Ricky Gervais eyes the Riddler
Until now, Ricky Gervais has made a career out of playing socially awkward misfits.
First, there was David Brent, the foot-in-mouth paper company chief on the British “Office.” Then he played Andy Millman, a hopelessly misguided thespian who dreams of stardom on “Extras.”
Bit parts in “For Your Consideration,” “Night at the Museum” and “Stardust” followed.
So with his television characters reaching cult-like status, Gervais was methodical when it came time to selecting his first leading role.
“I’ve been in this business for seven years and I still pinch myself,” he told a roomful of journalists at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this week.
But when he read the script for “Ghost Town,” he fell in love.
“It has a nice underlying message,” director and co-writer David Koepp said, “which is: ‘Don’t be a dick.’”
In the film, which opens September 19, Gervais plays misanthropic dentist Bertram Pincus who, after a minor mishap on the operating table, can see dead people.
The problem is, they annoy him.
When they see him on the street, ghosts with unfinished human business beg him to help them tie up loose ends.
One particularly pushy spirit, Frank (played by Greg Kinnear), agrees to keep them away from Pincus if he’ll help break up the impending nuptials between his former wife (played by Tea Leoni) and her straight-arrow fiancée.
Pincus takes him up on his offer, but gets more than he bargained for when he starts to feel the pangs of love.
“What are you saying?” Gervais said to a reporter who questioned the funnyman’s authenticity as a romantic lead. “I’ve got the bone structure,” he added with a slight tug of his jowls. “It’s just well hidden.”
Before taking the role, Gervais had some rules.
“I don’t kiss anybody; I won’t talk to myself alone and I will probably ruin at least 30 percent of the scene takes I do,” he said.
Why no kissing?
"No one wants to see that,” he shot back. “And no one would believe it.”
Even though the film deals with death, Gervais, an avowed atheist, said the story didn’t shake his view of the afterlife.
"I don't believe in ghosts or fairies or ESP or any of those things." Gervais knows his big-screen body of work is just getting started. Still, he’s looking forward to playing the villain.
"I'd like to play a bad guy, like the worst person ever," he deadpanned. "Hannibal Lecter, but with less moral conscience.”
The Riddler?
“Is that one open?” he replied. “What are the hours?”
"Ghost Town" opens in theaters on September 19th.
New CD Releases, September. 9: Metallica, Natalie Cole, Jessica Simpson
Metallica "Death Magnetic"
The metal masters are set to release their first new studio set in five years.
Metallica will support "Death Magnetic" with a major North American tour, which begins with an Oct. 21 date in Glendale, AZ. The trek is currently scheduled to stretch through January and stop in more than 30 cities. Show-openers The Sword will appear on all dates, while Down, Lamb of God and Machine Head will rotate through the tour's second support slot.
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Natalie Cole "Still Unforgettable"
After a 17-year wait, the Grammy-winning R&B/jazz singer will release the sequel to 1991's "Unforgettable ... With Love." That earlier effort has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide and earned Cole several Grammy Awards.
"Still Unforgettable" is Cole's 21st studio effort and marks her first time in the producer's chair. The set comprises 14 standards, including "Come Rain or Come Shine," "The Best is Yet to Come" and "Nice 'N' Easy." It also includes a posthumous duet with Cole's dad, Nat King Cole, on the single "Walkin' My Baby Back Home."
Cole will showcase "Still Unforgettable" for her fans in October, as she embarks on a nearly month-long trek through venues on the East Coast and in Canada.
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Jessica Simpson "Do You Know"
The former pop-princess will further attempt to carve out a place in the country music world by delivering "Do You Know."
Simpson co-wrote all but three of the album's tracks, including the crossover single "Come on Over." Guests on the record include Dolly Parton, who wrote and sings background vocals on the title track.
Thus far, Simpson's attempt to "go country" has reportedly met with mixed reactions from fans that have seen her perform her country numbers at shows this summer. She still has some gigs left on the book this month, including dates in Arizona, Nebraska and Nevada.
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Joan Baez "Day After Tomorrow"
The legendary folk singer will mark her 50th anniversary as a recording artist by releasing "Day After Tomorrow." The Steve Earle-produced effort is the singer's 24th studio album and her first since 2003's "Dark Chords on a Big Guitar."
Baez will further celebrate her milestone anniversary, as well as support the new album, during a late-fall trek. She'll play 14 shows in 10 cities during the outing, which kicks off Oct. 26 in Philadelphia.
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Calexico "Carried to Dust"
The rootsy alt-rock band returns with a follow-up to 2006's "Garden Ruin."
"Carried to Dust" features founders Joey Burns (guitar/vocals) and John Convertino (drums/percussion) performing with steel guitarist Paul Niehaus, keyboardist/trumpeter Jacob Valenzuela, multi-instrumentalist Martin Wenk and standup bass player Volker Zander. Iron & Wine's Sam Beam, Tortoise bassist Doug McCombs and Pieta Brown make guest appearances on the set.
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More new releases:
Eric Benet, "Love & Life" (Warner Bros.)
Kimya Dawson, "Alphabutt" (K Records)
Michael Franti & Spearhead, "All Rebel Rockers" (Anti)
Mitch Hedberg, "Do You Believe in Gosh?" (Comedy Central)
Iced Earth, "The Crucible of Man" (Steamhammer)
Hal Ketchum, "Father Time" (Curb)
LL Cool J, "Exit 13" (Def Jam)
Patty Loveless, "Sleepless Nights" (Saguaro Road)
Okkervil River, "The Stand Ins" (Jagjaguwar)
Joan Osborne, "Little Wild One" (Saguaro Road)
Sasha, "Involver 2" (Global Underground)
Dar Williams, "Promised Land" (Razor & Tie)
ZZ Top, "Eliminator (Collector's Edition)" (Rhino)
Soundtracks and scores:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score (Rounder)
AC/DC Reveals Fall Tour Plans
In support of its forthcoming studio album, AC/DC will launch its Black Ice World Tour on Oct. 28 at the Wachovia Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The 24-date North American leg of the arena jaunt is scheduled to wrap Dec. 18 at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C.
The worldwide trek follows closely behind the Oct. 20 release of "Black Ice," which will be sold exclusively in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores as well as ACDC.com. AC/DC's first new single in eight years, "Rock'n'Roll Train," rockets 15-5 this week on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.
Tickets for the North American dates will go on sale during the weekend of Sept. 20 via Ticketmaster and ACDC.com. Specific on-sale dates and ticket prices have not yet been announced.
Following the North American run, AC/DC will visit South American, Europe and Asia, with dates to be announced. The Black Ice World Tour will be AC/DC's first outing since 2001.
Here are AC/DC's North American tour dates:
Oct. 28: Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Wachovia Arena)
Oct. 30: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
Nov. 3: Indianapolis (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Nov. 5: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Nov. 7: Toronto (Rogers Centre)
Nov. 9: Boston (TD Banknorth Garden)
Nov. 12-13: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Nov. 15: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
Nov. 17: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Nov. 19: East Rutherford, N.J. (IZOD Center)
Nov. 21: Columbus, Ohio (Schottenstein Center)
Nov. 23: Minneapolis (Xcel Energy Center)
Nov. 25: Denver (Pepsi Center)
Nov. 28: Vancouver (General Motors Place)
Nov. 29: Seattle (KeyArena)
Nov. 30: Tacoma, Wash. (Tacoma Dome)
Dec. 2: Oakland, Calif. (Oracle Arena)
Dec. 6: Los Angeles (The Forum)
Dec. 10: Phoenix (US Airways Center)
Dec. 12: San Antonio (AT&T Center)
Dec. 14: Houston (Toyota Center)
Dec. 16: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
Dec. 18: Charlotte, N.C. (Time Warner Cable Arena)
De Niro and Pacino eye killing at box office
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A week after the box office sank to its lowest level in five years, sales should rebound significantly this weekend with five wide openers, including a thriller starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
"Righteous Kill," a rare pairing of the longtime A-listers, is a consensus favorite -- though no sure shot -- to top the weekend with an opening in the mid- to high-teen millions. The cop thriller, directed by Jon Avnet, comes from Overture Films, the indie studio behind the arthouse hit "The Visitor."
"We targeted the older male audience, and it looks like they're going to come," Overture marketing chief Peter Adee said. "From the tracking, it looks like the younger males are going to come as well."
Women could be another matter, given the presence of more female-friendly openers among the competition. Overture executives hope the usual appeal of Pacino and De Niro with older women will prompt a late surge in date-night support for "Kill."
The most obvious first choice for women -- Picturehouse's remake of the comedy "The Women" -- looks unlikely to vie for an upper rung in the weekend rankings. "Women" is a swan-song release for Picturehouse, which Warner Bros. is shuttering as the studio largely abandons the specialty-film business.
The likeliest competitor "Kill" will have to fend off for the session's crown appears to be the Coen brothers' comedy "Burn After Reading" from Focus Features and Working Title. Prerelease tracking indicates an opening in the mid-teen millions or higher, which would give Focus its biggest opening.
The first-weekend tally for "Burn" will depend on critical praise more than any of the other new releases. Early reviews have been mostly positive but hardly raves for the filmmakers' first release since their best picture Oscar winner "No Country for Old Men."
Tyler Perry's "The Family That Preys" from Lionsgate is a notable wild card in this weekend's mix of wide openers. Tracking indicates that a robust moviegoing weekend could see "Family" opening near the $21.4 million bow by Perry's "Why Did I Get Married?" in October.
Yet on the low end of prerelease projections, "Family" would ring up just $15 million or so. So far the casting of Kathy Bates -- the first major-role white actor in a Perry pic -- doesn't seem to be broadening interest in the release beyond the filmmaker's usual base of support with urban demos.
Elsewhere this weekend, Slowhand Releasing unspools the patriotic documentary "Proud American" in a barely wide bow of about 750 playdates.
Just added to the release calendar two weeks ago, prospects appear limited to the low-single-digit millions for the maiden theatrical voyage of writer-director Fred Ashman.