'Twilight' takes a bite out of MTV Movie Awards

LOS ANGELES – The MTV Movie Awards were a blood bath Sunday night with "Twilight" taking five trophies, including best movie. But it was Sacha Baron Cohen who gave the show it's trademark bizarro moment when he landed on Eminem — who may or may not have been deeply offended.

The popular vampire drama starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart sucked up the golden popcorn trophies for best movie, fight, kiss, breakthrough male performance and female performance during Sunday's over-the-top ceremony at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., which honors the best in film from the past year as voted on by viewers.

"The fans are the ultimate driving force," Stewart said while accepting her best female performance trophy (which she promptly dropped on the floor, breaking off a chunk of the golden popcorn).

Other winners included "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" star Zac Efron for male performance and his co-star Ashley Tisdale for female breakthrough performance. Miley Cyrus accepted the best song from a movie prize for "The Climb" from "Hannah Montana: The Movie," preventing "Twilight" from winning all six categories in which it was nominated.

Amy Poehler's urinating in a sink in "Baby Mama" won an award that was new to this year: The "WTF moment."

But even that was upstaged by Baron Cohen, who flew in above the audience as his flamboyant character "Bruno." Dressed in a pair of feathery white wings with his rear end mostly exposed, the comedian crashed into an overhead obstacle and was lowered directly into in Eminem's lap in the audience, his bare hindquarters in the rapper's face.

"Is the real Slim Shady about to stand up?" chirped Baron Cohen.

Eminem seemed visibly upset by the encounter, and members of his entourage roughly removed Baron Cohen as the rapper struggled to get out. But had Baron Cohen and MTV punked the self-styled homophobic rapper, or was he in on the elaborate joke?

Eminem acted visibly upset at the mishap, saying "Get this (expletive) off me" and turning his face away in disgust. He then stormed out with his entourage in tow — and cameras rolling — and beat a path for the exits.

Baron Cohen's descent to the audience was included in earlier rehearsals, but Eminem — who performed Sunday night — didn't take part in that piece of the run-through. As the rapper stormed off it sounded as though he was wearing a microphone, and cameras were in position to record his fast exit, but he was not seen or heard from again.

It wasn't the first tantrum for Slim Shady at an MTV ceremony: Sparks flew when the rapper was interviewed by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at the 2002 show.

Before this year's broadcast, Heath Ledger was awarded the best villain trophy for his twisted turn as the Joker in "The Dark Knight." Jim Carey later won for best comedic performance for "Yes Man." Ben Stiller received the MTV Generation Award, the show's highest honor, from a trio of presenters: Efron, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and a weeping Kiefer Sutherland.

"Ben, I have never had the privilege of working with you, but when I see the remarkable consistency you display in your films, whether you're portraying a man with his balls caught in his zipper or a man struggling to control his diarrhea on a date, I see a consummate professional who commands the respect of his co-actors," said Sutherland.

In addition to handing out awards for movies from the past year, MTV debuted new footage from the upcoming films "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" and "New Moon." Andy Samberg initially teased "Twilight" devotees by introducing the vampire sequel preview with footage of Samberg as an amateur Dracula.

The zany host kicked off the show with a movie mash-up featuring cameos from Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake before launching into an on-stage rap performance in which he attempted to woo a surly-looking Megan Fox in the audience. Samberg later crooned with Will Ferrell during an explosive movie montage that "cool guys don't have to look at explosions."

Pixar goes `Up' with $68.2 million debut weekend

LOS ANGELES – The animated action comedy "Up" is soaring in its first weekend at theaters.

According to distributor Walt Disney, the film from Pixar Animation pulled in $68.2 million.

That's the third-best opening weekend for a Pixar animated film, just behind the $70 million debuts for "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." "Up" came in about $5 million ahead of Pixar's "WALL-E" last summer.

Factoring in higher admission prices, some other early Pixar movies such as "Toy Story 2" and "Monsters, Inc." also sold more tickets than "Up" over their first weekends.

Critics gave glowing reviews to "Up," the story of a lonely widower who ties helium balloons to his house and flies off on a South American adventure.

The Couch Potato Report - May 30th, 2009

This week The Couch Potato Report peels reality, an Atlantic Canadian outlander, and the FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD returns with a film from Norway!

I have said it before and I will say it again...I am a fan of documentaries! I watch them proudly and I watch them often...good and bad, I watch them!

So when I heard that there was a film coming out that was a documentary about making documentaries...well...you can imagine how excited I was as I sat down to watch CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY!

This National Film Board Of Canada production features 33 filmakers from 14 different countries who all share the same passion for documentary films.

Albert Maysles (rhymes with "hazels"), Errol Morris, Nick Broomfield and Werner Herzog are just some of the people who offer their insight into their craft while they reflect on the films that they have made, and the people who have appeared in them.

CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY features more than 100 clips from dcumentaries such as Grey Gardens, The Thin Blue Line, The Day I Will Never Forget and Darwin's Nightmare and I found it insightful and very interesting.

However, if you have never heard of Grey Gardens, The Thin Blue Line, The Day I Will Never Forget or Darwin's Nightmare or Albert Maysles (rhymes with "hazels"), Errol Morris, Nick Broomfield or Werner Herzog then you might not get as much out of this film as I did.

But, if you do decide to pick this film out, I still think you will enjoy it, and you might even discover some new documentaries that you'd like to see.

It is called CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY.

Yes, reality is bizarre and weird and compelling, and yes, most fiction films, even the good ones, can't compete with that when it comes to real life, but it is sure fun to watch them when they try...isn't it?

Take for instance the film OUTLANDER.

By definition, an outlander is a person from a foreign country; a foreigner, a stranger.

Now, what if I told you there was a fiction film that featured an outlander, as well as aliens and vikings?

Would you want to see that?

Well, you are in luck! Let me tell you about the made-in-Newfoundland and Nova Scotia film OUTLANDER.

Oh, did I mention...it has dragons too!!

Hee hee hee...now I know, you must be thinking...Dan, a film with aliens and vikings and dragons filmed in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia?!? Why are you even mentioning this?!?! Did people you know work on this film?!?

Well, yes, my cousin Mark O'Neill was the second assistant camera: "b" camera, second unit and my friend Victoria Rockwell was the costume supervisor: second unit, but I didn't know that until after I started watching it...and I started to think, "This is not half bad."

And it isn't...OUTLANDER is not half-bad!

Jim Caviezel from THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, Sophia Myles from the Doctor Who Episode The Girl in the Fireplace, the legendary John Hurt and HELLBOY's Ron Perlman all star in OUTLANDER, a movie I got so caught up in, that I forgot I had to put my clothes in the dryer!

Now, all that said, OUTLANDER is not a classic film, by any stretch of the imagination, but if you like science-fiction films, aliens, dragons, or even Norse mythology, then I think you might, possibly, enjoy it.

Unless comedies that try too hard to be funny and fail more than they succeed are more to your liking...then maybe you should ignore OUTLANDER and just search out PAUL BLART - MALL COP.

Kevin James, of the TV series THE KING OF QUEENS is the aforementioned PAUL BLART - MALL COP.

When his mall is taken over by a gang of organized crooks, it's up to the a mild-mannered security guard to save the day.

PAUL BLART - MALL COP only worked for me because Kevin James is such a likeble actor. Most of the jokes aren't funny, the story is utterly predictable, but James is good at playing this role, the role of a guy you root for, that I was mildly entertained by it.

I'll never sit through PAUL BLART - MALL COP again, mind you, but I didn't think it was awful...so call it a good rental.

I'm not sure what to call this next film. I know that the filmmakers would like me to call it, "A crime film in the vein of THE DEPARTED and MYSTIC RIVER..." but it doesn't deserve mention alongside those Boston based movies.

WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU may be a true story about a pair of childhood friends from Beantown whose life of crime puts a strain on their friendship and lives, but the film is too slow to offer any entertainment value, and as such, it doesn't have much to offer.

It has a great cast including Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke and Amanda Peet, but the story - even if this one is true - is one that we have seen before on film, and seen done better.

WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU is for crime film fans only...I mean if you absolutely have to see everything crime related that shows up on film!!!

If that isn't you, skip it.

This next film is a small, mature, smart romantic film for adults.

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson star in LAST CHANCE HARVEY.

Hoffman is a man who travels to London for his semi-estranged daughter's wedding. Nothing is going right for him, personally or professionally, but then he meets Thompson at the airport and the meeting could change both of their lives...but they both may be too set in their ways to let it!

LAST CHANCE HARVEY is a film - for grown-ups - that I really enjoyed!!

A BUG'S LIFE is a film for kids, that I also really enjoyed!!

A BUG'S LIFE was Pixar's second film, it followed TOY STORY in 1998, and so I won't spend much time reviewing it as I am sure your kids, and maybe even you have seen it.

If not, it features the voices of Kids In The Hall member Dave Foley and Seinfeld's Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and it is now available on Blu-ray, looking and sounding better than ever!

And there is also a weath of special features and information too!! Here's director John Lassiter.

I love A BUGS LIFE, and I also still love another film from 1998 - THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, which is also now availbale in high definition on Blu-ray!

This Ben Stiller/Cameron Diaz film remains a comedy classic!

Finally this week, it is the return of the FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD!!

While loud films explode at theatres across the province during the Summer Movie Season, I will tell you about a film from a foreign land each week now through labour day.

This year's Festival begins in Norway with the comedy KILL BULJO.

Easily explained KILL BULJO is a Norwegian parody of Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL.

Some of the humour is stupid, and some of it is very funny, and some of it just isn't funny at all, but...maybe that is just because I don't get Norwegian humour.

KILL BULJO is not a classic but it is interesting to watch and it is the very first entry in this year's FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD! It and CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY are both available now on DVD.

A BUG'S LIFE, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, LAST CHANCE HARVEY, WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU, PAUL BLART - MALL COP and the made-in-Newfoundland and Nova Scotia film OUTLANDER are available now on DVD and in High Definition on Blu-ray.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

Keifer Sutherland stars in SEASON SEVEN of the TV series 24, a wealth of people whose names you know star in HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU, and then there will be FAN BOYS, FARGO, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, and the FOREIGN FILM FESTIVAL ON DVD features FAUBOUG 36, from France.

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!

Spector gets 19 years in jail

LOS ANGELES - Phil Spector was sentenced Friday to 19 years to life in prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot through the mouth in the music producer's home six years ago.

Spector, 69, looked straight forward and showed no emotion as Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ordered a term of 15 years to life for second-degree murder plus four years for personal use of a gun.

Clarkson's mother, Donna, made a brief statement before sentencing, speaking of her daughter's fine qualities, sense of humour, intelligence and dedication to her craft of acting.

"I'm very proud of Lana, proud to be her mother," Donna Clarkson said. She added, "No one should suffer the loss of a child."

The judge also ordered Spector to pay $16,811 in funeral expenses, $9,740 to a state victims' restitution fund and other fees.

Spector, dressed in his customary dark pinstripe suit with a red silk tie, was led away immediately. His attorney asked that he be transferred immediately from county jail to a state prison. It was not immediately known to which prison Spector would be assigned.

Spector gained fame decades ago for what became known as the "Wall of Sound" recording technique that changed rock music.

Clarkson was most famous as the star of Roger Corman's 1985 cult film classic "Barbarian Queen." She was 40 when she died.

Spector's young wife, who is in her late 20s, attended the sentencing.

"This is a sad day for everybody involved," Rachelle Spector said. "The Clarkson family has lost a daughter and a sister. I've lost my husband, my best friend. I feel that a grave injustice has been done and from this day forward I'm going to dedicate myself to proving my husband's innocence."

Spector's son Louis, accompanied by his wife, also came to the sentencing. He had attended much of the trial.

"I'm torn about this," he said. "I'm losing my father who is going to spend his life in jail. At the same time, justice is served."

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson said afterward that the outcome sent a message: "If you commit crimes against our citizens we will follow you and prosecute you. And no matter whether you are famous or wealthy, you will stand trial."

Asked how he felt about Spector personally, Jackson said, "I find nothing tragic about him. Everything he did was intentional."

Jackson said the case was "rock solid" legally and will not be subject to a successful appeal.

Defence attorney Doron Weinberg told reporters that the appeal will be extremely strong.

"Mr. Spector did not kill Lana Clarkson," he said, "and we hope by the time we are through we will be able to prove that."

Spector had two trials with essentially the same evidence. His first in 2007 was televised gavel to gavel and spectators flocked to the courtroom. But when the jury deadlocked after a five-month trial, his legal "dream team," which at times numbered half a dozen lawyers, bailed out.

By the time the second trial started in 2008, interest had waned. The judge ordered cameras turned off and only a handful of spectators and reporters stopped in sporadically to watch testimony.

During jury selection, only a few panellists remembered Spector's heyday as producer of teen anthems including "To Know Him is to Love Him" by The Teddy Bears, The Ronette's "Be My Baby," The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" and The Righteous Brothers' classic, "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'." Spector also worked on a Beatles album with John Lennon.

Ironically, Clarkson didn't know Spector's music legacy either when she met him only hours before she died at his Alhambra "castle" in February 2003. She was working as a hostess at the House of Blues nightclub on the Sunset Strip, where she had to be told by a manager that Spector was an important man.

His time had passed. Clarkson's career also was ebbing. Their fateful meeting, recounted in both trials, led to her death and the end of his life as he knew it. For the next six years he spent millions of dollars on lawyers as he sought to prove that Clarkson killed herself.

But what had happened inside his house was never clear. Clarkson's body was found slumped in a chair in a foyer. A gun had been fired in her mouth. Spector's chauffeur, the key witness, said he heard a gunshot, then saw Spector emerge holding a gun and heard him say: "I think I killed somebody."

Weinberg said forensic evidence proved that Clarkson shot herself and cited her desperation at not being able to get acting work. Jackson said the shooting fit the pattern of other confrontations between Spector and women.

Much of the case hinged on the testimony of five women from Spector's past who said he threatened them with guns when they tried to leave his presence. The parallels with the night Clarkson died were chilling even if the stories were very old - 31 years in one instance.

Weinberg said Spector's appeal will assert that the judge erred in allowing the women to testify.

Karen Gillan announced as new companion

The BBC has announced that Scottish actress Karen Gillan is to play the new companion, alongside Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, in the next series of Doctor Who, due to be broadcast in the spring of next year.

Twenty-one year-old Gillan previously appeared in last year's episode "The Fires of Pompeii", as the Soothsayer. BBC News reports that she studied acting at Telford College in Edinburgh, and has also appeared in The Kevin Bishop Show and the forthcoming film Outcast, starring James Nesbitt.

In the press release, executive producer and chief writer Steven Moffat is quoted as saying: "We saw some amazing actresses for this part, but when Karen came through the door the game was up. Funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too."

Gillan herself says: "I am absolutely over the moon at being chosen to play the Doctor's new companion. The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it. Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him – I just can't wait to get started!"

The news is also being reported by, among many others: Children's BBC, InTheNews.co.uk, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, Broadcast Now, The Stage, The Sun and The Guardian.

Leno bids farewell to 'Tonight,' hello to O'Brien

BURBANK, Calif. – Jay Leno's final "Tonight" monologue saluted his favorite comedy targets during his 17 years as host that ended Friday.

"Welcome to the exciting season finale of `The Tonight Show,'" a smiling Leno said as the studio audience gave him a standing ovation. "I want to thank all the people who it possible: Michael Jackson, Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton."

After noting that former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush were taking part in a joint speaking engagement in Canada, Leno remarked wistfully: "I wish I had one more day."

He didn't refrain from mocking his network although he's moving to NBC's prime-time schedule this fall.

He was offered the chance to buy his dressing-room robe for $40, he quipped, and then gave NBC a sharp dig over its slumping prime-time ratings.

His new show represents a gamble, Leno said: "I'm betting NBC will be around in three months. That's not a given."

Leno also fit in a last shot at O.J. Simpson, another monologue favorite. In cleaning out his office today, the comedian said, "I found O.J.'s knife. I had it the whole time."

He did his now-customary one-liners about the economy, and then paid tribute to Rodney Dangerfield, the routine's inspiration, with old "Tonight" clips. Dangerfield died in 2004.

Leno was ushered on stage with a Jimi Hendrix-flavored version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" played by bandleader Kevin Eubanks, who tried to tell a joke and, to Leno's delight, flubbed it.

A new segment was introduced called "White Trash Theater," which consisted of a clip of a woman trying to drive a man away from her porch by hitting him with a beer bottle and a trash-can lid.

Leno leaves "Tonight" atop the late-night ratings, his run abbreviated by NBC's decision five years ago to create a succession plan that gives "Tonight" to Conan O'Brien.

O'Brien, who takes over Monday, was Leno's final guest, with James Taylor the last musical performer.

Familiar faces, voices to leave in CBC cost-cutting

CBC English Services has sent 158 redundancy notices to its Canadian Media Guild employees outside Quebec and Moncton as of Thursday in a cutback program that will see the broadcaster lose several of its best known faces and voices.

CMG represents a range of technicians, producers, librarians, journalists and other employees at CBC and Radio-Canada across the country — except in Quebec and Moncton.

The total number of potential layoffs across the country was reduced by 73 employees taking voluntary retirement.

Among those to take retirement packages are some of CBC's most experienced reporters, including Brian Stewart, of The National, Steve Finkelman, a municipal affairs reporter in Edmonton, and John McGrath, who covers Queen's Park in Toronto.

Also taking a retirement package is Jeff Collins, host of Calgary afternoon radio program, The Home Stretch. In Charlottetown, the staff of Compass received redundancy notices, including former on-air personaility Claire Nantes. Don Newman, host of CBC News: Politics, and Jim Nunn, host of CBC News: Nova Scotia at Six,had previously announced they would be retiring.

Stewart, 67, said he had been thinking of retiring for a few years.

"My reasons are simple — I've been working as a reporter without a break for 45 years this month which is a hell of a long haul," he said

"I started six months after Kennedy was shot in Dallas and four months after the Beatles hit North America, so it's probably time for a change. I've also wanted more time to devote to writing and to some non-profit activities I'm interested in."

According to the CMG, about 100 contract employees have not had their positions renewed and a further 19 job vacancies will not be filled. The union says 350 jobs will eventually be cut from the CBC's service outside Quebec through a combination of layoffs, vacancies, retirements and contracts not renewed.

The full impact of the cuts, however, won't be known until September. That's because employees who received notices that their jobs will be eliminated have an opportunity to move into positions held by people with less seniority.

There may also be further changes because of the CBC news renewal process geared to creating 24-hour coverage on radio, TV and online.

Viewers and listeners will begin to see changes on their CBC schedules as soon as next weekend when CBC News: Sunday, the morning TV program with Evan Solomon and Carole MacNeil, is cancelled. The last show airs May 31.

The regional Living shows have been cut across the country, and radio schedules are being juggled to accommodate all the changes at the public broadcaster.

According to CMG, the number of jobs to go, including contract jobs, redundancy notices and voluntary retirements, by city is:

Calgary,18.
Charlottetown, 6.
Corner Brook, NL, 3.
Edmonton, 16.
Fredericton, 3.
Gander, NL, 2.
Grand Falls, NL, 2.
Halifax, 12.
Ottawa, 9.
Rankin Inlet, 1.
Regina, 3.
Saint John, NB, 2.
Saskatoon, 2.
St. John's, 6.
Sudbury, Ont., 8.
Sydney, N.S., 3.
Thunder Bay, Ont., 5.
Toronto, 155.
Vancouver, 45.
Whitehorse, 3.
Windsor, Ont., 13.
Winnipeg, 9.
Yellowknife, 8

A CBC spokesman refused to confirm the figures.

Listeners to small radio stations such as Windsor, Sudbury and Thunder Bay in Ontario are likely to hear the difference. The Windsor French-language service is to end. And those stations have seen deep cuts to their news and current affairs departments.

"As a northerner I’m offended that we always seem to come out on the losing end of things," said CMG Sudbury representative Michael Robert.

Local citizens have organized Save the CBC protests in Sudbury and Thunder Bay in the past two months.

The Maritimes initially faced as many as 30 layoffs, but the number of redundancy notices issued was actually 12. Andrew Cochran, the CBC's top executive in the Maritimes, said efforts have been made to cut as few positions as possible.

"For the last two months, we've been going through this difficult exercise. We offered a voluntary retirement incentive program and some people chose to leave because of that," he told CBC News.

"We were able to find some vacancies where the work can be handled in a different way so we don't have to fill those vacancies. We were also successful in having some positions returned to the region."

A spending freeze resulted in some savings that went back into regional stations, Cochran said.

"It's hard to give rock solid assurance to anybody about their media outlet in these times. That caveat aside, I think what we've seen through this process is a reaffirmation of the value and importance of CBC's connection in communities throughout the country where we are," he said.

Listeners throughout the country will hear their radio noon shows cut to an hour.

Redundancy notices will be served to the CBC-Radio-Canada's Quebec services next week. About 363 jobs are expected to be affected.

The public broadcaster is aiming to reduce operating expenses by $171 million in this fiscal year.

“Guitar Hero 5″ Exclusive: 10 Bands in September 1st Game

The rock video game war will heat up again in the fall: both of the industry’s flagship series are hitting consumers with tantalizing titles in 9/09. Harmonix’s The Beatles: Rock Band arrives September 9th, and now Activision has confirmed Guitar Hero 5 is due September 1st. The game will boast 85 brand-new master recordings, and this week Activision is announcing the band lineup in a series of scavenger hunt-like stories; fans who track down all the featured artists can enter a sweepstakes to win five tickets to concerts at a venue of their choice.

Rolling Stone has revealed that tracks from Queen & David Bowie (presumably “Under Pressure”), Kings of Leon, Santana, Sonic Youth and A Perfect Circle will appear in the game. The title will also come equipped with tunes by Weezer, Bon Jovi, Billy Idol, Elliott Smith and the Bronx.

According to information posted on the game’s official Website, the entire set list will be available for play immediately, and for the first time home rockers will be able to select any combination of instruments — so multiple guitarists, bassists, drummers or vocalists will be able to play at the same time (the perfect use for that army of plastic instruments cluttering your living room). There’s also a new Play Party Mode, which allows instruments to join and drop out of a song without interrupting or ending the track; players need to just pick up an instrument and hit a button to join the action without navigating any menus. Gamespot reports that there’s a new series of competitive modes called RockFest, which include Momentum (difficulty level shifts mid-play) and Streakers (bonus for nailing 10-plus perfect notes). A new Revival Meter allows band members to save a weaker player who has failed out.

CNET adds that Guitar Hero 5’s new features and downloadable content will be compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour. The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil,” Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and the White Stripes’ “Blue Orchid” will also appear on the game’s set list, along with songs by Blur, Blink-182, Kiss, Band of Horses and Iron Maiden.

"Up" up and away at the weekend box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Things are looking "Up" at the weekend box office where Disney is rolling out its latest Pixar cartoon to predictably rave reviews.

Boasting a notably unflashy voice cast headlined by Ed Asner and newcomer child actor Jordan Nagai, "Up" tells the story of an old man traveling the globe in a balloon-hoisted house with an 8-year-old stowaway.

The 3-D adventure toon was directed by Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc.") and Bob Peterson, a first-time fimmaker who penned the original screenplay.

The most recent Disney/Pixar release, "WALL-E," opened with $63 million in June and grossed $224 million domestically. Those represent sensible targets for "Up," though studio executives said they would be happy with an opening anywhere north of $50 million.

"I'm very bullish," said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's domestic theatrical distribution. "The reviews have been nothing but spectacular, and it could be our time."

RottenTomatoes.com, which tracks critical reaction to upcoming releases, had "Up" attracting 97% positive reviews (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/up/) late Thursday. Even the oft-tough crowd of Cannes cineastes responded enthusiastically when the film opened the festival this month.

"Up" will play in 3,766 theaters, with at least 1,530 3-D auditoriums set for its first weekend. That's the biggest number of extra-dimensional screens for any release as the industry scrambles to roll out 3-D systems amid burgeoning public interest in such films.

The stiffest competition for "Up" is likely to come from Fox's holdover family comedy "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian." The No. 1 grosser last weekend, the Ben Stiller sequel opened with $70 million over the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, and a 50% drop from its Friday-Sunday tally would see "Smithsonian" fetch $28 million during its second session.

But there is another wide opener Friday: the Universal horror picture "Drag Me to Hell" also had a well-received Cannes screening and has drawn overwhelmingly positive early reviews.

Toting a PG-13 rating, "Hell" normally would be expected to skew female. Yet with "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi guiding the frightfest, Raimi's more male-skewing fan base could round out opening audiences and help the Alison Lohman-Justin Long vehicle reach the upper teen millions through Sunday.

Layoff notices issued at CBC

Layoff notices were being issued at the CBC on Wednesday.

According to the Canadian Media Guild, contracts for 100 employees will not be renewed, 158 permanent employees will be laid off and 19 vacant jobs will remain unfilled.

In addition, the guild says 73 employees are taking retirement incentives.

"We are losing very experienced people who have devoted years to the CBC and we're also losing people who were beginning what should have been long and bright careers at the public broadcaster," Marc Philippe Laurin, president of the Canadian Media Guild's CBC branch, said in a release.

"Viewers, listeners and web surfers will notice their absence as programming is scaled back or cancelled altogether."

A spokesman for the CBC said the media guild's numbers were accurate, but cautioned that the situation is in flux as layoff notices are given out.

He said a final picture may not be clear until later in the summer.

In March, the public broadcaster said that about 393 jobs would have to be cut in its English-language service to make up for an $85-million budget shortfall.

The CBC faces a $171 million shortfall overall.

Conan's Tonight Show: Think "Murder, She Wrote, for a Younger Demo"

Los Angeles (E! Online) – In less than one week, a late-night transition five years in the making will finally be realized, when Conan O'Brien takes over the reins of the Tonight Show. And despite the months of hype preceding the move, it's an event no one is anticipating more highly than O'Brien himself—if for no other reason than to end the speculation.

"I had this feeling in 1993 as well," he said in a conference call this morning, likening the experience to his then takeover of Late Night. "Most people thought in 1993, 'Oh my god, he's gotta be petrified.'

"But it's the period beforehand that drives you crazy. So much about these shows is just doing them…I feel like a racehorse that was put in the chute five years ago and I'm kicking at the side, like, let's go!"

Which isn't to say there won't be some first-night nerves and an inevitable, possibly not-so-slight, tweaking of the late-night institution's tone in general.
"I think at some point my show is going to have to morph into a detective show. I think four weeks in, Andy Richter and I will be solving crimes. It's going to be Murder, She Wrote for a younger demo."

At least if all else fails, O'Brien is planning on starting off with a star-studded bang...

While NBC already announced that Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam will serve as the inaugural guests on the Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien, the host-in-waiting tonight revealed that his first week lineup is "a dream."

"It's a fun week...I always have a rule, which is don't overthink this," he said. "It's the Tonight Show and it's a big responsibility, but man, it would be a shame not to enjoy it."

In addition to Ferrell, Tom Hanks, Green Day, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sheryl Crow, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ryan Seacrest are all scheduled to appear on O'Brien's first week. As for why, exactly, he chose that lineup...

"Hanks is one of the great talk-show guests of all time. He's a raconteur and incredibly likeable. Paltrow is this great movie actress and style icon…Ryan Seacrest and I are lovers, so that made a lot of sense."

And while his guest roster is already enviable, O'Brien dismissed speculation that his long-term booking plans may potentially clash with the 10 p.m.-bound Jay Leno.

"I think the guest thing has sort of been overblown. I got great guests on the Late Night show and I was farther down the totem pole than I am now," he said. "To me, it's not who gets the guest first, it's what you do with the guest once you have them on."

And for O'Brien, that will inevitably involve something "silly," one of several hallmarks that will set him apart from his Tonight Show forebear.

"There are a lot of things about Jay and I that are different. He has a 220-car collection, I have a Ford Taurus.

"Jay established himself in comedy as probably one of the best stand-ups of all time. Jay loves the jokes. That's his first love. I like jokes, but I really love the funny ideas."

A few of those funny ideas may sound familiar to Late Night fans.

"We prided ourselves on having a lot of produced comedy," he said of his former show. "I will probably try and continue that tradition…I will probably go a little heavy on the produced comedy. That's something I feel is one of my strong suits."

Among the Late Night bits making their way to O'Brien's custom-built Universal soundstage are Noches de Passion With Conan O'Brien, a Spanish-language soap opera meant to celebrate NBC's merging with Telemundo; Year 2000, which the funnyman claims is "just a good way to deliver jokes"; Jim Gaffigan's Pale Force cartoon and, of course, the comic pièce de résistance:

"I see no reason why Triumph the Insult Comic Dog can't file reports for us."

In addition, old pal Richter will be back, serving as the show's announcer and go-to comedy foil.

"Andy will be my funny friend who's there with me. He and I have such a great connection and such great chemistry—it's hard to find that in television," O'Brien said, adding that Richter will be there "to support me or attack me as the situation calls for."

And appear in some live and taped pieces along the way. Not that it will be all familiar territory for viewers.

"It would be a shame to dust off the Late Night show and move it to 11:30. We're moving from one playground to another playground for the first time in 16 years. It's an opportunity to think of new ideas.

"People laugh when they just think of me in Los Angeles. I think people would be disappointed if I didn't reinvent myself to some degree.

"These shows are such an extension of the host. The golden rule at the Tonight Show is a host has to put his stamp on it. That's the only way it's going to work."

It'll also be the only way to stop the inevitable comparisons between his Tonight Show tenure and Leno's, a transition that O'Brien says couldn't have gone more smoothly.

"There's no denying that the media, and for good reason, like conflict. It's a better story. But Jay and I have always personally gotten along really well…He's happy, I'm happy.

"He's done a great job with the show and taken such good care of the franchise."

As for the honor of being Leno's final guests when he signs off this Friday, don't expect any customary roasting—and subsequent spotlight stealing—of the outgoing comic.

"I'm there as a guest of Jay. I'm going to have plenty of opportunity to make a jackass of myself in that hour…It's Jay's night. I don't have any illusions about it being my night."

That won't come until Monday.

"For the first time in my career, I'm going to be performing for people who are fully awake," O'Brien said, noting that that alone—and not some imagined disparity between what can pass at his old time slot versus his new one—will likely be the biggest change in his show.

"People act like there's a tear in the fabric of time and space between 11:30 and 12:30," he said. "I did comedy I really liked when I hosted the Emmys and that was prime time."

He said that he's looked to the "800-pound gorilla," his former predecessor and now competitor David Letterman, for some indirect inspiration.

"Letterman was very successful there. He came to 11:30, you look at it, and so many of those things he brought with him. He reinvented himself as well, but he brought things with him."

Still, O'Brien isn't planning on changing his schtick, whether it's embraced by an audience share as large as Leno's or not.

"My whole experience at Late Night, I never once said, 'I'm going to do X because that's going to be a great rating.' I always did the thing I thought was funny.

"My hope is that if I do that, then the ratings will follow. The only way I've ever been able to do comedy is to put blinders on and go with my own instincts."

So far, his instincts have led to a tailor-made studio that reflects the legacy of the franchise he's inheriting.

When he first met with set designers more than a year ago, O'Brien gave them one direction: elegant. Which means viewers can expects an art deco vibe when they tune in next week.

"I have a certain sensibility and I bring my comedy persona to this, but it's the Tonight Show. It's a venerated, beloved television franchise that's almost 60 years old. That doesn't mean I can't do silly things in that space, but the space itself should be beautiful."

And as for that familiar refrain, O'Brien said he is sticking with his Late Night theme song, though he says they have "turbocharged it a little bit."

It was one of many natural decisions O'Brien says came easy.

"The biggest danger of me taking over the Tonight Show is to overthink. I need to worry about making June 1 funny, then I need to worry about making June 2 funny, and if I do that, the audience will find it. That's my belief."

New CD Releases, May 26th: Marilyn Manson, Mandy Moore, Grizzly Bear, Dave Alvin, Phoenix and more.

Marilyn Manson "The High End of Low" (Nothing)

The shock-rocker returns with a follow-up to 2007's "Eat Me, Drink Me." "The High End of Low" is Manson's seventh studio album.

The record's first official single, "Arma... geddon," was released in mid-April, however another album cut, "We're From America," was made available as a free download on MarilynManson.com back in March.

Manson will support "The High End of Low" this summer by co-headlining alongside Slayer on the second annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. The 27-city trek is set to begin July 10 in Sacramento, CA.

* * *
Mandy Moore "Amanda Leigh" (Storefront)

The 25-year-old vocalist, whose full name is Amanda Leigh Moore, is back with her sixth studio album. Her previous outing was 2007's Top 40-charting "Wild Hope."

The album was produced by Mike Viola, a Boston-area songwriter who co-wrote a number of the tracks featured in the John C. Reilly film "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story." The first single from "Amanda Leigh" is the tune "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week."

* * *
Grizzly Bear "Veckatimest" (Warp)

The acclaimed indie-pop quartet is set to unveil its third studio album, which follows 2006's "Yellow House." "Veckatimest" was recorded at Allaire Studios in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains.

Having appeared over the weekend at Washington State's Sasquatch! Festival, Grizzly Bear will remain on the road through late June. Highlights of the 19-city trek include a pair of dates (5/28-29) in New York City.

* * *
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women "Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women" (Yep Roc)

The roots-rocker, a founding member of The Blasters and the leader of The Guilty Men, showcases the talents of his latest ensemble. The Guilty Women includes such players as Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Sarah Brown, Amy Farris and Marcia Ball.

* * *
Phoenix "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" (Glass Note)

The French alt-rock troupe, often associated with better-known fellow countrymen Air and Daft Punk, is ready to release its fourth studio album. Besides the tip of the hat to Mozart in the title, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" also honors another classic composer, Franz Liszt, on the album's first single, "Lisztomania".

* * *
More new releases:

The A's, "The A's/Woman's Got the Power" (American Beat)
James Brown, "The Singles, Vol. 7: 1970-1972" (Hip-O)
Gary Burton, "Quartet Live!" (Concord)
Del-Lords, "Frontier Days" (American Beat)
Del-Lords, "Johnny Comes Marching Home" (American Beat)
The Doors, "The Soft Parade" (Audio Fidelity)
Paul Hardcastle, "The Collection" (Trippin & Rhythm)
Vinnie Moore, "To the Core" (R.E.D.)
Linda Ronstadt, "Heart Like a Wheel" (Audio Fidelity)
Michelle Shocked, "Soul of My Soul" (Mighty Sound)
Luciana Souza, "Tide" (Verve)
Sunn 0))), "Monoliths and Dimensions" (Southern Lord)
Various Artists, "Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney" (Yep Roc)
Johnny Winter, "The Johnny Winter Anthology" (Shout)

Sammy Hagar Stimulated By Chickenfoot

Tired of the tequila-friendly party shows that he's been performing for the last 13 years with his post-Van Halen solo band The Waboritas, Sammy Hagar tells Billboard.com his decision to form Chickenfoot with guitarist Joe Satriani, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith was a challenge he desired as an artist.

"I just got to a point where I felt I needed to grow," Hagar says. "I was feeling stuck and stagnant. And the whole party thing I created, I just got tired of doing that. You need to eat and feed yourself in order to grow and the best way to do it for me is to start new projects, and I don't want to call this band a project because we're a band. It's just getting together with other people for new input that stimulates and inspires you to become better. That's all there is to it."

After making its debut at a February 2008 solo Hagar show in Las Vegas, Chickenfoot songwriters Hagar and Satriani started working in earnest last October. The band then reconvened earlier this year to record its self-titled debut effort, which is due out June 9 on Redline Entertainment.

"I don't think I could have written a record this good by myself in 100 years," Hagar says. "And by getting together with Joe, I think we wrote some amazing songs. It's funny he's in the same place as me. He's tired of being a solo artist. We're all on the same page so much in this band it's scary. And we want to take this thing worldwide. We need to take this to everyone who loves this kind of music. I really think it's Montrose, Van Halen and the thing Chad brings is a deep pocket. He plays this groove that is kind of Zeppelin-esque. We're really coming from everywhere."

Currently finishing up its debut mini-tour playing clubs, Chickenfoot is set to make its national television debut on during the first week of Conan O’Brien’s "Tonight Show" on Friday June 5. The band then starts looking ahead to a month-long European jaunt beginning June 20 in Austria before returning stateside for a full North American run slated for August and September. Hagar says the group will then take a break while Smith returns to the Chili Peppers to presumably work on recording that band's next studio effort. Chickenfoot may get back together in early 2010 for an Australian tour with another American leg as well.

While the current outing finds the band playing its debut effort in its entirety, along with unreleased new track "Bitten By The Wolf" and covers such as Montrose's "Bad Motor Scooter" and Deep Purple's "Highway Star," Hagar hints the band isn't adverse to loosening up its set list in the future to include material from the members' star-studded resumes.

"At some point, I think it will be the next album project and tour when we have more songs under our belt, we'll deconstruct Chickenfoot," Hagar says. "So it'll be a little bit of Joe, a little bit of Sammy, a little bit of Van Halen and maybe a little bit of the Chilis. That'll be a wonderful thing down the road when we're in an arena and doing 'An evening with,' but right now we really want to play all of the new songs. And right now we're paying almost two hours, so it's crazy. It's awesome."

Broadcast regulator tunes out private TV networks appeal

OTTAWA - The federal broadcast regulator is hanging tough against an aggressive public relations campaign mounted by CTV, saying Canada's networks will have to prove their commitment to local TV in exchange for financial relief.

CTV launched a "save local TV" campaign this month, complete with open houses at their stations, a petition and a rally on Parliament Hill.

Other networks are also lobbying the government behind the scenes at the highest levels.

The networks are urging the Conservative government to allow them to charge cable and satellite companies for their signals - called fee for carriage - or else see more local stations disappear. The cable industry says that will result in higher monthly bills for customers.

Konrad Von Finckenstein, chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), rejected the networks arguments Monday during an appearance before the Commons Heritage committee.

"Conventional broadcasters need to refocus on the core elements of their service - local news, local programming and programs of national interest," Von Finckenstein said.

"Rather than perceiving it as a cost of doing business, they need to see it as the central element of their survival and expend meaningful resources and energy on it."

Von Finckenstein did not dismiss the idea of fee for carriage, but rather the term, saying the industry should analyze instead the "value of a signal" depending on a variety of market factors.

He kicked the ball back into the broadcasters' court, pointing out they already manage to agree on the value of specialty channels.

"You are the players in the market. You negotiate. If you can't negotiate I'll arbitrate it for you if I have to," Von Finckenstein said in his characteristically blunt style.

An internal memo circulated by the Prime Minister's Office on Friday reminded Tory MPs that fee for carriage would wind up costing consumers, and that it was up to the CRTC to decide on the issue.

Von Finckenstein outlined two other possible revenue streams for broadcasters, including a local programming fund from which all networks could draw.

The second would be mechanisms for protecting Canadian broadcasters from unfair competition from American signals that carry the same programs. There would also be a mechanism for charging cable and satellite companies for transmitting a network's local TV signal into another Canadian market - called timeshifting.

But any of this help would be contingent on a "meaningful commitment" to local news, local programming and programs of national interest.

"That means we're going to hold your feet to the fire. You're not going get that stream of income unless you deliver."

Conservative, Liberal and NDP MPs on the committee all suggested the CRTC might need more teeth to force broadcasters to live up to their obligations.

"What were the consequences that we would look toward if you were to use your teeth to make sure you keep these people in lines?" asked Conservative MP Shelly Glover.

Von Finckenstein said the regulator's tools are "all or nothing," with revocation of a license after a court proceeding being the main hammer. He would also like the ability to fine violators.

The commission would also like broadcasters to submit group applications for TV licenses, which include their pay, speciality and conventional operations. This way, the regulator would get to see the whole picture of their viewership, their Canadian content and their financial situation.

Critics of the private networks say they're being disingenuous when they threaten to close local stations while at the same time reaping profits from other channels.

NDP MP Charlie Angus said the committee's main objective was to protect local TV, while making sure any new division of the revenue pie "doesn't end up with the broadcasters continuing to run their local stations into the ground and taking the money and spending it elsewhere..."

The battle between the cable companies and the broadcasters over the fee-for-carriage issue has heated up since the global financial crisis hit TV advertising hard.

Cable and satellite companies lodged a complaint with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council on Friday, saying CTV News' coverage of their corporation's "Save Local TV" campaign has been biased.

Von Finckenstein called the larger dispute "background noise."

"In the end, they need each other."

Former Wilco guitarist dies in his sleep

URBANA, Ill.–Jay Bennett, a former member of the band Wilco, has died at age 45, according to his record label.

"We are profoundly saddened to report that our friend died in his sleep ... Jay was a beautiful human being who will be missed,'' read the posting Sunday on Undertow Music Collective's website.

Wilco lead singer Jeff Tweedy said in a statement Monday he was "deeply saddened" by Bennett's death.

Tweedy said Bennett made significant contributions to Wilco's songs and the band's evolution. He said Bennett would be remembered ``as a truly unique and gifted human being.''

Bennett died at his Urbana home early Sunday and an autopsy was being performed, friend and fellow musician Edward Burch told the Chicago Sun-Times in a story posted online late Sunday.

A cause of death was not immediately available. The Champaign County Coroner's office did not return messages.

Bennett worked as a sound engineer and played instruments for Wilco from 1994 to 2001.

Earlier this month, Bennett sued Tweedy, claiming he was owed royalties for songs during his seven years and five albums with the group.

In the breach-of-contract lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Bennett also claimed that he deserved money from the band's 2002 documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" The film documents the making of Wilco's album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" returning to big screen

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – A new incarnation of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" could be coming to the big screen, courtesy of the director of the original movie.

"Buffy" creator Joss Whedon isn't involved and it's not set up at a studio, but director Fran Rubel Kuzui is working on a relaunch with Vertigo Entertainment, which specializes in English-language remakes of Asian films, such as "The Grudge" and "The Departed."

While Whedon is the person most associated with the "Buffy" franchise, Kuzui and her Kuzui Enterprises have held onto the rights since the beginning, when she discovered the "Buffy" script from then-unknown Whedon. She developed the script while her husband Kaz put together the financing to make the 1992 movie, which was released by Fox.

Kuzui later helped bring back Whedon to make the TV series, which began its successful run on the WB in 1997. She received executive producer credits on "Buffy" and its spinoff, "Angel."

The new "Buffy" film, however, would have no connection to the TV series, nor would it use popular supporting characters like Angel, Willow, Xander or Spike.

Kuzui and Vertigo are looking to restart the story line without trampling on the beloved existing universe created by Whedon.

One of the underlying ideas of "Buffy" allows the filmmakers to do just that: that each generation has its own vampire slayer to protect it. The goal would be to make a darker, event-sized movie that would, of course, have franchise potential.

The parties are meeting with writers and hearing takes, and later will look for a home for the project. The producers do not rule out Whedon's involvement but have not yet reached out to him. Speaking from Tokyo, Fran Kuzui said she is constantly approached not only about sequels but theater, video games and foreign remakes for "Buffy." When Vertigo's Roy Lee contacted them, they were intrigued.

"It was Roy's interest in taking Buffy into a new place that grabbed us," she said. "It was based on our respect for what he does, and his particular sensitivity to Asian filmmakers, that we wanted to work with him."

Kuzui, who is preparing to direct a movie in Japan in the fall, added: "Everything has its moment. Every movie takes on a life at some point, and this seems like the moment to do this."

A Whole Lot of Trek

With the latest Star Trek film still doing very well in theatres, a new bit of information is coming on Star Trek's past. Rod Roddenberry - son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry has secured over 500 hours of behind the scenes materials from various Star Trek incarnations. Yes, 500 hours.

The materials range from interviews and behind the scenes documentaries down to quick bumpers and tidbits recorded for various promotional purposes. All the footage comes from the 1980's through the present so it contains materials from Star Trek: The Next Generation through Enterprise.

Roddenberry is planning on organizing the massive collection of footage into a useable form to be released on DVD and possibly Blu-ray in the near future through Roddenberry Productions. I'm sure Star Trek fans will want to know more when details emerge.

Johansson to release duets album

Hollywood star Scarlet Johansson is continuing her foray into the music world by releasing a second album - which was recorded two years before her 2008 musical debut.

Last year the Lost in Translation actress released an album of Tom Waits covers, Anywhere I Lay My Head.

Her latest offering - a collection of duets with singer/songwriter Pete Yorn entitled Break Up - was actually recorded in 2006, but has taken three years to be released.

USA Today reports that the album was inspired by Serge Gainsbourg's 1960s recordings with Brigitte Bardot and will hit shops this September.

Memorial Day box office sluggish as 'Museum' opens strong but 'Terminator' struggles

The healthy box office seemed to lose its mojo over Memorial Day.

Overall ticket sales for the weekend rose only 2% from last year, according to Hollywood.com, a big downward shift in a year where the total is up more than 14%.

"Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian" grossed a healthy $70 million over the four days, while "Terminator Salvation" came in at a relatively weak $53.8 million. However, combined, they barely matched the opening of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" last year, leading to virtually flat total sales for the industry.

The opening of Fox's family sequel was right in line with estimates based on pre-release tracking and a solid figure given its $125-million production budget, after Canadian tax rebates. However, its $50.1-million gross in 93 foreign markets was less impressive compared with other movies that have opened simultaneously worldwide this year. That's an early indication it may not mirror the performance of the original, which made more money overseas than in the U.S. and Canada.

Family films tend to hold on very well at the box office, but "Smithsonian" will face significant competition Friday from Disney and Pixar's "Up," which is pursuing the same audience.

"Terminator" paled next to other big summer action movies like "Wolverine" and "Star Trek" and didn't even match the opening weekend of "Terminator 3" six years ago. The $200-million movie started relatively well Thursday but quickly lost momentum. That's a sign of weak word of mouth and should leave Warner Bros. and The Halycon Co., which financed the film, concerned that it will decline rapidly in the coming weeks.

"Salvation's" hopes now rest largely on international markets, where Sony Pictures will launch the film next week.

"Dance Flick" did decent business for a low-budget spoof comedy, grossing $13.1 million through Monday on its opening weekend.

Here's the domestic box-office top 10 chart for the weekend based on studio estimates and data from Hollywood.com. While all grosses are over four days, percentage drops are based on the Friday-Sunday receipts so that the comparison with last weekend is fair.

1. "Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian" (Fox): Opened to a healthy $70 million for the four-day weekend. Overseas its performance was less impressive, as it debuted to $50.1 million in 93 countries.

2. "Terminator Salvation" (Warner Bros.): Its four-day gross of $53.8 million was a soft launch for a $200-million summer event film. The total gross since Thursday is $67.2 million. Sony opens the film internationally in two weeks.

3. "Star Trek" (Paramount): Continuing to post relatively modest declines, it fell 47% and grossed $29.4 million through Monday. Domestic total (19 days): $191 million. International total: $87.5 million.

4. "Angels and Demons" (Sony): Grossed $27.7 million on its second weekend, down 53%. Foreign grosses continue to be big, though the figures for U.S. and Canada are not. Domestic total (11 days): $87.8 million. International total: $198.3 million.

5. "Dance Flick" (Paramount): Opened to $13.1 million, about what was expected.

6. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (Fox): Grossed $10.1 million, down 46%. Domestic total (25 days): $163.4 million. International total: $156.7 million.

7. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" (Warner Bros. / New Line): $4.8 million, down 43%. Domestic total (25 days): $47 million.

8. "Obsesssed" (Sony / Screen Gems): $2.5 million, down 57%. Domestic total (32 days): $66.4 million.

9. "Monsters vs. Aliens" (Paramount / DreamWorks Animation): $1.9 million, down 55%. Domestic total (60 days): $193.5 million.

10. "17 Again" (Warner Bros. / New Line): $1.3 million, down 70%. Domestic total (39 days): $60.6 million.

Beastie Boys Complete 'Hot Sauce Committee' Album

The Beastie Boys revealed the title of their forthcoming album in an email message delivered to fans today (May 25).

"Our new record that is coming out that we finished the other day is called HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE," the group's note reads. The band will appear on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" tonight, and promise "to offer insights into how it was crafted" during an interview on the show.

The Beastie Boys have a busy summer ahead, with headlining slots scheduled at many of the large festivals in the U.S., including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, All Points West, Outside Lands, and Austin City Limits. As previously reported, rapper Santigold has recorded a guest spot for "Hot Sauce Committee."

Last October, Beastie Boys member Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz told Billboard that the group was "in the middle" of recording the then-untitled record, the group's first since 2007's instrumental album "The Mix-Up."

"It's a lot of vocals, a lot of words -- very wordy," he said. "And it's political, depending on what you call political. You know, if toilet talk and fart jokes are political, which they can be, in that sense yeah, very."

The group was very active during the 2008 presidential election, organizing and headlining the 7-city "Get Out and Vote" tour with other activist musicians like Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper. The Beastie Boys also played the "Hey, America Feels Kinda Cool Again" event on Jan. 19 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. during the inauguration celebrations.

Billy Joel drummer files NY lawsuit over royalties

NEW YORK – A former drummer for Billy Joel claims the Grammy Award-winning singer of hits including "Uptown Girl" and "Movin' Out" has stiffed him out of royalties for years.

Liberty DeVitto has filed a lawsuit in Manhattan's state Supreme Court demanding Joel pay him overdue royalties. The 58-year-old says he was Joel's drummer from 1975 to 2005 and helped the piano man craft some of his biggest albums.

DeVitto's lawyer says he doesn't know how much his client is owed. He says Joel's sales are subject to an audit.

DeVitto says he's working as a studio musician and teaching to support his family, including three children.

Joel has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. His spokeswoman hasn't returned a telephone message seeking comment.

"Museum" comedy beats "Terminator" at box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Ben Stiller beat Christian Bale in the North American weekend box office duel between their respective "Night at the Museum" and "Terminator" sequels, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

Reigning champ Tom Hanks fell to No. 4 with "Angels & Demons," although the Vatican thriller remained the top choice internationally.

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" sold $53.5 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada during the three days beginning Friday, said 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.

The comedy far exceeded the $30.4 million debut of its 2006 predecessor, "Night at the Museum," and also set a new live-action record for Stiller, one of Hollywood's most reliable box office performers.

Stiller, 43, reprises his role as a night security guard, this time at the center of a battle involving historical figures at the massive Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The cast includes Robin Williams as former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and Amy Adams as aviatrix Amelia Earhart. The film cost about $125 million to make, Fox said.

It also enjoyed a strong foreign debut, earning $50.5 million from 93 markets, bested only by the $60.4 million haul for "Angels & Demons" from a similar number of territories.

"Terminator Salvation," meanwhile, earned $43.0 million in North America. The film failed to beat the $44 million start for the previous entry in the cyborg series, 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," the swan song of franchise star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But the race between the two new sequels was closer than it appeared because Warner Bros. got a head start on the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend by opening "Terminator" on Thursday, when it earned about $13.4 million. Much of those ticket sales would have been pushed over to the weekend if it had opened on Friday. Its four-day total was $56.4 million.

"TERMINATOR" BATTLES "TREK"

The studios generally try to avoid each other when they roll out their big movies. In this case, "Night at the Museum" played to a broad audience, while "Terminator" was more targeted at male moviegoers.

Time Warner Inc-owned Warner Bros. said "Terminator" was likely more affected by competition from the similarly-skewing "Star Trek," which slipped one place to No. 3 in its third weekend with $22 million. The National Basketball Association playoffs also appeared to siphon off older men in cities such as Los Angeles.

Warner Bros. paid $50 million for domestic distribution rights. The post-apocalyptic film, in which "Batman" star Bale takes on the freedom-fighter role of John Connor, cost about $180 million to make, the studio said.

"Angels & Demons," sequel to 2006 film "The Da Vinci Code," earned $21.4 million, taking the 10-day total for the Columbia Pictures release to $81.5 million. By contrast, "The Da Vinci Code" had earned $136.5 million after the same period.

But the Sony Corp unit has said it never expected the second film to be as big. As was the case with "The Da Vinci Code," the film is a much bigger international draw. Its overseas total now stands at $198.3 million.

Paramount Pictures' youth-oriented reboot of the "Star Trek" sci-fi franchise has earned $183.5 million after three weekends.

The Viacom Inc unit also claimed the No. 5 spot with "Dance Flick," a comedy spoof from the Wayans family. It earned a modest $11 million.

Green Day lashes out at Wal-Mart

NEW YORK - Green Day has the most popular CD in the United States, but it's not for sale there at Wal-Mart.

The band says the giant superstore chain refused to stock its latest CD, "21st Century Breakdown," because Wal-Mart wanted the album edited for language and content, and they refused.

"Wal-Mart's become the biggest retail outlet in the country, but they won't carry our record because they wanted us to censor it," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said in a recent interview. (A spokesperson for Wal-Mart Canada said the CD is being sold in this country.)

While Wal-Mart sells CDs from acts known for raunchy content, including Eminem's latest, they offer customers the "clean" version of those CDs, which are edited for content that may be objectionable. But in Armstrong's view, "There's nothing dirty about our record."

"They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there," he said. "We just said no. We've never done it before. You feel like you're in 1953 or something."

"21st Century Breakdown" contains curses and some references considered adult.

Wal-Mart said that it's the company's long-standing policy not to stock any CD with a parental advisory sticker.

"As with all music, it is up to the artist or label to decide if they want to market different variations of an album to sell, including a version that would remove a PA rating," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien said. "The label and artist in this case have decided not to do so, so we unfortunately can not offer the CD."

But bassist Mike Dirnt said: "As the biggest record store in the America, they should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct art."

Not being sold at Wal-Mart didn't stop the band - which kicks off a U.S. tour summer tour in Seattle on July 3 - from landing at the top of the album charts this week. "21st Century Breakdown" sold about 215,000 copies since it's debut on Friday.

The album is the followup to their multiplatinum, Grammy-winning CD "American Idiot," and like that album, deals with weighty topics. While "American Idiot" spoke to the frustration over the presidency of George W. Bush and the Iraq War, this CD speaks to the loss of innocence and confusion in today's society.

While Armstrong, Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool are still top-sellers without Wal-Mart, Armstrong said the store's policy is disappointing, considering it has become the dominant seller of CDs with the decline of traditional music stores.

"If you think about bands that are struggling or smaller than Green Day ... to think that to get your record out in places like that, but they won't carry it because of the content and you have to censor yourself," he said. "I mean, what does that say to a young kid who's trying to speak his mind making a record for the first time? It's like a game that you have to play. You have to refuse to play it."

Aykroyd spills details of third Ghostbusters

The ghostbusters are set for a new round of paranormal policing.

Ottawa native Dan Aykroyd tells the Los Angeles Times there will be a third Ghostbusters film starring himself and original cast members Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.

Aykroyd says production could be under way by winter.

The Saturday Night Live alumnus and Ramis co-wrote the first two films in the sci-fi comedy franchise, about eccentric paranormal exterminators in New York City.

The hit 1984 debut and its 1989 sequel also starred Rick Moranis and Annie Potts and were directed and co-produced by Ivan Reitman.

The next instalment is penned by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who also write for the TV series The Office.

In a report on the L.A. Times website, Aykroyd says Reitman is too busy to helm the third incarnation of Ghostbusters, so Ramis might direct instead.

Aykroyd – who was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in Driving Miss Daisy – also says some females might be added to the ghost-busting team.

He thinks Alyssa Milano and Eliza Dushku would be good in the roles.

Milano already stars in part of the franchise – she voices the character of Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, a brainy curator, in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, written by Aykroyd and Ramis.

Paul McCartney to play Halifax

Paul McCartney is coming to Halifax.

The ex-Beatle announced Wednesday he's "very happy" to be performing at an outdoor concert on July 11.

"The Canadian audiences are great and the timing of the event, with the arrival of the Tall Ships, means that it will be an exciting event for us all," McCartney said on his website. "We are looking forward to rocking in Halifax."

Local promoters say it will be McCartney's only concert in Canada this year and are calling it the "largest and most exciting" concert in Halifax's 260-year history.

"This iconic and legendary performer's presence in our city will be an historic event for all Atlantic Canadians," said Harold MacKay, president of Power Promotional Events.

The concert is expected to attract 60,000 fans — 10,000 more than the crowd at the Rolling Stones show in September 2006.

Tickets will go on sale May 29 at 9 a.m. AT through Ticket Atlantic and at participating Atlantic Superstore locations.

Tickets will cost $125 for general admission and $305 for VIP tickets. Promoters say between 5,000 and 6,000 VIP seats will be available.

Wednesday's announcement ends the rumours that have been circulating since McCartney's representatives toured the Halifax Common last spring.

Last April, MacKay took McCartney's senior tour staff to the park. He said they were impressed with the site, but there wasn't enough time to set up an event that summer.

Halifax radio personality J.C. Douglas said he's excited to see Paul McCartney perform again.

Douglas has been to McCartney concerts in England and Montreal but this time, he would like the chance to meet the former Beatle in person.

"Working in radio, you get to meet a lot of stars and things and there's no one I'd rather meet than Paul McCartney," Douglas said. "He's been at the top of that list for my entire career and I'm sort of hoping that might happen, I don't know."

McCartney is playing a week before KISS headlines an outdoor concert in the park. That has some local residents concerned about the potential damage hosting two big concerts so close to one another could do to the Halifax Commons.

"In terms of the environment that we all want to come sit in and spend the afternoon in and the dogs and sports events, I mean, that's not as possible because of these concerts they bring in and it ruins the property," M.E. Woodside said.

Last summer, the city placed 30 rolls of plastic weave on the grounds to protect the grass during a Keith Urban concert. However, the grass was uprooted when the covering was removed.

Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly admits that the city didn't get everything perfect last summer.

"This is an opportunity for us to see what can happen," Kelly said on Wednesday. "This is the first time back-to-back concerts, too. Same venue, same staging and other aspects. So for us, it's a way of testing things out and making things better and we learn from the process."

Fleetwood Mac resumes tour after canceled gigs

Fleetwood Mac is expected return to the stage Wednesday night in Oakland, CA, after postponing a handful of shows over the past week due to illness.

As previously reported, the classic rockers canceled two shows in Canada last week--Tuesday night (5/12) in Calgary and Wednesday (5/13) in Edmonton--due to a band member falling ill.

The Stevie Nicks-led group managed to perform last Friday night (5/15) in Vancouver, though Monday night's (5/18) show at Sacramento's Arco Arena was also postponed due to illness. According to the venue's website, a rescheduled date will be announced soon, and tickets for the original performance will be honored on the new date.

Fleetwood Mac's greatest-hits trek, dubbed the "Unleashed Tour," is set to run through early summer, finishing up June 17 in Uncasville, CT. The band's classic 1977 album, "Rumors," was re-issued as part of a special CD/DVD boxed set on Reprise Records in conjunction with the in-progress US tour.

Don Henley readies new best-of collection

Don Henley is releasing a new best-of collection that spans his entire solo career, including recordings originally released on the Asylum, Geffen and Warner Brothers record labels, according to a press release.

"The Very Best of Don Henley," which will be offered in CD and deluxe CD/DVD versions, includes songs culled from solo albums as well as his cover of Leonard Cohen's classic "Everybody Knows," which originally appeared on his first solo collection, 1995's "Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits."

The deluxe CD/DVD version features six music videos as well as four bonus audio recordings from soundtrack releases. Videos including "The Boys of Summer" and "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" are complemented by audio recordings from "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" ("Love Rules"), "The Color Of Money" ("Who Owns This Place?"), "Leap of Faith" ("Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat"), and "Michael" (Through Your Hands").

Scheduled to hit stores June 16, the collection also includes the first Henley song to land on the Country music charts, "For My Wedding."

Voice of Mickey Mouse dies in L.A. at 62

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sound-effects specialist Wayne Allwine, who followed in the footsteps of Walt Disney to provide the falsetto voice of Mickey Mouse for the past 32 years, has died, Walt Disney Co said Wednesday.

Allwine succumbed to complications from diabetes at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles Monday. He was 62.

He was only the third person to lend his voice to the famed rodent. Disney himself started voicing Mickey Mouse in 1928, when he made his talking debut in "Steamboat Willie." Jimmy Macdonald took over the responsibilities in 1947 and handed over the reins to his protege Allwine in 1977.

Allwine provided Mickey's voice for such movies as "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988), and "The Prince and the Pauper" (1990). He also brought Mickey to life for Disney theme parks, television, radio and live stage events.

"Wayne dedicated his entire professional life to Disney, and over the last 32 years, gave so much joy, happiness and comfort to so many around the world by giving voice to our most beloved, iconic character, Mickey Mouse," Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said.

Born in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale in 1947, Allwine joined Disney in 1966, working his way up from a job in the mail room. He worked under sound-effects expert Macdonald for seven-and-a-half years, editing such Disney films as "Splash" (1984) and "Three Men and a Baby" (1987).

"Mickey's the real star," Allwine once said of his job. "You know you just have to love the little guy while you have him, because he won't be yours forever."

Allwine is survived by his wife, Russi Taylor, who provides the voice of Minnie Mouse, and five children from previous marriages.

Swayze rep denies death report

Patrick Swayze has hit out at false reports he has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

The actor moved swiftly on Tuesday to deny a Florida radio station's claim he had died.

His representative told People.com, "Patrick Swayze did not pass away this morning contrary to severely reckless reports stemming from a radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. Patrick Swayze is alive, well and is enjoying his life and he continues to respond to treatment."

It's not the first false report the 56-year-old actor has been forced to dispute since he was diagnosed with cancer last year.

Back in March he asked publications to "think twice about printing inaccuracies and painting an unpleasant picture when I have so much to be thankful for at this time."

Jessica Biel: 'I just want an opportunity'

Don't hate her because she's pretty. C'mon, Hollywood.

That's what Jessica Biel, 27, says is holding her back -- she isn't getting roles because she's too good-looking. "Yeah, it really is a problem. I have to be blunt," Biel says in the June issue of Allure magazine. Her latest film, Powder Blue, (in which she plays a stripper) is going straight to DVD.

"I'm in there with everybody else, fighting for the good parts. Yes, The Illusionist has made a difference -- but a huge, massive difference, so I can pick and choose what I want? No."

Biel would like to have a career like Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman."I just want an opportunity. If you don't like the audition, don't hire me!" she says. "But if you don't want to even see me -- that's hurtful. And why? You know nothing about me!"

'Survivor' champ battling Hodgkin's disease

NEW YORK - "Survivor" champ Ethan Zohn has cancer.

Zohn, who outlasted the competition to win "Survivor: Africa" in 2002, is undergoing chemotherapy for a rare form of Hodgkin's disease.

A spokeswoman for the CBS series, Lori DelliColli, confirmed Zohn's condition after the news was first reported by People magazine.

The former pro soccer player, known for his curly mop of hair, was diagnosed with stage-two Hodgkin's disease in late April.

Doctors discovered a swollen lymph node beneath his collar bone and a mass on the left side of his chest.

Then, last week, he began chemo treatments after being diagnosed with a less common type of the cancer that forms in the body's lymph system.

Radiohead, R.E.M. Hit the Studio to Work On New Albums

A pair of the biggest bands in rock, Radiohead and R.E.M., hit the studio recently to begin work on their next albums. While both groups are in the beginning stages of writing and recording, they offered up some early details in a series of interviews.

Radiohead have reconvened with longtime producer Nigel Godrich to start work on the follow-up of 2007’s In Rainbows. “It was very noisy and chaotic and really fun,” bassist Colin Greenwood told BBC’s 6 Music of the band’s recording session. “It’s at the stage where we’ve got the big Lego box out and we’ve tipped it out on the floor and we’re just looking at all the bits and thinking ‘What’s next?’ I’m very impressed and grateful for Nigel our producer and his ability to make it all sound vaguely plausible.”

Greenwood had some more vague details for NME.com, adding, “It’s really cool and everything is sounding great. It’s early days and it is a bit like having a scrapbook at the moment because everything is up in the air, but it’s good to be back in the studio.” Considering the recent report that the band was encouraged by their management to “split up” during the tumultuous recording of In Rainbows, we’re glad to hear that things thus far are going smoothly. While the band provided no specifics, one of the tracks that may get the studio treatment is “Super Collider,” which Radiohead premiered during concerts on their In Rainbows tour.

As for R.E.M., guitarist Peter Buck spoke to Pitchfork about the early stages of recording their follow-up to last year’s Accelerate. Buck and bassist Mike Mills recently entered a Portland, Oregon studio to record skeletal tracks that they written wrote touring behind their recent album in the hopes of making some music that would “excite Michael [Stipe] about getting inspired.” Unlike the stripped-down Accelerate, Buck says, “This record, I want it to be broader; I think Michael [Stipe] is into that. So there are some really pretty acoustic things, some really total noisy rock, and some kind of poppy stuff. It runs the gamut.” While Jackknife Lee will likely serve as producer again, Tucker Martine, who produced the Decemberists’ Hazards of Love helped Buck and Mills lay down the demos.

New CD Releases, May 19th: Eminem, Tori Amos, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, Kenny Chesney, Iron & Wine and more

Eminem "Relapse"

It's finally time to get real--as in the "Real Slim Shady." The controversial multi-platinum rap star returns to the game with the release of his long-awaited fifth studio album, which follows 2004's quadruple-platinum "Encore.”

"Relapse" is the first of two albums that Eminem expects to deliver in 2009. He announced back in March that he plans to issue a follow-up, dubbed "Relapse 2," by year's end.

In other Marshall Mathers matters, the rapper has been tapped to perform at the 18th annual MTV Movie Awards, which will air live May 31 at 9 p.m. ET.

* * *
Tori Amos "Abnormally Attracted to Sin" (Universal Republic)

The acclaimed singer/songwriter/pianist is back with a follow-up to 2007's "American Doll Posse." "Abnormally Attracted to Sin," Amos' 10th studio album, marks her debut on the Universal Republic label.

The album's first two singles are the tunes "Welcome to England" and "Fire to Your Plain," videos of which are streaming at the Amos' website. "Abnormally Attracted to Sin" will be available in both standard and deluxe versions. The latter will include a digital booklet, one bonus track and a DVD of corresponding episodic films for each track, which "bring to life the narrative arc of the album," according to a press release.

Amos will support "Abnormally Attracted to Sin" with a US theater trek this summer. The "Sinful Attraction" tour kicks off July 10 in Seattle and will continue through mid-August.

* * *
Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood "Live from Madison Square Garden" (Reprise)

The two legendary rockers--who in 1969 combined forces in the super-group Blind Faith--reunited early last year for a three-night stand in New York City. This two-CD set is a document of that sold-out run.

"Live from Madison Square Garden," which is also being released on DVD, features such classic-rock staples as "Forever Man," "After Midnight," "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "Can't Find My Way Home."

Clapton and Winwood have also announced plans to tour together. The trek gets underway June 10 in East Rutherford, NJ, and runs through the end of the month.

* * *
Kenny Chesney "Greatest Hits II" (RCA)

The cowboy crooner is set to deliver his second best-of compilation. "Greatest Hits II" includes such big singles as "Living in Fast Forward," "Beer in Mexico," "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" and "Never Wanted Nothing More." It also features one new song, "Out Last Night," which was released as a single in March.

Fans can hear many of these "Greatest Hits" performed live if they turn out to see Chesney's "Sun City Carnival" tour. The trek is currently underway and is scheduled to run through late summer.

* * *
Iron & Wine "Around the Well" (Sub Pop)

Indie-rock singer/songwriter Iron & Wine, the stage name of Sam Beam, will please his faithful following by releasing a double-disc set of rarities and B-sides. His touring plans this summer include headlining the inaugural No Depression Festival on July 11 in Washington.

* * *
More new releases:
The Beach Boys, "Summer Love Songs" (Capitol)
Carbon Leaf, "Nothing Rhymes with Woman" (Vanguard)
Dane Cook, "ISolated Incident" (Comedy Central)
Richard Elliot, "Rock Steady" (Artistry)
Mat Kearney, "City of Black & White" (Sony)
Steve Martin, "The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo" (Rounder)
Method Man, "Blackout 2" (Def Jam)
O.S.I., "Blood" (Inside Out)
The Oak Ridge Boys, "The Boys are Back" (Spring Hill)
Lionel Richie, "Just Go" (Island)
Kate Voegele, "A Fine Mess" (Interscope)
Zee Avi, "Zee Avi" (Brushfire)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Terminator Salvation" (Warner Bros.)
"True Blood" (Elektra)

'Scrubs' will look different next season

One way or another, the ninth season of "Scrubs" will be different from the show you've experienced for the past eight years -- possibly very different.

The long-running show will be back on the air in late fall, and ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson says that Zach Braff and "a number of" the other regulars will appear in at least some of the episodes. But it will also go in one of two new directions -- one of which would be a radical change from what the series has been until this point.

"There are two scenarios [creator Bill Lawrence] is playing with in terms of the next generation is," McPherson told reporters at a Tuesday morning press conference announcing ABC's 2009-10 schedule. "One is kind of a complete rethinking, and one is just kind of the next generation -- like what 'ER' did, but on the comedy side, repopulating the cast."

Lawrence is set to pitch both ideas to McPherson in the next few weeks, and the network will decide whether to continue on at Sacred Heart (the next-gen option) or move it to an entirely different location (the complete revamp option).
Braff has signed on for six episodes of the new season, with the potential to appear in a couple more. McPherson says Braff's episodes won't necessarily be the first six of the season, but the bulk of them will probably air in the first half of the year (ABC ordered 18 episodes of "Scrubs" for 2009-10). McPherson didn't offer specifics on the other cast members, but Neil Flynn's time as the Janitor will almost certainly be limited, as he's starring in ABC's new show "The Middle."

"Scrubs" and fellow returnee "Better Off Ted" will air at 9 p.m. ET Tuesdays following the end of "Dancing with the Stars'" fall cycle, with a late November premiere date likely. "Ted" has been picked up for 13 episodes.

The Couch Potato Report - May 16th, 2009

This week The Couch Potato Report peels a new beginning, two unworthy Hathaways and two funny TV shows.

From 1982 to 1986 I lived on Prince Edward Island. During that time I happily called the Island home and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the place, and it's contributions to Canadian history and culture.

It was toward the end of my time living on the Island that I discovered one of the province's largest contributions to our Canadian literary culture, Anne Of Green Gables.

I read some of Lucy Maud Montgomery's books, and then I saw the CBC film about the headstrong, chatty and sometimes stubborn Red-Headed orphan girl who ends up at the Green Gables farm in P.E.I.

It was after seeing director Kevin Sullivan's film, and it's 1987 sequal, that I fell completely in love with the character, and - to this day - I will watch any movie that features Anne with an "e" and read any book about her adventures.

That included the less-than-succesful 2000 movie THE CONTINUING STORY and last year's ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - A NEW BEGINNING.

A NEW BEGINNING was written and once again directed by Kevin Sullivan. He based his screenplay on Lucy Maud Montgomery's characters, not her stories, and his story attempts to offer a prequel AND a sequel to Anne's ongoing story.

This story shows us Anne's life before she arrives at Green Gables.

I wish I could tell you that ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - A NEW BEGINNING is a great film and a cherished addition to the series, but unfortunately it isn't.

According to this story, Anne isn't even an orphan...and that is a story point I was just unable to get past...plus, her beloved Gilbert has been killed off!!

After everything Anne went through in THE CONTINUING STORY to find him in the war, to just kill him off in for this new film made it seem like the filmmakers weren't treating their own series with any respect, so I starting wondering why should I?!

Plus, instead of Megan Follows as a grown-up Anne, we get Barbara Hershey, from BEACHES. She is good enough, but she never seemed to fully become Anne with a "e"...it always just looked like she was playing a role.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - A NEW BEGINNING isn't an awful movie, it has a few redeeming moments, and 14-year-old Hannah Endicott-Douglas who plays the young Anne is pretty well cast, but the entire thing just seems pointless.

I love the characters enough to have no regrets about seeing the film, but I can't recommend you do the same, and it is unlikely that I will ever sit through it again.

However, I will read the books again from time to time, and I will see the first two films at least once more...those I love!!

I didn't love this next film, but I did really like it.

Yes, I admit it, I was taken with TAKEN!

Liam Neeson from SCHINDLER'S LIST stars in this film as an ex-spy whose daughter gets...taken.

There is nothing subtle about this film, a father with knowledge on how to find and rescue people goes to Paris to find his daughter, plain and simple.

He is a man you do not mess with who is not happy, and anyone who gets in his way pays the price!

TAKEN has drama, action, car chases, explosions and a great performance from Liam Neeson...if any of that sounds appealing to you, don't miss this one! I highly recommend it!!

I have two films for you now from my current favourite actress. Jodie Foster remains my all-time favourite, but right now, I am smitten with Anne Hathaway and her films.

Her work in last year's GET SMART film and the Academy Award nominated performance in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED solidified my adoration, and I thought she could do no wrong.

And then I saw PASSENGERS and BRIDE WARS, and while they aren't the absolute worst films I have ever seen, neither one is very good.

In PASSENGERS Anne plays a grief counselor working with a group of plane-crash survivors.

She finds herself in the middle of a mystery as life seems to be a little different and her patients begin to disappear.

PASSENGERS was filmed in and around Vancouver and features a great supporting cast, but the film itself is just too slow. By the end everything is fully explained and it all makes sense, but the film doesn't give you enough reasons to care.

However, of these two Anne Hathaway films, PASSENGERS is the better one, even if that isn't saying much, because the second one is the awful BRIDE WARS.

This one is a complete stinker!!

Anne stars with the also great Kate Hudson in this film. They play two best friends who have always dreamed of getting married at New York City's glamourous Plaza Hotel.

After they each get engaged, they are able to get different dates at the Hotel so their dreams can come true...and then - since this is a movie - there is a problem

And now, two best friends become rivals as neither one is willing to back down and allow the other the day, and a double wedding is out of the question!!

BRIDE WARS could have been a fun romp, and an enjoyable little film, but instead - because it isn't very good, you'll find yourself just sitting there wondering why the two life-long, best friends, couldn't just come to some sort of arrangement...and then you'll realize it is just a movie and you will either just shut it off or watch it right up until the end because you are a fan of the people in it.

My advice? Even if you are a fan of Kate Hudson or the lovely Anne Hathaway...skip this one!

The final release I have for you this week is one that I have personally be wating for!! This week saw the debut of THE DANA CARVEY SHOW on DVD!!

Woo hooo!!!!

THE DANA CARVEY SHOW was a half-hour sketch comedy show that aired during the 1996 season.

It featured Dana Carvey, fresh from his departure from Saturday Night Live, and the cast included two then unknown comedians named Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert.

THE DANA CARVEY SHOW always made my friends and I laugh, and so we have been waiting for these DVDs, and if you enjoy comedy that is very crude at times, and very sophisticated at others, check this one out.

It can be hit and miss, and when it misses it really misses, but when it hits, the laughs are huge!!

The very funny DANA CARVEY SHOW and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - A NEW BEGINNING are both available now on DVD.

Anne Hathaway’s less than succesfull BRIDE WARS and PASSENGERS and the great thriller TAKEN are available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Coming up in TWO WEEKS on the next Couch Potato Report

The Canadian film CAPTURING REALITY - THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY, the Pixar animated film A BUG’S LIFE featuring voice work from Kids In The Hall member Dave Foley, Tom Cruise's VALKYRIE and the home debut of the surprise box office hit PAUL BLART - MALL COP.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in fourteen days, on Saturday, May 30th....including the return of the annual Foreign Film Festival On DVD!!

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!

'Star Trek' screened in space

LOS ANGELES – "Star Trek" has been beamed aboard the International Space Station.

Paramount Pictures said they transferred director J.J. Abrams' sci-fi franchise reboot to NASA's Mission Control in Houston. The movie was uplinked to the space station on Thursday.

NASA astronaut Michael Barratt watched the film on a laptop Friday inside the Unity module.

The 50-year-old astronaut said he remembered "watching the original 'Star Trek' series and, like many of my NASA co-workers, was inspired by the idea of people from all nations coming together to explore space."

'Angels & Demons' wins box office from 'Star Trek'

NEW YORK – "Angels & Demons" took the box office from "Star Trek" by earning $48 million in its first weekend of release.

The haul was far less than the earlier Dan Brown adaptation "The Da Vinci Code" — which earned $77.1 million when in opened in 2006 — but still enough to topple the popular "Star Trek," according to studio estimates Sunday.

In its second weekend, Paramount Pictures' "Star Trek" took in $43 million, a strong number after its $75.2 million opening last weekend, excluding its Thursday midnight screenings. The cumulative total for J.J. Abram's reboot of the sci-fi franchise is $147.6 million.

Sony's "Angels & Demons" reunites Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard for the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code." It opened without the benefit of the buzz and controversy that propelled "The Da Vinci Code" to a $753 million worldwide total.

Overseas business was again strong for "Angels & Demons," which earned $104.3 million internationally. Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony, said the studio expects the film will eventually take in half a billion altogether in theatrical release.

"That chemistry (of Hanks and Howard) worked incredibly well with 'Da Vinci' and it looks like it's absolutely headed in that same vein, certainly on a lesser scale," said Bruer. "We never expected anything to the phenomenon of `Da Vinci.'"

Like "The Da Vinci Code," reviews were not illustrious for "Angels & Demons," but they were mostly better. Bruer called Brown's action-packed best-seller "a far more cinematic story" than "Da Vinci." In it, Hanks again plays Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon who's trying to prevent a series of murders at the Vatican.

"Sony positioned it well," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "They didn't try to say, `This is going to be "The Da Vinci Code."' It was actually quite the contrary. They tried to say this was not `Da Vinci Code,' that it was a different kind of movie."

"Angels & Demons" was the only new wide-release film of the weekend. Coming in third was "X-Men Originals: Wolverine," which earned $14.8 million in its third week, bringing its total to $151.1 million. The prequel to the "X-Men" franchise, starring Hugh Jackman as the mutant with metal claws, had a step drop-off in its second week.

On the whole, it was another robust weekend of business at movie theaters, which have been drawing large crowds throughout the recession. Dergarabedian pegs the year-to-date box office at a 16 percent increase over last year.

"We're headed toward a record breaking summer," said Dergarabedian. "If you've got a blockbuster in the pipeline, you're very happy about all the strength of the box office right now. Momentum is key in this business."

That's good news for the two blockbusters opening next weekend: "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Terminator Salvation."

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Angels & Demons," $48 million.
2. "Star Trek," $43 million.
3. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," $14.8 million.
4. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," $6.9 million.
5. "Obsessed," $4.6 million.
6. "17 Again," $3.4 million.
7. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $3 million.
8. "The Soloist," $2.4 million.
9. "Next Day Air," $2.2 million.
10. "Earth," $1.7 million.

Kevin Smith Gunning For An Oscar?

Kevin Smith has revealed to MTV News exclusively that he's planning to collaborate on his next film with... Mitch Albom.

Yeah, Mitch Albom, the Tuesdays With Morrie guy, who is quite possibly your sentimental dad's favorite author. In 2003 Albom and rock icon Warren Zevon collaborated on the song "Hit Somebody," shortly before Zevon's death from cancer. Now Smith, a longtime hockey fan, wants to adapt the song about a violent hockey goon into a feature film.

“The song’s been one of my favorites since I heard it and I’ve always seen this whole movie behind. I got in touch with Mitch because Warren Zevon has passed on and we started talking about it and he was into it and into what I was kind of pitching.”

Not only that, but Smith thinks this is one that might gain some end-of-the-year Oscar traction. For real. You can read all about it at MTV, and hockey fans, prepare to replace Slapshot as your favorite hockey movie of all time.

Blink-182 heads out on affordable US trek

After announcing earlier this year that they had reunited, and and in the wake of performing a surprise gig last night on May 14th at LA's Paramount Studios, Blink-182 has unveiled plans for an extensive summer run featuring all-inclusive lawn tickets that will cost fans just $20.

The pop-punk outfit--consisting of singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge, singer/bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker--surprised fans at a T-Mobile party last night, performing "The Rock Show," "Feeling This" and "Dammit" to a stunned audience, according to reports.

The rockers will now focus on their North American trek, which begins July 24 in Las Vegas and runs through an Oct. 3 performance in Atlantic City, NJ. The outing will stop by 47 cities when all is said and done, including a five-night Canadian run in late July. The full schedule is below.

The group has worked with ticketing outlets to offer lawn seats at an all-inclusive price of $20--no charge for parking, ticketing fees, tax, etc.--for each amphitheater show. Tickets will be available at Live Nation's website beginning May 30.

"We've worked very hard with the promoters to make possible something that has never been done by any major touring act--$20 tickets," Hoppus said in a press release.

The tour will also feature a handful of rotating support acts, including Fall Out Boy, Weezer, Panic At The Disco, The All-American Rejects, Taking Back Sunday, Chester French and Asher Roth.

This marks the first tour for Blink-182 since the band's break-up nearly five years ago.

"We can't wait to get on tour this summer," Hoppus also said in a prepared statement. "After a four year break, we're ready to get out on the road and play what we hope will be the most amazing tour of the season."

Blink-182--known for late-'90s hits like "All the Small Things," "What's My Age Again?" and "I Miss You"--hasn't issued a new studio album since its self-titled set surfaced in 2003.

July 2009
24 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
28 - Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
30 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
31 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place

August 2009
1 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Credit Union Centre
2 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
4 - Milwaukee, WI - Marcus Amphitheater
6 - Mansfield, MA - Comcast Center
7 - Quebec City, Quebec - Quebec Colisee Pepsi
8 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
12 - Hershey, PA - The Star Pavilion at Hersheypark Stadium
13 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
14 - Burgettstown, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion
15 - Tinley Park, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
16 - Council Bluffs, IA - Westfair Amphitheatre
18 - Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
20 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
21 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center
22 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
23 - Toronto, Ontario - The Molson Amphitheatre
25 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
27 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
28 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
29 - Hartford, CT - New England Dodge Music Center
30 - Washington, DC - TBD
31 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon Theater at Jones Beach

September 2009
2 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
3 - Maryland Heights, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis
4 - Bonner Springs, KS - Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone
6 - Englewood, CO - Fiddlers Green Amphitheater
7 - Orem, UT - David O. McKay Events Center
10 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
12 - Wheatland, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
13 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
14 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
16 - Chula Vista, CA - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
17 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
19 - Tempe, AZ - Tempe Beach Park
21 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
23 - The Woodlands, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
24 - Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center
26 - West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre
27 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheater at State Fairgrounds
29 - Atlanta, GA - Aaron's Amphitheater at Lakewood

October 2009
1 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
2 - Virginia Beach, VA - Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
3 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Events Center

CBC Radio One, Radio 2 juggle schedules

Schedule changes are coming for CBC Radio One and Radio 2, the public broadcaster announced Thursday.

On Radio One, the local noon programs move to a one-hour format from two hours on June 29 and the afternoon schedule will be filled with repeats and repackaged items.

On Radio 2, classical music will come on earlier in the day, and several other shows have been shifted. These changes are a "tweak" to the schedules designed to smooth the transition from classical to contemporary music and back again, according to Chris Boyce, CBC Radio programming director.

As of June 29, the changes to the Radio One schedule are:

- Local noon programs reduced to an hour.

- From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., listeners will hear repeats of shows such as Writers and Company, Dispatches, The Next Chapter and Sirius program Rewind, which features selections from the CBC Archives.

- The afternoons will also include a selection of listener stories from DNTO and shows that pull together CBC documentaries from the regions and other programs.

The local noon-hour shows will still have a call-in component and a selection of current affairs programming on local issues, but be shorter, Boyce said.

"We are just looking region-by-region at exactly what those shows are going to be, but they won't be dissimilar to what people are used to hearing now," he said. "For us, it's important that those shows are an opportunity for listeners to reconnect to what's happening in their communities on that day."

Boyce acknowledged that CBC has found "significant savings" with cuts in this part of the schedule and repeats of shows.

"Clearly a big part of the [programming cuts] was in the afternoon schedule — moving the noon shows to one hour and cancelling The Point. All the programming that we're putting into that afternoon block is stuff that we're able to put on the air at no additional cost to us," he said.

The public broadcaster announced in March it was cutting the radio programs Out Front, The Inside Track, In the Key of Charles, The Point and the weekend edition of The Signal.

"It's not just repeats. We think it's a very vibrant interesting block of programming," Boyce said. "We think we've made the strongest schedule we can, given our financial situation, but those cuts weighed very heavily on the decisions."

The weekend schedule on Radio One is also being rejigged as of Sept. 7. Among those changes:

- 16 new episodes of medical program White Coat, Black Art on Saturday.

- The Debaters moves to 1 p.m. Saturday followed by WireTap and DNTO.

- Spark moves to Sunday at 1 p.m. and expands to a full hour.

Some of the changes on Radio One's weekend schedule will be phased in over the summer.

On Radio 2, classical music begins earlier, with Julie Nesrallah's five-hour classical program to start at 9 a.m.

Tom Allen's morning show is an hour shorter, and he will be returning in the afternoons with a new show call Shift. Both shows will feature a mix of jazz, classical and contemporary music.

"Tom is a guy with an incredibly wide range of musical interests — a guy who's as comfortable playing classical music as he is singer-songwriter, and we have that opportunity in the afternoon 90 minutes to a do a show that really made the transition from Tempo into Drive."

Rich Terfry's afternoon drive-home program has also brought younger listeners to Radio 2, he added, and CBC wants to build on that.

"It's a show that I think has brought new listeners to Radio 2, and part of the problem was that people were joining the show at 5.30, when they were leaving work, and at 6 p.m. we were completely shifting musical genres and going to jazz on Tonic. This is an opportunity to keep … people listening into the evening."

Other changes on Radio 2:

- Terfry's afternoon Drive program is longer, running from 3.30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

- Canada Live is shorter and starts at 8 p.m.

- Jazz program Tonic moves to 9 pm.

- The Signal will be shorter and Laurie Brown to host it seven days a week.

The cuts to Canada Live reflect CBC's need to save money by recording less live music, Boyce said.

"We had to make a significant reduction to the amount of live music that we recorded, and this was definitely a reflection of that. We still record hundreds of concerts every year, which is more live music than anyone in this country records."

Weekend changes on Radio 2 include:

- Classical music starts earlier at 10 a.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday.

- The end of Jurgen Gothe's Farrago.

- A new program This is My Music, in which some of the classical music community's brightest stars will showcase their favourite musical selections.

- Radio One programs Saturday Night Blues, A Propos and Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap are added to the Radio 2 schedule.

"What we're really doing is tweaking the schedule," Boyce said. "We had the big changes to Radio 2."

Blink-182 Recruit Fall Out Boy, Weezer for Reunion Tour: Hoppus and Wentz Speak Out

Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus breaks some big news in the Summer Tour Preview in the new issue of Rolling Stone: the reunited band is bringing Weezer and Fall Out Boy on the road this summer to open Blink’s first tour since 2005. The news resulted in a big reaction from fans yesterday afternoon when Hoppus posted our story on his blog — and we’ve got more from Hoppus on the lineup, and what to expect on the road right here:

“We started talking about bands to tour with and Weezer was actually one of the first ones that came up,” Hoppus tells Rolling Stone. “They wanted to do the tour, and so did Fall Out Boy. It worked out perfectly.” But fans hoping to catch all three acts together on the tour, which begins July 24th, may be out of luck: Fall Out Boy are on board for two-thirds of the dates and Weezer will play the other third. Dates for the tour, and which bands are opening in which cites, haven’t been announced at press time.

This won’t be the first time members of Blink share the stage with Weezer and Fall Out Boy. Blink guitarist Tom DeLonge’s side project Angel & Airwaves toured with Weezer last year, while Hoppus and Blink drummer Travis Barker toured with Fall Out Boy when their side project, +44, opened FOB’s summer tour in 2007.

“When we started our band, we were like, ‘Man, that’d be so awesome to meet Blink-182,’” Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz says, adding his band is looking forward to the change an opening slot will bring. “It’s been a great stretch of headlining tours the last few years, but there’s something interesting about opening up for bands when you have to rope the audience in.”

Blink-182 are also working to make this tour accessible to as many fans as possible. While the most expensive tickets will go for $60, Hoppus says the band has secured a $20 ticket fee (charges included) for the arenas. “We want this to be an experience that brings the show out to the audience,” Hoppus adds, noting the band has partnered with the set designer Kanye West and Daft Punk use for a light show that will incorporate the entire venue into the band’s performance.

And Blink will debut at least one new tune on the road alongisde favorites like “Rock Show” and “What’s My Age Again,” which may have a more polished feel thanks to the band deciding to do some serious rehearsals before hitting the road. “We used to go on stage and forget our parts,” Hoppus says. “This time we want to be more artistic. We really want the live show on this tour to be something nobody would ever expect from Blink.”

Jay Leno reveals guests on "Tonight Show" swansong

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Comedian Jay Leno, America's top-rated TV host, will bow out of his 17-year stint on "The Tonight Show" on May 29 in the company of his successor Conan O'Brien and singer James Taylor.

Leno, 59, also promised "something really out of the left field" for his last "Tonight Show" before going on to launch a new prime-time chat and comedy show in the fall.

Actor Mel Gibson, comedian Billy Crystal, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and rocker Prince will be among the guests in Leno's final week.

"It's not my job to put it together, but everyone knows who I like," Leno told reporters in a conference call.

O'Brien will take over from Leno on June 1 in a reshuffle on struggling network NBC that will see Leno return in a new show five nights a week in the 10 p.m. slot -- traditionally reserved for scripted drama.

Leno said he had barely begun working on the new show but defended the move to the prime-time slot used by network TV for some of the most lucrative hours of advertising.

"There really isn't any comedy on at 10 p.m. Everything is very serious and adult murder and all these procedural shows. It is fun to have something a little bit different," he said.

The move will save NBC, currently lagging at the bottom of the four major TV networks in ratings, millions of dollars compared to the costs of scripted drama.
"This is not a decision we went into lightly," Leno said. "All the research came back saying people wanted some comedy and we thought going earlier was a good idea.

"I am not going to ram it down people's throats. Let's see if it is something that will work," he said..

Leno said he expected to shed few tears at ending his stint after more than a decade battling CBS rival David Letterman.

"It's not like you are leaving showbusiness, or leaving the network, or even leaving the (studio) lot."

Martin Scorsese to direct biopic of Frank Sinatra

LOS ANGELES – Martin Scorsese will tell Frank Sinatra's life story on film.

The Academy Award-winning director of "The Departed" will direct "Sinatra," the first feature film about Ol' Blue Eyes' life, Universal Pictures and Mandalay Pictures said Wednesday.

The film will be "an unconventional biopic," said Mandalay Pictures President Cathy Shulman, who is co-producing the film with Mandalay Chairman Peter Guber.

"It's not a cradle-to-the-grave traditional portrait of the consecutive events in a man's life," Shulman said. "Instead it's more of a collage and, in many ways, it will feel like an album itself. It's a collection of various moments and impressions in his life and together we hope they'll tell the full story and present full themes."

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Phil Alden Robinson ("Field of Dreams") has spent "at least a year buried in 30,000 pages of research" to write the screenplay, Schulman said.

No casting decisions have been made and no production date has been determined, she said, adding: "It's everyone's hope that this will be a movie that comes to the screen shortly."

It took two years to secure the rights to Sinatra's life and music, Shulman said. Warner Music Group and the Sinatra estate are partners on the project.

Having Scorsese bring "Sinatra" to the screen "seems like a match made in heaven," she said.

"In any family, you're dealing with a precious life, and in this case, you're dealing with an extraordinary life," she said. "We knew Scorsese would lead the troops to a true, fair, exciting and entertaining portrait of the man."

Sinatra's daughter, Tina, said it was "personally pleasing" to know Scorsese would oversee the celluloid version of her father's life story.

"My father had great admiration for the talent of the people he chose to work with, and the talented people who worked with my father had great admiration for him," she said, adding, "to me that this paradigm continues with Marty Scorsese at the helm of the Sinatra film."

An iconic entertainer, Sinatra was known for his smooth voice and even smoother personal style. He was part of the Rat Pack that included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.

Sinatra "was indisputably the 20th century's greatest singer of popular song," according to Rolling Stone.

"Not only did his freely interpretive approach pave the way for the idiosyncrasies of rock singing, but with his character a mix of tough-guy cool and romantic vulnerability, he became the first true pop idol, a superstar who through his music established a persona audiences found compelling and true," the magazine says on its Web site.

Sinatra, who died in 1998, performed on more than 1,400 musical recordings, was awarded 31 gold records and earned 10 Grammys. He also appeared in 58 films and won a supporting-actor Oscar for 1953's "From Here to Eternity." In 1971, he was presented with another Oscar: the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Sinatra's story has been told before on the small screen. A 1992 made-for-TV movie, "Sinatra," starred Philip Casnoff in the title role. It won a Golden Globe for best miniseries and an Emmy for director James Sadwith. Ray Liotta played Sinatra in the 1998 HBO film, "The Rat Pack."

At one time, Scorsese was in talks to direct a Dean Martin biopic, but that project never came to fruition.

Bruce Springsteen keeps his "bar band" on its toes

DETROIT (Billboard) – As Bruce Springsteen calls out surprise after surprise on his current tour, the members of his E Street Band are having the time of their lives, according to guitarist Nils Lofgren.

"With the new album ('Working On a Dream') and everything, I didn't expect to get to this point, with all the audibles (spontaneous changes) and improvisations, until much deeper in the tour," Lofgren told Billboard.com. "It's just born of years and years of doing this with Bruce, and we're taking it to a new level. It's exciting and it's challenging. You accept that sometimes you never know what's coming around the bend and just go with it.

"I just know the shows are great, and it's heartening to see that after all these yeas of doing it, we're playing what we think are the best shows we've ever done. It's exciting for guys who have been around this long."

Springsteen and company are still thrilling fans with gems from his own catalog, but the story of the tour has been the covers -- something Springsteen has always done but this time he's pulling out ad hoc, usually fan-requested choices such as the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated," the Who's "My Generation," the Rascals' "Good Lovin'," the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie," the Soul Survivors' "Expressway to Your Heart," Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son," and ? and the Mysterians' "96 Tears."

Springsteen has dubbed the E Streeters "the greatest bar band in the land," and Lofgren says it's a tag the group wears proudly.

But, he adds, "There's just not bar bands of this caliber, with a leader like we have. But, yeah, we all learned how to play in cover bands and cut our teeth on an incredible wealth of catalogs like Motown, Stax Volt, the British Invasion, blues...We're a hard group to stump."

Lofgren acknowledges that he sometimes gets to the venues early to "prepare" for that night's festivities, even though he notes that "you never know what's coming." The off-the-cuff choices have also sent the Teleprompter crew scrambling to the Internet for lyrics.

The North American leg of the tour wraps May 23 in East Rutherford, N.J., with the European leg kicking off a week later at the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands. There are rumors of more dates for the late summer and fall, but nothing has been announced beyond August 2 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

"Certainly there's talk about (more shows)," Lofgren says, "but it's kind of stream of consciousness, not something that's booked a year and a half in advance. I'm sure Bruce and Patti (Scialfa) will evaluate what's going with their family and decide whether or not they're gonna do (more), and we'll go from there."

Watchmen arrive in July already

Warner Home Video has just unveiled first details about the upcoming release of the superhero blockbuster movie Watchmen to arrive on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc in July.

Someone’s killing our super heroes. The year is 1985 and super heroes have banded together to respond to the murder of one of their own. They soon uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger. The super heroes fight to stop the impending doom only to find themselves a target for annihilation. But, if our super heroes are gone, who will save us?

The film will arrive on two DVD versions, one featuring only the movie itself in a fullframe presentation, while the Special Edition will offer up a Director’s Cut of the movie in an anamorphic widescreen version with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. As extras the 2-disc release will also contain the Featurette ”The Phenomenon: The Comic that Changed Comics” as well as Watchmen: Video Journals and the Desolation Row Music Video ”My Chemical Romance”. A Digital Copy of the film’s theatrical cut will also be part of the release.

The Blu-Ray version of the movie will arrive in 108p high definition with high definition audio and also offer up the Director’s Cut of the film. Extras of this release will include a Warner Bros. Maximum Movie Mode as well a Featurette called ”Watchmen: Focus Points” and BD Live connectivity. Also inlcuded is the Featurette ”The Phenomenon: The Comic that Changed Comics” from the DVD version as well as the Desolation Row Music Video ”My Chemical Romance”. In addition you will find Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes on the release as well as Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World. A Digital Copy of the theatrical version of the film rounds out this release.

“Watchmen” will make it to home video on July 28 .

New CD Releases, May 12th: Green Day, Steve Earle, The Church, Crystal Method, Better Than Ezra, and more!!

Green Day "21st Century Breakdown" (Reprise)

The multi-platinum pop/punk act finally returns with a follow-up to its Grammy-winning 2004 effort, "American Idiot." Green Day's eighth studio effort, which has been in the works since 2006, will hit stores on Friday (5/15).

Like "American Idiot," "21st Century Breakdown" is a concept record, this time detailing the adventures of a young couple maneuvering through the first decade of the new millennium. The trio--singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool--is clearly hoping that the similarities between the two albums don't end there.

It will be quite a challenge, however, for the new album to live up to the success of "American Idiot," a work that, among other things, spawned five hit singles. So far, so good; the new record's first single, "Know Your Enemy," is already a Top 10 hit.

Green Day will support "21st Century Breakdown" during a North American tour that kicks off July 4 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The two-month run will touch down in 37 cities from coast to coast through the Aug. 25 tour finale in Los Angeles.

* * *
Steve Earle "Townes" (New West)

On his latest offering, the country rocker tips his hat to the late, great songwriting legend Townes Van Zandt. The set features Earle covering 15 "Townes" originals, and includes guest appearances by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Earle's wife, Allison Moorer.

Earle's previous studio effort, "Washington Square Serenade," surfaced in 2007. That album, produced by John King of the Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys), was Earle's first full-length release since relocating to New York from Nashville, where he had based his career since 1975.

Earle will support "Townes" during a late-spring headlining tour that carries over into summer. The outing begins May 28 in Portsmouth, NH, and is currently scheduled to run through mid-June.

* * *
The Church "Untitled #23" (Second Motion)

The rock band from Down Under remains on the rise as it drops yet another new product. "Untitled #23" comes during what has already been an unusually busy year for the band.

The Church has already dropped two other major releases in 2009: "Shriek: Excerpts from the Soundtrack," a collaboration with American science-fiction author Jeff VanderMeer, and "The Coffee Hounds EP," featuring several versions of the original track "The Coffee Song," as well as a cover of Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love."

The group will take to the highway in support of the new album during a 19-city North American trek that starts June 10 in Solana Beach, CA, and wraps July 9 show in Ridgefield, CT.

* * *
The Crystal Method "Divided by Night" (Ingrooves)

The electronic-music duo, consisting of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland, jumps back into the fray with the release of its fourth record. The Los Angeles act's forthcoming set follows 2004's "Legion of Boom."

"Divided by Night" features a bevy of high-profile guest stars, including Metric vocalist Emily Haines, She Wants Revenge singer Justin Warfield and New Order bassist Peter Hook. The album's first single, "Drown in the Now," features vocal work by Matisyahu.

* * *
Better Than Ezra "Paper Empire" (Red Distribution)

The alt-rock band returns with a follow-up to 2005's "Before the Robots," an album that produced the hit single "Juicy." Better Than Ezra--still best known for the early '90s radio hits "Good," "In the Blood" and "Rosealia"--will support "Paper Empire" on the road. The tour kicks off with a two-night stand May 29-30 in the group's hometown of New Orleans.

* * *
More new releases:
Big Business, "Mind the Drift" (Redeye)
Book of Love, "Book of Love" (Noble)
Cam'Ron, "Crime Pays" (Asylum)
Jeremy Enigk, "OK Bear" (Redeye)
Bill Evans, "Turn Out the Stars: Final Village Vanguard Recordings" (Nonesuch)
Paul Gilbert, "United States" (R.E.D.)
George Jones, "Walk Through This World With Me: The Complete Musicor Recordings, 1965-1971 (Part 1)" (Bear)
David Siebels, "Dave Siebels with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band" (PBGL)
Utada, "This is the One" (Mercury)
Kate Voegele, "A Fine Mess" (Interscope)
Paul Wall, "Fast Life" (Asylum)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Angels & Demons" (Sony)
"Lost: Season 4" (Varese)
"Next to Normal" (Sh-K-Boom)

Biel Surprised By Timberlake's Raunchy Comedy Routine

Jessica Biel was stunned when boyfriend Justin Timberlake performed an sketch mocking his relationship with Britney Spears live on U.S. TV - because she knew nothing about the skit before it aired.

Timberlake made his third appearance on comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live at the weekend.

In one sketch the pop star dressed as his immigrant ancestor and predicted the future for his great-great grandson (Timberlake), making reference to his teenage romance with Spears.

He said: "He (Timberlake) will date a popular female singer (Spears). Publicly they'll claim to be virgins, but privately - he hit it."

And although Biel admits she was caught by surprise by the swipe at Timberlake's ex, she insists the sketch sent her into fits of laughter.

She tells the New York Daily News, "I thought that was really funny. I had heard a couple of things (about the show), but I didn't really know what it was actually going to be. It was all pretty much a surprise."

David Tennant new 'Masterpiece Contemporary' host

NEW YORK – David Tennant is the new host of PBS' "Masterpiece Contemporary."

Tennant will make his debut on the long-running public TV anthology this fall, its producing station, WGBH, announced Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Scottish actor, who follows past "Masterpiece" hosts such as Alan Cumming and Laura Linney, played the title role in the long-running BBC sci-fi series "Doctor Who." His screen credits include "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

"Masterpiece Contemporary" returns on the Public Broadcasting Service in October with "Endgame," a drama about the final days of apartheid in South Africa starring William Hurt and Jonny Lee Miller. It premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

The "Masterpiece" series began as "Masterpiece Theatre" in 1971, and now also encompasses "Mystery!" — a public TV fixture since 1980.

Hey all!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but it can't be helped.

We will return with daily updates soon!!

Thanks for your ongoing support.

Dan