Stompin' Tom re-records 'Hockey Song'
TORONTO - Canadian country-folk legend Stompin' Tom Connors has re-recorded his beloved sports anthem, "The Hockey Song".
The toe-tapping hockey fan says he finds the original, recorded in the early '70s, "a little thin." Connors revealed the new version to reporters in his southern Ontario home Thursday, tapping along to the beat with his booted foot while the song boomed over a stereo system.
The intimate listening party was a rare gesture by the intensely private musician, discussing each track of his new album while about half of the new disc was played for media in a wood-panelled games room.
Wearing his trademark black cowboy hat, Connors said he doesn't know why "The Hockey Song" song wasn't chosen to be the new theme for CBC-TV's "Hockey Night in Canada."
But he joked he'd have trouble coming up with a French-language version, anyway.
The CBC is currently winding down a nationwide contest to find a new theme song, after losing the rights to its popular anthem earlier this year. At the time, Connors' son said his father was open to licensing "The Hockey Song" to the CBC as a replacement.
"It was a little thin the first time I recorded it way back in '71 or '72," Connors said Thursday as he introduced an updated recording of the Canadian classic.
Later, he suggested that the opportunity to lend the tune to NHL broadcasts was not entirely lost.
"Who knows? Nobody's got a crystal ball," he said while leaning against a curved bar, a cigarette and beer bottle clutched in one hand.
Connors' new album, "The Ballad of Stompin' Tom," is due for release Oct. 28 and takes its name from an autobiographical track that draws from his colourful past and extensive travels.
It also features updated takes on "The Olympic Song" and "My Hockey Mom," and a live version of "Take Me Back To Old Alberta".
Brent Butt to create pilot for new series Hiccups
When Corner Gas wraps up at the end of this season, Brent Butt will have Hiccups.
The star of the popular TV sitcom has agreed to create a pilot for a new half-hour comedy series called Hiccups for CTV and Comedy Central.
He won't be in front of the camera. Instead, the series will star his wife and Corner Gas co-star Nancy Robertson.
She'll play Millie Upton, a children's author who's normally a happy person, but has fits of depression, rage or euphoric highs. She hires an inept life coach to help her overcome this handicap.
Butt is creator, writer, show runner and executive producer for Hiccups. Corner Gas producer David Storey directs.
The pilot starts shooting in Vancouver later this month. Butt announced earlier this year that the 2009 season would be the last for Corner Gas.
Bachman inspires hockey anthem semifinalist
Toronto composer Gerry Mosby was inspired by Randy Bachman to compete in Canada's Hockey Anthem Challenge.
The contest to find new theme music for Hockey Night in Canada was launched June 19 by CBC Sports after it didn't renew the rights to The Hockey Theme, which were subsequently purchased by CTV Inc.
Mosby, a professional writer and musician, heard that Bachman, one of his favourite Canadian artists, planned to submit several entries in the contest, so he followed suit with Ice Warriors.
Mosby's composition was featured Wednesday on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, who is offering sneak peeks of the five semifinalists each night.
Edmonton's Colin Oberst, with Canadian Gold, and Toronto's Robert Fraser Burke, with Sticks to the Ice, were profiled Monday and Tuesday night, respectively.
Television viewers can enjoy all five semifinalist submissions in their entirety on the Hockey Night In Canada Anthem Challenge, a one-hour special hosted by Ron MacLean and Stroumboulopoulos on Oct. 4 (CBC, 9 p.m. ET local time).
Each of the five semifinalists will be introduced with a recording of their respective entry — produced by Bob Rock, a multiple Juno Award winner, and a full orchestra — played on the show.
The opening round of voting begins immediately following the program, and closes Oct. 7.
Canadians can cast their votes at CBCSports.ca/anthemchallenge, by phone and via SMS on their mobile phones.
The two finalists will be announced during a special Thursday edition of Hockey Night in Canada on Oct. 9, when the Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Detroit and the Calgary Flames visit the Vancouver Canucks.
That is when the second round of voting opens, closing on Oct. 10.
The winning submission will be revealed Oct. 11 on Hockey Night In Canada's traditional Saturday night doubleheader (Montreal Canadiens at Toronto, Vancouver at Calgary).
The winner of Canada's Hockey Anthem Challenge will receive $100,000 in cash and half of the ongoing royalties, with the other half invested in minor hockey.
Report: Cobain's ashes never stolen
Courtney Love's publicist has dismissed reports a German artist has obtained the ashes of late rocker Kurt Cobain - insisting they were never stolen from the former Hole star in the first place.
Cobain's ashes were reportedly taken from his widow Love's Los Angeles home earlier this year, along with thousands of dollars' worth of jewellery.
Love claimed to be "suicidal" over the loss of her husband's remains, saying at the time: "I can't believe anyone would take Kurt's ashes from me. They were all I had left of my husband. Now it feels like I have lost him all over again."
On Wednesday, artist Natascha Stellmach claimed to have "acquired" the ashes and threatened to smoke them as part of a morbid art exhibition.
But Love's representative Alan Nierob has now retracted Love's previous comments, claiming Cobain's remains "were never taken" and that the story of the burglary had been "erroneously reported", according to Gigwise.com.
Yogi, Boo-Boo ready for their close-ups
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Warner Bros. is taking a trip to Jellystone Park.
The studio is developing a feature version of "Yogi Bear," the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon. "Surf's Up" co-helmer/co-writer Ash Brannon will direct the film.
Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia, who executive produced "That '70s Show" and are writing the feature "Tooth Fairy" for Fox, are penning the screenplay.
The project, culled from Warners' vast library, is planned as a live-action/animated hybrid along the lines of Fox's 2007 hit "Alvin & the Chipmunks." Much of the movie will be live action, but Yogi Bear and sidekick Boo Boo will be done in CG animation.
Yogi Bear first appeared as a supporting character in 1958 in another classic cartoon, "The Huckleberry Hound Show." In 1961, he got his own show, which has aired in reruns frequently over the past half-century.
Yogi's exploits take place in Jellystone Park, where he and Boo Boo get into good-natured mischief and must elude their nemesis, Ranger Smith.
Brannon has worked on such Pixar hits as "Toy Story 2" and "A Bug's Life."