The Godfather Collection: The Coppola Restoration

On Paramount Home Entertainment’s release of 'The Godfather: The CoppolaRestoration' DVDset, the studio has included some hidden features, ready for you to discover.

Insert the fourth disc of the DVD set, which contains all of the new 2008 bonus materials. On the Main Menu highlight the 'Set Up' menu option and then press the 'Up' arrow key on your remote control. This will highlight a Godfather icon on the right. If you press 'enter' now you will have the chance to see a clip of Francis Ford Coppola discussing his initial research into the mafia.

Now insert the fifth disc of the DVD set in your player, which ich chock full of hidden features. On the Main Menu, select 'Set Up' and once you are in that submenu, press the 'Right' arrow key on your remote control. This will highlight a globe in the background, giving you access to a collage of clips from various language version of the film, including Italian, German and English.

Another hilarious hidden feature can be found on the same disc. From the main menu, go to 'Galleries' and there select 'DVD Credits.' In this section, keep following the next arrow at the bottom of the screen all the way to the end and you will be treated to a great clip of the Sopranos trying to watch an 'advance bootleg' version of the Godfather DVD.

Another hidden feature can be found on this disc. Go to the 'Family Tree' section and select 'Sonny,' which takes you to the family tree of Santino Corleone. Here, select 'Sonny' again and you will be taken to his biography. Press the 'Left' arrow key on your remote control to highlight the image of James Caan and then press 'Enter.' This brings up Caan’s own biography. Now, press the 'Left' arrow key once again to highlight the portrait of him on the left side and if you press 'Enter' now, you will be treated to a screen test by James Caan for his part as Sonny Corleone.

And there's another one, which can be found in the 'Filmmakers' section on this fifth disc. Go there and select 'Mario Puzo's' biography. Once you get there, press the 'Left' arrow key on your remote control twice and a large dollar sign will appear. It gives you access to a short clip, in Coppola asks the writer, why he actually wrote 'The Godfather.' Puzo's answer to it is quite revealing...

Stars flocking to Newman tribute

Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks will be among the A-list stars who will pay tribute to movie legend Paul Newman at a benefit gala for the late actor's California kids camp The Painted Turtle.

Sean Penn, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Willis, Danny Devito, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening and Billy Crystal will also take the stage at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, California on October 27.

The stars will perform a stage reading of The World of Nick Adams, an adaptation of a number of Ernest Hemingway's autobiographical stories, written by Newman's longtime pal A.E. Hotchner.

Metallica dismisses fan complaints

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has slammed fans for complaining about the sound quality of the group's latest album Death Magnetic - insisting the unpolished finish was intentional.

Hoardes of rock fans have hit online music forums to discuss their disappointment in the LP's production, with many feeling the record is "too loud".

As a further blow, fans have labelled the version available through the Guitar Hero video game as superior to the actual official release.

But Ulrich disagrees with the comments that have surfaced since the record hit stores earlier this month, and is proud of the album's live feel.

He tells Blender magazine, "(Producer) Rick Rubin's whole thing is to try and get it to sound lively, to get it (to) sound loud, to get it to sound exciting, to get it to jump out of the speakers. Of course, I've heard that there are a few people complaining. But I've been listening to it the last couple of days in my car, and it sounds f**kin' smokin."

And the drummer blames the Internet for fan's unrest - because it fuels people's urge to complain.

He adds, "The difference between back then and now is the internet. The internet gives everybody a voice, and the Internet has a tendency to give the complainers a louder voice."

Paul Gross war epic to screen for Canadian troops in Kandahar

Canadian troops in Afghanistan are getting a special advance screening of Paul Gross's epic First World War film, Passchendaele.

Gross — who wrote, starred in, and directed the tale of love and valour — said Monday that soldiers stationed in Kandahar will be among the first Canadians to see his film on Friday.

"It has taken an uncommonly long time to bring this movie to the big screen, but we are finally able to present it to the Canadian public and in some small way pay homage to the sacrifice of our forefathers in the Great War of 1914-1918," Gross said in a statement.

"It seems fitting that the troops who today so valiantly serve our country are among the first to see it," Gross added on Monday night, as he and co-stars Caroline Dhavernas, Joe Dinicol and Meredith Bailey hosted a special screening in Ottawa for dignitaries including Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, army commander Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie and various military brass.

He noted that several soldiers from the Canadian Forces added a dose of realism to the film — largely shot at an aboriginal reserve not far from Calgary — by helping out as background actors and choreographing battle scenes.

And instead of staying in hotels provided by the production during filming, soldiers camped out on set at a site they dubbed Camp Hornberg in honour of Cpl. Nathan Hornberg. The 24-year-old mechanic from the King's Own Calgary Regiment was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

Gross is in the midst of an eight-city national tour to promote Passchendaele, a $21-million project that he began envisioning about a dozen years ago after being inspired by war stories told by his grandfather. The movie opened the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.

The film starts with a harrowing battle that leaves Sgt. Michael Dunne, played by Gross, wounded. The Canadian soldier later falls in love with a nurse, Sarah (portrayed by Dhavernas), at a Calgary hospital. When Sarah's asthmatic brother David (Dinicol) decides to join the fight, Dunne feels compelled to protect him from the horrors of war and they both find themselves at the epic battle of Passchendaele.

Gross takes his special screenings to:

Winnipeg on Thursday.

Halifax on Oct. 6.

Montreal on Oct. 7.

Quebec City on Oct. 8.

Edmonton on Oct. 9.

Calgary on Oct. 15.

Vancouver on Oct. 16.

Passchendaele will be released across Canada on Oct. 17.

AC/DC Extends Tour, Heads To 'Rock Band'

AC/DC has extended its Black Ice tour of North America into early 2009. New dates begin Dec. 20 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and run through Jan. 31 in Nashville.

Tickets begin going on sale Saturday (Oct. 4). Eighteen previously announced shows have already sold out, according to the band's label, Columbia.

The tour comes in support of a new album of the same name, due Oct. 21 exclusively via Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores and AC/DC's Web site. First single "Rock'n'Roll Train" is No. 3 this week on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.

"Black Ice" won't be the only AC/DC title available exclusively at Wal-Mart. In November, the retailer will be the only U.S. source for "AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack," a special edition of the popular video game devoted to the veteran Australian band. In December, the game will be available through multiple retailers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

"AC/DC Live" includes 18 songs from the band's DVD "Live at Donnington." This will be the first "Rock Band" version focused on one group. "Guitar Hero" already has an Aerosmith game and is planning another based around Metallica.

Here are AC/DC's new tour dates:

Dec. 20: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Bank Atlantic Center)
Dec. 21: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)
Jan. 5: Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
Jan. 7: Pittsburgh (Mellon Arena)
Jan. 9: Toronto (Rogers Centre)
Jan. 11: Cincinnati (U.S. Bank Arena)
Jan. 13: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)
Jan. 15: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)
Jan. 17: Fargo, N.D. (Fargodome)
Jan. 19: Minneapolis (Xcel Energy Center)
Jan. 21: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center)
Jan. 23: Dallas (American Airlines Center)
Jan. 26: Tulsa, Okla. (BOK Center)
Jan. 28: Little Rock, Ark. (Alltel Arena)
Jan. 30: Memphis (FedEx Forum)
Jan. 31: Nashville (Sommet Center)

Here is the track list for "AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack":

"Thunderstruck"
"Shoot To Thrill"
"Back in Black"
"Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
"Heatseeker"
"Fire Your Guns"
"Jailbreak"
"The Jack"
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
"Moneytalks"
"Hells Bells"
"High Voltage"
"Whole Lotta Rosie"
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
"T.N.T."
"Let There Be Rock"
"Highway To Hell"
"For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"

Paul McCartney Reignites 'Fireman' Project

Sir Paul McCartney is returning to his Fireman alias after a decade away from the collaborative project with producer Youth.

McCartney releases "Electric Arguments" by the Fireman on Nov. 17 via MPL, an imprint of his own London-based publishing company. The 13-track album will be manufactured and distributed by U.K. indie One Little Indian worldwide except the U.S., where ATO will issue it.

"Electric Arguments" is the third set from the Fireman, although it is the first to feature vocals and is described as "entirely different" from the dance and electronic music of previous releases.

McCartney and Martin "Youth" Glover, a former member of Killing Joke, released an ambient dance album, "Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest" (Parlophone), in 1993; McCartney's involvement was initially a secret but later leaked. They followed that with another electronica project, "Rushes" (Hydra/EMI) in 1998.

The new album features more traditional songwriting, including classic rock and acoustic tracks, "yet is in keeping with the genre-hopping spirit of the first two the Fireman albums," according to a statement. One track, "Lifelong Passion," was donated to the charity Adopt-A-Minefield as download for those making donations.

"Electric Arguments" was recorded in just 13 days, although the sessions were spread out over nearly a year. Each track was written and recorded in one day and the duo also produced the album.

The statement adds that it was "made with no record company restraints or a set release date to work to" and "with complete artistic and creative freedom." The radio edit of "Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight" debuted in the U.K. on national top 40 station Radio 1 on Zane Lowe's show and it is the DJ's "Hottest Record in the World Right Now."

McCartney released his last solo album, "Memory Almost Full," via Hear Music in June 2007. It was his first release since leaving EMI.

The "Electric Arguments" track listing is:

"Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight"
"Two Magpies"
"Sing the Changes"
"Travelling Light"
"Highway"
"Light From Your Lighthouse"
"Sun Is Shining"
"Dance 'Til We're High"
"Lifelong Passion"
"Is This Love?"
"Lovers in a Dream"
"Universal Here, Everlasting Now"
"Don't Stop Running"

To Be Thor Director, or Not To Be

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Flowing locks. Tights. Well, yeah, Thor kinda could pass for a Renaissance man…

If comic-book fans squinted real hard, today's news that actor-filmmaker Kenneth Branagh was in talks to direct Marvel's upcoming Thor movie looked not so bad. And pretty good even.

"I think it's kinda cool," said Rob M. Worley, editor of Comics2Film. "[But] he's not anybody I would have thought of."

Branagh, 47, is better known for interpreting William Shakespeare, on stage and in the movies (Henry V, Hamlet, etc.), than Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the two comics giants who made a Marvel star of the ancient Norse god in the 1960s.

"It's definitely a stretch for Branagh, and for Marvel—more in the vein of getting Ang Lee to direct Hulk," Heidi MacDonald, who writes about the comics world on the Publishers Weekly blog The Beat, said in an email.

In what might give Marvel a good fright, Worley also made the Lee analogy, as in: "This could be like Jon Favreau, or it could be Ang Lee in a total mismatch."

To recap, Favreau was the unlikely directorial choice who succeeded with this summer's Iron Man; Lee was the unlikely directorial choice who, um, didn't with 2003's Hulk.

So, if Branagh becomes the unlikely choice to helm Thor—Marvel said it couldn't confirm the Variety report—then what? Is he the next Favreau? Or the next Lee?

Worley thinks the Thor script—a "more Lord of the Rings than Spider-Man" adventure by I Am Legend's Mark Protosevich—could be a good fit for Branagh's classical background.

"It's meant to be a big epic, and kind of Old World," Worley said.

MacDonald seemed to agree.

"Frankly, it seems kind of wacky," she said, "but if Thor is going to talk in 'thees' and 'thous,' who better than a Shakespearean vet to get it right?"

To be fair, Branagh is versed in verse other than iambic pentameter. As a movie star, he's done J.K. Rowling (in 2002's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) and blockbuster-ese (in 1998's Wild Wild West). As a filmmaker, he's made Robert De Niro go Boris Karloff (in 1994's Frankenstein, his last major Hollywood movie as director).

Thor is penciled in for a July 16, 2010, release. Under a new deal (or rather an extension of an old deal) announced today, Paramount Pictures will distribute the Marvel-made adventure along with four other planned films: The First Avenger: Captain America; The Avengers; and Iron Man 2—and 3.

Given the Branagh story, MacDonald has another project for Marvel to ponder.

"Maybe Emma Thompson will direct Spider-Woman," she said.

Springsteen, Joel team up for Obama

WASHINGTON - Rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel are teaming up for their first joint concert to benefit Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Obama plans to attend the concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Oct. 16, the day after Obama's final debate with Republican John McCain at Hofstra University, located several miles outside the city in Hempstead, N.Y.

Seeing the two superstars together won't come cheap. Tickets start at $500 and range up to $10,000.

The event was first reported by the Huffington Post Web site and confirmed by an Obama aide.