipeg and Vancouver, WALK ALL OVER ME stars Tricia Helfer - who plays The Six on the latest incarnation of TV's BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA, and Leelee Sobieski - who co-starred in Stanley Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT.

They are both very beautiful and talented actresses, and if you have enjoyed their work in the past, and the plot sounds interesting to you, then I think you will like the film itself.

If you don't care for the cast, and the premise doesn't engage you, then you won't.

With some films, it is as simple as that.

I did like the cast, and so I acknowledge that I liked this quirky, mildly entertaining film.

I also found NATIONAL TREASURE - BOOK OF SECRETS to be mildly entertaining.

This one picks up where the original one left off - with Nicolas Cage once again playing a treasure hunter whose family believes in the legend of a fantastic treasure trove of artifacts and gold, hidden by the Founding Fathers of the United States, and forgotten to all but a few.

This sequel sees Cage's Benjamin Franklin Gates looking to find out the truth behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and whether one of his ancestors was involved, by uncovering the mystery within the 18 pages that are missing from assassin John Wilkes Booth's diary.

Like I said, I found NATIONAL TREASURE - BOOK OF SECRETS to be mildly entertaining, and if you liked the first one, or just can't get into the new INDIANA JONES film this weekend, well then this would be an okay second choice.

So, mild recommendations for this week's first two releases, a huge SKIP IT is up now for the latest zombie movie from George A. Romero, the man who basically invented the Zombie Movie genre with the 1968 film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD!!

Unfortunately his latest film isn't as good as his first, or even his last few films.

Filmed in Toronto, DIARY OF THE DEAD is about a group of young film students who run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.

Now, even though I respect George A. Romero's career and work, and I do enjoy a good zombie film, I still went into this one with very low expectations...and even those low expectations weren't met as the premise of a film within a film with one character recording everything on his camera, no matter what happens never putting it down, just doesn't work here.

It worked in the movie CLOVERFIELD earlier this year, but it is highly ineffective here.

Sadly, this one is for Zombie Film Officiandoes only.

Now, if you don't like Zombies, but instead enjoy the classic science fiction films they used to make in the 1950s, well then do I have something for you!!

The 6 DVD, 10 movie set - THE CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION - VOLUMES 1 & 2!!

If you love the sci-fi films that Hollywood specialized in during the 1950s, either because you saw them in theatres, or in the seventies on late night TV, then this is the set for you...or maybe even your Dad...Father's Day is coming up after all!!

The set includes Tarantula, The Mole People, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters, Monster on the Campus, Dr. Cyclops, Cult of the Cobra, The Land Unknown, The Leech Woman and The Deadly Mantis, featuring a huge praying mantis that is on the attack in metropolitan cities after being released from an Arctic iceberg.

If you grew up with these films, go ahead, enjoy them all once again!!

As for me, I love this stuff!!

Finally this week is the new release that I mentioned that I could speak at length about, but since I didn't have much to say about this week's other new releases, I won't go on and on about this one either....even though I absolutely enjoyed every second of my time watching it!!

"It" is THE MUPPET SHOW - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON and this 4-disc set features guest stars Roy Clark, Gilda Radner, Alice Cooper, Loretta Lynn, Liberace, Raquel Welch, Danny Kaye, Sylvester Stallone, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans and Cheryl Ladd.

It also features my beloved Muppets!!

Even though these episodes are 32 years old, and even though I have seen them all dozens of times over the years, I still laughed a lot this past week when I watched them again.

But I promised to not ramble on, so I will stop at that.


The COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of the spectacular THE MUPPET SHOW, the 6 DVD, 10 movie set - THE CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION - VOLUMES 1 & 2!!, DIARY OF THE DEAD - for Zombie Film Officiandoes only, NATIONAL TREASURE - BOOK OF SECRETS - a movie that is good to see if the new INDIANA JONES film is sold out, and the quirky, mildly entertaining Canadian film WALK ALL OVER ME are all available now on DVD.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

THE WHA CHRONICLES is a three disc set that looks back at the old World Hockey Association.

John Cusack plays a man who's wife dies in Iraq in the drama GRACE IS GONE.

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE is one of those classic films that will have me saying: "They don't make them like this anymore!!"

And if you need an alternative to the action filled, very loud, check-your-brain-at-the-door summer movie, well, once again next week I will give you one as THE FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD returns with the Dutch film WAITER!

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!

"Law & Order: CI" is returning for 8th season

LOS ANGELES - "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will remain on the case for another season on USA Network.

The show has been renewed for a 16-episode eighth year, the network said Thursday.

Part of the three-series "Law & Order" franchise created by Dick Wolf, "Criminal Intent" originally aired on NBC. But when the network decided that this season's schedule had room for only two of the shows, a deal was struck to air "Criminal Intent" first on USA, then on NBC.

NBC and USA are corporate cousins within NBC Universal, and "Criminal Intent" reruns on USA already had proved among its most popular programming.

"We're thrilled to have 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' for another season," Bonnie Hammer, president of NBCU Cable Entertainment & Cable Studio, said in a statement, adding that USA "forged new ground" by debuting what had been an established network series.

Wolf, executive producer of the "Law & Order" shows, said in a statement that "Criminal Intent" has "thrived in its new home on USA and will for years to come."

The new order from USA trims the series from the 22 episodes that were ordered for the seventh season. The show returns Sunday, June 8, after a break.

"Criminal Intent," which looks at cases from both the perspective of police and lawbreakers, stars Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Julianne Nicholson and Eric Bogosian. Chris Noth, of the "Sex and the City" TV show and movie, also stars.

Both "Law & Order" and spinoff "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" will return to NBC next season.

It will be season 19 for the original series, second only to "Gunsmoke," which aired from 1955 to 1975, as the longest-running network TV drama series. "Special Victims Unit" will be in its 10th year.

"Indiana Jones" cracks whip at box office opening

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Paramount Pictures appears to have another hit on its hands, as the new "Indiana Jones" movie grossed $25 million from its first full day in North American theaters, independent box office analysts reported on Friday.

That tally ranks as the fourth highest-grossing Thursday debut on record and puts "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" on track to possibly match or overtake last year's "Pirates of the Caribbean" film as the biggest opening on a U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The last big release from Viacom Inc's Paramount, "Iron Man," opened three weeks ago with $98.6 million in U.S.-Canadian receipts its first Friday-through-Sunday frame -- a sum that the latest "Indiana Jones" film is expected to surpass.

Unlike the new "Indiana Jones" film, "Iron Man" was fully financed by Marvel Studios, which paid Paramount a flat fee to market and distribute its film. Thus, Paramount has much more at stake riding on the success of its latest release.

"Crystal Skull," directed by Steven Spielberg, is the fourth movie in the beloved and lucrative movie franchise that began in 1981 with "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and is the first to hit the big screen in 19 years.

Harrison Ford reprises his title role as the bullwhip-cracking archeologist who hates snakes, and reunites with actress Karen Allen, his co-star from the first adventure. In the new film, set during the 1950s Cold War era, he competes with an evil KGB agent played by Cate Blanchett to find a skull endowed with mystic powers.

Box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, said the film's opening Thursday performance was strong enough to bode well for its commercial potential but not so strong as to diminish its weekend audience.

If its Friday-through-Monday box office tally crosses the $140 million mark, the film would exceed last year's Walt Disney Co's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" as the biggest North American opening yet for the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend.

"They have a strong shot at meeting or exceeding that Pirates of the Caribbean number last year," Dergarabedian told Reuters.

By comparison, the highest-grossing Thursday debut at the domestic box office was the $50 million raked in three years ago by "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," according to Box Office Mojo.

Indiana Jones on trail of box office grail

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Industry tracking shows German filmmaker Uwe Boll's "Postal" making a late surge in prerelease polling against "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Psych!

Actually, "Postal" appears to be going nowhere. Major movie theater chains refused to play the September 11-related farce, so it's now tagged for distribution starting Friday in just 13-15 theaters in seven markets. Boll, the filmmaker behind the "BloodRayne" fantasy series, had hoped for as many as 1,500 playdates.

There is one other result from exhibitors' revolt against "Postal," which spins a fantastical yarn featuring President Bush, Osama bin Laden and assorted September 11 references: high prospects of a quick detour to DVD bins.

Meanwhile, Paramount's latest Indiana Jones adventure debuted in about 2,000 locations at a 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Many venues sold out for the earliest showtimes, with playdates set to swell to at least 4,260 by Friday.

Paramount executives hope that "Skull" can outgross in its five-day debut the $151.1 million earned by Sony's "Spider-Man 3" over a three-day frame in May 2007.

Pity the other films on offer this weekend. Disney's family-fantasy sequel "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" bears particularly close watching, after opening at No. 1 last week with a disappointing $55 million.

Original Rush drummer dies

TORONTO - Fans around the world are expressing their sorrow over the death of drummer John Rutsey, a co-founding member of the seminal rock band Rush.

Rutsey, who left the group after recording their first album in 1974, died last week in Toronto from complications stemming from a lifelong battle with diabetes.

His family announced the death in newspaper notices. He was 55.

Rutsey co-founded Rush with lead singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson in 1968, but left the group for health reasons.

He was replaced by drummer and lyricist Neil Peart just before the group's first U.S. tour.

On the Rush website, Lee and Lifeson say they fondly recall their early days with Rutsey and say that he will be deeply missed.

"Those years spent in our teens dreaming of one day doing what we continue to do decades later are special," they state.

"Although our paths diverged many years ago, we smile today, thinking back on those exciting times and remembering John's wonderful sense of humour and impeccable timing."

The family has requested donations be made in Rutsey's memory to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Meanwhile, online condolences poured in from Rush fans around the world, with responses to one newspaper notice including messages from Australia, Germany, the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

"You were the ORIGINAL drummer in the greatest band in the world," writes Douglas Walsh of Metairie, La.

"If not for YOU, who knows what would have happened! Although you may not have known it, you were loved and respected by all Rush fans and the band themselves. God bless ya man! Drum on!"

Cook triumphs over Archuleta on 'American Idol'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The grown-up rocker triumphed over the smooth-voiced kid as David Cook claimed the "American Idol" title Wednedsay, and it wasn't as much of a surprise as it seemed.

While 17-year-old Archuleta was heaped with praise by the judges the night before, the voters decided otherwise — and did they ever. Host Ryan Seacrest said during Wednesday's show that 12 million votes was the difference, and they broke in the favor of the 25-year-old from Blue Springs, Mo.

Cook was overcome by emotion, bending toward the stage after his name was announced.

"This is amazing," he said. "This is all your fault," he added, addressing the brother who Cook had accompanied to the "Idol" audition that started it all.

Cook immediately took the microphone and began to sing "Time of my Life," which won the annual "Idol songwriting competition, to close out season seven.

Cook refused to bow to the conventional during his three-song set Tuesday, with Collective Soul's "The World I Know" as his pick for a closing performance. He also sang U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and the power ballad "Dream Big," his choice from the songwriting competition's finalists.

"If I had to choose between playing a song that not a whole lot of people know that I could get behind, or the opposite, I'll choose the lesser-known every time," Cook told The Associated Press backstage Tuesday.

Judge Simon Cowell said at the time that the song choices sunk him, and told Archuleta that he'd scored a "knockout" performance in the boxing-themed performance finale.

Cook was unshaken, and now his choices are vindicated.

With a record 97.5 million audience votes cast by phone and text, the split between the two contestants was 56 percent for one David and 44 percent for the other, Seacrest announced at the start of the show.

Hedley leads MMVA nominations

TORONTO - Pop-rock pranksters Hedley lead the nominees for this year's MuchMusic Video Awards, ensuring a wild carnival ride for the annual celebrity street party.

Jacob Hoggard and the boys snagged six nods while rapper Belly and pop band IllScarlett each got five nominations. The annual music show, traditionally an off-the-wall spectacle that overtakes Toronto's trendy Queen Street with a red carpet and live performances, airs live June 15.

Last year, members of Hedley showed up with a nude male blow-up doll and the previous year they dropped their pants on the red carpet.

Other multiple nominees this year include three for Simple Plan and two each for City and Colour, Feist and Sam Roberts.

International nominees include Fall Out Boy, Flo Rida, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Timbaland Presents OneRepublic.

Performers are expected to be announced next week.

Grammy Awards set 2009 date

The Recording Academy has set Feb. 8, 2009, as the date the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, to be held once again from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Grammys have been telecast live from the Staples Center since 2000, with one exception coming in 2003, when the awards were held in New York.

The 2009 awards will once again fall on a Sunday, where, overall, the show has enjoyed solid TV ratings. In 2006, the Grammys aired on a Wednesday and lost its night to "American Idol," but bounced back in 2007. This year's telecast, which featured performances from Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse, scored 17.5 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, about a 12% dip from the 2007 broadcast.

With today's announcement from the Recording Academy, the eligibility period for the 2009 Grammy Awards has also been confirmed. Once again, the Grammys will recognize albums released between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008. While allowing more time for votes to be tabulated, the eligibility period forces the Grammys to recognize some of the year's blockbuster releases a year late, as October and November tend to be two of the music industry's busiest months.

Set to open prior to next year's Grammy telecast will be the 30,000-square-foot Grammy Museum, located next to the Staples Center at the L.A. Live entertainment complex (home to the Nokia Theatre). The four-floor museum, with a small theater and a rooftop terrace for private events, is slated to open in late 2008, according to a Grammy spokeswoman.

Nominations for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be announced on Dec. 4 from Los Angeles. The Feb. 9, 2009, awards will once again be broadcast live on CBS, airing on a tape delay for West Coast viewers.

Lee: Eastwood omitted black troops in WWII films

CANNES, France - Spike Lee is slamming Clint Eastwood over his two recent Iwo Jima movies, saying the filmmaker overlooked the role of black soldiers during World War II.

Lee — whose next film is this fall's "Miracle at St. Anna," the story of an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during the war — said Eastwood's 2006 movies "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima" were whites-only affairs.

"He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both of those films," Lee said Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, where he was a judge in an online short-film competition.

"Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood. In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version," Lee said.

Eastwood was in Cannes for his missing-child drama "Changeling," starring Angelina Jolie. At a news conference for the film, a reporter tried to ask for his reaction to Lee's criticism, but the moderator cut her off and told journalists to limit questions to Eastwood's own movie.

Due in U.S. theaters in October, "Miracle at St. Anna" centers on four Americans — played by Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso and Omar Benson Miller — in the Buffalo Soldiers division in Tuscany.

Ouch! Harrison Ford waxes chest to make a point

NEW YORK - Harrison Ford pulled a Steve Carell for a public service announcement: He gets his chest waxed. The 65-year-old star winces in apparent pain as a strip of hair is yanked from between his pecs for a PSA for Conservation International to raise awareness about the effect of deforestation on global warming.

The actor, who doesn't typically appear in such TV spots, sits on the board of directors of the Washington-based environmental organization.

Conservation International CEO Peter Seligmann said Ford was game to do the 30-second spot, and approved of the waxing concept.

"I didn't have to talk him into anything," Seligmann said at a news conference Tuesday in Manhattan. "I was there when he filmed it. It really hurt. There's nothing about the expression on his face that was fake."

The classic scene from 2005's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" — in which Carell screams out "Kelly Clarkson!" during his chest hair removal — was intentionally hilarious. Ford's message, however, is serious: "Every bit of rain forest that gets ripped out over there, really hurts us over here."

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," co-starring Ford, Shia LaBeouf and Karen Allen, opens nationwide on Thursday.

'Dancing with the Stars' Hough sets aside dancing shoes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - When "Dancing with the Stars" champ Julianne Hough came to town to make her debut album, Nashville's songwriters went to work churning out a bunch of songs about — what else? — dancing.

Big mistake.

"Each one that said dancing (in the title), I said 'Nope, sorry,' Hough, 19, recalled over coffee recently.

For now at least, Hough, whose self-titled CD comes out Tuesday, wants people to forget she's a dancer and think of her as a singer.

She's been doing both since she was a little girl and had actually begun pursuing a career in music before "Dancing with the Stars." She had reservations about doing the show in the first place.

"I didn't want to get pigeonholed as being a dancer, and then when I start in music people think 'Oh, just because she got this exposure, now she thinks she can sing,'" said Hough, a blonde with a bubbly voice and sparkly blue eyes.

The youngest of five children, Hough comes from a family of dancers and singers in the Salt Lake City area (her sister Marabeth Poole co-wrote one of tunes on her CD, and her brother Derek, who was also on "Dancing with the Stars," sings on it). She was playing bongos and singing in the family's country band by the time she was 4.

"We're all blond and we were kind of known as the blond Osmonds," she giggled. "We were known as 'White Lightning' because of our hair. It's kind of embarrassing now. But we were in these bold Spandex and black cowboy boots and black fringe vests and black cowboy hats."

She studied dance in Utah and then in London for five years. But by 14 she yearned for a more conventional life back home with her family, and she realized that it was singing, rather than dancing, that was her greatest passion.

"I knew if I stayed in London my whole life would be dancing. I'd won almost every major title you can. I thought 'This really isn't my passion. I really want to sing,' and I knew I wouldn't be able to if I stayed there."

She returned to the U.S. and began pursuing music seriously — until "Dancing with the Stars" came along and was too good to pass up.

Hough joined for the show's fourth season and won with her partner Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno. She repeated the next year with Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves. For her third season, she teamed with comedian Adam Carolla but was eliminated in April.

"I wouldn't take it back, even though it might have slowed my singing down a little," she said. "I feel that now that I've mastered dancing I can pursue singing."

Her sound is country-pop in the vein of her musical heroes Faith Hill, Shania Twain and Martina McBride. The CD's first single is a breezy uptempo tune called "That Song in My Head" that was No. 31 on Billboard.

"Obviously it's still very young on the charts, but I think it has a lot of upside," remarked Tim Roberts, program director at WYCD in Detroit. "I think it really connects with women her age."

With her TV popularity, comparisons to "American Idol" alum Carrie Underwood are inevitable. But Underwood's path from music show to music career was much more direct. Hough's situation is more akin to an actor trying to become a recording star, and, historically, those transitions don't always go well.

"Does it help? Of course it does," said Luke Lewis, chairman of Universal Music Group Nashville, which includes Huff's Mercury Records label. "She's a highly recognizable celebrity at this point, so we don't have to spend a lot of time trying to educate people to who she is — just to the fact that she can sing really well."

So well that Lewis says he signed her without even seeing her on "Dancing With the Stars." He considers her dancing a bonus that reminds him of Twain, who's also on his roster. But don't look for the label to play up Hough's fancy footwork. On that, Lewis and Hough are dancing to the same tune.

"We don't want it to be the first thing that comes into somebody's mind," Lewis said. "She's got to build a career as a country artist just like everybody else."

New Kids on the Block fill in tour schedule

New Kids on the Block have mapped out a full North American run to kick off their international reunion tour.

The trek is now scheduled to launch Sept. 19 in Toronto and visit about 35 cities across the US and into Canada through late November.

The first round of arena shows went on sale earlier this month, and sellouts have already been logged in Toronto; Atlantic City, NJ; Uncasville, CT; and Rosemont, IL, according to the New Kids website. Second nights were added in most of those markets. An updated itinerary is listed below.

The boy band, whose members are now pushing 40, gave screaming fans a taste of what's to come last week when they performed together publicly for the first time in 15 years on NBC-TV's "Today" show. They followed that with a couple of radio festivals on the East Coast.

Last month, the bandmates--Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood--appeared on the "Today" show to announce they were back together and working on a new album, which is due this fall. Their first new single, "Summertime," is currently available at digital outlets and is streaming at NKOTB's MySpace page.

Concert-goers who purchase a ticket/album bundle will get the "Summertime" MP3 immediately, and their downloads will come with an additional audio program, "The Making of the Album," which includes interviews with the New Kids. Further details are available at the group's website.

As teenagers, New Kids on the Block sold more than 70 million records and racked up back-to-back No. 1 albums with 1988's "Hangin' Tough" and 1990's "Step by Step." Their R&B/pop crossover hits included "You Got It (The Right Stuff)," "Cover Girl," "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," "Hangin' Tough," "I'll Be Loving You," "Step By Step" and "Tonight." Following the whirlwind of success and the world tours, the group quietly disbanded in 1994.

Since then, McIntyre, Wood and Jordan Knight have released solo albums; Wahlberg has made a name for himself as an actor; and Jonathan Knight became a real estate developer, according to various reports.

September 2008
19 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
20 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
21 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Center
23 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
24 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
26 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden
27 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel & Casino Event Center
28 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden
30 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena

October 2008
2 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
3 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
4 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena
8 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
10 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
11 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay
13 - Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
16 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
17 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
19 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
21 - Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
22 - Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center
24 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena
25 - Auburn Hills, MI - Palace Of Auburn Hills
27 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
29 - Duluth, GA - Gwinnett Center

November 2008
1 - Sunrise, FL - BankAtlantic Center
2 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
5 - Philadelphia, PA - Spectrum
10 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
11 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
12 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
14 - Broomfield, CO - Broomfield Event Center
15 - West Valley City, UT - The E Center
17 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
21 - Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
22 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
23 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden Arena
26 - San Diego, CA - San Diego Sports Arena

Former NHL-ers star in music video

TORONTO - Canadian teams may be out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but that hasn't kept Ottawa singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards from creating her own bit of NHL fun.

The acclaimed roots-rocker is hitting the ice with a hockey-themed music video for the song "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory," off her current disc, "Asking For Flowers."

Former NHL-ers Marty McSorley, Paul Coffey and Brad Dalgarno join Edwards and her band for a lopsided game of shinny that also features sportscaster Dave Hodge as well as Blue Rodeo singer Jim Cuddy in a villainous role.

"I've always wanted to make a hockey video - my