Taylor Lautner, James Franco to host 'Saturday Night Live'

"Saturday Night Live" has landed Taylor Lautner, wolfy guy from "Twilight's New Moon" as a host. Ooh, maybe there will be a Taylor Swift cameo!

Lautner and James Franco are the two newest names to be added to "SNL's" December hosting lineup after "Gossip Girl's" Blake Lively was revealed as the Dec. 5 host, paired with Rihanna as musical guest.

Lautner, who became a "Rolling Stone" cover boy and was briefly on NBC with the short-lived "My Own Worst Enemy," will follow on Dec. 12, making his hosting debut alongside musical guest Bon Jovi. Lautner's face and body have been plastered everywhere in the media in conjunction with the release of "New Moon," the second installment of the "Twilight" saga that features his character Jacob coming into his own supernatural heritage.

Lautner can be seen next in the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," to be released in February 2010.

Franco, who has been guest starring on "General Hospital," will host for his second time out on Dec. 19 with the band Muse. Franco has his own romantic comedy coming out, "Your Highness" opposite Natalie Portman in 2010, and the upcoming biopic "Howl" about poet Allen Ginsberg.

Jackson's "This Is It" set for January DVD release

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The Michael Jackson documentary "This Is It" will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on January 26.

Sony's "This Is It" has rung up $71 million in domestic box office since bowing in theaters October 28, and the studio's plans for its home-video release have been the subject of considerable speculation.

Initially, many observers assumed the studio would push out "This Is It" discs before the lucrative Christmas gift-buying season. Instead, Sony has opted for a post-holidays release in the hope that seasonal gift-card recipients will use their plastic to purchase discs.

Both the DVD and high-def versions of "This Is It" will include several mini-documentaries and other special features. The Blu-ray Disc also will include two versions each of the Jackson music videos "Smooth Criminal" and "Thriller."

The DVD of "This Is It" will carry a suggested retail price of $28.96 and the Blu-ray version an SRP of $39.95. A PlayStation Portable disc is also planned, priced at $24.94.

Alomar, Martinez, Larkin & McGriff on Hall ballot

NEW YORK – Roberto Alomar is among 15 first-time candidates of this year's Hall of Fame ballot, joining holdovers Mark McGwire, Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven.

Edgar Martinez, Barry Larkin and Fred McGriff also are new to the ballot this year. There are 26 candidates, three more than last year when Rickey Henderson was elected in his initial appearance and Jim Rice made it on his 15th and final try. Dawon fell 44 votes shy of the 75 percent needed and Blyleven was 67 short.

Also on the ballot for the first time are Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile.

Other holdovers on the list announced Friday include Harold Baines, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Lee Smith and Alan Trammell.

McGwire, hired last month as hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, is on the ballot for the fourth time. While he hit 583 homers, eighth on the career list, he has been stigmatized since his 2005 congressional testimony, when he evaded answering whether he had used steroids. He received 118 votes (22 percent) in last year's vote, down from 128 in each of his first two tries.

Segui has admitted he used steroids.

Alomar, a 12-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove second baseman, had a .300 batting average, 210 homers and 474 steals in 17 major league seasons.

Martinez spent all 18 seasons with Seattle, winning two AL batting titles and finishing with a .312 average and 309 homers. A seven-time All-Star, he was a designated hitter in 1,412 of 2,055 career regular-season games.

Larkin was a 12-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove shortstop in 19 seasons, all with Cincinnati. He had a .295 career average with 198 homers and won the 1995 NL MVP award.

McGriff is tied with Lou Gehrig for 26th on the career home run with 493 and had a .284 average in 19 seasons. He led the AL in homers for Toronto in 1989 and the NL for San Diego in 1992.

Reporters who have been in the BBWAA for 10 or more consecutive years are eligible to vote, and results will be announced Jan. 6. Inductions, which will include anyone elected by the Veterans Committee, are scheduled for July 25 at Cooperstown. The Veterans Committee vote will be announced Dec. 7.

The complete ballot: Roberto Alomar, Kevin Appier, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Ellis Burks, Andre Dawson, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile

Alouettes battle back for Grey Cup title

It turns out the 13th man was the difference.

Damon Duval got a second chance, and now he has his first Grey Cup ring.

And the Saskatchewan Roughriders have nothing but heartbreak after prematurely celebrating a win.

With a two-point lead in the final seconds, the Riders forced Duval to try a 43-yard field goal for the win.

He missed.

The Riders had 13 men on the field and were flagged for too many men.

On his second try from 33, Duval hit it and sent a crushing blow to the Riders with a in the 97th Grey Cup in front of 46,020 spectators at McMahon Stadium.

Darian Durant threw a eight-yard touchdown Andy Fantuz and had a 16-yard run for a major, Luca Congi hit on field goals of 23, 40, nine, and 44 yards, and the Riders defence forced two turnovers.

Alouettes quarterback threw touchowns to Jamel Richardson and Ben Cahoon, while Avon Cobourne had a rushing TD and Damon Duval kicked field goals of 28 and 33 yards.

The Riders owned the first half, but Durant finally made a mistake fitting a quarterback in his first Grey Cup midway through the third quarter.

In trying to go deep to Rob Bagg, Durant was picked off by Billy Parker, but the Alouettes didn’t get anywhere from their own five-yard line.

On the ensuing possession, Durant ran for 14 yards and Wes Cates had rushes and receptions of eight each to set up another Congi field goal to make a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Late in the final frame, Durant made another horrible mistake, throwing up a prayer at midfield that was picked off by Jerald Brown.

The Als went straight down the field and scored as Ben Cahoon dove into the endzone for a 11-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed and the Riders had a two-point lead.

To start that final frame, the Riders took control with a five-play, 75-yard run that was capped by Durant’s 16-yard touchdown run on a straight draw play.

That put the Riders up 16, but the Alouettes quickly answered as Cavlillo went 71 yards in six plays to set up Cobourne’s three-yard run. The two-point conversion was good and the deficit was eight.

The Alouettes came out in the second half more focused that the first, as Anthony Calvillo put together a nine-play, 74-yard drive and hit Jamel Richardson on a eight-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-10 Riders.

At the end of the half, Fantuz caught a 28-yard pass and stepped out at the one-yard line. It was ruled in complete but Ken Miller challenged and won, so Congi hit on a nine-yard field goal to make it 17-3.

After three straight two-and-outs and a fumble, the Alouettes finally got moving towards the end of the first quarter, putting together a 44-yard drive for a 28-yard Damon Duval field goal to cut the deficit to 10-3.

Montreal had another great drive going, but fumbled away a chance at points. Fullback Kerry Carter had the ball stripped by Riders linebacker Rey Williams and Chris McKenzie at his own 17-yard line.

On the Als fourth possession, and before the East Division champs had a first down, Marcus (Chunky) Adams stripped Calvillo as the Als QB was trying to evade the pressure.

Keith Shologan picked up the ball and rumbled to the eight-yard line, where Durant hit Fantuz on the next play to give the Riders a 10-0 lead.

The Als didn’t get any help from their punter in the first half, as Duval shanked two punts, the second one going just seven yards late in the second quarter that let the Riders get a 44-yard field goal to go up 13-3.

Riders defensive back Lance Frazier nearly had an interception on the Alouettes second possession, as he knocked a pass loose from Jamel Richardson, but that forced a second straight punt.

After forcing a second straight two-and-out to start the game, Saskatchewan took the ball with good field position and then used three Wes Cates runs to set up Luca Congi 40-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The Riders made some progress on their first drive, using as 26-yard pass to Cates and a 12-yard run by Rob Bagg to get into position for a field goal.

But Congi missed a 42-yard attempt and Larry Taylor returned it out of the endzone.

The Alouettes won the coin toss and elected to receive, but they went two-and-out after Riders linebacker Mike McCullough made a great tackle on Ben Cahoon to drop him short of a first down.

Saskatchewan town of red paper clip fame readies for movie premiere

REGINA - Actor Corbin Bernsen has learned two things: first, that Saskatchewan in February is a really cold place to make a movie, and second, that his latest film wouldn't have happened without a red paper clip and the people of a small Prairie town.

Bernsen's new movie "Rust," about a priest who undergoes a mid-life crisis of faith and returns to his hometown to heal, was shot in Kipling, Sask., a two-hour drive southeast of Regina.

"It was like shooting at the North Pole," Bernsen says with a laugh.

"It was freezing, but it created a beautiful look for the movie and exactly the feel that I wanted."

Bernsen recalls shooting one day when it was - 45 C with the windchill - his lips froze and he could barely speak.

It was "unbelievably cold" for a "southern California surfer boy," he says. But the effort will pay off Thursday when "Rust" holds its premiere in Kipling. (SCN will air the broadcast premiere of "Rust" on Dec. 5 and will re-broadcast it Boxing Day).

The story of how Bernsen ended up in Kipling not once, but twice, could itself be a movie.

Back in July 2005, blogger Kyle MacDonald used a red paper clip to set off a series of trades in his bid to get a house. The trades eventually landed MacDonald with a limited edition KISS snow globe and then Bernsen, an avid snow globe collector, offered a role in one of his movies in exchange for the snow globe.

The town took the movie role in exchange for a two-storey house given to MacDonald. Bernsen then came to town and held auditions for that role, in his movie "Donna on Demand."

But Bernsen, who is perhaps best known for his role in the hit '80s television show "L.A. Law," was also inspired to return.

"I fell in love with the town and the people there," he told The Canadian Press in a phone interview from Los Angeles. "There's a simplicity there that appealed to me and I think that's really what attracted me to the place."

The town started its own film company and raised about $250,000 after Bernsen promised to come back.

He wrote "Rust" with Kipling in mind. Bernsen's character in the film must make sense of the aftermath of a tragedy - his childhood friend has confessed to burning down a house that has taken the lives of the family within.

The film crew burned down an abandoned farmhouse. "Corner Gas" star Lorne Cardinal, who plays a police officer in "Rust," says it a cathartic moment since the farmhouse was where convicted pedophile Peter Whitmore abused two boys in the summer of 2006.

"One of the victims actually showed up for the burning of it," says Cardinal. "It was palpable energy for sure because everyone wanted to see it gone because it was a blight on Kipling. It was something that everyone knew about but didn't like to talk about."

Beyond the raw emotion, Cardinal says there was "a lot of great magic on the set happening."

Among the locals cast for the film were a mentally challenged man named Lloyd Warner in a key role. People opened up their homes as sets and local businesses donated equipment including heaters.

"I've never seen a town come alive like that before," says Cardinal. "Everybody was involved in it, everyone was doing their bit to fulfil their end and they did great. The on-camera performances were pretty great for people with no training."

Brad Kearns with Kipling Film Productions says he still can't believe it all happened, adding there's a lot of excitement in the community.

"That's a good thing, it's a good excitement," says Kearns, who also portrays the fire chief in "Rust."

"It so easy to have negative publicity on things these days ... this is a positive thing and I think people are really excited and happy. I think it's one of those 'feel good' things. It was a lot of work at the time and you pretty much have to say everybody pitched in some way or another.

"They always used to talk when I was a kid, always talked about the magic of Hollywood. Well, guess what I've seen it now and it truly is."

But Bernsen says it was the community's faith that got the job done.

"This is their movie, they did it," says Bernsen.

"I just offered the opportunity for them. Did I spearhead it? Yeah, but I offered the opportunity. Without the people it wouldn't have come together."

Bernsen would like to work in Saskatchewan again and already has a surprise in mind for Kipling. Ironically, the town where Bernsen shot his movie doesn't actually have a movie theatre and he'd like to change that.

"They used to but it burned down," he says. "That'll be one of the first things that I'm going to suggest they do for themselves and I'll help them design it."

Woods takes blame for 'embarrassing' crash

MIAMI (AFP) – Golf superstar Tiger Woods broke his silence two days after crashing his car Sunday, saying the "embarrassing" accident was his fault, and hitting out at "unfounded and malicious rumors."

In a statement posted on his website, Woods said he was solely responsible for the accident, which attracted worldwide attention and sparked speculation about his private life.

"This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," Woods said. "I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."

But Woods again declined to speak to Florida Highway Patrol troopers, who had expected to talk with him Sunday afternoon as part of their investigation into the accident.

Officers, who were turned away on both Friday and Saturday, were to meet Woods at his home and discuss how his car came to hit a fire hydrant and then a tree near his two million-dollar home in the suburbs of Orlando, Florida.

Sergeant Kim Montes, a spokeswoman from the Florda Highway Patrol, said Woods' lawyer Mark Nejame informed the patrol that Woods would not be meeting with troopers Sunday afternoon.

"It has not been rescheduled," said Montes, who said the crash remains under investigation.

Woods is not required by Florida law to make a statement to officers investigating a traffic accident. Authorities have already said alcohol wasn't a factor in the crash. Montes said that the investigators had merely wanted to give Woods an opportunity to give his version of events.

The FHP released a recording of a 911 emergency call in which a shaken neighbor of Woods tells dispatchers that a black Cadillac Escalade hit a tree.

"I have someone down in front of my house," says the caller, who is not identified and never mentions Woods by name. "I see him, he's laying down."

During the call, a woman yells out in the background "What happened?"

The neighbor responds that he has police on the line to report the accident. Not long after, the poor telephone connection is lost.

Daniel Saylor, police chief of the Orlando suburb of Windermere, has said Woods' wife, Elin, used a golf club to smash out a rear window to help him get out of his Cadillac SUV when she heard the crash from inside their home in the at 2:25 am Friday.

While Woods broke his silence with his website statement, he gave few details, calling the incident a private matter.

"Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible," he said.

Leading the speculation about the crash, the celebrity news website TMZ.com reported that a dispute between the couple was at the center of the accident.

By the website's account, Nordegren confronted her husband about tabloid reports that he was having an affair with a New York club hostess.

"The only person responsible for the accident is me," Woods said. "My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false."

Woods was treated for facial cuts and released from hospital on Friday.

An initial FHP report that Woods was in "serious" condition in hospital sparked a frantic wave of media coverage. A clutch of reporters have since been camped out near Woods's home.

"This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me," Woods said. "I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be."

Woods, a 14-time major champion, is one of the best-known athletes in the world. According to Forbes business magazine, he is the first athlete to break through the billion-dollar earnings mark.

He and his wife have been married for five years and have two children, daughter Sam Alexis, born in 2007, and son Charlie Axel, born in February.

At age 25, he became the first man to win the US Open, the British Open, the USPGA and the Masters on a roll to make him the first simultaneous holder of all four major championship titles.

Woods is scheduled to play his last tournament of 2009 next week, when he hosts the Chevron World Challenge in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks, California. The annual event benefits his charitable foundation.

Woods was scheduled to hold a news conference at the tournament on Tuesday, and that schedule had not been revised as of Saturday evening.

"New Moon" shines on record holiday box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" rose to the top of movie box office charts for the second straight week on Sunday with a three-day haul of $42.5 million on a record-breaking holiday weekend in North America, according to studio estimates.

Over the five-day U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, the vampire romance starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner took in $66 million, pushing its two-week total in theaters to $230.7 million in North America, said independent studio Summit Entertainment, which backed the movie.

Internationally, the high-profile sequel to last year's monster hit "Twilight," based on the best-selling novels by Stephenie Meyer, has taken in $243 million for a worldwide total just under $475 million in two weeks.

Richard Fay, president of domestic distribution for Summit, said the movie continued to do strong repeat business from mostly teenage girls who are fans of the movies and books, and it was able to expand its audiences to include older women.

Total movie ticket sales for the five-day holiday period in North America reached a record $278 million, beating the old figure of $244 million set back in 2000 when "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Unbreakable" were the two top films, according to sales tracker Hollywood.com Box-Office.

Coming in at No. 2, also for the second straight week, was Sandra Bullock football film "The Blind Side" with three-day sales of $40.1 million and a two-week total of $100.5 million. Disaster film "2012" rounded out the top three with $18 million in three days, boosting its three-week total to $139 million.

SEEING "BLIND"

"Blind Side," produced by Alcon Entertainment and released by Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros,, played well to all audiences. Bullock helped draw women, sports lured men and the feel-good tale about a woman played by Bullock who helps a homeless boy become a football hero attracted families.

"This is a movie that plays equally to both genders," said Andrew Kosove, co-chief executive of Alcon Entertainment. "A great deal of moviegoing is consensus driven (among families) and we were the consensus movie for the weekend."

Natural disaster flick "2012" also continued to score well. Internationally, its ticket sales now stand at $456 million, boosting its global haul to $595 million, said distributor Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp.

Among new movies, Disney comedy "Old Dogs" with John Travolta and Robin Williams was No. 4 in North America with $16.8 million on the weekend and $24 million for five days. Warner Bros' "Ninja Assassin" with Korean superstar Rain was No. 6 with $13.1 million and $21 million for the 3-day and 5-day periods, respectively.

Other noteworthy titles include Disney's "A Christmas Carol," which claimed the No. 5 spot with $16 million, pushing its North American cumulative ticket sales to $105 million.

Twentieth Century Fox expanded the release of its animated movie "Fantastic Mr. Fox," widely around the United States and it climbed to the No. 9 spot with $7 million on the weekend.

The Couch Potato Report - November 28th, 2009

This week The Couch Potato Report peels hockey, angels, demons, four Christmases, and a fight club.

Alright, I was away for the past couple of weeks, so I do have some of the biggest titles that came out in my absence coming up for you, but first, the biggest releases from this past week, in case you would like a movie to watch tonight.

And if you like big names above the marquee, big stars, well, how about two-time Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks? And four-time Nominee, and winner of the Best Director Oscar for A BEAUTIFUL MIND, Mr. Ron Howard? How about those names? They're pretty big.

Together, those men have given us the great films SPLASH and APOLLO 13, along with the very good 2006 film THE DA VINCI CODE.

And now, Ron and Tom, Tom and Ron team up again for the sequel to that latter film, yes the book is a prequel, but the film is a sequel...it is based on a Dan Brown book, so don't get caught up in the details...yes Hanks and Howard are working together again as symbologist Robert Langdon is back on screen!!

This time around, he has been asked to help solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.

Although, he isn't altogether sure why.

The genres that I would put ANGELS & DEMONS in are Mystery and Thriller, although it really isn't all that mysterious and certainly isn't thrilling.

No, I'll admit it, it isn't the worst film I have seen this year, it occasionally has a few unique flashes of brilliance.

Unfortunately, just as one is introduced, it seems to run away from the unique stuff, to get to the next plot device.

Simply put, ANGELS & DEMONS is a boring film that I didn't care for at all. The booked I liked.

I recommend the book, not the movie.

This next film I do recommend, but I say that with some reservations. I liked FUNNY PEOPLE, a lot! It will easily make my list of the year's Ten Best, but you might like it as much as I did because in it Adam Sandler plays a character named superstar comedic actor who is not always likeable.

However, the film is a comedy, so he doesn't stay unlikeable for long, especially when the story focusses on the fact that he is dying.

And yes, I did say that is is a comedy.

After he is diagnosed, he hires Canadian born actor Seth Rogen from KNOCKED UP and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS to be his assistant, and friend. Rogen is a young comedian who grew up watching the superstars films.

For me, FUNNY PEOPLE is at it's best when it features the comedians and comedic actors who populate the picture just talking. Those scenes are very entertaining and feature some very smart dialogue.

However, all the good words aside, at 2.5 hours, FUNNY PEOPLE is too long, and could have cut out the whole third act, but it made me laugh out loud, both times I've seen it, and so I recommend it.

FUNNY PEOPLE is funny.

You know, I also liked this next film, I liked FOUR CHRISTMASES a lot.

FOUR CHRISTMASES stars Vince Vaughn from WEDDING CRASHERS and SWINGERS and Reese Witherspoon from LEGALLY BLONDE and WALK THE LINE as a young couple who are planning to spend the holidays in Fiji, however they get storm stayed at home...and now they have to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day.

In addition to exposing each other to families they had not met, the visits also expose some cracks in their - previously very happy - relationship.

FOUR CHRISTMASES is very funny and at only 80 minutes long, it goes by very fast.

PLUS, in addition to Vince and Reese, the fantastic cast includes Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, country singers Dwight Yoakam and Tim McGraw, Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth from PUSHING DAISIES and more familiar and very enteratining faces.

One warning, however, this film isn't for the whole family, and there is a scene revealing the Santa secret, so be forewarned.

Also be forwarned...laughs ahead!! FOUR CHRISTMASES is a very entertaining movie!!

Okay, the final Brand New release this week is FIGHT CLUB, a movie that I love and have a lot to say about.

Oh, come on...but I have a lot to say about this 1999 film that has now debuted on Blu-ray in a spectacular 10th Anniversary Edition.

I am breaking the rules...Edward Norton and Brad Pitt star in Director David Fincher's great, very dark film about an office drone and a soap salesman who start a club to help vent male aggression.

In addition to th eability to see the film in High Definition, and it looks great by the way, the superb 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION Blu-ray for FIGHT CLUB also features some new Special Features as well.

If you have never seen thsi film, and you don't mind dark, violent movies, then you should see it.

Just don't tell anyone.

Okay, I'm moving on...let me tell you about five releases now that came out while I was away, that you might be curious about...and we'll start with CBC's Own, Mr. Don Cherry!

DON CHERRY's ROCK EM SOCK EM HOCKEY NUMBER 21 features all the best action, hits, goals, saves and bloopers from the 2008-2009 NHL season.

It also features the best of last year's Coach's Corner - a feature that you can see each and every Saturday Night during Hockey Night In Canada on CBC Television.

If you like Don Cherry and hockey then this one is a must see!

If you like comedy that is almost over the edge, but not quite....comedy that pushes the envelope as far as it can go...humour that actually makes you uncomfortable at times, then this next release is a must see for you.

The folks who gave us BORAT back in 2006 are now back with another one of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's characters from DA ALI G SHOW, folks...meet Bruno.

The film is about a flamboyant Austrian fashionista who takes his show to America, and it has some laughs.

No, BRUNO isn't as consistantly funny as BORAT, and the character's open sexuality may turn some people off, but when this film is funny, it is one of the funniest of the year.

I liked it, I laughed, and I mildly recommend it.

THE UGLY TRUTH is the next release, and the ugly truth about this romantic comedy is that it doesn't feature characters or lovers you can root for. It is a mildly enjoyable film at times, but it never seems to strive to be anything more than mediocre...and so that is all it really is.

THE UGLY TRUTH stars Katherine Heigl from GREY'S ANATOMY and Gerard Butler of 300. She is a lonely morning show producer who is forced to work with a chauvinistic correspondent to improve ratings.

He also tries to help her find love...and since it is a romantic comedy, you'll be able to see how it ends a mile away.

Like I said, it doesn't strive for much, and I'll never sit through THE UGLY TRUTH again, but I didn't mind it.

IN THE LOOP is the name of the film I have next, and this is a small British film about a US President and UK Prime Minister who want a war, but not everyone on their staffs agree that war is a good thing.

IN THE LOOP is a movie that is funny, politically in tune, very smart, interesting and full of pop culture references. I admit, I thought it would be better than it was, but it was still very good.

If you are looking for a smaller film to watch this weekend, get IN THE LOOP.

I have a cinematic classic to conclude this week's Report...that one is next. Right now G.I. JOE - THE RISE OF COBRA.

I won't pull punches here, this G.I. JOE movie is not great...in truth, it is pretty bad and some of the special effects look like they were done by rank amateurs...however, the cast tries hard, some of the effects are not bad, and even though I didn't like it and couldn't with a clear conscience tell anyone to go and see it...G.I. JOE - THE RISE OF COBRA might entertain you if you expect absolutely nothing from an action movie about an elite military unit that takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

I know I was entertained at times...G.I. JOE - THE RISE OF COBRA is okay.

Okay, so I mentioned the cinematic classic that I had to conclude this week's Report...well, here it is!

In August of 1959 a movie was released about a hapless New York advertising executive who was mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock NORTH BY NORTHWEST stars Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint and it is a classic in every sense of the word.

The new 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of NORTH BY NORTHWEST brings the film to High Definition for the first time, and includes a wealth of special features, along with a 44-page book. It is available now on Blu-ray along with the 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of the great film FIGHT CLUB.

G.I. JOE - THE RISE OF COBRA, IN THE LOOP, THE UGLY TRUTH, BRUNO, FOUR CHRISTMASES, FUNNY PEOPLE and ANGELS & DEMONS are all available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

And DON CHERRY - ROCK EM SOCK EM HOCKEY NUMBER 21 is available now only on DVD.

And don't miss Coach's Corner tonight, on CBC Television's Hockey Night In Canada!!

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

In HUMPDAY two guys take their bromance to another level, the 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION of THE ROCKET allows us to once again celebrate the great Maurice Richard.

Also next week, MY EFFORTLESS BRILLIANCE and THE LIMITS OF CONTROL.

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!

Former Doctor Who to play John Lennon

Former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston is to play John Lennon in a new BBC drama covering Lennon's life from 1967 to 1971.

Lennon Naked centres on the effect on Lennon of the death of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, and the impact of re-establishing contact with his long-lost father Freddie. It also covers the period of his life when he breaks up with first wife Cynthia Lennon and meets Yoko Ono, to be played by Naoko Mori.

The 90-minute drama is scheduled to air on BBC 4, one of four channels run by Britain's public broadcaster, next year. It is currently being filmed in London.

Eccleston starred in Danny Boyle's 1994 film Shallow Grave and served a single season in the role of Doctor Who in the BBC revival of the show in 2005. He later appeared in NBC sci-fi show Heroes and Hollywood film GI Joe: The Rise of the Cobra.

New holiday albums abound this season

From the standards to more contemporary collections, store displays are filled with new or revamped holiday-themed releases this year, including albums by Straight No Chaser and A Fine Frenzy, along with a series of various collections that feature artists like Colbie Caillat, Weezer and Collective Soul.

Here is a quick look at some of the releases, with links below to previous coverage of acts like Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Sting.

Various artists - "A Very Special Christmas Volume 7" (Universal Music Enterprises)

While recording "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," Colbie Caillat's contribution to "A Very Special Christmas Volume 7," the singer/songwriter dolled up her studio to get in the mood.

"It was really funny," Caillat said. "We were in LA. I was wearing sandals and a dress. It was hot outside. I had a Santa hat on. We had Christmas decorations everywhere."

She recorded it with her longtime producer, Ken Caillat, who doubles as her father. "We had all the same musicians that are in my band on the song. My two best friends came and did background vocals. I think the song sounds beautiful."
Set for release Nov. 23, "A Very Special Christmas Vol. 7" benefits the Special Olympics, and features original recordings of new and traditional Christmas songs that each artist selected for the album. In addition to Caillat, acts featured on the album include the Carter Twins, Charice, Miley Cyrus, Kristinia DeBarge, Gloriana, Vanessa Hudgens, Sean Kingston, Leighton Meester, Mitchel Musso, Kellie Pickler, Ashley Tisdale and Carrie Underwood.

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A Fine Frenzy "Oh, Blue Christmas" (Capitol Records)

This Target and iTunes exclusive explores the feelings that A Fine Frenzy frontwoman Alison Sudol had following a breakup earlier this year.

"The whole EP is a post-breakup Christmas album," Sudol said. "It's not like your typical sugar and spice, sugarplums record. There's a lot of melancholy going on."

The collection contains three holiday classics ("Blue Christmas," "Winter Wonderland" and "Christmas Time is Here," from "Charlie Brown Christmas") alongside three seasonal Sudol originals ("Redribbon Foxes," "Winter White" and "Wish You Well").

"It was really fun," Sudol said. "At first, it was really challenging. I actually started trying to write Christmas songs like a year or so ago as an exercise. It's different because a Christmas song, you want to get a bit of nostalgia and embody the feelings of the music, but you also don't want it to be cheesy. I wanted to focus on, 'What do I go through in the holidays? And what do I feel and what do I notice?'

"It seems to me, personally, that the things that are great during Christmastime are magnified. Like, everything is that much better. Everything is magical and spectacular. The things that are wrong or sad are just so much more wrong or sad. That's where I was just trying to approach this album. Family stuff and break-up things and sort of struggling with materialism of Christmas versus what it's supposed to be like."

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Straight No Chaser "Christmas Cheer" (ATCO/Atlantic)

"Christmas Cheer," by the a cappella group Straight No Chaser, is the companion piece to last year's "Holiday Spirits," according to member Randy Stine.

"We did an album last year that was a little more the nice, relaxing holiday music," Stine said. "Maybe you'd have it on in the background opening gifts in the morning. This album is a little bit more of the Christmas party, I'd say. It's a little more up tempo, a little more tongue-in-cheek, a little more humor involved."

Recorded in July and August, the collection features a selection of holiday-themed classics, reworked in the group's style. The compilation is led by the new single "The Christmas Can-Can" and also features a studio version of the YouTube hit "The 12 Days of Christmas." "Who Spiked The Eggnog" came about from their "goofy sense of humor," Stine said.

"I think we wanted to have something a little bit different than last year's, so we'd have two contrasting albums rather than just putting out two things back to back that could have been a double disc or something like that," Stine said. "We wanted to make sure they both had their own unique feel to them."

* * *
Various Artists "JDRF's Hope for the Holidays" (United States Distribution)

Creedence Clearwater Revisited bassist Stu Cook is flattered to share space on this album with the likes of Weezer, Collective Soul and The Beach Boys on "JDRF's Hope for the Holidays" collection, for which the band recorded Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run." The album benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

"This is something else isn't it?" Cook said. "It's a great release. Weezer's got a brand new album out. It's cool. We're on an album with these guys. The Creedence phenomena reaches across at least three generations, anyhow. To actually be on an album with a pretty mainstream band that has a much younger core audience is exciting.

"We had a fun time putting that together," Cook added, speaking about his band's rendition of "Run Rudolph Run." "It's one of Chuck Berry's classic songs and we thought we'd put our spin on it."

CCR was on tour in Ontario, Canada, in late July when it headed in the studio to record the song, which the band rehearsed for a month.

"We had two nights in the same location, so, usually, when we're in the same places for two nights, we don't do a soundcheck unless necessary on the second day," Cook said. "We took the opportunity to do a recording session. Everything was set up to play the concert that night. We went in in the afternoon and played the song a few times and recorded it live."

For more information, visit HolidayHope.net.

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Various Artists "We Wish You A Metal Xmas" (digital only EP) (Eagle Rock Entertainment)

Anvil singer/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow calls the recording process for "Frosty the Snowman," from the digital EP "We Wish You a Metal Xmas," "magical."

"While we were in the studio, I did a Jewish version, which had them rolling in their seats," said Kudlow, who is Jewish. "Man, they were dying. It was so funny."

The four-song, holiday EP, set for release on Nov. 24, also features appearances by Doro Pesch and Michael Schenker on "O Christmas Tree," Whitesnake's Doug Aldrich and DevilDriver's Dez Fafara on "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer," and Girlschool on "Auld Lang Syne," as well as other notable metal talent.

* * *
Joey+Rory "It's Christmas Time" (single) (Columbia)

Husband/wife duo Joey+Rory are offering their take on holiday traditions with their poignant single "It's Christmas Time," proceeds from which will benefit their local affiliate of Feeding America, The Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.

"It's Christmas Time" was tune written during a stay at Joey's family farmhouse in Indiana.

"Just sitting in the house where Joey grew up made me think about all the Christmases she spent there," Rory explained. "All the trees they picked out and decorated, all the gifts wrapped while the kids tried to sneak downstairs, all the Christmas dinners cooked and the last-minute guests who showed up at their door. I woke up early in the morning before anyone else, pulled out my guitar and wrote the song with all that in mind." The single was produced by bluegrass legend Carl Jackson, who also produced the duo's debut album.

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More New Holiday Releases:
Tori Amos, "Midwinter Graces" (Universal Republic)
David Archuleta, "Christmas From the Heart" (Jive)
David Arkenstone, "Christmas Lounge" (Green Hill)
David Bazan, "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" (Suicide Squeeze Records)
The Beach Boys, "Christmas Harmonies" (Capitol)
Blackmore's Night, "Winter Carols" (MVD Entertainment Group)
Andrea Bocelli, "My Christmas" (Philips)
The Boxmasters, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" (single) (Vanguard Records)
Ray Charles, "The Spirit of Christmas" (Concord)
Alexis Cole, "The Greatest Gift: Songs of the Season" (Motema Music)
Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song" (Capitol)
Charlie Daniels Band, "Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas" (E1 Entertainment)
Neil Diamond, "Cherry, Cherry Christmas" (Columbia)
Jerry Douglas, "Jerry Christmas!" (E1 Music)
Bob Dylan, "Christmas in the Heart" (Columbia)
Orla Fallon, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (single) (Elevation)
Family Force 5, "The Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant" (Transparent Media Group/EMI)
The Front Porch Country Band, "Christmas Once Upon a Time" (USAgency Entertainment)
Lee Greenwood, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (Ronnie Gilley Entertainment)
Rob Halford, "Halford III--Winter Songs" (Metal God)
The Hives and Cyndi Lauper, "A Christmas Duel" (No Fun AB)
House of Heroes, "House of Heroes Presents Christmas Classics" (Gotee)
Barry Manilow, "In The Swing of Christmas" (Arista)
Olivia Newton-John, "Christmas Wish" (EMI Canada)
The Mama Doni Band, "Chanukah Fever" (Mama Doni Productions)
Glenn Mohr Chorale, "A Star Still Shines" (Spencertown Records)
Kermit Ruffins, "Have a Crazy Cool Christmas" (Basin Street Records)
REO Speedwagon, "Not So Silent Night" (Sony Music Entertainment)
Frank Sinatra and Friends, "Christmas With Sinatra and Friends" (Concord)
Soundtrack, "A Christmas Story: Music From the Motion Picture" (TCM Music/Rhino)
Soundtrack, "Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas" (Denon Records)
Ronnie Spector, "It's Christmas Once Again" (single) (Bad Girls Sounds / RED)
Carolyn Stills, "George Bailey" (single) (Avatar Records)
Sting, "If On a Winter's Night" (Deutsche Grammophon)
Sugarland, "Gold and Green" (Mercury Records)
Connie Talbot, "Holiday Magic" (AAO Music/Reality)
The Song Trust, "Merry Kidsmas" (Giantslayer Records/S1 Songs/Welk Music Group)
Various artists, "A Blackheart Christmas" (Available on vinyl for the first time)
(Blackheart Records)
Various artists, "A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector" (remastered) (Legacy)
Various artists, "A Hollywood Christmas" (Time Life)
Various artists, "Gift Wrapped: 20 Songs That Keep On Giving" (Warner Bros.)
Various artists, "Now That's What I Call A Country Christmas" (Legacy)
Various artists, "Time Life's Treasury of Christmas: Traditions" (Time Life)
Various artists, "Voices: A Gospel Choir Christmas" (Time Life)

"District 9" no alien to Oscar buzz

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – In a year full of surprise hits without stars, "District 9" stands out as an even more unlikely box office champion than the crowd-pleasing comedy "The Hangover" or the supernatural thriller "Paranormal Activity."

The low budget production (it cost an estimated $30 million) with a cast of unknowns directed by another unknown (Neill Blomkamp) bucked conventional Hollywood wisdom by proudly wearing its message on its alien sleeve and slyly combining an apartheid allegory with a good dose of action.

The result? "District 9," which boasted the guiding hand of "Lord of the Rings"' Peter Jackson as producer, cleaned up at the box office, raking in over $200 million globally.

Even more impressively, the film, featuring a non-actor -- South African Sharlto Copley -- in the lead, also became one of best-reviewed releases of the year.

"That was the real surprise, the great critical reception we got," Copley, 35, told Reuters. "I'd anticipated that people would find all kinds of holes (in the plot) and problems with my performance, but I think critics overlooked a lot of things simply because it's such a fresh film."

"District 9" combines familiar commercial elements like aliens and violence with a new setting, some sharp political subtext and a character - Copley's nerdy bureaucrat Wikus -- that is unexpected in a genre piece.

Copley plays a South African official in charge of relocating some 2 million extra-terrestrials from a shanty town in Johannesburg but who ends up being hunted by his own employers.

"I made the film for me, which is the only way I think you can make a film as a director," said Johannesburg-born Blomkamp. "It's the only yardstick you have, and I thought it would appeal to a small core of diehard sci-fi fans, so all the mainstream critical praise just caught me off guard."

OSCAR CHANCES

So what chance does "District 9" have of breaking through at this year's Oscars now that the best picture category has been increased from 5 to 10 nominees?

"Everyone is very curious as to how it's going to play out," said Leonard Maltin, film critic for the TV show "Entertainment Tonight".

"It's one of the best-reviewed films of the year, and for good reason. It's one of the most original films of this, or any, year, and I think it's worthy."

Historically, the Oscars have recognized fantasy and science fiction genre films in every category but the big one, Maltin said. "So maybe this is the year."

Blomkamp, 30, said he would be shocked if it got a best picture Oscar nomination "but I think Sharlto deserves a (best actor) nomination, though I don't know how realistic that is."

Whatever happens at awards time, Copley and Blomkamp are already being wooed by Hollywood.

"My career's changed overnight," admits Copley who's currently shooting "The A-Team," a hard-core action version of the campy 1980s TV show that co-stars Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper.

"It was my favorite show as a kid, and now I'm playing Murdock, so it's a dream come true. And it all happened because of "District 9." One of the producers saw it and then went after me for the role."

But while Copley is happily meeting directors, studio executives and weighing up 20 new scripts, Blomkamp sounds more reserved.

"I'm a bit more of an anomaly. 'District 9's success has allowed me to go back to what I really want to do, which is to be in a powerful creative position where I can't be messed with too much," he said.

"But I'm not Peter Jackson or Jim Cameron, so I can't be at that level of creativity with a $200 million budget -- but I can certainly have it with a budget even slightly higher than "District 9", and that's my goal."

Blomkamp has already signed on to do his next film - "another sci-fi idea which is very much mine, and which I'm busy writing, and which I can keep control over," he adds.

"So Hollywood has come knocking, but I'm not opening the door the whole way."

Police chief: Woods' wife helped after accident

Tiger Woods was injured in a car accident early Friday outside his Florida mansion, and a local police chief said his wife used a golf club to smash out the back window and help get the world's No. 1 golfer out of the SUV.

Woods was treated and released from a hospital in good condition, his spokesman said. The Florida Highway Patrol said Woods' vehicle hit a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor's yard as he pulled out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m.

Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor told The Associated Press that officers found the 33-year-old PGA star laying in the street with his wife, Elin, hovering over him.

She told officers she was in the house when she heard the accident and "came out and broke the back window with a golf club."

Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips, and he had blood in his mouth, Saylor said.

The chief said Woods was in and out of consciousness when his two officers arrived. He said the officers held Woods to the ground and "when he woke up, he tried to get up and lost consciousness."

He said officers treated Woods for 10 minutes until an ambulance arrived.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Woods was alone in his 2009 Cadillac when he pulled out of his driveway from his mansion at Isleworth, a gated waterfront community just outside Orlando.

The patrol reported Woods' injuries as serious, although Woods spokesman Glenn Greenspan issued a statement that Woods was treated and released.

The patrol said alcohol was not involved, although the accident remains under investigation and charges could be filed.

Left unanswered was where Woods was going at that hour. Greenspan and agent Mark Steinberg said there would be no comment beyond the short statement of the accident on Woods' Web site.

Woods, coming off a two-week trip to China and Australia earlier this month, is host of the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which starts Thursday. He is scheduled to have his press conference Tuesday afternoon at Sherwood Country Club. Steinberg said he did not know if Woods planned to play next week.

The accident report was not released until nearly 12 hours after Woods was injured. Patrol spokesman Kim Montes said the accident did not meet the criteria of a serious crash, and the FHP only put out a press release because of inquiries from local media.

Montes said the patrol reports injuries as serious if they require more than minor medical attention.

Air bags in the SUV did not deploy.

Investigators still have not had a chance to speak to Woods, but when they do, "we will ask him everything," Montes said. "We just haven't had a chance to do so because he was being medically treated."

Montes said charges could be filed if there was a clear traffic violation, although troopers still do not know what caused Woods' SUV to hit the hydrant and the tree.

Woods' $2.4 million home is part of an exclusive subdivision near Orlando, a community set on an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course and a chain of small lakes. The neighborhood, which is fortified with high brick walls and has its own security force, is home to CEOs and other sports stars such as the NBA's Shaquille O'Neal.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that an orange and white barricade sat on top of a hole in front of Woods' home. About 10 feet away, there was a tire track near an oak tree in his neighbor's yard. The tree had a few scuff marks but was largely unscathed.

Woods, who has won 82 times around the world and 14 majors, attended the Stanford-Cal football game last Saturday, where he tossed the coin at the start of the game and was inducted into Stanford's sports Hall of Fame at halftime.

He won six times this year after missing eight months recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Even though he failed to win a major, Woods said he considered this a successful year because he did not know how his knee would respond.

No more ‘Spectacle’ for Costello

Rocker Elvis Costello is to end his run as a chat show host after just two seasons because his "side project" takes up too much of his time.

The Brit fronts music and interview show Spectacle and the second season of the critically-acclaimed series is just about to begin in America with chats and performances from Bono and Bruce Springsteen, among others.

And no matter how successful the show is, Costello insists he won't be back for a third series.

He says, "I wasn't looking for a career in TV. It's something I did as a side project from my real career."

Top 10 movie flops of the decade

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Movie flops aren't just about losing money. Yes, big budgets that go bust are one consideration. But flops are also about lofty expectations dashed and high profiles brought low. They trigger embarrassing catcalls from the peanut gallery and a general whoever-thought-that-was-a-good-idea-in-the-first-place bewilderment.

Any judgments of flopitude are necessarily subjective, but here are 10 movies from the past decade that made those few moviegoers who saw them cringe. Disagree? Talk among yourselves.

10. THE SPIRIT
* Release date: December 25, 2008
* Estimated cost: $60 million
* Domestic gross: $19.8 million
Frank Miller, the man who created the comics "300" and "Sin City," and who redefined Batman and Daredevil for the modern age, directed this adaptation of Will Eisner's comic-strip hero. Starring Samuel L. Jackson and a bevy of beauties, it may have looked good on the page. But onscreen, the heavily stylized, nearly black-and-white results were disastrous. The expensive movie was killed by comic fans, who wanted Miller to go back to comics, and critics, who trashed the movie's over-the-top tones and aesthetics. Consequently, the partners at the company behind the production, Odd Lot Entertainment, parted ways after 23 years together. It even killed plans for a Miller-directed version of "Buck Rogers."

9. GRINDHOUSE
* Release date: April 6, 2007
* Estimated cost: $67 million
* Domestic gross: $25 million
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez managed to turn twice the filmmaking firepower into half the box office (and a third of the critical praise). With "Grindhouse," what began as an explicit exercise in joyous B-movie cinema homage -- a double bill of '70s-style schlock, one film from each director -- ended up aping its scuzzy genre ancestors a little too closely in the receipts department. After the three-hour-plus "Grindhouse" opened to a mere $11.6 million, Harvey Weinstein split the film's two parts -- "Death Proof" and "Planet Terror" -- and shuttled them to international markets individually. While that recouped a little of the Weinstein Co.'s money, it incurred the wrath of purists who were angry that the original film had been corrupted. Tarantino and Weinstein are famously loyal to each other, and while the writer-director eventually made good on the losses with the $120 million-grossing "Inglourious Basterds" this year, "Grindhouse" was one instance where loyalty nearly brought down the house.

8. ROLLERBALL
* Release date: February 8, 2002
* Estimated cost: $70 million
* Domestic gross: $19 million
Norman Jewison's 1975 comment on violence, corporatism and spectacle has its place in the paranoid '70s-era cult film pantheon. John McTiernan's remake, on the other hand, would be totally forgettable if it weren't so spectacularly misconceived in every way. The cast -- Jean Reno, Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos -- was a C-list mishmash closer to reality TV than big-budget studio moviemaking. McTiernan had long since dented his box-office bona fides with "Last Action Hero" and "The 13th Warrior." And the studio releasing it -- MGM -- was so aware of its bomb-worthiness that it pushed the release back four times, out of the summer 2001 field and into the barren wasteland of February. In a last act of desperation, the movie was also re-edited from an R to a PG-13 rating, sabotaging any last chance it had at an audience. Ultimately, it pretty much wrecked McTiernan's career (he has directed only one film since).

7. THE INVASION
* Release date: August 17, 2007
* Estimated cost: $80 million
* Domestic gross: $15.1 million
Nicole Kidman couldn't have started the decade any hotter, scoring with "Moulin Rouge," "The Others" and "The Hours." But after 2002, her career went cold in the U.S. ("Stepford Wives," "Bewitched," "Australia" and "The Golden Compass"); it's as if the actress was abducted by some sort of soul-draining body snatcher. But wait, isn't that what she's fighting in "The Invasion," Hollywood's latest remake of the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"? This time around, the eerie premise, based on a novel by Jack Finney, failed to catch fire. The Wachowski brothers' second unit director, James McTeigue, was called in to shoot additional scenes written by the "Matrix" whiz kids after original director Oliver Hirschbiegel was sent packing, having filmed the bulk of the movie. In an omen of things to come, Kidman suffered an on-set fender-bender during the reshoots. When the film arrived in theaters more than a year late, Kidman's regal bearing took another dent.

6. CATWOMAN
* Release date: July 23, 2004
* Estimated cost: $100 million
* Domestic gross: $40 million
It was inevitable after Michelle Pfeiffer stole scenes as Catwoman in "Batman Returns" that her black-latexed anti-heroine would get a spinoff of her own. But when the inevitable occurred in 2004, this time with Halle Berry playing the character, audiences tried hard to cover up the kitty litter. No one involved with the movie came out unscathed. Not Berry, who just two years earlier had won an Oscar for "Monster's Ball"; not Sharon Stone, who chewed up the scenery as the movie's villainess; and not Pitof, the French filmmaker making his American directorial debut. He went back to his native land and hasn't directed a theatrical feature since. The movie is another example cited by studios in their long-held contention that female superhero movies just don't work.

5. TOWN & COUNTRY
* Release date: April 27, 2001
* Estimated cost: $90 million
* Domestic gross: $6.7 million
Twenty-five years after he seduced audiences in "Shampoo," Warren Beatty decided the time was ripe for another sex comedy, albeit one with a somewhat older circle of friends. He somehow persuaded New Line, which usually concentrated on the youth market, to foot the bill. And what a bill it was: With the script still furiously going through rewrites, Peter Chelsom began shooting in June 1998; 10 months and take after take after take later, the film was still shooting. That's when co-stars like Diane Keaton and Gary Shandling had to leave to fulfill other commitments. A full year later, the whole cast regrouped to finish the shoot, which had escalated to more than twice its original $44 million price tag. The completed film was actually something of a tepid affair. Beatty dithers as a New York architect who cheats on his wife with several women; Shandling's his best pal trying to come out as gay. And then there's Charlton Heston, playing against type, as a gun nut.

4. GIGLI
* Release date: August 1, 2003
* Estimated cost: $54 million
* Domestic gross: $6.1 million
If the course of true love rarely runs smoothly, then "Gigli" is an object lesson in how rocky it can get. As the new century dawned, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez -- tabloid code name: Bennifer -- were the couple of the moment. With an Oscar for writing "Good Will Hunting" and starring roles in "Pearl Harbor" and "The Sum of All Fears," his movie career was in high gear; she could boast a solid-gold music resume and rom-com appeal in movies like "The Wedding Planner" and "Maid in Manhattan." Onscreen romantic sparks seemed made to order. So what went wrong? Start with that title, "Gigli," that no one was sure how to pronounce. Add lots of lovey-dovey media appearances that erased a bit of their mystique. And then there was Martin Brest's film itself: a low-rent-mobster-boy-meets-enforcer-chick tale complete with a kidnapping, severed thumbs and Al Pacino in high dudgeon. Bennifer split in 2004, just before sharing the bill in another film not too far away on the flop-o-meter, "Jersey Girl."

3. LAND OF THE LOST
* Release date: June 5, 2009
* Estimated cost: $100 million
* Domestic gross: $65 million
Producer/puppeteers Sid and Marty Kroft were masters of the weird and cheesy; their old Saturday morning TV show, "Land of the Lost," is remembered fondly by kids who grew up in the '70s. But the material experienced something of a time warp when director Brad Silbering tried to give it a hipster spin this summer with the help of Will Ferrell, playing a paleontologist who journeys to a parallel universe where he meets the Sleestaks. Normally, any movie with a rampaging Tyrannosaurus (see "Journey to the Center of the Earth," "Night at the Museum") can't miss, but "Lost" was, well, lost in translation. The movie's PG-13 rating wasn't a comfort to many families when word got around of its toilet humor. Older moviegoers weren't interested, and Kroft purists weren't amused. Over the years, Disney and Sony had both held remake rights, but ultimately this hot potato landed at Universal, where it was one of the factors that resulted in the ouster of the studio's two top executives in October.

2. BATTLEFIELD EARTH
* Release date: May 12, 2000
* Estimated cost: $75 million
* Domestic gross: $21 million
Blame it on the Thetans if you want, but John Travolta's space oddity "Battlefield Earth" virtually imploded on the launching pad. Travolta's career was enjoying a resurgence in the wake of "Pulp Fiction" when he wagered a big chunk of his newfound credibility, as well as some of his own coin, on this passion project. "Battlefield Earth" was based on a 1972 sci-fi novel by Scientology guru L. Ron Hubbard, which Travolta promised would be "like 'Star Wars,' only better." Studios shied away, but Travolta found financing from Franchise Pictures, which would later be sued by investors for overstating the movie's costs as $100 million. Originally, Travolta hoped to play the young hero who leads a rebellion against the alien race that enslaves Earth, but the film took so long to assemble he ultimately opted instead to don dreadlocks and platform shoes to play the villain, barking lines like "Execute all man-animals at will, and happy hunting!" A planned sequel, which would have covered the second half of the novel, never materialized. "Some movies run off the rails," observed Roger Ebert. "This one is like the train crash in 'The Fugitive.'"

1. THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH
* Release date: August 6, 2002
* Estimated cost: $100 million
* Domestic gross: $4.4 million
Eddie Murphy is some kind of miracle. Five of his recent films lost more than $250 million, and yet he not only still gets hired but also commands his salary quote. But on the flop-o-meter, one Murphy title towers above even "Meet Dave," "Showtime" and "I Spy": Trumpets, please, for "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," whose release was delayed for 14 months. It instantly became the "Cleopatra" of our age. A sci-fi gangster comedy, complete with robot sidekick, set on the moon, "Pluto" was neither fish nor fowl -- but mostly foul. But unlike most stars who are tarnished by a mega-flop, Murphy -- who did take time off from broad comedies to redeem himself with his Oscar-nominated turn in "Dreamgirls" -- just keeps going and going and going.

Steven Tyler quits Aerosmith, guitarist says

The rock band Aerosmith may really be living on the edge, as reports surface that lead singer Steven Tyler has left the band.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry tells the Las Vegas Sun, "Steven quit, as far as I can tell."

Frontman Tyler apparently told classicrockmagazine.com that he's moving beyond the band, stating that he's going to be "working on the brand of myself, brand Tyler."

The Boston Herald reported there may be tension between Tyler and the group because the lead singer, who's been in and out of rehab throughout his career, has fallen off the wagon – making it difficult for Aerosmith to get insurance for future tour dates.

Carrey's 'Christmas Carol' wraps up $31M weekend

LOS ANGELES – Jim Carrey's Scrooge collected holiday donations from movie fans with his new take on "A Christmas Carol," which took in $31 million to open as the weekend's top movie.

The Disney animated version of the Charles Dickens classic knocked the King of Pop out of the No. 1 spot as "Michael Jackson's This Is It" slipped to second place with $14 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Sony's "This Is It," presenting rehearsal performances Jackson shot before his death last June, raised its domestic total to $57.9 million. Worldwide, "This Is It" has taken in $186.5 million.

Featuring Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge and also as the three holiday ghosts that show Scrooge the error of his miserly ways, "A Christmas Carol" came in on the low end of Disney's expectations for opening weekend.

On the other end of the spectrum, Lionsgate's acclaimed drama "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" had a spectacular start, pulling in $1.8 million in just 18 theaters, averaging $100,000 a cinema. That compares with an $8,418 average for "A Christmas Carol" in 3,683 theaters.

"Precious" had a record average for films opening in 10 or more theaters. Others that have averaged $100,000 or more typically debut in only a few cinemas.

The weekend brought a rush of other new movies, led by George Clooney's comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats," which finished at No. 3 with $13.3 million. The Overture Films release is a satiric look at U.S. military efforts to create "warrior monks" who can predict the future or walk through walls.

Debuting in fourth place with $12.5 million was Universal's "The Fourth Kind," starring Milla Jovovich as a psychologist studying alien abductions in Alaska.

Cameron Diaz and James Marsden's sci-fi tale "The Box" opened at No. 6 with $7.9 million. The Warner Bros. thriller centers on a couple given a mysterious box that can provide them $1 million, but at the cost of a stranger's life.

With nearly two months of playing time through the holidays, Disney is counting on steady business for "A Christmas Carol," particularly over Thanksgiving weekend and in the buildup to Christmas itself.

"You have to play these things for the long term," said Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution. "You've got to have the patience and you've got to pick the right weekend. For us, the days when the malls turned to Christmas stores is when we wanted to go."

Director Robert Zemeckis shot the movie using the same performance-capture technology used on his 2004 holiday offering "The Polar Express." Carrey and his co-stars acted on a bare soundstage as digital cameras caught their performances, with computer animators later adding costumes, sets, props and other effects.

"A Christmas Carol" came in ahead of "Polar Express," which had an opening weekend of $23.5 million. But it fell well short of the $55.1 million opening for Carrey's previous holiday tale, "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" in 2000.

Holiday-themed films tend to hold up well through the season, among them Disney's "The Santa Clause" comedies. After its modest start, "The Polar Express" went on to become a $160 million hit by the end of its run and has become a holiday perennial in rereleases in huge-screen IMAX theaters.

"A Christmas Carol" did three-fourths of its business in theaters showing 3-D versions. Huge-screen IMAX theaters, which represented only 5 percent of the theater count, accounted for $4.5 million, or 14.5 percent, of the movie's total gross, said Greg Foster, IMAX chairman and president.

"Precious," which won the top awards at last January's Sundance Film Festival, stars newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as a Harlem teen who gradually rises above an upbringing of incest, abuse and illiteracy.

After Sundance, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry signed on as executive producers, helping to spread the word on "Precious," which has earned acclaim from critics and audiences at other film festivals. The film has Academy Awards buzz as a best-picture contender, along with Oscar prospects for Sidibe, co-star Mo'Nique and director Lee Daniels.

The movie started in only four cities — New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago. Lionsgate plans to expand it this Friday to five more — Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Dallas and Houston, then take it into wide release Nov. 20.

"A lot of movie-goers are not happy with the release plan right now, because it's not in their cities yet," said David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate. "That's always a good sign."

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. "A Christmas Carol," $31 million.
2. "Michael Jackson's This Is It," $14 million.
3. "The Men Who Stare at Goats," $13.3 million.
4. "The Fourth Kind," $12.5 million.
5. "Paranormal Activity," $8.6 million.
6. "The Box," $7.9 million.
7. "Couples Retreat," $6.4 million.
8. "Law Abiding Citizen," $6.2 million.
9. "Where the Wild Things Are," $4.2 million.
10. "Astro Boy," $2.6 million

Sony offers `Cloudy' early to people with its TVs

In a bid to sell living room electronics and spur buzz for "Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs," Sony Corp. is offering the movie for free to U.S. buyers of its Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players starting Monday.

People who buy that equipment will be able to watch the movie in any 24-hour window from Dec. 8 until it is released on DVD and Blu-ray disc on Jan. 5.

Sony's move highlights the way that movies are increasingly becoming available on TVs that connect directly to the Internet as the entertainment industry strives to come up with new business models.

Amazon.com Inc. and Blockbuster Inc. offer movies for rental or purchase on certain Internet-connected TVs, while Netflix Inc. will make its streaming catalog available to its subscribers with Sony Bravia TVs.

Those services, however, don't provide the early-release jump Sony is trying with "Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs," which comes from the Sony Pictures movie studio.

"What we're doing is game-changing for TV," said Robert Jacobs, senior business development manager for Sony Electronics Inc.

Existing owners of Internet-connected Bravia TVs will have to pay $24.95 for the early rental, which will stream in 720p — a lower resolution than full high-definition 1080p on Blu-ray discs. Viewers will be able to fast-forward, rewind and pause but not record the movie.

Last year, Sony streamed "Hancock" to Bravia TV owners for two weeks before its home video release. The promotion created a "halo effect" helping electronics sales and the movie's DVD purchases and rentals, Jacobs said.

For now Sony's focus is on TVs and Blu-ray players, although the early home-release window eventually could come to owners of PlayStation 3 video game consoles, he said.

The Couch Potato Report - November 7th, 2009

This week The Couch Potato Report peels Canada, from above and beyond,
the botany of desire and the great SAY ANYTHING.

I have some great stuff to talk about this week, and I'll get to that,
up first is a series that was produced by CBC that I thought would be
spectacular.

It's okay, it's not bad, but I thought it would be spectacular!!

The series is CANADA - ABOVE AND BEYOND

CBC and Radio-Canada produced this four-part documentary series to
commemorate the centenary of flight in Canada and it focusses on how
Canadian aviation has transformed the country and linked its citizens
over the years.

CANADA - ABOVE AND BEYOND features some spectacular footage and lots of
interesting stories, however I was expecting a chronological documentary
on where and how flight started in Canada, and where it is today, and
where its going, with a comprehensive look at our highs and lows.

And there is some of that, but the series is primarily about the people
who use, need and fly planes, and isn't really about the planes
themselves.

I love planes, flying and aviation, so I enjoyed a lot of this series,
but in the end - and I hate to bite the hand that feeds me - this series
is just okay. It could have been a lot better, but it isn't.

I would only recommend this to people who love aviation, but go in
knowing it is not great.

Oh, and yes...it does feature The Snowbirds!!

Like I said, CANADA - ABOVE AND BEYOND is okay, it's not bad, it's just
okay

Paul Gross movie PASSCHENDAELE is bad. As I said back in February when
it first came out on DVD: "It can serve as a great history lesson to
every Canadian...and for that reason it is very worthy of your
time...but as a film...this is such a missed opportunity."

The actual Battle of Passchendaele - or Third Battle of Ypres - was one
of the major battles of World War I. It was a series of operations
starting in June 1917 and petering out in November 1917 in which troops
under British command attacked the Imperial German Army.

The battle was fought for control of the village of Passchendaele near
the town of Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.

The film PASSCHENDAELE was written, produced, directed by and stars
Paul Gross, and - just in time for Remebrance Day on Wednesday - there
is a new 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION of his mediocre film.

The reason I highly recommend this release is not that because it
features a better version of the film, but because of the very
interesting footage of the actual Passchendaele, and the Canadian troops
who fought in the war, that is contained on the second disc in a
documentary called FRONT LINES.

Paul Gross provides some of the narration over this historical footage,
and he is good at it, I actually like Paul Gross and his work, just not
the film he made called PASSCHENDAELE - 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION.

However, as I have been saying since it first debuted in our theatres a
year ago, PASSCHENDAELE is about a piece of Canadian history that we
should all know, so while the film is not a MUST SEE, it is a SHOULD
SEE...especially now with the extra features in the 2 DISC SPECIAL
EDITION.

Lest we forget.

Switching gears now, THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of Michael J. Fox's 1996
to 2002 televisions series SPIN CITY is now available on DVD.

This is the show about the Mayor of New York City and his staff and in
this season Fox dated Heidi Klum for a while, and there was a BACK TO
THE FUTURE reunion, of sorts, as Christopher Lloyd guest starred in an
episode.

I love SPIN CITY, so I enjoyed THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON as well!

From one fictional New York Mayor to another now. Barry Bostwick plays
the mayor in SPIN CITY and James Gandolfini from THE SPORANOS plays his
honour in the remake of the 1974 heist film THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1,2,3.

John Travolta and Denzel Washington also star in this movie about armed
men who hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers
hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for
dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the man behind the crime.

I love the original version of THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1,2,3, and I must
admit that I like the remake too! There is lots of action, suspence and
drama, and a great cast.

Plus, the DVD and blu-ray both feature some great special features.

This is a very good film, and it makes a great rental!

The films of John Highes will always be great rentals...I will
recommend movies like Uncle Buck (1989), She's Having a Baby (1988),
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986),
The Breakfast Club (1985), Sixteen Candles (1984) for as long I am
talking about movies.

Sadly, John Hughes died on August 6th, and even though he hadn't
directed a movie since 1991, his loss was felt by many people who
watched and loved movies, including me.

At the time of his death, a small Canadian documentary about four
filmmakers who went searching for Hughes, to find out why he stopped
making movies, was looking for a distributor.

After his death, they found one, and their movie is now available on
DVD. Named after the Simple Minds song from THE BREAKFAST CLUB, it is
called DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME.

DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME features interviews with filmmakers Kevin
Smith and Jason Reitman and some of Hughes' collaborators and cast
members like Ally Sheedy, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Kelly LeBrock,
Alan Ruck and Mia Sara, and that part of the film is great!

Hearing these people who knew and worked with him talk about the man is
fascinating!!

Where this movie fails, is when it spends too much time with the four
filmmakers as they search for Hughes.

Their movie is meant to be about their trip to find John Hughes, and I
get that but in the aftermath of his death, their story is not the most
interesting one, the story of John Hughes is.

DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME is not an awful movie, and I can easily
recommend it to anyone who is also a fan of John Hughes, but you will
foget about it as soon as it is over.

However, John Hughes...you will never be forgotten...may you rest in
peace!!

I have two documentaries primarily about food for you now, FOOD, INC.
paints an unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food
industry, and while it is interesting and insightful, it doesn't offer
anything else that we haven't seen in the dozens of other food
documentaries that are out there.

FOOD, INC. made me think, and I enjoyed it, but it is just more of the
same warnings and fear mongering about big corporations.

THE BOTANY OF DESIRE, now this is a documentary that entertained me and
engaged me. This is one I can highly recommend!!

THE BOTANY OF DESIRE examines the effect that apples, the tulip,
marijuana and the potato has had on human civilization, and vice versa.

Each one has it's story told in a half-hour segment, and I enjoyed it all!

THE BOTANY OF DESIRE could easily have been longer and each one of the
items has so much of a story to tell, but at two hours, it is still very
good. I really liked it!!

From documentaries, we head off to high school now with a modern day
release that will soon be forgotten, and one that is twenty years old
and going strong.

Hayden Panettiere from HEROES toplines I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER. She is
the hottest and most popular girl in school who gets a surprise on
graduation day when the class valedictorian makes his speech.

Much to the valedictorian's surprise, as is wont to happen in films
like this, Beth shows up at his party and shows him the best night of
his life.

Unfortunately, no one is likely to think of the time they spend
watching the movie as the best of anything. The filmmakers think they
have given us a unique twist on the high school outcast gets the girl
story...but they haven't.

I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER is mildly entertaining, but instantly
forgettable.

Now, if you want to see a high school movie about an outcast who gets
the girl done right, I have two words for you - SAY ANYTHING.

This movie was released in April of 1989, and it remains one of my all
time favourites!

John Cusak, Ione Sky and John Mahoney star in what was the directorial
debut of Cameron Crowe, and they all offer their thoughts on it in the
new 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION Blu-ray.

SAY ANYTHING is a spectacular movie, and if you have never seen it, it
is populated by charaters that seem like real people, not movie people
and it is both touching and funny.

I highly recommend it, and I have been doing that for twenty years now!
Here's to twenty more!!

Yo, hey, I also highly recommend this next release, just not all of the
films inside of it.

This week the BLU RAY BEACON shines it's light on the seven disc set
for ROCKY - THE UNDISPUTED COLLECTION

From the Academy Award winning Best Picture of 1976 ROCKY through the
2006 Sylvester Stallone comeback film ROCKY BALBOA, this set has them
all...yes, even ROCKY V.

I love all of these films...yes, even ROCKY V...and this set is a great
collection of them all, and it comes with a Bonus Disc full of a wealth
of special features.

In my house, this is a must have!!

Two other must have films will both be in stores on Tuesday, and both
of them are from the great minds at PIXAR. I thought I would mention
them for you this morning, as I will be away for the next couple of
weeks.

Pixar's 2001 film MONSTERS INC is new to Blu-ray, and their latest
movie - UP - debuts on Blu-ray and DVD.

MONSTERS INC. is about monsters who generate their city's power by
scaring children, but are actually afraid of them, until they get to
know a girl named Boo.

UP is about 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen who ties thousands of balloons
to his home, and sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds
of South America.

Along the way, he finds a young boy who is a stow-away, and he meets a
wide array of people and animals, namely a dog named Dug.

MONSTERS, INC and UP are both perfect films for the whole family, and
they will both be available on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday.

The 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of the spectacular film SAY ANYTHING, the
forgettable I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER, the documentaries THE BOTANY OF
DESIRE and FOOD, INC., the enjoyable remake of THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123,
and the 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION of the movie PASSCHENDAELE are all
available on Blu-ray and DVD right now.

DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME, THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of Michael J.
Fox's SPIN CITY, and CANADA - ABOVE AND BEYOND are all available now
only on DVD.

Coming up, in three weeks, on the next Couch Potato Report

Tom Hanks stars in - and runs from - ANGELS AND DEMONS, Adam Sandler
toplines Judd Apatow's FUNNY PEOPLE, Vince Vaughan and Reese Witherspoon
take part in FOUR CHRISTMASES, there is the 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of
Alfred Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST...and then there is BRUNO, from
the folks who brought us BORAT.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in
twenty-one 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!

'Late Show' bandleader Paul Shaffer says he'll visit pal Phil Spector in prison

TORONTO - "Late Show" bandleader Paul Shaffer says his friendship with convicted murderer Phil Spector has not wavered in the wake of the music producer's incarceration.

The late-night TV sidekick said Friday that he even plans to visit Spector in prison as soon as he gets the chance, noting they've been friends for 20 years.

"We went out to hear jazz together and I got to be in the recording studio with him watching him work," Shaffer said during a brief stop in Toronto to promote his recently released memoir, "We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives."

"I think of all the things that I've gotten to do, all the wonderful people that I've played with, being in the recording studio with Phil Spector tops them all. And of course now he is in prison. I hope to visit him, I still consider him a friend and what can you say? A terrible way for a guy like that to be remembered. He is a great artist, still."

Shaffer said he hasn't spoken with Spector since before the songwriter was charged in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. Spector was convicted earlier this year and is serving 19 years to life in a California prison.

Still, Shaffer says he considers himself "a loyal friend."

"When he and I were hanging out he was a great friend and a great supporter of mine and came to my aid in a number of places that I can remember," said Shaffer, who is originally from Thunder Bay, Ont.

Spector's musical influence on Shaffer is one of the many anecdotes included in the light-hearted book, which steers clear of divulging any dirt or touching on well-publicized celebrity scandals.

The memoir includes stories from Shaffer's days at "Saturday Night Live" providing the musical backdrop for comics including Gilda Radner and John Belushi, his longtime friendship with fellow Canucks Martin Short and Eugene Levy, and backstage encounters with musical legends including Bob Dylan and Ray Charles.

It also delves into his early days as bandleader of NBC's "Late Night with David Letterman," and later on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman."

On Friday, Shaffer steered clear of commenting on any of the recent controversy surrounding Letterman, who admitted to sexual relations with female staffers on the CBS talk show.

Shaffer said he's been told that he cannot speak about it while legal proceedings are underway.

Portman picky about nude scenes

Natalie Portman always thinks twice before agreeing to strip off on film - because she fears her naked image will end up on pornography websites.

The actress admits she struggled with the decision to appear nude at the start of her career, and even asked filmmakers to rewrite a scene in her 1999 movie Anywhere But Here because she felt uneasy about baring all.

She tells America's V magazine, "I was figuring out my own sexual identity, likes and dislikes and all that stuff, and it's weird to be doing stuff on film as you're figuring it out. Also being a sexual object when you're a kid is really uncomfortable. After The Professional, I was already getting creepy letters."

Portman insists she would sign up for more film roles that require her to shed her clothes - but she worries the footage will eventually hit the web.

She adds, "It's annoying because online bulls**t interferes with what I want to do artistically. I'm not opposed to sexuality or nudity in a film, but I'm very opposed to pornography sites and you're pretty much giving them material if you do any of that. It's always a big dilemma for me."

Foo Fighters taking a break

The Foo Fighters are taking a break from each other after 15 years.

Frontman Dave Grohl reveals the band's new greatest hits record marks the end of an era - and it's time to take a hiatus.

He tells CNN, "I think the band decided to take a break, not because we wanted to stop making music, but because we thought the world needed to take a break from us.

"This greatest hits record, that's the end of something... It's time to move on into this next chapter or another phase. Maybe it will be different in whatever way. I don't know.

"It's nice to not know what's going to happen next. We're going over to do some shows in Europe, but, after that, it's like I don't even know when I'm going to see these guys. So it's kind of weird."

But Grohl does know where he wants to record the rock act's next album: "I do know I want to try to make the next record in my garage. I'm serious."

Rockers No Doubt sue Activision over "Band Hero"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rock band No Doubt sued video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc over the use of their likeness on its new "Band Hero" product, accusing the company of turning the rockers into a virtual karaoke act.

No Doubt and Activision had a contract allowing the company to use the band members in the game, but Activision, which is based in Santa Monica, California, went beyond the agreement by allowing gamers to use avatars of the band performing songs from other rock groups, the lawsuit states.

"Band Hero" is a variation on Activision's "Guitar Hero" game, which was launched in 2005 and passed the $2 billion sales mark at the beginning of this year.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, a day after "Band Hero" hit stores, and it accuses Activision of fraudulent inducement and breach of contract.

In one instance of how "Band Hero" allows for unauthorized use of No Doubt's likeness, a feature on the game has the band's Gwen Stefani singing Rolling Stones song "Honky Tonk Women," the band's lawsuit states.

The feature "results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes," the lawsuit states.

In a statement the company said: "Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit."

With its lawsuit, No Doubt is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction preventing Activision from distributing the game. No Doubt wants Activision to recall existing copies.

No Doubt hails from the suburban community of Anaheim, California, south of Los Angeles, and the band scored hits with the songs "Don't Speak" and "Underneath It All."

In September, Courtney Love, the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, criticized Activision for using Cobain's likeness in "Guitar Hero 5" in ways that she did not approve of, including singing songs from other bands.

How about this for a New York City Serenade?

After performing Born to Run, Darkness, and Born in the U.S.A. album sets on this leg, Bruce and the E Street Band have something extra special up their sleeve for their return to the Garden this weekend — the premiere of two more album performances, and ones that we honestly never thought we'd see.

Saturday night: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, live, top to bottom for the first time ever.

Sunday night: The River, live, top to bottom, for the first time ever — all 20 tracks.

If Steve were to have his way, there'd be even more, as he told Rolling Stone earlier this year: "If I could pick, it's gotta be The River. I'd want to include the outtakes on the Tracks collection. Then you have a hell of a show." But hey, even if it's "just" a double-album set that includes "Stolen Car," "The Price You Pay," "Drive All Night"... still sounds like a hell of a show to us.

This leaves November 22 in Buffalo as the only remaining show on the itinerary with no album announced. See our Tour/Ticket Info page for the line-up.

Bachman brothers battle over BTO name

Canadian rocker Randy Bachman is in a court fight with his younger brother Robin over the rights to the name of their iconic 1970s group Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

Robin Bachman and Blair Thornton, both former BTO members, have launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

The suit claims Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, the other member of the rock quartet, signed away their rights to the names Bachman-Turner Overdrive, BTO and any similar brands when Randy left BTO in 1977 to go solo.

Thornton and Robin Bachman claim Randy Bachman's company trademarked the name Bachman-Turner and Bachman-Turner Union in Canada and the United States earlier this year.

The pair claim those names could be confused with the BTO identity.

Their statement of claim asks for an injunction, saying Randy Bachman and Turner are confusing the public and businesses into believing their other companies are connected with the business of Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive's hits, such as Taking Care of Business and Hey You, climbed the charts in the 1970s. Randy Bachman, 66, is currently host of the CBC Radio show Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap.

HMV launches digital store

With CD sales dwindling, Canada's largest traditional retailer of music, HMV, is launching a digital store.

The new site at hmvdigital.ca will offer millions of tracks in MP3 format, without digital rights management software, the retailer said in a release.

It is inviting consumer input on the site beginning Wednesday.

Among the features are personal accounts that record what consumers have bought through the site, so they can download the same tracks later if they have lost them or want to listen from a different computer or player.

HMV, which has 131 Canadian stores, is racing to claim a share in the digital realm from iTunes, Amazon and 7Digital.

The store is being launched in French and in English.

"Conchords" star Clement says HBO show may end

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Flight of the Conchords" star Jemaine Clement has said his offbeat HBO comedy series may not continue for a third season because it requires so much work, but a final decision will be made within a month.

Clement told Reuters that he needs to discuss the future of the show with his co-star, Bret McKenzie, and with the director of the series, James Bobin.

"It very likely might not" return for a third season, Clement said.

"It could come back in a shorter season or like a special," he added.

The largely autobiographical "Flight of the Conchords," an offbeat, cult favorite in the United States, tells of two New Zealand bandmates named Jemaine and Bret who move to New York to try to make it in the music business.

The show began in 2007 and is based on Clement and McKenzie's folk parody band Flight of the Conchords. The second season ended this past spring on the U.S. network HBO.

This year, the show gained an Emmy nomination for best comedy series, but lost to "30 Rock" on NBC. Clement also was nominated for best lead actor in a comedy series.

Clement, who took flight on a solo career last week starring in a new movie "Gentleman Broncos," said he and McKenzie are challenged to keep up with the work required for the show.

"We've got to write the series, but we've also got to write the songs, and just dividing your time into those two writing tasks is really tricky," he said.

Clement, who also told Reuters in January that Season 2 could be the last for "Flight of the Conchords," said its end would be "bittersweet" because "it's so hard" to produce.

"Flight of the Conchords" averaged 3.1 million viewers per episode last season, in-line with Season 1, HBO said.

"We've left their future entirely in their hands," said Nancy Lesser, a spokeswoman for the network. "We would love to have more, and we left an open door at HBO."

Last year, Clement and McKenzie's musical duo Flight of the Conchords won New Zealand's first Grammy since 1984, for their EP "The Distant Future." They won for best comedy album.

Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin to co-host Oscars

LOS ANGELES – Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will co-host the Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the two Hollywood veterans will share hosting duties at the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony.

Telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman said in a statement the two actors are "the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars."

Martin has hosted twice before, in 2001 and 2003, and has appeared as a presenter several times. Baldwin is a first-timer.

Baldwin, 51, who stars on NBC's "30 Rock," called the Oscar gig "the opportunity of a lifetime." He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in "The Cooler."

Martin said that he is "happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin." The 64-year-old entertainer is currently touring with the bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers in support of his album, "The Crow: New Songs for the Five String Banjo."

The 82nd Academy Awards will be presented March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre.

'This Is It' DVD launch delayed to 2010

Movie executives at Sony Pictures have scrapped plans to release Michael Jackson's This Is It film on DVD before Christmas after cinema bosses urged them to delay the release.

Theatre chain heads insisted a speedy DVD turnaround for the holiday season would keep fans away from cinemas and hamper ticket sales, prompting movie bosses to hold off releasing the concert rehearsal film on DVD until the New Year.

Instead, the Sony bosses have extended the film's limited two-week run by one to three weeks.

Michael Jackson's This Is It pulled in $101 million around the world in just five days. The film ruled the U.S. box office, taking $21.3 million in its opening weekend.

Hansard, Irglová have a Swell Season

Lightning has already stuck Once for The Swell Season — and that’s more than enough for now.

“It’s been a huge couple of years,” says singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, chatting over his cellphone while he sips tea on the patio of the swanky Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood.

“My life has completely changed.”

And it’s all due to one song. Two years ago, the Irish musician was frontman of the critically acclaimed but commercially obscure band The Frames.

Then, in February of 2008, he was catapulted into the spotlight when he and Markéta Irglová — his musical partner and co-star in the busker romance Once — won the 2008 Best Original Song Oscar for Falling Slowly. You might remember Irglová being cut off in mid-acceptance speech and being brought back onstage by host Jon Stewart so she could finish.

For Hansard, the indie-folk duo’s overnight success ended 18 years of struggle.

But even as it put an end to many of his financial and professional worries, it created a whole new set of personal problems that left him feeling decidedlly less than swell for a season.

“Success came at such a rate and such a speed that I couldn’t adjust to it,” he admits. “All of these great things had happened — I had just won an Oscar and we were playing these rooms for thousands of people who were listening and interested and had paid money to come see our band — and I was so sad. I couldn’t understand why.

“And then I realized: The person I had been for 18 years had just died. The guy who struggled and wanted success and who was ambitious and chasing every opportunity was gone, and now I was being introduced to this new character — the guy who is successful — and I didn’t know how to deal with him. There was a brief but intense grieving period.”

Equally brief but intense, he admits, was a romance that sprung up between Hansard and Irglová — who is 18 years his junior.

“That was a chapter that was really great and fine,” he admits, “but we quickly found that we get on much better as mates than we do as boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Some 18 months later, the 39-year-old Hansard’s mood has finally improved along with his fortunes. And his expanded horizons are reflected in the sound of the duo’s third album Strict Joy, released Oct. 27 on Anti-Epitaph.

While it’s hardly as rigourously optimistic as its title — Hansard and Irglová still specialize in heartfelt tales of romantic yearning and regret — it does move their sound several steps onward and upward by fleshing out their acoustic guitars, pianos and voices with the richly layered textures of Hansard’s longtime band.

Fittingly, Hansard says he felt no pressure to make a record that would have the same impact as Once.

“For me to sit around and think that I could match that success would be insane. Of course, you want to make stuff that lives up to your standard. But in terms of what it did and how it did in the world ... Let’s say that soundtrack was heard by a million people. I would hope that maybe a third of those people would hear this one.

“Which is a f---ing huge amount of people. But you’re not going to reach a million people again. Once had such a good amount of energy and was such a good thing in my life. To want to repeat that would be greedy.”

Instead, he’s learned to embrace his new life, which has taken him everywhere from The Simpsons (“That’s almost bigger than the Oscars”) to the funeral of Eunice Kennedy Shriver (“Bono called me and asked if I could sing at her wake because he was playing Wembley that week”).

“It’s been an amazing ride, but it’s time to get back to work and to get back to doing what we do,” he says of The Swell Season’s upcoming tour, which stops at Massey Hall tomorrow, Montreal’s Olympia on Wednesday and Vancouver next month.

“Hopefully, along the way I’ll have other successes that are just as profound.”

After all, who says lightning can’t strike twice?

'Doctor Who' star lands 'Rex' pilot

Popular British actor David Tennant, best known for playing the title role in the BBC's long-running sci-fi series "Doctor Who," is set to make his American television debut as the title character in NBC's hourlong pilot "Rex Is Not Your Lawyer."

Written by Andrew Leeds and David Lampson, "Rex" centers on Rex Alexander (Tennant), a top Chicago litigator who begins suffering panic attacks and takes up coaching clients to represent themselves in court.

David Semel, who directed the pilots for "Heroes" and "Life," has come on board to helm the comedic legal drama from Universal Media Studios and BermanBraun.

He will also executive produce with veteran Barry Schindel (who is attached as showrunner), Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun and Gene Stein. Leeds and Lampson serve as supervising producers.

NBC greenlighted the project in August, about two years after it was first developed, and had been trying to find a lead actor for several months until Tennant came along and nailed the part.

Tennant, a theater and TV actor, rose to fame playing the mysterious alien time-traveler at the center of "Doctor Who" for the past five years. His performance as the Doctor has been often rated as the top in the franchise's 46-year history.

Tennant's casting is reminiscent of the tapping of another established British TV actor with virtually no American TV experience, Hugh Laurie, as the lead on Fox's medical drama "House."

Tennant, who co-starred in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," recently signed with UTA. He's also repped by U.K.'s Independent Talent Group.

"30 Rock" scores zero rating in German debut

COLOGNE, Germany (Hollywood Reporter) – "30 Rock" scored a 0.0 rating in its debut on German television Sunday night, meaning fewer than 5,000 viewers tuned in for the Emmy-winning comedy.

Making 82 million Germans laugh is never easy, but the debut was below even the lowest forecasts of broadcaster ZDFNeo. The digital niche channel, which is run by public broadcaster ZDF, had made "30 Rock" the flagship entry in a relaunch promising more cutting-edge programing for a younger demographic. But no one, young or old, tuned in Sunday.

The show is hardly a ratings hit in the United States. The series premiere on NBC drew a decent 8.1 million viewers in October 2006. Last week's episode averaged about 6.0 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

George Jones: new country music needs a new name

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country Music Hall of Famer George Jones isn't a big fan of where the genre has moved in recent years.

When asked about what he thought about music by today's top country stars, the 78-year-old said while they are good, "they've stolen our identity."
Jones made the comment during a recent interview when asked about music by artists like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift.

"They had to use something that was established already, and that's traditional country music. So what they need to do really, I think, is find their own title, because they're definitely not traditional country music," he said.

"It's good to know that we still do traditional country music. Alan Jackson still does it, so does George Strait. We still have it, and there's quite a few of us that are going to hope that it comes back one of these days."

Still, his contemporaries haven't always stuck to traditional country, either. Fellow Hall of Fame member Johnny Cash was met with critical acclaim a few years ago by covering the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt." Asked whether he'd ever branch out to a completely different genre of music, like heavy metal or rap, Jones laughed and said: "Rap? That's tacky."

"How can you call that music?" he added. "Now, I love music, too. I love all kinds. I really do. I've got Brook Benton. I like his singing. Ray Charles. I've got an open mind. But now, you can't call rap, talking stuff like that, music. No, no, no, you've got to have another name for that."

Jones recently put out a new CD, through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, called "A Collection of My Best Recollection." It includes some of his most requested songs from throughout his career, including classics like "White Lightning" and "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," as well as two previously unreleased ones.

"Only thing I would like to keep accomplishing is music for my fans and achieving some goals to keep them happy with what I record in the future," Jones said. "I've done just about everything else. The good Lord's been good to me ... I'm going to enjoy the rest of my life."

The Couch Potato Report - November 1st, 2009

This week The Couch Potato Report peels the latest film from a former Academy Award nominated Canadian director, and some easy riders.

There are some good films this week, and sadly some bad too...and I'll begin with a Canadian movie that is the latest release from Atom Egoyan, the writer and director of such great films as THE ADJUSTER, GROSS MISCONDUCT, EXOTICA and 1997's Academy Award nominated THE SWEET HEREAFTER.

Egoyan's latest is called ADORATION.

This film is about a high school student who is coaxed by his French teacher to write a work of fiction about his family.

He puts his parents into a news story involving terrorism, but only he and the teacher know that it isn't real.

The students friends, family, teachers and everyone in his internet chat-room have no idea what is going on, and all of this coaxing and communication from his teacher leads him to some family secrets that force him to question some things he thought he knew about his dead father.

I am a fan of Atom Egoyan, and I will watch anything he makes, no matter what it is about, and how good - or bad - it is.

And while I won't call ADORATION a bad movie, I didn't like it.

Everything he does in this film, both in the writing and direction, he has done before, and done better.

And this movie is so.........slow moving.....is moves at less than a snails pace.....slooooowwwww.

I wanted to see it, I am glad I saw it...but I can't recommend it at all, even to people who also enjoy Egoyan's work.

Atom Egoyan's next movie, due out in 2010, is currently called MOVING THE ARTS, and I am hoping for something better. My fingers are crossed for something better!!

Now, as much as I didn't like ADORATION, I didn't hate it. This next film, I did hate.

And I know "hate" is a strong word, and I usually prefer to use the word "dislike"...however I hated this next film...hated it.

It is a "suspence thriller" called ORPHAN.

The only I enjoyed about ORPHAN, was when it ended.

Filmed in and around Toronto, ORPHAN is about a husband and wife who adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be.

ORPHAN started off okay, it had several storylines that were teased, but not explained, and some interesting suspence filled scenes...it was all going along well, until the story switches to where the orphan, Esther, becomes the focus.

She is an utterly unlikeable character, and the young actress playing her does a bad job, plus...the filmmakers have given her a Russian accent like Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle!!

Let me be blunt...ORPHAN is an awful, awful movie and I hated it!! I'm done talking about it, because I have another DOA DVD to tell you about.

A DOA DVD is a film that appears on the shelves at our local video store, and looks like it might be good.

Plus, it has actors in it that we all like, and so you might think about picking it up.

But a DOA DVD is a complete waste of your time, and worthy only of mention so you make a note to skip it.

And you really should make a note to skip THE ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT!!

THE ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT co-stars Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton and a whole bunch of young actors that you will probably recognize on the DVD sleeve, but don't let that sleeve, or the synopsis of the film on the back of it sway you...this movie is dead on arrival.

With the lesser of this week's releases behind us, let me spend the rest of this edition of The Report being positive, starting with the made-in-Vancouver film BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - THE PLAN.

Okay, what I am about to say will only make sense to people who watched the re-make of the Battlestar Galactica series when it ran from 2003 to earlier this year. If that isn't you, please excuse us for a minute.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - THE PLAN is set just after the destruction of the Twelve Colonies. The story follows multiple versions of the Cylon models One and Six who have infiltrated the remaining humans, both on the planets, and those who have escaped into space.

From there, the events of the series are shown from a Cylon perspective, and their underlying plan is revealed.

Okay, and I will say this to everyone now...BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - THE PLAN is a very good film, but it is for fans of the series only. I have recommened this series several times before, even for those who normally don't like science fiction shows, and I will happily do that again now.

It is great stuff!!

ICE AGE - DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS is the next movie that I'll speak positive about. And yes, Manny, Scrat, Diego, Ellie, Crash, Eddie and Sid all all back!!

This third film in the enetrtaining family series is about Sid's attempt to adopt three dinosaur eggs. When their real mother takes him to an underground lost world, his friends attempt to rescue him.

I like the caharcters in these films, and so I liked ICE AGE - DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS. I don't know how many more of them they can do, but I'll watch them all.

And I will always also watch any animated films that are released by the National Film Board.

Twenty-six animated films made by filmmakers all across the country, and supported and released by the NFB, are available now in the spectacular two-disc collection ANIMATION EXPRESS.

ANIMATION EXPRESS is a fun and entertaining collection of recent work from the National Film Board's animation unit and it includes the Genie-winning Sleeping Betty and the Oscar nominee Madame Tutli Putli along with many others!!

If you like animated short films, this is a must own!!

And finally this week...when it first came out in the summer of 1969, EASY RIDER was simply a film about two hippy bikers traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans.

However, in the last forty years, it has come to mean so much more than that, it was the start of a new wave of filmmaking!

And now a new 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray not only allows us to see the film in High Definition, but it includes an insightful retrospective documentary as well.

This week, the BLU RAY BEACON shines on EASY RIDER.

EASY RIDER, ANIMATION EXPRESS, ICE AGE - DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - THE PLAN, ORPHAN and ADORATION are available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

THE ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT is available now only on DVD.

Coming up on the next Saturday morning inside Couch Potato Report

We will celebrate 100 years of Canadian aviation with the series CANADA - ABOVE AND BEYOND, re-visit THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1,2,3, enjoy THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of SPIN CITY, head to PASSCHENDAELE once again, and I will also tell you about a new documentary about some filmmakers looking for John Hughes...it is called DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in six days.

For now, that's THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

Canadian movies increase box office take: Telefilm report

Telefilm Canada's annual report contained a good news-bad news scenario, with Canadian films increasing their take at the box office but at the same time, experiencing less of a share of the total market.

The government-funded agency, which develops and promotes Canadian film and online projects, released its 2008/2009 report on Friday.

It revealed that Canadian movies raked in a total of $919.6 million at the box office compared to $857.4 million from the previous fiscal year. However, their share of the market dropped from 3.3 per cent to 2.9 per cent.

The report said the agency sought more collaborations overseas, resulting in bigger sales.

"We are placing a great deal of importance on forging alliances with foreign partners and promoting co-production activities which help to build industry capacity and ensure its long-term viability," stated Michel Roy, chair of Telefilm's board of directors.

"In terms of results for our international activities, it's worth noting that in 2008, each dollar Telefilm invested in markets generated close to $12 worth of foreign sales."

In total, the organization produced 21 films in French and 20 films in English.

Its top three earners were:

- Passchendaele ($4.4 million).
- Cruising Bar 2 ($3.5 million).
- Babine ($2.2 million).

Over in the interactive section, the news wasn't good. The report says page views slid from 5.5 million in 2007 to 4.4 million in 2008. The agency said the slide was a consequence of fewer online projects being supported this time around through its Canada New Media Fund.

Wayne Clarkson, Telefilm's executive director, pointed out that "Telefilm-supported productions received a total of 119 awards while a number of films achieved impressive commercial success."

New CD Releases, November 3rd: Carrie Underwood, Weezer, Slayer, Foo Fighters, Andrea Bocelli and more!!

Carrie Underwood "Play On" (Sony)

The multiplatinum country star, who came to fame by besting the competition during the fourth season of "American Idol" in 2004, releases her third studio effort. "Play On" follows 2007's "Carnival Ride," which debuted atop The Billboard 200 and has sold some three million copies.

The first single from "Play On" is the track "Cowboy Casanova," which was released to radio in mid-September and immediately raced into the country Top 10.

The 26-year-old vocalist will support the album with a variety of high-profile television appearances. Most notably, Underwood will headline her own two-hour variety special Dec. 7 on the Fox television network.

* * *
Weezer "Raditude" (Geffen)

The pop-rockers are ready to give their fans some major "Raditude." The disc, the band's seventh studio effort, follows last year's self-titled effort, also known as "The Red Album." That previous set peaked at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 and spawned the modern-rock chart-topper "Pork and Beans."

"Raditude" features ample co-production credits, including Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M.) and Butch Walker (Saosin, Katy Perry), along with the band's own Rivers Cuomo. The album's first single, "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To," hit radio waves in August, eventually peaking at No. 2 on Alternative Songs charts.

Weezer will support the album with a brief tour next month. The six-city outing kicks off Dec. 1 in Chicago and concludes on Dec. 10 in Philadelphia.

* * *
Slayer "World Painted Blood" (Sony)

The speed-metal titans return with their 10th studio album, which follows 2006's "Christ Illusion." "War Painted Blood" was produced by Greg Fidelman, who has worked with Metallica and Slipknot in the past, and executive produced by Rick Rubin, who has worked with basically everybody.

"War Painted Blood" will be available in three different configurations: a limited-edition CD with multiple CD covers, a deluxe-edition CD/DVD, and a high-quality, 180-gram vinyl edition.

* * *
Foo Fighters "Greatest Hits" (RCA)

Vocalist/guitarist Dave Grohl and company provide the perfect holiday gift for fans: a best-of compilation. The Foo Fighters' "Greatest Hits" will include such popular singles as "Everlong" and "Times Like These," as well as two newly recorded songs, "Wheels" and "Word Forward."

The package will be available as a 16-track standard edition and as a deluxe version that will include a DVD containing a select videography of the band's classic clips, as well as live performances from Wembley Stadium, Hyde Park and the intimate Skin + Bones theater tour, according to a press release. The set will also be issued as a collectors' 180 gram vinyl edition.

* * *
Andrea Bocelli "My Christmas" (Philips)

The pop-opera king brightens up the holiday season with "My Christmas." The 16-track CD includes a number of guest artists, including Mary J. Blige, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and – we kind you not – the Muppets. The disc features such holiday favorites as "White Christmas" and "Silent Night."

* * *
More new releases:
Bee Gees, "Ultimate Bee Gees" (Rhino)
Julian Casablancas, "Phrazes for the Young" (RCA)
Steven Curtis Chapman, "Beauty Will Rise" (Sparrow)
Epica, "Design Your Universe" (Nuclear Blast)
Halford, "Halford III: Winter Songs" (Metal God)
Vera Lynn, "We'll Meet Again: Very Best of Vera Lynn" (Decca)
Nirvana, "Bleach (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)" (Sub Pop)
Nirvana, "Live at Reading" (Geffen)
The Rolling Stones, "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert" (Abkco)
Frank Sinatra, "Sinatra: New York" (Rhino) (4 CD/1 DVD) [BOX SET]
Straight No Chaser, "Christmas Cheers" (Warner Bros.)
Various Artists, "Now That's What I Call Music, Vol. 32" (Sony)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Glee: The Music, Season One" (Sony)
"NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack, Vol. 2" (CBS)

For Underwood, there's no holding back on 'Play On'

NASHVILLE — This time, Carrie Underwood feels as if she has some room to play.

She has a healthy string of chart-topping singles under her belt since winning American Idol in 2005. Her latest, the almost-urban Cowboy Casanova, is in the top five on the country singles airplay chart and climbing. Her first two albums have sold well enough that a good first week for her third –Play On, out Tuesday – could push her past the 10 million mark.

"I wanted to get out of my comfort zone," Underwood says. So she took familiar Nashville co-writers and added outside influences such as Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, fellow Oklahoman Zac Maloy (who once fronted the rock band The Nixons), Canadian singer/songwriter Chantal Kreziazuk and her husband, Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida.

"I'd take some other small element and bring it into our world to see what we could do with it," Underwood says. "Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but I think it ended up being different and progressive."

The pressure to match previous successes, she says, came with her second album, 2007's Carnival Ride. "Everybody was cautious," she says. "We took a step forward, but we weren't trying anything crazy, right?"

Underwood doesn't get too crazy on Play On, though she did cut a remarkably country-sounding track with Swedish producer Max Martin, known for his work with pop divas Britney Spears, Pink and Kelly Clarkson.

Underwood, who will co-host the 43rd Country Music Association Awards next week and have her own variety special on Fox in December, is careful with the new album's pacing: For every danceable track like Cowboy Casanova or Songs Like This, there's a sentimental ballad like Mama's Song or inspirational message like Temporary Home.

"There's got to be good balance," she says. "That's something people do know me for, especially the bigger ballads like Change, things like that. We got some money notes. I can't not throw those in."

Carrey's Scrooge rings in Hollywood holiday spirit

LOS ANGELES – Hollywood loves money. So does Ebenezer Scrooge. So what better way to launch the holiday season than putting the old money-grubber at the head of the line to separate movie-goers from their cash?

The latest version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" features Jim Carrey as Scrooge. Coming on Ebenezer's coattails will be everything from vampire romance ("The Twilight Saga: New Moon") and end-of-the-world stories ("2012," "The Road") to epic science fiction ("Avatar") and a new incarnation of the world's greatest detective ("Sherlock Holmes").

Presented in 3-D, "Disney's A Christmas Carol" is the latest from Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump"), who presents Dickens' London with the same performance-capture technology he used on "The Polar Express" and "Beowulf."

Carrey and such co-stars as Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn, Colin Firth and Bob Hoskins worked on a bare soundstage, their bodies covered with sensors so digital cameras could record their performances in 360 degrees. Sets, costumes and other details were filled in later by computer animation.

The process allowed actors to take on multiple roles, with Carrey playing Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come that teach him the meaning of the season.

While Zemeckis loves Alastair Sim's 1951 "A Christmas Carol," he said previous adaptations never captured the full impact of Dickens' surreal images. As he made "Beowulf," Zemeckis realized he now had the tools to bring "A Christmas Carol" to the screen the way he imagined it on the page.

"It was the idea of being able to actually recreate London and not have any limitations whatsoever. Anything that existed at the time we could present," Zemeckis said. "Then the idea that Jim could play Scrooge in all the different ages, and the ghosts, they could be his alter-ego, and he could play those. Everything just fell into place."

With "Sherlock Holmes," Robert Downey Jr. and director Guy Ritchie also recreate old London while reinventing Arthur Conan Doyle's brainy, monkish detective as an action hero, verbal quipster — and even a bit of a lover.

Downey's Holmes fights with fists, clubs, pistols and hammers, trades odd-couple banter with best buddy and roommate Watson (Jude Law), and shares romantic moments with the one woman (Rachel McAdams) who never got the better of him.

It was a nice change of pace for Downey after he leaped to the box-office A-list with last year's comic-book blockbuster "Iron Man."

"It was such a radical departure," Downey said. "A period piece. A very, very established kind of iconic image comes to mind when you think of Sherlock Holmes. Whereas Iron Man was a relatively unknown quote-unquote second tier superhero ... until last year."

Another series that jumped to blockbuster status last year was Hollywood's take on author Stephenie Meyer's love story between a sensitive schoolgirl (Kristen Stewart) and her immortal vampire boy toy (Robert Pattinson).

The second installment, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," is a lesson in teen heartache as Pattinson's Edward dumps Stewart's Bella, realizing the danger he represents to his human girlfriend.

The brooding Bella finds solace with a school chum (Taylor Lautner) and his werewolf gang and eventually winds up pulling Edward out of a jam.

"Edward breaks up with Bella for her own protection, but Bella believes it's because he doesn't love her any more, and she goes into a terrible depression," said "New Moon" director Chris Weitz. "In the end, there's kind of a lovely turnaround whereby Bella has to go and save Edward, having been saved by him throughout their past."

Also in the fantasy realm, James Cameron is back with his first fictional film since 1997's "Titanic" swamped Hollywood to become king of the Oscars and the biggest modern blockbuster. "Avatar" also marks Cameron's return to his science-fiction roots and a reunion with "Aliens" star Sigourney Weaver, who joins Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana among the cast of the filmmaker's 3-D epic about humans taking on the form of extraterrestrials as they explore a distant world.

"What we have on the screen right now is 150 percent of what I imagined. The other 50 percent is the part I could not have imagined without having the actors there, without working with a team of artists who come up with all these amazing, outlandish designs," Cameron said. "My job was really kind of herding the cats, getting the artists to kind of be cohesive about the aesthetic decision, so it was all one world, so it seemed like part of an evolutionary or ecological system."

Hollywood has dozens of other films, big and small, coming before year's end. Here's the lowdown on some highlights:

HUSBANDS, WIVES AND LOVERS:

"Chicago" director Rob Marshall orchestrates his latest musical with "Nine," based on the Broadway adaptation of Federico Fellini's foreign-language classic "8 1/2."

It's the story of a filmmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his many, many women: His wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his mom (Sophia Loren), his film star (Nicole Kidman), his costume designer (Judi Dench), a lover from his youth (Stacy Ferguson), and a fashion journalist (Kate Hudson).

Singing in a recording studio was a new challenge for some of the cast, including Cruz.

"You feel very vulnerable, because you can't hide anything," Cruz said at this year's Cannes Film Festival. "But it was so much fun. After you are there and you start singing and everything starts to come together, if you can really be in the moment and enjoy it, it's an amazing experience."

Also in the mood for love:

"Did You Hear About the Morgans?" — A Manhattan couple (Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant) in a rocky marriage find new twists in their relationship after they see a murder and are hustled into witness protection.

"It's Complicated" — A messy love triangle develops among a bakery and restaurant owner (Meryl Streep), her ex-hubby (Alec Baldwin) and an architect (Steve Martin) in the latest from director Nancy Meyers ("Something's Gotta Give").

FOXES, FROGS AND RODENTS:

Meryl Streep also joins George Clooney and Bill Murray among the voice cast of Wes Anderson's animated comedy "Fantastic Mr. Fox," the tale of a wily fox waging war with human farmers.

Anderson gave his voice actors a taste of rustic life by taking them to a real farm to record the vocals.

"It was like going to camp," Clooney said at October's London Film Festival, where "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was the opening-night movie. "We were out in the middle of nowhere on people's farms, doing sound effects and rolling around in the fields."

Also among the menagerie:

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" — The followup to the family hit about critter crooners Alvin, Simon and Theodore has the threesome finding their hearts and singing talents tested in a battle of the bands against a trio of female chipmunks.

"The Princess and the Frog" — Disney animation goes old-school as the studio releases its first hand-drawn cartoon in five years with this update of "The Frog Prince" fairy tale, set on the jazzy Louisiana bayou.

THE END OF THE WORLD:

The Mayan calendar predicted an end of days in 2012.

Director Roland Emmerich makes good on that prophecy with his latest doomsday story "2012," featuring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover in a tale of a world devastated by cataclysm and struggling with a terrible quandary: Who do you choose when you can save only a fraction of humanity?

"It's like a Noah's Ark story in a way," Cusack said. "It mirrors a few of the ethical dilemmas that are posed by asking the question of who gets to go and who doesn't."

Also on the apocalypse front:

"The Road" — Author Cormac McCarthy's starkly poetic vision of doom comes to the screen in this adaptation starring Viggo Mortensen as a father on a desperate road trip across the wreckage of America, seeking some hope of a future for his young son.

INSPIRATION ON THE PLAYING FIELD:

Clint Eastwood taps "Million Dollar Baby" and "Unforgiven" co-star Morgan Freeman to play Nelson Mandela in "Invictus," a post-apartheid drama about the South African president rallying black and white behind his country's rugby team during an underdog run in the 1995 World Cup.

Matt Damon, who co-stars as the captain of South Africa's rugby squad, said Freeman was the only choice to play Mandela.

"Someone would have been keelhauled if he hadn't played that role," Damon said.

Also from the wide world of sports:

"The Blind Side" — Just in time for his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens comes this real-life drama about Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a black youth surviving on his own who gets a shot at a better life after he's adopted by a white couple (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw).

FAMILY AFFAIRS:

"Lord of the Rings" mastermind Peter Jackson turns to the homefront while keeping a foot in otherworldly realms with "The Lovely Bones," an adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel about a slain girl (Saoirse Ronan) watching over her family from heaven.

The cast includes Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci.

Jackson said he cried when he read the novel.

"If the things that I was imagining that made me cry could be put on screen, I thought this would be really amazing," Jackson said. "Because I think the book is an incredible book, but it's very personal. And I think what you get out of that book depends a lot on what experience you've had in your life and what experience of death that you've had, and losing loved ones."

Also in a family way:

"Up in the Air" — Happily living life without connections, a corporate hatchet man (George Clooney) travels the country aiming for a 10 million-mile frequent-flyer milestone only to discover that family bonds might be the greater value, after all.

"Old Dogs" — A divorced guy (Robin Williams) enlists his womanizing best buddy and business partner (John Travolta) to help care for the twin kids he never knew he had.

"Brothers" — Jim Sheridan directs this reversal-of-roles drama about siblings (Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal), one a Marine presumed dead in Afghanistan, the other a black sheep who becomes man of the house for his brother's wife (Natalie Portman).

"Everybody's Fine" — Robert De Niro co-stars with Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell in the story of a widower who sets off to reconnect with his grown kids in this remake of the Italian original from Giuseppe Tornatore.

‘Anything’ for love

Cameron Crowe’s “Say Anything” was perhaps the most romantic teen comedy of the ’80s. But it wouldn’t have been so if star John Cusack hadn’t actually fallen in love during the filming.

“At first, he didn’t want to say ‘I love you’ in the movie,” says Ione Skye, who played Diane, Lloyd Dobler’s love interest. She contributes to the extras on the film’s 20th anniversary DVD release, out Tuesday. “He liked women very much, but he hadn’t opened up to the vulnerability of being in love yet.”

But while Crowe, the film’s writer-director, initially had to talk his star into letting his emotions inform the role, all that changed when Cusack met a girl named Suzanne.

“Cameron was trying to convince John to say ‘I love you,’ and John’s like, ‘I don’t want to say it in the movie,’” says Skye. “Then he met this girl Suzanne, and all of a sudden he loosened up and seemed more open and mature. He was comfortable saying it and playing it.”

Skye says that Crowe’s natural sense of romance also helped cement the film’s tone.

“Cameron’s very passionate about romance,” she says. “He told me how the first time he said ‘I love you’ to his wife [Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson], she didn’t really hear him, and minutes felt like hours until that was revealed. He remembered every detail of their falling in love.”

Skye, who was also in her first serious relationship at the time, feels that the platonic nature of her friendship with Cusack (who she did date briefly years later) helped create some of their emotional sparks.

“There was a very high-pitched chemistry there,” she says. “Maybe not doing anything about it made it stay at that level of intensity — how, before you do anything about it, it can be more exciting.”

But while the friendship held elements of romance, the film’s most romantic and iconic moment — when Lloyd stands outside Diane’s window for a minute and a half, blasting Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” from a boom box held high above his head — was lost on both of them.

“It’s part of Cameron’s style to have these romantic moments,” says Skye. “He realized [the scene’s power], but we didn’t. I think John was like, ‘This is corny’...I don’t think I knew that this was a moment.”

Now that it’s become a central moment in her career, however, Skye well understands the scene’s effect — although, when asked how she’d react to such courting in real life, she advises against potential Romeos using it unwisely.

“If I liked the person, I would think it was the most amazing thing in the world,” she says. “But if I didn’t, it would creep me out.”

Also on DVD this week: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” newly restored on Blu-ray ● “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert,” expanded and enhanced ● Denzel in “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.”

Cobain’s best concert

THE day after his daughter was born, Kurt Cobain, terrified that Frances Bean would be taken from him, walked into Courtney Love’s hospital room with a pistol and suggested they kill themselves in a double-suicide pact. Less than two weeks later, he played the most thrilling show of his entire life.

Nirvana’s set at the UK’s prestigious Reading Festival in August 1992 is the most cherished and widely bootlegged concert in the band’s history. On Tuesday, it will be officially released for the first time, as a limited-edition CD/DVD. (Separate CD, DVD and LP versions will follow on Nov. 24.)

While the show is revered for Cobain’s high-energy performance, its legend is rooted in the circumstances surrounding his downfall.

“Many people thought Nirvana was no more,” says Charles R. Cross, author of the Cobain biography “Heavier Than Heaven,” which chronicles the hospital anecdote. “There were rumors that the band had broken up. Rumors swirled that Kurt wouldn’t appear because he was either too ill or deceased.”

But Cobain surprised everyone by not only showing up, but also making one of the more memorable entrances in the annals of rock. Rolled onstage in a wheelchair, he wore a frizzy blond wig and a hospital patient’s gown, looking like Norman Bates from “Psycho.” Bassist Krist Novoselic, meanwhile, fueled whispers in the crowd by saying, “It’s too painful.”

Cobain then stood up, warbled the first two lines to Bette Midler’s “The Rose,” and collapsed — before rising again, fully revived, and leading the band into the feedback intro of “Breed.” An impassioned 25-song performance followed, showing just how alive Cobain really was.

“Kurt always had a certain sort of mocking attitude with the audience,” says Mickey Zetts, a longtime Nirvana fan and author of “Apathy: The Gen X Musical.” “But he seemed like he was actually enjoying it — like he still cared.”

Cobain would have many less glorious moments in the months and years that followed — he died less than two years later — but “Live at Reading” is a shining reminder of why Cobain remains a rock legend.

“The first 30 seconds of that show,” Cross says, “have to be some of the greatest 30 seconds in rock history.”

Elton John suffering 'serious' infection, flu

Singer Elton John has postponed several more concert dates, putting off three performances with Billy Joel in the United States in November.

John recently put on hold the final dates of his Red Piano tour in Britain and Ireland.

A posting on his website over the weekend said promoters were "informed by management that Elton has been advised by his doctor to postpone these performances due to a serious case of E. coli bacterial infection and influenza."

That means his concerts with Joel in Seattle on Nov. 4 and 7 and another in Portland, Ore., on Nov. 10 are postponed.

The pair already had a previous postponement in the summer during their Face 2 Face tour. Joel had to pull out because he got sick. They had been on the road for two months at that point.

Fans are being asked to hold on to their tickets.

The cancelled concerts in Britain and Ireland are expected to be back on in December.

British media are reporting that John has checked in to a hospital in London. His Canadian partner, David Furnish, told reporters the performer is "fine."

'SNL': January Jones and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to host in November

Saturday Night Live announced its line-up of guest hosts and musical acts for November and it’s looking like there will be a lot of new faces in Studio 8H. Mad Men’s January Jones will host the show on Nov. 14, with the Black Eyed Peas doing the musical honors. A week later, on Nov. 21, (500) Days of Summer star Joseph Gordon-Levitt will stand center stage with the Dave Matthews Band, who return to the show after nearly a decade. As previously reported, pop star Taylor Swift will wear two hats as both host and musical guest next Saturday night, Nov. 7.

"This Is It" tops charts with $101M worldwide

LOS ANGELES – "Michael Jackson's This Is It" pulled in $101 million worldwide in its first five days, and distributor Sony is extending the farewell performance film beyond its planned two-week run.

The film was the No. 1 Halloween thriller domestically with a $21.3 million opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Paramount's low-budget horror sensation "Paranormal Activity," slipped to No. 2 with $16.5 million, lifting its total to $84.8 million.

"This Is It" raised its domestic total to $32.5 million. The movie pulled in $68.5 million overseas, including $10.4 million in Japan, $6.3 million in Germany, $5.8 million in France and $3.2 million in China.

"He's just loved everywhere on the planet," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "It doesn't matter if it's Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, South America. Every continent in the world loved him and his music."

In Great Britain, where Jackson had planned a marathon series of 50 London concerts starting last July, the movie earned $7.6 million.

"This Is It" captures Jackson in behind-the-scenes performances in the weeks before his death last June, as he rehearsed his biggest hits for the London shows.

"This Is It" originally was scheduled for a theatrical run of only two weeks. The studio has extended it a few more weeks domestically, leaving it in theaters through Thanksgiving weekend, one of the year's busiest moviegoing times.

Sony plans to extend the run of "This Is It" overseas on a country-by-country basis, with most territories probably getting one to three weeks of extra playing time, Bruer said.

The studio paid $60 million for film rights to Jackson's rehearsal footage, an investment the movie recouped in days.

"They bet $60 million on this and got $101 million in just five days," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It was a gamble and a bet that paid off."

The movie fell far short of last year's $31.1 million opening weekend domestically for "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert." But Bruer said "This Is It" has a shot at surpassing the $65.3 million domestic total during the entire run of Cyrus' movie, which tops the all-time charts for music documentaries.

Worldwide, "This Is It" already has shot past Cyrus' concert film. Cyrus mainly appeals to American teens, and her movie got only a limited release overseas, where it took in about $5 million to give the film a global total of just over $70 million.

"This Is It" played in 3,481 theaters domestically, about five times the number for Cyrus' movie. But "Best of Both Worlds" ran in 3-D, for which theaters typically charge a few dollars more.

And Cyrus' young fans are an audience segment that tends to rush out to see movies over opening weekend, the movie doing nearly half its business in the first few days.

Sony hopes for a longer shelf life for "This Is It," which drew older crowds that catch movies on their own schedule, with less regard for the opening-weekend frenzy. Fans older than 25 accounted for 62 percent of the audience, according to Sony.

While "Paranormal Activity" led Halloween's scary movies, an established horror franchise lost its fear factor as Lionsgate's "Saw VI" fell sharply in its second weekend after an anemic debut.

"Saw VI" came in at No. 5 this weekend with $5.6 million, raising its total to just $22.8 million after 10 days. Previous sequels in the serial-killer series all had topped $30 million during opening weekend alone.

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. "Michael Jackson's This Is It," $21.3 million.
2. "Paranormal Activity," $16.5 million.
3. "Law Abiding Citizen," $7.3 million.
4. "Couples Retreat," $6.1 million.
5. "Saw VI," $5.6 million.
6. "Where the Wild Things Are," $5.1 million.
7. "The Stepfather," $3.4 million.
8. "Astro Boy," $3.04 million.
9. "Amelia," $3 million.
10. "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," $2.8 million.