Peter Dinklage Joins Death At A Funeral Remake
When I reported the cast list a few weeks ago for Chris Rock's planned remake of the British farce Death at a Funeral, I wondered who would be taking over the role that Peter Dinklage memorably, hilariously played in the first film. Based on the cast list I thought it might be James Marsden, but Production Weekly seems to have told us who will be taking over for Dinklage: Peter Dinklage.
The actor's name was added to the cast list in the most recent issue, and if they've got it right, that means they agree that no one can top Dinklage's performance in the previous film. The only American character in the film, Dinklage's role was the man who showed up at the funeral threatening to reveal a secret about the dearly departed father and throwing the entire funeral into turmoil. Well, the whole thing was crazy to begin with, what with one relative accidentally high on Ecstasy and everyone else bickering their way through the day.
I'll be very, very thrilled if this news turns out to be true; given that the filming supposedly starts at the end of this month, we won't have long to wait and find out.
New CD Releases, March 24th: Pearl Jam, Hannah Montana, The Decemberists, Indigo Girls, Martina McBride and more.
Pearl Jam "Ten" (Sony)
The alt-rock champs celebrate the legacy of their mighty debut, 1991's "Ten," by re-releasing the album in four different formats. Each offering will include two versions of "Ten": a remastered version of the original album, plus a re-mixed rendition done up by the group's long-time producer, Brendan O'Brien.
Big PJ fans will want to buy the deluxe edition, which includes a DVD of the band's previously unreleased performance on MTV's "Unplugged" from 1992.
The "Ten" reissues mark the beginning of a two-year catalogue re-release effort that will double as a countdown to the band's 20th anniversary in 2011.
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Hannah Montana "Hannah Montana: The Movie" (Disney)
Are you ready for another round of Hannah Montana mania? The Disney character, portrayed by real-life star Miley Cyrus, will be the subject of a new feature film, "Hannah Montana: The Movie."
The flick, which also stars hot country act Rascal Flatts, is set to hit theaters April 10, and tweens are probably already lining up around the block in anticipation. You can get ready for the big event by purchasing the soundtrack to "Hannah Montana: The Movie."
The 18-track collection features plenty of Montana cuts, as well as offerings by Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus (Miley's dad) and the hottest singer on the planet, Taylor Swift.
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The Decemberists "The Hazards of Love" (Capitol)
The Pacific Northwest indie-rock troupe is set to drop its fifth studio album, which follows 2006's "The Crane Wife." Like that previous outing, which was inspired by both a Japanese folk tale and William Shakespeare's "The Tempest," "The Hazards of Love" is a concept, or thematic, work. This time around, the Decemberists tell "the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake," according to a press release.
The 17-track set features several notable guest stars, including My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark, My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden and Robyn Hitchcock, all of whom appear as "characters" in the album's storyline.
Having recently appeared at opening night of the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, TX, the band will really get behind "The Hazards of Love" during a late-spring swing through North America. The tour begins May 19 at Los Angeles' Hollywood Palladium and includes a stop in mid-June at Tennessee's mammoth Bonnaroo festival.
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Indigo Girls "Poseidon and the Bitter Bug" (IG)
The famed folk-rockers are back with their 11th studio offering, "Poseidon and the Bitter Bug," which marks the first release on the duo's own IG Recordings label. The new album reunites the Indigo Girls with veteran producer Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney), who turned the knobs for their previous release, 2006's "Despite Our Differences."
The duo--Emily Saliers and Amy Ray--will support "Poseidon" during a 35-city North American tour. The journey begins April 4 in Palm Springs, CA, and is currently scheduled to last through a July 17 stop at the California World Fest in Grass Valley, CA.
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Martina McBride "Shine" (RCA)
The versatile country vocalist, who's known to toss a classic-rock cover or two into her live sets, returns with a new 11-track collection. "Shine" is McBride's 10th studio release and her first since 2007's gold-certified "Waking Up Laughing."
The forthcoming album has already produced one smash radio hit, "Ride," which was a Top 20 country single. The album was co-produced by McBride and Dann Huff (Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts).
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More new releases:
Amadou & Mariam, "Welcome to Mali" (Nonesuch)
Blue October, "Approaching Normal" (Universal)
Eric Church, "Carolina" (Capitol)
Coheed & Cambria, "Neverender: Children of the Fence Edition" (Caroline)
Doom, "Born Like This" (Lex)
Keri Hilson, "In a Perfect World..." (Interscope)
Israel Houghton and New Breed, "Power of One" (Sony)
Stephen Lynch, "3 Balloons" (What Are Records)
Mastodon, "Crack the Skye" (Reprise)
Papa Roach, "Metamorphosis" (Geffen)
John Rich, "Son of a Preacher Man" (Warner Bros)
Various Artists, "NOW That's What I Call Music! 30" (Universal)
Various Artists, "Walt Disney and the 1964 World's Fair" (Disney)
Yanni, "Yanni Voices" (Disney)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Shrek: The Musical" (Decca)
Bruce Springsteen adds another Weinberg to lineup
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will see a second generation make its bow on the road this spring when drummer Max Weinberg's son, Jay, fills in for his dad on a number of occasions.
The younger Weinberg will sit in with the band during the "small number of shows" that father Max will be forced to miss owing to his new obligations as bandleader of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," according to a press release from Springsteen's camp.
"Once again, I want to express my appreciation to Conan O'Brien, and everyone on his team, for making it possible for Max to continue to do double duty for both us and for him," the Boss said in a press statement. "We promise to return him in one piece."
O'Brien takes over the "Tonight Show" reins from Jay Leno in June. Weinberg previously served as the leader of The Max Weinberg 7, O'Brien's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" house band, since the show's inception in 1993.
Springsteen and the E Street Band kick off the tour--which supports Springsteen's new album, "Working on a Dream"--April 1 in San Jose, CA. Tickets for the all dates on the 24-city trek are currently on sale.
The rock band began rehearsals for the upcoming tour earlier this month at Asbury Park, NJ's Paramount Theatre, according to fansite Backstreets.com, working through "Outlaw Pete," "My Lucky Day," "What Love Can Do," "This Life" and the latest album's title track. Springsteen's wife and bandmate, Patti Scialfa, joined in the following day, when the group played "Good Eye," "Life Itself," "Kingdom of Days" and three other tracks from the album. The band will play two pre-tour rehearsal shows at Asbury Park's Convention Hall Monday night (3/23) and Tuesday night (3/24).
The group started three previous tours--in 1999, 2002 and 2007--with public rehearsal performances in its hometown.
"Working on a Dream," the follow up to 2007's platinum-certified "Magic," is Springsteen's 24th album. Produced by longtime Springsteen associate Brendan O'Brien, the set features 12 new compositions and two bonus tracks.
April 2009
1 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion at San Jose
3 - Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
5 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center
7 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
8 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
10 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
15-16 - Los Angeles, CA - LA Memorial Sports Arena
21-22 - Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden
24 - Hartford, CT - XL Center
26 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
28-29 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Spectrum
May 2009
2 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
4 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veterans Mem. Coliseum
5 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena
7 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
8 - University Park, PA - Bryce Jordan Center
11 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
12 - Chicago, IL - United Center
14 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center
15 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium
18 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
19 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena
21, 23 - East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center
30 - Landgraaf, Holland - Pink Pop Festival
June 2009
2 - Tampere, Finland - Ratinan Stadion
4, 5, 7 - Stockholm, Sweden - Stockholm Stadium
9, 10 - Bergen, Norway - Koengen
July 2009
2 - Munich, Germany - Olympiastadion
3 - Frankfurt, Germany - Commerzbank Arena
5 - Vienna, Austria - Ernst Happel Stadion
8 - Herning, Denmark - Herning MCH
11 - Dublin, Ireland - RDS
16 - Carhaix, France - Festival des Vielles Charrues
19 - Rome, Italy - Stadio Olimpico
21 - Turino, Italy - Olimpico di Torino
23 - Udine, Italy - Stadio Friuli
26 - Bilbao, Spain - San Mames Stadium
28 - Benidorm, Spain - Estadio Municipal de Foietes
30 - Sevilla, Spain - La Cartuja Olympic Stadium
August 2009
1 - Valladolid, Spain - Estadio Jose Zorrilla
2 - Santiago, Spain - Monte Del Gozo
Elvis Costello Teams With T Bone Burnett For New Acoustic Record
Elvis Costello's newest album, "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane," sees the prolific singer-songwriter-composer returning to acoustic American roots music for the first time since his 1986 album "King of America." "Sugarcane" will be released June 2 on Hear Music.
"Sugarcane" was produced by T Bone Burnett and recorded during a three-day session at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studio. Costello and Burnett have previously collaborated on "King of America" and "Spike."
Costello's band for the project includes such Bluegrass and traditional country musicians as erry Douglas (dobro), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Mike Compton (mandolin), Jeff Taylo (accordion) and Dennis Crouch (double bass). Emmylou Harris sings on one song, and Burnett adds his Kay electric guitar sound to several songs, the only amplified instrument on the album.
Ten of the album's tracks are new Costello compositions, including two written with Burnett. One song, " I Felt The Chill," was written by Costello and Loretta Lynn, while two of the album's tracks -- "Hidden Same" and "Boom Chicka Boom -- were originally written by Costello for Johnny Cash.
The vinyl version of the album will feature two additional songs: an acoustic a arrangement of Lou Reed's "Femme Fatale" and Costello's sequel to an old Appalachian murder ballad entitled, "What Lewis Did Last".
Costello will do select tour dates with "The Sugarcanes," a band featuring musicians who played on the album, in June and August.
Here is the "Secret, Profane Sugarcane" track list:
1. Down Among the Wine and Spirits
2. Complicated Shadows
3. I Felt the Chill
4. My All Time Doll
5. Hidden Shame
6. She Handed Me a Mirror
7. I Dreamed of My Old Lover
8. How Deep is the Red
9. She Was No Good
10. Sulfur to Sugarcane
11. Red Cotton
12. The Crooked Line
13. Changing Partners
David Letterman marries longtime girlfriend
LOS ANGELES – David Letterman said he and longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko had a bumpy trip to matrimony last week.
During a taping Monday of CBS' "Late Show," Letterman said he and Lasko married March 19 at the Teton County Courthouse in Choteau, Mont., but only after their truck got stuck on a muddy road.
Letterman and Lasko, whose son, Harry, was born in November 2003, didn't take an immediate honeymoon. The late-night host was back at work in New York on Monday to deliver the news — and a few jokes about the marriage.
"Regina and I began dating in February of 1986, and I said, `Well, things are going pretty good, let's just see what happens in about 10 years,'" Letterman, who turns 62 next month, said at the taping, according to a transcript.
After avoiding marriage for more than two decades, Letterman said, "I secretly felt that men who were married admired me ... like I was the last of the real gunslingers, you know what I'm saying?"
The road to the ceremony wasn't smooth, he told the audience. He, Lasko and their son were on their way to the courthouse Thursday when their pickup truck got stuck in the mud.
"So now we think, `Well, somebody'll come.' No, nobody comes along. Nobody comes along — it's Thursday afternoon; who's coming along? Zorro? No, nobody. So I get out of the truck and I walk 2 miles back to the house into a 50-mile-an-hour wind," Letterman said.
"It's not Beverly Hills, it's Montana, for God's sakes. And the whole way, I'm thinking, 'See, smart ass, see, see, you try to get married, this is what happens,'" he said.
When he returned, Letterman said, Harry asked if they were still going to town and was assured they were.
"And he gets very upset because mom had told him if I wasn't back in an hour, the deal was off," Letterman said
Billie's back on Doctor Who
Billie Piper will return to Doctor Who with ALL the Time Lord’s former companions as part of David Tennant’s final episode.
Billie, 26, will again play Rose Tyler and teams up with other sidekicks Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman).
The trio will join forces to take on the Doctor’s revived arch-enemy The Master, played again by John Simm.
The episode sees the Timelord regenerate into the new Doctor (Matt Smith).
An insider said: “This will be the most exciting episode Doctor Who have ever done. We really wanted to get all the companions back on board as a fitting send-off to David.
“And of all the enemies for him to face in his final episode it makes sense for The Master to be the main one. Getting Billie to agree is a real coup, but she loved working on the show so much it didn’t take much convincing.”
Rose — who left after series two — formed the strongest bond with the Doctor out of the female companions. She returned for a few episodes in the last series where she was reunited with the Doctor.
Rose then returned to Earth with a separate half-human version of the Time Lord.
Since she left Doctor Who, Billie has gone on to star in the raunchy ITV2 drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl. She plays a high-class hooker in the risque show, which is currently on its third series.
David, 37, will quit the show after the last of the four specials.
Meanwhile the red London bus set to feature in the first special has been damaged in Dubai by schoolkids.
The double decker, which was smashed up shortly after arriving in Arab state for filming, was stripped for “souvenirs” after producers parked it outside a school.
A show source said: “This really is the unluckiest bus in the universe.”
Warner Bros. launches 'on demand' DVD sales
One of Hollywood's biggest movie vaults is about to be opened wide.
Warner Bros. is launching an innovative "on demand" DVD initiative in which fans eventually will be able to order any of the 6,800 theatrical features in the studio's library not available on disc and receive a custom-made DVD within a week for $20.
Only about 1,200 films in the Warner library have been released on DVD, large part because of space constraints at retail. "This news is going to make a lot of people really happy," says George Feltenstein, senior vice president of theatrical catalog marketing at Warner Home Video.
The Warner Archive Collection launches today (warnerarchive.com) with an initial slate of 150 films that have never been on DVD, such as 1943's Mr. Lucky, with Cary Grant and Laraine Day, and 1962's All Fall Down with Warren Beatty and Eva Marie Saint. The oldest film in this first wave is the 1923 silent scorcher Souls for Sale; the newest is 1986's Wisdom, with Demi Moore and Emilio Estevez.
Plans call for 20 or more classic films and TV shows to be added each month, Feltenstein says. To order films, consumers go to the website, select titles and place orders, which are manufactured and shipped in shrink-wrapped plastic cases identical to those of commercial DVDs. Consumers also will be able to order films digitally, downloaded directly to their computers, for $15.
"Our goal is to eventually open up our entire vault," Feltenstein says. "We've been working on this for three years. I've always said it would be great if people could buy anything in our library, and now the time has come, because the technology finally exists."
As a general rule, films considered for release are evaluated by how well they did in the VHS era, which saw about 4,100 movies from Warner's library released on videocassette over a span of more than 20 years. Other factors include the availability of good-quality prints, consumer requests and interest on the black market.
"Some films that are not available on DVD have gotten a lot of bootlegging," Feltenstein says. "We track that on the Internet."
Initially, special features will be limited to original theatrical trailers, but down the road additional extras might be added, Feltenstein says. "Right now, our focus is to get some of these movies that have been sitting in the vaults for years out there to the public, so that by Christmas we'll have at least 350 films available," Feltenstein says.
That's music to the ears of film aficionados such as Mike Weldon, 64, of Costa Mesa, Calif. "I think it's great, because there are a lot of movies out there we just don't get exposure to anymore," he says. "There are films I'd like to own and see every few months, but I just can't find them anywhere."
Scanning the initial list of titles, Weldon points to Homecoming, a 1948 romantic drama from MGM starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner. "Here's one right now," he says. "I've been looking for that everywhere."