Crosby's goal wins gold, Canada beats US 3-2 in OT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This was the best possible way to end the Olympics for Canada.

Sidney Crosby, shut down most of the tournament, wristed a shot past Ryan Miller 7:40 into overtime after the United States tied it with 24.4 seconds left in regulation, and Canada survived a tense, taut game to beat the Americans 3-2 in the men's hockey final Sunday. It capped Canada's record gold rush in the Vancouver Games and set off a national celebration.

In one of the greatest games in Olympic history, Canada's collection of all-stars held off a young, despecans, it was a monumental letdown.

Before the game, Crosby received a brief text message from Penguins owner Mario Lemieux that said: "Good luck."

Now, Crosby joins Lemieux — whose goal beat the Soviet Union in the 1987 World Cup — and Paul Henderson, who beat the Soviets with a goal in the 1972 Summit Series, among the instant stars of Canadian hockey. At age 22, Crosby has won the Stanley Cup and the Olympics in less than a year's time.

Minutes after the game ended, delirious fans chanted, "Crosby! Crosby! Crosby!" and IOC president Jacques Rogge gave a raise-the-roof sign to the fans before presenting Crosby with his medal.

"Our team worked so unbelievably hard," Crosby said. "Today was really tough, especially when they got a goal late in regulation. But we came back and got it in overtime."

To win, Canada withstood a remarkable and determined effort from a U.S. team that wasn't supposed to medal in Vancouver, much less roll through the tournament unbeaten before losing in the first overtime gold medal game since NHL players began participating in the Olympics in 1998.

Miller, the tournament MVP, was exceptional, and Zach Parise scored a goal that — if the U.S. had won — would rank among the storied moments in American Olympic history.

With less than a half minute remaining and Miller off the ice for an extra attacker, Patrick Kane took a shot from the high slot that deflected off Jamie Langenbrunner to Parise, who shot it off Roberto Luongo's blocker and into the net.

Parise is the son of J.P. Parise, who scored two goals for that 1972 Canada Summit Series team.

Three minutes before Parise scored, Kane — who also set up Ryan Kesler's goal in the second period — knocked the puck off Crosby's stick on a breakaway that would have sealed it for Canada.

Canada goalie Roberto Luongo didn't outplay Miller, but still proved he is a big-game goalie — something he has never been previously — by making 34 saves in his own NHL arena. Luongo went 5-0 in the tournament and 4-0 after replacing Martin Brodeur following America's 5-3 win the previous Sunday.

Rochette named Canadian flag-bearer

VANCOUVER — Joannie Rochette will carry the Canadian flag into tonight’s closing ceremonies for the Vancouver Olympics.

The 24-year-old figure skater from Ile-Dupas, Que., won a bronze medal less than a week after her mom Therese died of a heart attack.

Earlier it was short-track speedskater Charles Hamelin who was accepting flag-bearer congratulations at a party that drew many of the Canadian medallists.

Asked about carrying the flag, Hamelin said: “Yes, thank you very much.” His choice was confirmed by teammates. Two federal government sources also confirmed Hamelin as flag-bearer prior to the COC’s denial.

Prior to the news conference to name the flag-bearer a COC spokesman denied Hamelin had been offered the position.

Hamelin won double gold in the 500 metres and the men’s 5,000-metre relay.

The decision was made by chef de mission Nathalie Lambert and her assistants Joe Juneau and Steve Podborski, with the formal announcement set for today.

Long-track speedskater Clara Hughes carried the Canadian flag at the opening ceremonies.

"Shutter Island" still captivates moviegoers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Martin Scorsese's suspense thriller "Shutter Island" led the North American box office for a second consecutive weekend on Sunday, while all-time champ "Avatar" passed the $700 million mark.

A pair of newcomers, the comedy "Cop Out" and horror remake "The Crazies," outperformed expectations to join "Shutter Island" on the podium.

A week before the Academy Awards are handed out in Hollywood, limited-release nominees such as "Crazy Heart" and "The Young Victoria" pulled in some moviegoers.

"Shutter Island" sold $22.2 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its 10-day haul to $75.1 million, distributor Paramount Pictures said.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who has collaborated three other times with Scorsese, stars in the picture as a federal marshal stranded at a prison hospital for the criminally insane off the coast of Massachusetts in 1954.

The picture's $41 million debut last weekend set personal bests for both Scorsese and DiCaprio. It could have been an Oscar contender this year if the cash-strapped Viacom Inc unit had not delayed its release by four months.

"Cop Out," which stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as a pair of New York City cops, opened at No. 2 with $18.6 million, Warner Bros. Pictures said. Overture Films' conspiracy thriller, "The Crazies," an update of a 1973 George Romero picture, followed with $16.5 million. Both films had been targeting openings in the low- to mid-teen millions.

SNOWED UNDER

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, said "Cop Out" played strongly in urban markets. Snowstorms on the East Coast reduced the haul by as much as $500,000, it added.

The film, budgeted in the mid-$30 million range, was directed by Kevin Smith, who was in the news recently after getting booted off an airline flight for being too fat.

"The Crazies," shot for $19 million, stars Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell in the tale of a virus that infects residents of a rural town. The film marks a comeback of sorts for its director, Breck Eisner, whose feature debut "Sahara" was a costly flop in 2005.

Overture recently said it was slowing down production while the three-year-old studio and its Liberty Media Corp parent weighed options for a financial restructuring, including a possible sale.

"Avatar" slipped one place to No. 4 with $14 million, taking the total for James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular to $706.9 million. It has now surpassed Cameron's previous record-holder "Titanic" by more than $100 million, thanks to higher ticket prices.

The 20th Century Fox release will vie for nine Oscars next Sunday, tied at the front of the Oscar field with "The Hurt Locker," which is already out on DVD.

The only other Oscar contender in the top 10 was "Crazy Heart," which fell two places to No. 10 with $2.5 million. The total for the Fox Searchlight release stands at $25.1 million. Its three nominations include best actor for front-runner Jeff Bridges, who played a washed-up country star. Fox and Fox Searchlight are units of News Corp.

Elsewhere, "The Young Victoria" passed the $10 million mark after a $221,000 weekend on 187 theaters. Emily Blunt received a nomination for her lead role as Queen Victoria. The drama was released by closely held Apparition Films.

Sandra Bullock is considered the favorite to win that race for her role as a driven football mom in "The Blind Side," which earned $1.3 million during the weekend. The Warner Bros. release has scored $248.8 million to date.

Paramount's "Up in the Air," with six nominations, earned $835,000 to take its total to $82.1 million.

'Lockergate'?: Producer apologizes for e-mails

LOS ANGELES – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering action against a producer of "The Hurt Locker" who sent multiple e-mails urging academy members to vote for his movie in the Oscar best-picture race and "not a $500 million film" — an obvious reference to close-competitor "Avatar."

The e-mails by Nicolas Chartier, one of four nominated producers for "The Hurt Locker" and who put up the financing to make the front-running film, violated the academy's rule against sending mailings that "attempt to promote any film or achievement by casting a negative light on a competing film or achievement," according to academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger.

The initial e-mail was sent Feb. 19 and obtained by The Associated Press. Subsequent e-mails, posted by the Los Angeles Times, showed Chartier giving more specific instructions, asking Oscar voters to rank "The Hurt Locker" at No. 1 and "Avatar" at No. 10 on this year's preferential ballot for the newly expanded best-picture category.

"Hurt Locker" distributor Summit Pictures said in a statement it was "completely unaware of any e-mails that were sent until we were alerted by the academy earlier this week."

Chartier, after being confronted by Summit executives, worked with the studio and the academy to craft an apology for his actions, said Summit spokesman Paul Pflug.

"My naivete, ignorance of the rules and plain stupidity as a first-time nominee is not an excuse for this behavior and I strongly regret it," Chartier wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Associated Press. "Being nominated for an academy Award is the ultimate honor and I should have taken the time to read the rules."

"Avatar's" distributor, 20th Century Fox, declined comment on the e-mails, as did director James Cameron or anyone connected with the 3-D sci-fi sensation — Hollywood's biggest modern blockbuster but so far second to "The Hurt Locker" in this season's movie award derby.

The motion picture academy itself will hold off on announcing how exactly it plans to discipline Chartier until Oscar voting closes at 5 p.m. PST on Tuesday. The Academy's Unger refused to speculate on what action might be taken.

Possible measures include public censure, taking away Chartier's Oscar tickets, and the unlikely option of removing "The Hurt Locker" — about a bomb-disposal unit in Iraq — from best-picture consideration, according to several academy members familiar with the situation. The members spoke on the condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to comment about the matter.

It's also possible that if "The Hurt Locker" wins, the academy won't extend membership to Chartier, like it does to most newly minted Oscar winners, the members said.

With Oscar ballots due Tuesday, the controversy surrounding Chartier's actions may have little effect on the March 7 Academy Awards because most voters have already mailed in their ballots, said one of the academy members.

But that hasn't stopped Hollywood insiders from bandying about heated opinions referring to Chartier's e-mails as everything from harmless enthusiasm to egregious politicking that should result in the film's disqualification.

As one academy voter put it, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject: "If 'The Hurt Locker' doesn't win best picture, I wouldn't want to be that guy. They'll be pointing at him."

In addition to Chartier's e-mails, "The Hurt Locker" is also facing complaints — just now surfacing, though the movie was released last June — from veterans and active soldiers over the accuracy of its combat scenes.

Late-in-the-game controversies surrounding Oscar front-runners are nothing new. When Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" was up for several Oscars in 2003, a transcript from the grand jury testimony of Polanski's 1977 sexual assault case was published on a Web site. Polanski still won the Oscar for best director.

A year earlier, rumors circulated that schizophrenic mathematician John Nash, the subject of Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind," harbored anti-Semitic beliefs. The movie ended up winning four Oscars, including awards for picture, director and adapted screenplay.

And, similar to this year's e-mail controversy, DreamWorks ran ads in 2004 quoting critics touting Shohreh Aghdashloo's supporting actress performance in "House of Sand and Fog" over that of Renee Zellweger in "Cold Mountain." That campaign backfired, too, with Zellweger winning the Oscar.

"I suppose I'm just naive, but I've always chosen to believe that academy members vote solely on the basis of merit," says film historian Leonard Maltin. "I do know some academy members, and they are very conscientious about their vote. They distance themselves from any jockeying of position and name-calling."

Johnny Marr adds juice to the Cribs

The addition of guitarist Johnny Marr to an up-and-coming English indie band might seem like the creative maneuverings of sales-hungry record execs.

But according to Cribs bassist and co-frontman, Gary Jarman, the legendary Smiths axeman decided to join the three-piece (currently his second besides Modest Mouse) after declaring himself an unabashed fan of the meaty Britpop they displayed on 2005's "The New Fellas."

"It was as innocent as that," Jarman says down the line from his Portland home. "I guess a lot of people think these things are [orchestrated] by band managers or labels, but it really wasn't like that.

"We always resisted the idea of adding a fourth person because that meant one of us would have to go in the middle and no one wants to do that," he laughs. "We're too shy and humble."

Also based in Portland, Marr befriended Gary and brothers Ryan (guitars) and Ross (drums) following Modest Mouse's 2007 effort "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank."

The friendship, which was forged by hanging out almost daily, helped the Jarman brothers start to envision bigger, more intricate melodies for their follow-up, the recently released "Ignore the Ignorant."

"I loved being a three-piece, but it was a bit one dimensional because we had to try and generate powerful sounds between three people," he says. "Adding Johnny freed my brother and I to concentrate more on singing and the melodies."

Extended jam sessions in Marr's home let the band unite pop ambitions forged on the Alex Kapranos-produced "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever" (2007) with the bounce rock that has made them a radio mainstay in their native England.

Marr, who co-wrote all the songs with the Jarman clan, injects his unmistakable guitar between Gary and Ryan's melodic vocals, but doesn't overshadow Morrissey-like lyrics that take aim at a celebrity obsessed culture ("Victims of Mass Production") and the rise of the British right wing ("Ignore the Ignorant").

"After the success of our first couple of records, people had sort of pegged us as this super confident band, but that was never the case," says Jarman. "Just having Johnny as a fan was a huge thing because we were such big fans of the Smiths; they were a big influence and Johnny's playing was a big influence on my brother.

"That was a big enough deal anyway because we never expected anyone to ever care about our band in the first place."

And while the addition of Marr allowed Gary and Ryan to try their hand at arena singalongs ("We Were Aborted," "We Share the Same Skies," "Hari Kari"), the injection of the legendary guitarist forced the brothers realize their songs have to look cool on paper.

"The songs should look good written down," Gary recalls Marr saying. "And I agree. That might sound superficial, but I do honestly think that, just like a book, if you have a song with a boring title you won't be that compelled to listen."

Genesis Says Peter Gabriel Missing Rock Hall Induction Is No 'Snub'

Peter Gabriel's Genesis bandmates are giving him the benefit of the doubt for bowing out of next month's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Gabriel will not attend the March 15 affair because it conflicts with orchestra rehearsal dates for his upcoming European and North American concerts to promote his new album, "Scratch My Back." "(Gabriel) rang up and said, 'Look, everyone's going to say I'm trying to snub you and all the rest of it,' " Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks tells Billboard.com. "I said, 'Well, just tell them we didn't want you to come, so we're snubbing you!'

"No...I mean, it's a fair enough thing. It would've been lovely if he could've come, but I understand his problem," Banks adds.

Guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford says Gabriel was "very keen" about the induction and feels the singer's absence is "a very legitimate excuse. I know he would (come) if he could, but it's just the wrong timing."

Gabriel's decision has effectively scuttled any hopes of Genesis performing at the ceremony, though a full complement of Genesis members will be there, including: drummer-turned-frontman Phil Collins, who's still rehabilitating from spinal surgery and is unable to play; guitarist Steve Hackett, who left the band in 1977; and longtime touring members Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer.

"I think at my age, any accolade is enjoyed," says Rutherford, who turns 60 in October. "It's nice to be inducted into something."

Neither Banks nor Rutherford expect the induction to inspire any sort of renewed Genesis activity, however. The group last toured in 2007 and has not discussed anything further, although Banks notes that "we never rule it out." But he adds that he "can't see us doing any writing again, but in terms of just (playing live), it's always a possibility."

Rutherford, meanwhile, says that "the last tour was a nice kind of moment; it made us appreciate the band and each other as human beings. It kind of reminded us how much fun we'd had. And you never know what will happen; it depends on who's standing in five years' time or something like that."

The Genesis members are staying busy on their own, however. Besides Gabriel's project, Collins is recording an album of Motown songs that's due out this fall; he's also slated to receive the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame on June 17. Hackett is collaborating on a project with Yes bassist Chris Squire, while Banks, who issued a remastered and expanded version of his 1979 solo debut "A Curious Feeling" last year, is working on a classical piece. Rutherford, meanwhile, has reactivated Mike & the Mechanics with British singer Andrew Roachford, among others, and expects to have a new album finished by May.

'Precious' wins big at 41st NAACP Image Awards

LOS ANGELES – It was a winning night for "Precious" at the 41st NAACP Image Awards.

The heart-wrenching tale of an illiterate and abused teen who finds hope in a Harlem classroom was named outstanding motion picture and outstanding independent film at Friday's ceremony. Stars Mo'Nique and Gabourey Sidibe, screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher and director Lee Daniels also won.

Daniels excitedly accepted the best-picture prize, surrounded by his cast and fellow producers.

"No one in Hollywood told me they wanted to see a movie about a 350-pound black woman with HIV," he said.

Sidibe objected, and Daniels corrected himself: "She's not 350 pounds. This was before you were hired."

The director twice told the orchestra to stop playing him off, but Daniels was ultimately cut off as gospel duo Mary Mary took the stage and the show came to a close.

Presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Image Awards honor diversity in the arts and outstanding achievements in film, television, music and literature.

Sidibe cried as she accepted the award for outstanding actress in a motion picture for her starring turn as Precious, the overweight, twice-pregnant teen who discovers her self-worth through reading and writing.

"It's so awesome to win! I love winning," said the Oscar nominee, who made her acting debut with this film. "I want to thank my God for ordering my steps, for everything that my life was and everything that it is now."

Fellow Oscar nominee Mo'Nique, who has swept the supporting actress prize throughout Hollywood's awards season for her moving turn as abusive mother Mary Jones, added another trophy to her collection with the Image Award for her role in "Precious."

"For all the Mary Joneses, I love you unconditionally, baby," she said. "For all the Preciouses, I love you unconditionally. Let's start loving each other again."

Other winners Friday included Keri Hilson, Maxwell, "Brothers" star Daryl "Chill" Mitchell and Chris Rock.

Hilson was named outstanding new artist, Maxwell won for male artist, Mitchell took the award for actor in a comedy series and Rock accepted the documentary award for his film "Good Hair."

Mitchell was moved to tears as he accepted his trophy.

"As long as you all got legs, I'm going to always walk," the wheelchair-bound actor said.

Rock said he wasn't prepared for his documentary win.

"I made this movie just for black people," he said. "I've seen a lot of documentaries, and I said I want the blackest movie of all time."

Tyler Perry was honored with the Chairman's Award for his philanthropy and career achievements. Wyclef Jean received the Vanguard Award for raising funds and cultural awareness after the earthquake in Haiti. Human-rights activist Van Jones received the President's Award.

Music mogul Clarence Avant was inducted into the Image Awards Hall of Fame at the ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium, which was hosted by Anika Noni Rose and Hill Harper and broadcast live on Fox.

Leno returns to late night, but can he rule?

LOS ANGELES – The chin is coming back to late-night on NBC. So is the desk, the couch and, the network fervently hopes, the audience.

When Jay Leno reclaims "The Tonight Show" on Monday, NBC is banking that the ratings spiral that marked Conan O'Brien's brief tenure as host will quickly fade to a dim memory.

If viewers want to dwell on the messy dithering that led to this point — Leno moved to prime-time, NBC affiliates rebelling at his low ratings, O'Brien balking at NBC's directive that he and "Tonight" shift to midnight, O'Brien exiting and leaving a diminished audience behind — the network is focused on the end result.

With the Winter Olympics providing a big platform, NBC aired a promotional spot advising that "the chin" was back. Another spot had Leno breezing down a coastal highway in a snazzy convertible that shed the number "10" for "11:35." It cast him as a happy traveler headed home, back where he belongs, after a misadventure not even worth a postcard.

Lisa Howfield, general manager of NBC affiliate KVBC in Las Vegas, thinks Leno's fans will be right behind him.

"I suspect he'll get the same numbers (ratings) he had in prime-time, which are the same numbers he had in late-night. ... I think it's probably going to get right back into normal viewing patterns," Howfield said.

Media analyst Steve Sternberg agrees Leno should regain the late-night lead, which he held for most of his run, despite some observers' assertions that he ended up cast as the villain when O'Brien took a powder.

"I don't think Leno's image took much of a hit with his fans at all," said Sternberg. "That was more of a press and Conan fan-Twitter creation than anything else. Half of Leno's audience is over 55, a group that tends to be very loyal."

Leno averaged 5.2 million viewers nightly in his final season of "Tonight" before O'Brien took over last May, and was drawing virtually the same number — 5.3 million — to his prime-time show.

Expectations were higher for the new show, however, because more people watch TV in prime-time, and affiliates complained loudly to NBC because their local newscasts were taking a viewership hit because of the weak lead-in. NBC eventually bowed to the pressure.

Aside from the Olympics spots, the network has taken a relatively low-key approach to Leno's comeback, especially compared to his splashy debut last fall with "The Jay Leno Show."

The comedian has declined interviews and NBC, which proudly toured reporters through the Burbank set built for Leno's new show, is keeping the now-revamped studio largely under wraps. It will include the time-honored desk-chair-couch setup, which was banished from prime time, and a new color scheme.

Bill Carroll, an analyst with media-buyer Katz Television in New York, said NBC is taking a wise approach by reminding viewers that "Tonight" again has Leno but not "overhyping" the event so expectations remain reasonable.

As for content, Leno will bring along some elements introduced in prime-time, including field reports from comedians and the "Cop N Kitty" sketch, a parody of police teams. These will be blended with the "Tonight" bits Leno has kept alive, including odd headlines and his "Jaywalking" man-in-the-street interviews.

His first-night guests will be Jamie Foxx, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and Brad Paisley. Sarah Palin is set for Tuesday, along with Olympic snowboarder Shaun White and a performance by Adam Lambert.

Leno is facing a changed landscape. O'Brien had lost half the audience that his predecessor had drawn to "Tonight," with CBS' David Letterman and other shows the beneficiary.

Whether Leno can reclaim those scattered viewers and his No. 1 status is unclear. A benchmark moment, such as the Hugh Grant interview that helped Leno get traction when he started as "Tonight" host, could make the difference, analyst Carroll said.

But whether that moment belongs to Leno or Letterman remains to be seen.

"Over the long haul, it could go either way. Late night is so fickle," Carroll said.

Farrell harsh on 'Miami Vice'

Colin Farrell has slammed his 2006 movie Miami Vice, insisting the plotline was "style over substance".

The Irish actor was cast as Detective James Crockett in the crime drama, opposite Jamie Foxx, who played his colleague, Detective Ricardo Tubbs.

But Farrell is convinced the relationship between the pair was too intense for the movie - and admits he may have been at fault over his portrayal of the cop.

He tells Total Film magazine, "Miami Vice? I didn't like it so much. I thought it was style over substance and I accept a good bit of the responsibility.

"I understood that we were trying to paint a relationship with Tubbs and Crockett that was so grounded and familiar that there was no need for them to incessantly talk to each other - or look at each other - over two and a half hours.

"I did think we missed an opportunity. It was never going to be Lethal Weapon, but I think we missed an opportunity to have a friendship that also had some elements of fun."

Canadian women earn hockey gold against U.S.

VANCOUVER — Canada kept the medal momentum going Thursday as the women’s hockey team grabbed the gold in a convincing 2-0 win over the United States.

Marie-Philip Poulin of Beauceville, Que., scored twice and goaltender Shannon Szabados of Edmonton — an Olympic rookie — made 28 saves to notch the first-ever shutout win in an Olympic women’s hockey final.

The win followed a four-medal day for Canada — matching the country’s best one-day showing in a Winter Olympics — and came on the heels of a critical 7-3 win over Russia on the men’s side to keep alive the possibility of a sweep of the hockey golds.

Earlier on Thursday, Finland beat Sweden 3-2 in overtime to win the women’s hockey bronze medal.

On Wednesday, Canada won a gold and a silver in women’s two-man bobsled, a silver in the women’s 3,000-metre short-track relay and a bronze for speedskater Clara Hughes in the women’s 5,000 metres, the last race of her career.

Canada has won four Winter Games medals in a single day only four other times: twice in Turin, Italy, in 2006, and twice in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Following Wednesday’s critical win over Russia, the men’s hockey team returns to the ice Friday to face Slovakia to determine which team will advance to contend for Olympic gold.

Alexander Medvedev, the president of the Russian domestic league, was still stinging a day after watching his national team get bounced by Canada. He said he was surprised by the poor play of his countrymen.

“Obviously experts and coaches should analyze, but I have feeling the game was lost in the first five minutes,” Medvedev said.

Earlier Thursday, Canada’s already-shining medal hopes in women’s curling got even brighter as Cheryl Bernard moved on to the final by knocking off two-time silver medallist Mirjam Ott of Switzerland 6-5.

Bernard took a 6-4 lead into the 10th end and won when Ott missed on a takeout attempt with her final stone. Ott was able to knock Bernard’s rock out of the rings but her shooter sailed too far, forcing the Swiss to settle for one.

Ott looked down at the ice in despair following the miss, while Bernard’s rink hugged in celebration.

The 43-year-old from Calgary moves on to the gold medal game Friday against Sweden’s Anette Norberg, the defending Olympic champion, who beat China 9-4 in the other semifinal.

Bernard would become the first Canadian woman to win Olympic curling gold since Sandra Schmirler in 1998.

“It wasn’t a stellar game, but I think the nerves and maybe a little bit of the inexperience kind of crept through,” Bernard said of her rink’s performance.

“What we did do is make the shots when we needed them.”

Kevin Martin, a perfect 9-0 in round-robin competition, advanced to the men’s curling final with a 6-3 victory over 24-year-old Niklas Edin of Sweden, who did Martin a favour Wednesday when he knocked off reigning world champion David Murdoch of Britain.

Martin’s rink will play Norway in the final on Saturday.

At the women’s free skate, Canada was waiting to see whether Joannie Rochette, the 24-year-old from Ile-Dupas, Que., could deliver another top-tier performance in the wake of the death on the weekend of her 55-year-old-mother, Therese.

After a heart-wrenching, teary-eyed routine in Tuesday’s short program, Rochette was sitting in third place, behind Korean superstar Kim Yu-Na, whose coach is former Canadian figure skater Brian Orser, and Mao Asada of Japan.

At Cypress Mountain, where Canada has had good medal fortunes so far, three Canadians were part of the 12-man field in the men’s aerials: Steve Omischl, 30, of North Bay, Ont., and Warren Shouldice, 26, and Kyle Nissen, 30, both of Calgary.

Carly Simon lets slip a clue to pop’s great mystery

The identity of the man who walked into the party like he was walking on to a yacht in Carly Simon’s 1972 hit "You’re So Vain" is one of pop’s greatest mysteries, matched only by the price of that doggie in the window and what Meat Loaf would not do for love.

After guarding the secret for 38 years, however, the singer has let slip the first name of the man who jilted her before going to Saratoga to watch his horse naturally win. Her indiscretion, which coincides with the release of her greatest hits album, appears in an instrumental interlude in an acoustic version of the song.

The name “David” is whispered, backwards, about two and a half minutes into the song.

Simon, 64, confirmed in an interview with Uncut magazine that the whisper alluded to her former lover. “I’m just going to tell you this,” she said. “The answer is on the new version of You’re So Vain. There’s a little whisper — and it’s the answer to the puzzle.”

Her confession, if genuine, rules out most of the candidates who have been considered favorites over the years. Warren Beatty, who briefly went out with Simon in the early 1970s, was considered by many, including himself, to be the one who flew his Learjet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun. His mother was born and raised in Nova Scotia. In 1983 Simon said that her description sounded like Beatty. “He certainly thought it was about him. He called me and said, ‘Thanks for the song’.”

Other suspects have included Sir Mick Jagger, who sang backing vocals for the original song, and James Taylor, the American songwriter to whom Simon was married between 1972 and 1983, although she denied it was him.

Two Davids have been considered in the past, although both have been dismissed because of other clues Simon has given. David Cassidy, who rose to fame with The Partridge Family, was 22 when the song was written, but he had already cultivated a solo career and had a hit album. David Bowie has also been discussed.

Simon said in 2003 and 2004, however, that the subject had the letters A, E and R in his name. This rules both Davids out unless she is including their middle names. Bowie was born Duncan Robert Jones and Cassidy’s middle name is Bruce.

Other prominent Davids of the early 1970s include David Frost, David Soul and David (now Lord) Owen. A more credible candidate is David Crosby, formerly of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, who was in Los Angeles at the same time as Simon.

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Announce New Album, Tour

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will release "Mojo," their first album in eight years, this spring, the band announced today. The venerable heartland rockers also unveiled dates for a North American summer tour, which kicks off May 6 in Raleigh, N.C. and wraps Aug. 27 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

"Mojo" marks Petty and company's first release since 2002's "The Last DJ" (Petty released his third solo album, "Highway Companion" in 2006). "The Last DJ" garnered mostly positive reviews and praise for its honest lyrics and pointed criticism of the music industry. Though the album reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200, it pulled up shy of gold, selling 353,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Fresh on the heels of "Mojo's" release, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will hit the road with an impressive billing of guest performers, including Joe Cocker, Drive-By Truckers, ZZ Top, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and My Morning Jacket. Tickets for all shows go on sale March 8 with the exception the June 25 Summerfest date, which will be available March 6.

Here are Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' tour dates:

May 6: Raleigh, N.C. (Time Warner Cable Pavilion at Walnut Creek)*
May 7: Charlotte, N.C (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)*
May 9: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)*
May 15: Dallas, Tex. (Superpages.com Center)*
May 16: Houston, Tex. (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion)*
May 18: Phoenix, Ariz. (US Airways Arena)*
May 22: Los Angeles, Calif. (Hollywood Bowl)*
Jun 2: San Diego, Calif. (Cricket Wireless Pavilion)*
Jun 3: Irvine, Calif. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)*
Jun 5: Oakland, Calif. (Oracle Pavilion)*
Jun 8: Vancouver, BC (GM Place)*
Jun 11: Seattle, Wash. (The Gorge)*
Jun 12: Seattle, Wash. (The Gorge)*
Jun 15: Calgary, AB (Pengrowth Saddledome)*
Jun 16: Edmonton, AB (Rexall Place)*
Jun 19: Winnipeg, MB (MTS Centre)*
Jun 22: St Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center)**
Jun 23: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)**
Jun 25: Milwaukee, Wis. (Summerfest)***
Jul 10: Indianapolis, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)**
Jul 13: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center)**
Jul 15: Cincinnati, Ohio (Riverbend Music Center)**
Jul 17: Chicago, Ill. (United Center)**
Jul 20: Cleveland, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)**
Jul 22: Detroit, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)**
Jul 24: Pittsburgh, Pa. (First Niagra Pavilion)**
Jul 28: New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
Jul 31: Philadelphia, Pa. (Wachovia Center)
Aug 11: Atlanta, Ga. (Philips Arena)****
Aug 12: Nashville, Tenn. (Sommet Center)****
Aug 14: Darien Lake, N.Y. (Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)****
Aug 15: Bristow, Vt. (Jiffy Lube Live)****
Aug 17: Hartford, Conn. (Comcast Theater)****
Aug 19: Boston, Mass. (Comcast Center)*****
Aug 21: Boston, Mass. (Comcast Center)*****
Aug 24: East Rutherford, N.J. (IZOD Center)*****
Aug 25: Toronto, ON (Air Canada Center)****
Aug 27: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)****

* with Joe Cocker
** with Drive-by Truckers
*** with ZZ Top
**** with Crosby, Stills & Nash
***** with My Morning Jacket

Rolling Stones unearth 10 new tracks for reissue

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Rolling Stones, who have long resisted releasing archival material, will include 10 previously unheard songs in an upcoming reissue of "Exile on Main Street," the group's representatives said on Thursday.

The original 1972 release, a sprawling two-disc set regarded by many observers as one of their greatest works, features such notable tracks as "Tumbling Dice" and "Happy."

It was recorded in the grim basement of a French villa once used by the Gestapo. Guitarist Keith Richards was consumed at the time by a heroin addiction and singer Mick Jagger was distracted by his new wife, Bianca.

The reissue, due out in the United States on May 18 and a day earlier internationally through Vivendi's Universal Music Group, will be supplemented by new tracks with such titles as "Plundered My Soul," "Dancing in the Light," "Following the River" and "Pass The Wine."

While the Stones have been widely bootlegged, the four disclosed titles appeared to be unknown to collectors. Alternate versions of the album tracks "Soul Survivor" and "Loving Cup" will also be included. A publicist said she did not have information on the other titles.

Jagger told Rolling Stone magazine that he and Richards overdubbed percussion and guitar, respectively, on some of the bonus tracks.

They oversaw the project with producer Don Was, who has worked with the band for 15 years. The singer also wrote fresh lyrics for "Following the River."

Jagger has been reluctant to open the band's vaults because he views the veteran British band that dates back to 1962 as a contemporary rather than a nostalgia act.

Peers such as Bob Dylan and David Bowie, as well as thriving younger acts like U2, have been less resistant to the idea of dusting off outtakes and other rarities.

The reissue will also be complemented by a made-for-TV documentary, "Stones in Exile," which features rare archival film footage and photos as well as fresh interviews.

The album will be available in three configurations: the original 18-track release; an edition with the bonus tracks; and a package that also includes a vinyl version, a different 30-minute documentary DVD and a book.

Is Comic-Con On The Move?

The San Diego Comic-Con International – the world’s biggest and best comic book/movies/sci-fi/fanboy-snagging/we could go on convention – might not be the San Diego Comic-Con International for much longer.

That’s if tourism officials from Anaheim have their way. The Californian city has confirmed that it has lodged a bid to move Comic-Con from its San Diego home, where it’s been since its inception in 1970, to the home of Disneyland.

And it’s not the only city trying to break apart an association that has, for Empire at least, become utterly indelible. Las Vegas and Los Angeles are also in the running to lure Comic-Con over when its contract with the San Diego Convention Centre runs out in 2012.

All three cities are citing larger convention centre space and more (not to mention cheaper) hotel rooms as key components of their packages. After all, Comic-Con has been bursting at the seams for a few years now. The Convention Centre in the city, situated by the harbour, can only hold 125,000 people over the Con’s four (five, if you include Preview Night) days, and there’s no room for expansion. Yet.

For, with Comic-Con representing a huge economic bump for San Diego, the city isn’t ready to let go of its jewel in the crown. According to The Hollywood Reporter, hotels around the convention centre have offered 300,000 feet of convention space to the event free of charge, while the number of hotel rooms on offer could double to 14,000. Given the troubles Empire has already had securing a room this year – an experience shared, no doubt, by thousands – this would be a good thing.

The hope would be that this improvised expansion of the Convention Centre’s facilities and scope – which has already begun, with a Twilight: New Moon press conference taking place last year at the Hilton Bayfront hotel – would allow the event to remain in San Diego until the Convention Centre is expanded, which should happen by 2015.

While the thought of Comic-Con detaching itself from San Diego would be tremendously sad – there’s a character about the city that would be lost in Vegas or LA, although Anaheim might be a different story – it’s certainly not unthinkable. It’s a fact of life that franchises can move in the States – the New York Yankees began life as the Baltimore Orioles, for example – and it would seem that Comic-Con is considering the move.

"We love San Diego. The majority of the people who put the show on live here," Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer told The Hollywood Reporter. "But we have to make a decision that's based on what really is best for the event."

Let’s hope that’s not as ominous as it sounds. There’s no word yet on when a decision will be taken.

EMI appeals ruling that Men at Work copied tune

SYDNEY – Record company EMI lodged an appeal Thursday against a court ruling that the Australian band Men at Work copied a flute melody from a children's campfire song in their 1980s hit "Down Under."

EMI filed papers with the Federal Court in Sydney listing 14 grounds for appeal and saying that songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert did not breach copyright in the song.

EMI said similarities to two bars of the song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" might be noticed by "the highly sensitized or educated musical ear" but were unlikely to be noticed by the ordinary listener.

The company said the inclusion of the melody was at most a form of tribute to the tune written more than 70 years ago by Australian teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition.

Earlier this month Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson ruled that the famous flute riff from "Down Under" had "a sufficient degree of objective similarity" to parts of the children's tune.

Publishing company Larrikin Music, which holds the copyright for "Kookaburra," is seeking millions of dollars in royalties from EMI and the songwriters.

EMI also argued in its appeal that the Girl Guides Association of Victoria state actually owned the copyright, as they sponsored the 1934 song competition.
A date has not been set for the appeal to be heard.

"Down Under" and the album "Business As Usual" topped the Australian, American and British charts in early 1983. The song remains an unofficial anthem for Australia and was ranked fourth in a 2001 music industry survey of the best Australian songs. Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

"Kookaburra," about an Australian native bird, is a campfire favorite from New Zealand to Canada.

Oscar-nominated shorts head to Canadian cinemas

Canadians for the first time will get to see the live action and animated shorts nominated for this year's Academy Awards on the big screen ahead of an Oscar ceremony.

Cineplex Entertainment, a cinema chain that stretches from Quebec to B.C., said it plans three days of shorts leading up to the awards on March 7.

In past years, Academy Award-nominated shorts have occasionally been available online or at special screenings ahead of the Oscar ceremony, but Cineplex said this is the first year they have been offered on the big screen on such a scale in Canada.

Among the nominees are two films created by the animators behind Wallace and Gromit — Nick Park and Fabrice Joubert. Park won an Oscar for best animated feature film for Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, a film that Joubert also worked on.

On March 1, cinemas will screen live action shorts:

The Door by Juanita Wilson and James Flynn of Ireland.
Instead of Abracadabra by Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström of Sweden.
Kavi by Gregg Helvey of the U.S.
Miracle Fish by Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey of Australia.
The New Tenants by Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson of Denmark.

On March 4, cinemas will screen animated shorts:

French Roast by Fabrice O. Joubert of France.
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, a twisted version of the classic story from Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell of Ireland.
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte) by Javier Recio Gracia of Spain.
Logorama by Nicolas Schmerkin of Argentina.
A Matter of Loaf and Death by Nick Park of Britain, a short featuring the Wallace and Gromit characters.

On March 7, both animated and live action shorts will screen.

Steve Miller Band plots 2010 course

The Steve Miller Band has unveiled a spring and summer itinerary that will take the classic rockers to theaters, arenas and casinos throughout North America through July.

The roadwork gets off to a slow but significant start with a Nashville concert alongside Kenny Chesney that will take place March 2 and air in the near future as part of the "CMT Crossroads" series.

Following a two-month break, the band will get down to business beginning May 21 in Henderson, NV, kicking off a 21-date outing that crosses the continent through a July 31 performance in Orange Beach, AL. The full schedule is shown below.

Along with classics from the band's impressive repertoire, shows will also include new material from an upcoming album that the group recorded in 2008 at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. The still-untitled effort, for which no release date has been announced, will contain blues and R&B songs selected from the more than three dozen the band recorded in the studio.

"This is the frat-rock album of all time," Miller stated on the group's website.
The classic rockers made it big in the 1970s with the No. 1 songs "The Joker" and "Rock'n Me," along with fellow fan favorites "Take the Money and Run," "Fly Like an Eagle" and "Jet Airliner." Their last No. 1 hit came in 1982 with "Abracadabra."

TOUR DATES

March 2010
2 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium

May 2010
21 - Henderson, NV - M Resort Spa Casino
22 - Palm Springs, CA - Morongo Casino
23 - Tucson, AZ - Pima Fairgrounds
28 - Robinsonville, MS - Grand Casino Tunica
29 - Bossier City, LA - Harrah's Louisiana Downs
30 - Little Rock, AR - Riverfest

June 2010
4 - Summerside, Prince Edward Island - Credit Union Palace
5 - Halifax, Nova Scotia - Halifax Metro Centre
7 - Corner Brook, Newfoundland - Pepsi Centre
8 - St. Johns, Newfoundland - Mile One Centre
12 - Atlantic City, NJ - Atlantic City Hilton
13 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Resort Casino

July 2010
3 - Chicago, IL - Grant Park
15 - Troutdale, OR - Edgefield Winery
16 - Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheater
24 - Pittsburgh, PA - PNC Park at North Shore
25 - Louisville, KY - Churchill Downs
27 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
29 - Asheville, NC - Biltmore Estate
30 - Alpharetta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater at Encore Park
31 - Orange Beach, AL - Amphitheater at the Wharf

'Saturday Night Live' books Zach Galifianakis, Jude Law

"Saturday Night Live" will put on a pair of new shows in March with hosts who could hardly be more different: Zach Galifianakis and Jude Law.

Oddball comedian and "The Hangover" star Galifianakis will make his "SNL" debut on March 6 and will be joined by musical guest Vampire Weekend. It will be interesting to see how his very quirky comic sensibility fits in to the framework of the show -- and how many sketches feature him pantsless, as seems to be his penchant (see: numerous scenes in "The Hangover," the first episode of HBO's "Bored to Death," etc.).

On March 13, Law ("Sherlock Holmes," the upcoming "Repo Men") will take his second turn as host -- his first was the infamous Ashlee Simpson lip-sync episode in 2004. The musical guest will be Pearl Jam, so a repeat of the Simpson fiasco is unlikely.

"Saturday Night Live" returns from its Olympic break this weekend with host and musical guest Jennifer Lopez.

ESPN suspends Kornheiser for comments about Storm

BRISTOL, Conn. – ESPN has suspended host Tony Kornheiser from his television talk show "Pardon the Interruption" for two weeks for comments he made on the radio last week about SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm's clothing.

Kornheiser announced the suspension on his Washington D.C. radio show Tuesday morning, calling his remarks about Storm intemperate and stupid.
"As the result of this, I have been sent to the sidelines of PTI for a while," Kornheiser said.

In a written release Tuesday, ESPN called Kornheiser's comments inappropriate.
"Hurtful and personal comments such as these are not acceptable and have significant consequences," said John Skipper, ESPN's vice president for content. "Tony has been suspended from PTI for two weeks. Hannah is a respected colleague who has been an integral part of the success of our morning SportsCenter."

Kornheiser described an outfit Storm was wearing at ESPN last week as "horrifying," saying her shirt was too tight and looked "like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body."

Kornheiser said he had called Storm to personally apologize for the remarks.
"If you put a live microphone in front of somebody, eventually that person will say something wrong," Kornheiser said on his show Tuesday. "This was one of the times I said something wrong."

Storm declined to comment, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said.

ESPN has been troubled by a series of workplace issues involving alleged misconduct by its television personalities, though they have involved behavior off the air.

Adams, Sainte-Marie win Governor General's Performing Arts Awards

Singers Bryan Adams and Buffy Sainte-Marie are among six Canadians to win this year's Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

The honour recognizes "outstanding lifetime contribution to Canada's cultural life."

The other winners, announced in Montreal Tuesday, are:

Quebec theatre actress Françoise Faucher.
Montreal choreographer Edouard Lock.
Theatre actor and director Robin Phillips.
Former Toronto Symphony Orchestra director Walter Homburger.
Each winner receives $25,000 and will be honoured at a gala at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on May 1. Governor General Michaëlle Jean will present the awards April 30 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

At the same announcement in Montreal, superstar conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin was named winner of the 2010 National Arts Centre Award.

Mohammed and Yulanda Faris, philanthropists and volunteers who have been active in the Vancouver arts community for close to 40 years, were awarded the 2010 Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for volunteerism in the performing arts.

Earlier this month, Sainte-Marie and Adams performed as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics celebrations in Vancouver.

Adams, who is touring internationally with his Bare Bones solo acoustic show, performed his song Bang the Drum with Nelly Furtado at the Olympic opening ceremony. The rock singer is one of Canada's top recording artists, known for songs such as Straight from the Heart, Cuts Like a Knife, Run to You and Summer of '69.

He won a Grammy Award for best motion picture soundtrack song for Everything I Do I Do It for You.

Adams was born in Kingston, Ont., and raised in Vancouver. He is known for his involvement with humanitarian causes, including Live Aid and his own Bryan Adams Foundation. He'll be honoured with a humanitarian award at the 2010 Juno Awards ceremony in St. John's, N.L., and is an officer of the Order of Canada.

Sainte-Marie emerged as a singer-songwriter and activist in the 1960s, with songs such as Until It's Time for You to Go, Universal Soldier and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Born on the Piapot reserve in Saskatchewan, she has been an outspoken advocate for aboriginal rights throughout her career. She continues her work to improve education for aboriginal children through her own foundation.

In 1981, she won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for the song Up Where We Belong, written for the film An Officer and a Gentleman.

In 2009, she released Running for the Drum, which won a Juno and four Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. She is an officer of the Order of Canada, among her many other awards and honours.

Faucher blazed a trail in Quebec theatre

Faucher is an actor, director and broadcaster who blazed a trail for women in Quebec theatre. Born in France, she moved to Canada at age 21 and graced Montreal stages in roles such as Marthe in L'Échange, Sarah Bernhardt in Sarah et le cri de la langouste, Winnie in Oh les beaux jours and Prospero in La Tempête.

"A pleasure, a great great pleasure, an honour. I'm very proud," Faucher said in Montreal on Tuesday.

She hosted several popular radio and television shows, among them the groundbreaking Femme d'aujourd'hui (1966-81). She also was a director of works such as Racine's Andromaque and Molière's Le Misanthrope.

Faucher told CBC News she is retired from the stage but now enjoys public speaking on issues such as the Holocaust, violence against women and palliative care.

“I have great pleasure now in presenting readings in front of the public, just words," she said, adding she was thrilled to share a stage with Nézet-Séguin, whom she called a great artist.

Lock is the founder of dance company La La La Human Steps and his choreography combines classical ballet with contemporary dance.

He created works for some of the world's foremost dance companies, including the Paris Opera and the Netherlands Dance Theater. His collaborations include being artistic director for a David Bowie world tour and for Frank Zappa on the Yellow Shark concert.

Phillips known for work in Stratford, Edmonton

British-born Phillips is well known in Canada as former artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where he served 1975 to 1980. There he directed actors such as Martha Henry, William Hutt and Brian Bedford. He also directed Stratford's Young Company in 1987-88.

Phillips was also artistic director of The Grand Theatre, in London, Ont. (1983-84) and director general of Edmonton's Citadel Theatre (1990-95.) In 1998, he helped establish Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company and directed its first two productions.

Phillips' directing credits also include Long Day's Journey Into Night, starring Jessica Lange, in London's West End; The Marriage of Figaro for the Canadian Opera Company; the film adaptation of Timothy Findley's novel The Wars; and the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde.

Homburger was managing director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, beginning in 1962. He is recognized for bringing recognition to the TSO and attracting international soloists and conductors to Toronto.

Born in Germany, he moved to Canada in 1940 and founded International Artists Concert Agency, which brought many artists to Canada and fostered recital series. He continues to manage Canadian artists and advise music organizations in Canada.

Nézet-Séguin's award recognizes a year of accomplishment for the Montreal conductor, who is music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and artistic director of Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal.

Currently touring Canada with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, he is in demand as a conductor around the world.

Nézet-Séguin told CBC News he thinks this kind of award focuses attention on classical music and shows it is not just for an elite.

"We are not searching for those awards, but when they come, it is with a realization that we have an impact on the lives of Canadians, whether we are in Canada or not," he said.

The young conductor said his international career is a "dream come true," but he feels very attached to the music scene in Montreal.

"It’s the same act of sharing music and emotions with people and it’s just more international. I feel very privileged so far," he said.

The Faris family has supported numerous Vancouver arts organizations, including the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver Opera, Vancouver International Writers' Festival, Bard on the Beach, Vancouver Symphony, Vancouver Children's Festival and Downtown Women's Eastside Centre.

Mohammed Faris, an engineer and real estate developer, helped establish the $11-million Scotiabank Dance Centre opened in 2001. Yulanda Faris chairs the Vancouver Opera Foundation and serves on the dean's advisory board, UBC faculty of arts.

The awards are given by the Governor General's Performing Arts Foundation in association with the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

UK makes Abbey Road Studios a historic building

LONDON – The Beatles' Abbey Road Studios were officially declared a historic building Tuesday, a move that will help preserve the cultural landmark that is a magnet for fans worldwide.

The crosswalk outside the iconic north London studios draws tourists with cameras daily, and the facilities have also hosted Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck and Radiohead and are still popular with orchestras.

But their cash-strapped owner EMI Group Ltd. says the studios have been losing money for years and has only recently shelved plans to sell them. While EMI now says it's looking for money to help revitalize the studios, news that it was seeking to offload Abbey Road sparked dismay among music fans.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney said he hoped it could be preserved, while English Heritage — the body that oversees buildings of historic interest — appealed to the government to name it a historic building.

English Heritage spokeswoman Helen Bowman said government's move "has probably been sped up" by recent speculation over the studios' future.

In a statement, English Heritage Chief Executive Simon Thurley said the Georgian building housing the studios "acts as a modern day monument to the history of recorded sound and music."

"Some of the most defining sounds of the 20th century were created within the walls of the Abbey Road Studios," he said. "It contains, quite simply, the most famous recording studios in the world."

'Superman' comic sells for $1M

NEW YORK - A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman sold Monday for US$1 million, smashing the previous record price for a comic book.

A 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books, was sold from a private seller to a private buyer, neither of whom released their names. The issue features Superman lifting a car on its cover and originally cost 10 cents.

The transaction was conducted by the auction site ComicConnect.com. Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the site and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles, orchestrated the sale.

Fishler said it transpired minutes after the issue was put on sale at around 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. He said that the seller was a "well known individual" in New York with a pedigree collection, and that the buyer was a known customer who previously bought an Action Comics No. 1 of lesser grade.

"It's considered by most people as the most important book," said John Dolmayan, a comic book enthusiast and dealer best known as the drummer for System of a Down. "It kind of ushered in the age of the superheroes."

Dolmayan, who owns Torpedo Comics, last year paid $317,000 for an Action Comics No. 1 issue for a client. Others have sold for more than $400,000, he said, but this copy fetched a much higher price because it's in better condition. It's rated an "8.0 grade," or "very fine."

Dolmayan said he didn't buy this copy but he wishes he could have.

"The fact that this book is completely un-restored and still has an 8.0 grade, it's kind of like a diamond or a precious stone. It's very rare," he said.

There are only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful have been rated so highly. It's rarer still for those copies to be made available for sale.

"The opportunity to buy an un-restored, high-grade Action One comes along once every two decades," Fishler said. "It's certainly a milestone."

The sticker shock was astounding to Fishler, nevertheless.

"It is still a little stunning to see 'a comic book' and '$1 million' in the same sentence," Fishler said. "There's only one time a collectible hits the $1 million threshold."

Willis, Shyamalan reunite in film

Bruce Willis is planning to reteam with horror director M. Night Shyamalan and make a sequel to 2000 thriller Unbreakable.

Willis plays a man who discovers he has superpowers in the film, his second collaboration with Shyamalan after 1999's Sixth Sense.

Ten years on, the actor reveals Unbreakable was originally written as the first film of a trilogy - and he and the director are considering making part two their next project.

Willis tells WENN, "I've been talking to Night Shyamalan about going back to do the middle story to Unbreakable. That whole story was written in three parts and he just chose to shoot the origin story first where the two characters find out they have superpowers. What he wanted to do at the time was shoot the second part where the two superheroes fight and we didn't do that; we started a different way but he's still talking about shooting that film."

Paul McCartney reveals new tour dates

Paul McCartney has unveiled the first two dates of his 2010 "Up and Coming" tour, which gets underway next month.

The former Beatle will return to the road beginning with a March 29 concert in Glendale, AZ, a performance that will be his first in that state since 2005. From there, he'll tackle a March 30 gig at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl, a venue he hasn't played since 1993.

McCartney first appeared at the Hollywood Bowl when The Beatles performed there in August of 1964, and again in 1965. Those shows were recorded for a live album that didn't surface until 1977.

McCartney's just-announced shows represent the first two dates on what a press release describes as an "extensive" 2010 roadtrip, further details of which will be posted at McCartney's website "soon."

Last year, McCartney spent five weeks on the road during his "Summer Live '09" tour, which included a run of shows at New York's Citi Field Stadium that were recorded for the gold-certified CD/DVD set "Good Evening New York City."

Disney takes long view in "Alice" theater dispute

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Europe's top movie theater chain plans to withdraw from screening the Walt Disney Co's latest film "Alice In Wonderland", escalating a dispute over the U.S. studio's proposal to release the movie's DVD weeks earlier than usual.

But Disney's long-term strategy calls for less reliance on those chains in favor of revenue from Blu-ray video and online distribution, analysts say.

On Monday, less than two weeks before the movie's March 5 debut, exhibitor Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group, owned by the London-based private equity firm Terra Firma, said it does not plan to show the movie in its UK, Irish or Italian cinemas because Disney wants to sell the DVD five weeks earlier than usual.

Theater owners worry audiences will skip seeing the movie on the big screen in favor of a shorter wait for the DVD, if Disney moves up its release.

A decade ago, DVDs were typically released six months after a film's theatrical debut. But Hollywood studios have been gradually moving up their DVD releases, to tap those consumers who rarely go to the theater. Disney's move will shrink that time to 12 weeks.

Odeon Cinemas operates 110 theaters in the UK and 22 in Italy.

Negotiations continued this week between Disney and No. 2 U.S. chain AMC Entertainment Inc, which boasts more than 4,500 screens.

Still, analysts said U.S. theater chains are unlikely to boycott en-masse the year's first blockbuster release, wary of the hit to their bottom line -- at least for now.

AMC did not return calls, and Disney declined comment.

"AMC's a major exhibitor chain, obviously that makes a difference, but my guess is this (dispute) will be settled close to the opening-day release," said analyst Hal Vogel of Vogel Capital Management.

"Disney understands the implications of what they're doing," Vogel said. "They're looking to the long-term future, and the long-term future is less reliance on theaters and more reliance on new technology."

That new technology involves getting movies into homes through Blu-ray discs, as well as other delivery methods such as video-on-demand.

"Theaters are obviously very important still, and any distribution company would be foolish to upset the relationships to any great degree," Vogel said.

Jay Leno sets high-profile "Tonight Show" guests

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Jay Leno's first two weeks back as host of NBC's "Tonight Show" features a celebrity-packed lineup as NBC tries to revive the late-night franchise.

Leno, reclaiming the reins from Conan O'Brien next Monday, will welcome former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore," "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell and Olympians Apolo Anton Ohno, Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn.

Musical guests include Brad Paisley, Avril Lavigne, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Both Leno's and NBC's ratings and reputation took a beating after he was eased out of the prestige slot last May, and given a weeknight primetime show. Viewership of "The Tonight Show" also declined under O'Brien (until his final week last month). NBC paid O'Brien more than $30 million to exit the show.

Having big-name draws like Palin can only help as NBC tries to make "Tonight" appointment viewing once again. His other guests his first couple weeks include Dakota Fanning, Kim Kardashian, Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman.

Benson, 90210 Actress Caroline McWilliams Dies

The small screen has just lost one of its familiar faces.

Benson and Soap star Caroline McWilliams died Feb. 11 at her home in Los Angeles from complications of multiple myeloma, her family told the Los Angeles Times. She was 64-years-old.

McWilliams began her career on the soap opera Guiding Light in 1969 followed by a stint on Another World before she broke into prime time with Soap. That was soon followed by her most famous role, Marcy Hill opposite Robert Guillaume on Benson.

In 1982, McWilliams married Michael Keaton. They had one son, Sean Douglas, but divorced in 1990. Around that time, she appeared in the movie Mermaids and on Beverly Hills, 90210, as the mother to Jamie Walters' character.

McWilliams also enjoyed the theater, frequently performing onstage and directing live productions.

'Hurt Locker' wins big at BAFTA Awards

The Iraq war drama wins six awards at England's version of the Oscars.
By Susan King

"The Hurt Locker" left "Avatar" in the dust Sunday at the 2010 Orange British Academy Film Awards, winning best film, best director for Kathryn Bigelow, original screenplay for Mark Boal, cinematography, editing and sound.

"Avatar" won for visual effects and production design at the awards show, presented at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden.

Though "The Hurt Locker" lost the Golden Globe in the category of best dramatic film to "Avatar," the gripping ensemble drama about a bomb-disposal unit in Iraq has won the lion's share of the critics' awards. Bigelow made history three weeks ago when she became the first woman to win the feature-film award from the Directors Guild of America. She is also the first woman to win the top British award. Boal also won the Writers Guild of America Award for original screenplay Saturday evening.

"The Hurt Locker" is nominated for nine Oscars, including best film, director, actor and screenplay.

The British version of the Academy Awards are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Last year's best picture winner, "Slumdog Millionaire," went on to sweep the Oscars.

The BAFTA awards for best actor and actress went to England's own Colin Firth for "A Single Man" and Carey Mulligan for "An Education."

There were no surprises in the supporting awards category with Christoph Waltz earning best supporting actor for "Inglourius Basterds" and Mo'Nique for "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire." Both actors have dominated this awards season in their categories.

Other winners Sunday:

Adapted screenplay: "Up in the Air"

Animated film: "Up"

Music: "Up"

Best British film: "Fish Tank"

Film not in English: "A Prophet"

Orange Rising Star: Kristen Stewart

Costume design: "Young Victoria"

Hair and makeup: "Young Victoria"

Outstanding British contribution to cinema: Joe Dunton

Outstanding debut: Duncan Jones for "Moon"

Cash, delivered

By 2003, Johnny Cash had already suffered a lifetime of pain and loss. As a boy, he’d witnessed the suffering of his brother Jack after a gruesome table-saw accident, and later saw his life and marriage whirl out of control due to drug addiction and infidelity. But the legendary Man in Black never felt deeper despair than when his soul mate, June Carter Cash, died that May.

In the hours following June’s death, Cash spoke to producer Rick Rubin, who had been recording him for 10 years. In discussing his agony, his message to Rubin was clear: Keep me working. Keep me recording and singing and making music. Because if I sit around dwelling on June’s death, I will die.

In those awful hours following June Carter Cash’s death, Rubin asked Cash if he thought he’d be able to find his faith.

The producer has compared that moment — Cash’s answer — to the flick of a switch. In a voice as willful and steady as if answering to the Lord himself, the singer declared his faith “unshakable.” From then on, the Man in Black, confined to a wheelchair and nearly devoid of sight, proceeded with a steady hand and a willful heart.

Cash’s vocal frailty, combined with his unmistakable optimism and faith, make his final album with Rubin, “American VI: Ain’t No Grave,” not just a collection of songs but a brilliant, heart-wrenching act of defiance and humanity.

“He had good days and bad days, mainly based on his level of physical pain and his ability to sing,” Rubin told The New York Post. “But when he sang well, he felt purposeful. He seemed to feel good after feeling he made progress with his art.”

The album, out on Friday — which would have been Cash’s 78th birthday — hangs heavy with the weight of the troubadour’s personal troubles. The title track opens the collection with an ominous, finger-picked acoustic guitar and Cash’s weary baritone. When the beat kicks in, it’s courtesy of a wooden box with a chain inside.

“Gabriel don’t you blow your trumpet until you hear from me,” he sings. “There ain’t no grave can hold my body down.”

Rubin and Cash met backstage at a concert in 1992. As Cash told “Fresh Air” in 1997, Rubin invited the singer to sit in his living room with just a guitar and two microphones, and “sing to your heart’s content everything you ever wanted to record.”

Their first album, 1994’s “American Recordings,” took shape over three weeks. With songs by writers as diverse as Kris Kristofferson, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Nick Lowe, and a video starring Kate Moss, “American Recordings” won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album and opened a surprising new chapter in Cash’s storied career.

Over the next decade, the pair recorded anywhere from 30 to 80 songs each for five more albums, including some 60 tunes during the final year of Cash’s life. Never starting with a plan, they experimented with unexpected songs choices.

For 1996’s “Unchained,” Rubin suggested Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage,” but Cash was unable to get past singer Chris Cornell’s howling heavy metal vocals. But the famed producer eventually persuaded Cash to focus on the lyrics, and his version dripped with a whiskey-soaked, hard-driving brand of countrified, don’t-tread-on-me attitude.

It was during the recording of this album that Cash began feeling dizzy, or would sometimes be too tired to work. Thus began the battle with diabetes that would lead to his death just four months after June.

“Faith made him strong. It was inspiring,” says Rubin. “We were friends and I loved him. It’s sad to see this chapter close, but it feels good to know the music lives on.”

EMI says wants to hold on to Abbey Road studios

LONDON (Reuters) – Music company EMI wants to retain ownership of the Abbey Road recording studios, immortalized by the Beatles album of the same name, though it is talking to other parties about revitalizing the site, EMI said on Sunday.

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters last week that loss-making EMI had put the studios up for sale and was talking to a few interested firms, although no deal was imminent.

"EMI confirms that it is holding preliminary discussions for the revitalization of Abbey Road with interested and appropriate third parties," the company said in a statement, without elaborating on what exactly the talks were about.

EMI said it had been in discussions since November 2009 to find ways to regenerate the studios, which have been losing money for years, but had rejected an offer worth 30 million pounds ($46 million).

"We believe that Abbey Road should remain in EMI's ownership," the company said.

Millions of Beatles fans around the world are sentimentally attached to the studios, which are also popular with tourists who pose for souvenir snaps on the nearby pedestrian crossing where the Beatles are pictured on the album cover.

EMI said it welcomed reports that the architectural preservation body English Heritage planned to list Abbey Road, a step that would make it very hard for any developer to do anything radical to the site.

Such a listing could potentially lower the price EMI could get for Abbey Road if it did end up selling it.

The firm, owned by private equity group Terra Firma, said any plan it agreed for Abbey Road would involve "a substantial injection of new capital."

"When Terra Firma acquired EMI in 2007, it made the preservation of Abbey Road a priority," EMI said.

Last week's reports the studios were up for sale attracted a lot of interest, including from ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, who said the studios should be saved, and musical theater maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber, who signaled he was a potential buyer.

Lloyd Webber, the man behind blockbuster musicals "Cats," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Jesus Christ Superstar," has recorded some of his works at Abbey Road.

The 4-billion-pound acquisition of EMI has come to symbolize the difficulties caused by expensive buyout deals struck at the height of a private equity bubble. EMI's high debt and poor performance have become a burden for Terra Firma.

The private equity firm recently launched a lawsuit against Citigroup, claiming the U.S. bank had inflated the price of EMI during the sale process by failing to reveal that another bidder had withdrawn. Citigroup denies the allegation.

'Shutter Island' makes waves with $40.2M debut

LOS ANGELES – Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's voyage to "Shutter Island" has landed them at No. 1 at the weekend box office.

Their creepy crime thriller set at a remote insane asylum opened with $40.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. A Paramount Pictures release, "Shutter Island" is the fourth collaboration for Scorsese and DiCaprio and the best opening yet for both the director and star.

Scorsese's previous personal best was $26.9 million with his 2006 Academy Awards champ "The Departed," which also starred DiCaprio. The biggest previous debut for DiCaprio was $30.1 million for 2002's "Catch Me If You Can."

Along with "The Departed," DiCaprio and Scorsese also worked together on "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator," both of them earning best-picture nominations at the Oscars.

"The two of them have great chemistry, and you see it on screen," said Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount.

Roman Polanski's thriller "The Ghost Writer" got off to a big start in limited release, pulling in $179,000 at four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles for a whopping average of $44,750 a cinema. That compares to a $13,440 average in 2,991 theaters for "Shutter Island."

The film likely benefited from months of press coverage over Polanski's arrest in Switzerland last fall and his possible extradition to the United States, which he fled in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

"If not for the notoriety in his public life, no, I don't think this would have done as well," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It put a spotlight on Polanski, maybe not for all the right reasons. But they say there's no such thing as bad publicity, especially when it comes to marketing a movie."

Released by Summit Entertainment, "The Ghost Writer" stars Ewan McGregor in the title role, a man hired to punch up the dreary memoirs of a former British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan) who has been accused of ordering the abduction of terrorism suspects and handing them over for torture by the CIA.

The previous weekend's top movie, the all-star romance "Valentine's Day," slipped to No. 2 with $17.2 million, falling a steep 69 percent from its $56.3 million debut. The Warner Bros. release raised its total to $87.4 million after 10 days in theaters.

The science-fiction sensation "Avatar" is still going strong after two months in theaters, coming in third with $16.1 million and raising its record domestic total to $687.8 million. Worldwide, the 20th Century Fox film has taken in $2.47 billion.

Adapted from Dennis Lehane's novel, "Shutter Island" stars DiCaprio as a U.S. marshal caught up in conspiracies and delusions while investigating the disappearance of a patient at a hospital for the criminally insane.

"Shutter Island" had been scheduled for release last October and was considered a potential Oscar contender given the awards success of Scorsese and DiCaprio's earlier collaborations.

Just six weeks before the planned release last fall, Paramount abruptly bumped "Shutter Island" to February, the studio calling it an economic decision that would increase the film's profit potential.

"We knew that more time was only going to help us get the word out and get a broader audience," Moore said.

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. "Shutter Island," $40.2 million.
2. "Valentine's Day," $17.2 million.
3. "Avatar," $16.1 million.
4. "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," $15.3 million.
5. "The Wolfman," $9.8 million.
6. "Dear John," $7.3 million.
7. "The Tooth Fairy," $4.5 million.
8. "Crazy Heart," $3 million.
9. "From Paris With Love," $2.5 million.
10. "Edge of Darkness," $2.2 million.

The Couch Potato Report - February 20th, 2010

This week The Couch Potato Report peels films made in Regina, Winnipeg, Normandie and Paris, and it features some men and women in trouble.

Every four winters there is an event so huge, so popular, so important, that the focus of the world shifts from everything else, to it.

That event is such a draw on television that the movie studios rarely release any Olympic size titles for home viewing while the games are on…and that is definitely true this week.

But they have released a few titles, in case you don’t get caught up in the Games, and so let me tell you about the films that have come out, starting with one that was made right here in Saskatchewan - the “thriller” WALLED IN that was shot in and around Regina.

And with all due respect to the good people who worked on the movie and acted in it…this thing is horrible!!

WALLED IN stars Mischa Barton from the television show THE O.C. as an engineering graduate who is hired to supervise the demolition of a mysterious building…that is built in the middle of nowhere...but before the building can come down…it’s secrets have to come out.

Yes, the building has secrets.

WALLED IN would like to be a dark psychological thriller…like THE SHINING…about a building and the small group of people who are living in it – and the deep, dark secrets that come out due to the isolation it’s location brings out….but this film just doesn’t work.

There are too many plot holes to count, the acting is too stiff, and this thing is just a complete waste of your time.

Do not get WALLED IN!!

Regina is substituting for Helena, Montana, in that film. In AMREEKA, Winnipeg fills in for a small town Illinois.

AMREEKA – spelled a-m-r-e-e-k-a – is about a Palestinian woman and her teenage son who leave their homeland and move to a suburb of Chicago to live with her sister with her husband and three daughters.

The film is set in 2003 and upon arriving in their new home the woman loses all her money, can’t find a job that is equal to the one she left, and – after the U.S. invades Iraq – the entire family has to deal with people’s negative attitudes toward Arabs.

AMREEKA is a movie that offers up some strong scenes about life and family, and I thought that it would be better…I was hoping that it would be better.

If you want something, anything to watch other than the Olympics, you might enjoy this movie… but I thought that it was just okay. Nothing special, but okay.

From AMREEKA, lets head to America now, specifically Los Angeles, California, because that is where the film WOMEN IN TROUBLE is set.

And even though I love all of the women who are in trouble…the film they are in is absolutely awful!!

The women in the film include Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui from ENTOURAGE, Carla Gugino of SIN CITY, Adrianne Palicki and Connie Britton from FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and 24’s Sarah Clarke.

The film itself is about one day in the life of ten women, all of them with one crucial thing in common = trouble.

WOMEN IN TROUBLE does feature the great actresses, many of who play interesting characters, and some interesting topics of conversation, but the movie they are in is awful.

I think the filmmakers think they have given the world a comedy with some dramatic moments…but I know the end result is a waste of our time.

Unless you absolutely love one or more of the actresses, just skip this mess.

Okay…I have to tell you…from this point forward…the films get better! I have two spectacular movies coming up, and – right now – here’s one that is a good rental, especially if you like action movies, revenge pictures, or films about things that blow up real good…because LAW ABIDING CITIZEN has all of that!

This movie is about a man who watches the murder of his wife and daughter and decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of the killers free.

His targets include not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal as well.

Gerard Butler from 300 is the Father and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx the man who brokers the deal and they are very good in a movie that will have you rooting for the bad guy.

Like I said, if you like action movies, revenge pictures, or films about things that blow up real good, then you should see LAW ABIDING CITIZEN.

Now, if quiet, subtitled films about French fashion designers are more to your liking, then you should see COCO AVENT CHANEL because it is all about the woman whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion.

And it is a spectacular movie!!

COCO AVENT CHANNEL translated is COCO BEFORE CHANEL, and that is what this movie is all about – it is the story of Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel's rise from obscure and poor beginnings to the heights of the fashion world.

COCO AVENT CHANNEL stars Audrey Tautou from AMELIE in the title role and she is great! Plus, the movie features superb costumes and locations.

This is a spectacular film, one I really enjoyed, and I highly recommend it!!

Finally this week, let’s celebrate the 20th anniversary of a modern day cinematic classic!

It was in 1990 when Martin Scorsese’s fantastic film – based on a true story – about Henry Hill and his friends who work their way up through the mob hierarchy debuted.

It was, and remains, a movie worth seeing.

Unfortunately, the 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of GOODFELLAS on Blu-ray is nothing more than the exact-same previously released Blu-ray with a bonus DVD that has a documentary on film gangsters, a 34-page booklet and the digi-book pacakaging.

So, aside from the packaging, there is nothing new on this edition.

BUT, even though there is nothing new, the Blu-ray version looks and sounds fantastic, and so if you don’t already own the prior release, make sure you pick this one up.

The 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of the classic film GOODFELLAS, the spectacular movie COCO AVANT CHANEL, the entertaining action film LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, the awful WOMEN IN TROUBLE, and the horrible – with all due respect to the people involved – made-in-Regina movie WALLED IN are all available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

The made-in-Winnipeg AMREEKA is available only on DVD.

And that is all that has come out this first week of the Olympics, coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

I will tell you about the Vogue magazine documentary THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, the soccer bio-pic THE DAMNED UNITED, and the made in Newfoundland romance LOVE & SAVAGERY.

Also next week, Matt Damon is THE INFORMANT, SEASON ONE: PART ONE of the television show FLASH FORWARD, and the comedies ANALYZE THIS and ANALYZE THAT.

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 – or the Olympics – and I'll see you back here again next time on The Couch!

Conan weighing live tour; next stop, Europe?

LOS ANGELES – Conan O'Brien may be taking his act on the road and even overseas.

O'Brien's exit deal with NBC barred the former "Tonight" host from TV appearances for several months. He is weighing a tour that would take him directly to his fans, according to a person familiar with the proposal.

The person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the plans, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Details are unsettled, the person said, but O'Brien may perform live in U.S. venues, including college campuses, and head to Europe. An O'Brien spokesman declined comment.

The tour could be a prelude to a new talk show for the comedian, who left "Tonight" in January when NBC tried to bump him to a midnight slot. Possibilities include Fox, which expressed interest.

Jay Leno reclaims "Tonight" next month.

Tarantino tips Bigelow for Oscar win

Quentin Tarantino is convinced Kathryn Bigelow will crush his dream of winning the Best Director title at next month's Academy Awards - he's tipped The Hurt Locker filmmaker to take the coveted Oscar.

The director was previously nominated for the prestigious award for his 1994 movie Pulp Fiction, but lost out to Robert Zemeckis for Forrest Gump.

Tarantino will get a second shot at the trophy at this year's ceremony with Inglorious Basterds, and he is set to battle it out with Bigelow for her efforts on The Hurt Locker. The filmmakers will be competing against Bigelow's ex-husband James Cameron for Avatar, Lee Daniels for Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire and Jason Reitman for Up In The Air.

Tarantino is hopeful he will land the prize for Best Picture or Best Original Screenplay, but he is adamant Bigelow will walk away with the director's award.

Speaking to U.S. talk show host, Larry King, he says, "It would be really nice to win an Oscar for one of the three things or eight things I'm up for. And I think I stand a very good chance. I think we stand a good chance for best picture and I think I stand a very, very good chance for best (original) screenplay. I can't imagine Kathryn is not going to get it for best director. I'm going to vote for Kathryn."

But the Kill Bill director is not sure who he wants to win the Best Actress trophy at the glitzy event - he can't decide between Carey Mulligan for her outing in An Education, or newcomer Gabourey Sidibe for her breakthrough part in Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire.

He said, "She's (Mulligan's) fantastic. To me, I haven't decided between her or Gaby. It's going to be tough. It's actually one of the tougher ones (categories) and I don't think I know what I'm going to choose."

Could You Handle Borat or Brüno Hosting the Oscars?

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are the hosts of this year's Oscars.

But, had first-time producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic gotten final say, Sacha Baron Cohen was their first pick.

That's right—the Oscars were nearly led by Borat, Brüno, Ali G or a rip-roarin' combination of the man and his many characters.

But it was not to be. When they told the Academy, they "swatted it down," Shankman said. "They thought it was too big of a wild card. They thought it was just too unpredictable."

"Dead" singer Gordon Lightfoot says he feels fine

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Gordon Lightfoot is very much alive despite reports on Thursday that said the legendary 71-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter had died while on a North American tour.

Lightfoot, whose hits include "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", "Sundown", and "Carefree Highway", was said to have been pronounced dead by a prank message posted on the Twitter micro-blogging service, according to the website of the Globe and Mail newspaper. Reports of his death spread quickly on radio, television, and news websites.

Lightfoot, noted for richly crafted lyrics and a deep, smooth voice, was reached by telephone by Toronto's CP24 news station and said he was informed of his death by a report he heard on his car radio as he drove to his office.

"Everything is good," he told CP24. "I don't know where it come from, it seems like a bit of a hoax. I was quite surprised to hear it myself... I feel fine."

"Shuttler Island" aims to be destination

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The year's first big prestige film hits theaters Friday as Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio take moviegoers to "Shutter Island."

The suspense thriller was bumped from its previous holiday release slot, and Paramount has been seeking to stir must-see interest amid positive early reviews. And with a longish running time of 2 hours, 18 minutes and production costs totaling at least $75 million, executives will be anxious to open "Island" with a broad base of support.

But prerelease tracking surveys show strongest interest among men despite DiCaprio's traditional draw with women. Barring an eleventh-hour spike in female interest, an opening of $25 million-$30 million appears likely.

Both reigning champ "Valentine's Day" and "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" appear headed for hauls of $20 million or so in their second weekends. They claimed the top two spots during the Presidents' Day holiday weekend with respective four-day hauls of $63 million and $39 million.

The Benicio Del Toro monster picture "The Wolfman" will try to prove critics and other naysayers wrong by posting a better second session than might be expected for a picture that drew below-average results in exit surveys last weekend.

The horror redo needs to follow its relatively strong $36 million debut with a leggy-enough run to recoup production costs reportedly totaling $110 million or more.

Friday's limited openers include Summit Entertainment's political thriller "The Ghost Writer," from director Roman Polanski, in two Los Angeles theaters and two in New York.

The 2010 box office is off to a good start, with $1.49 billion in sales so far, up almost 6% from the year-ago period.

James Cameron Reveals Avatar Blu-ray Release Date

In an interview yesterday, director James Cameron leaked the release date for what will be the first Blu-ray edition of his megablockbuster movie Avatar: it will be on Earth Day. "It's all right on schedule," said Cameron. "We'll do the Blu-ray and the standard def DVD April 22nd, that's our plan as of right now, and that'll be pretty much bare bones. And then we'll do a value-added DVD and a 3D Blu-ray in I think November sometime."

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment couldn't confirm the release date.

Cameron also said that with a wave of companies set to release 3D-compatible TVs, the time was right to issue his film in 3D for the home viewer.

Artists behind Oscar-nominated songs won't perform

LOS ANGELES – Some of Oscar's most memorable moments have come during performances of nominated songs.

Among them: rap group Three 6 Mafia surrounded by streetwalkers as they performed "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow" in 2006, and Celine Dion's resplendent performance of the "Titanic" hit, "My Heart Will Go On," in 1998.

Don't expect such musical moments at the 82nd Academy Awards.

The artists behind the year's five nominated songs will not perform during the Oscar telecast. Instead, the songs will be showcased with clips from the films that featured them, "which is how most nominated achievements are featured within the show," Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences spokeswoman Leslie Unger said Wednesday.

That means Randy Newman won't get to take the stage for his two nominated tunes, "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog."

Marion Cotillard won't reprise her sexy, heart-wrenching performance of "Take It All," written by Maury Yeston for "Nine." Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas can't bring their "Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36" to life.

And "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" won't be performed by "Crazy Heart" star Jeff Bridges or writers Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

"We haven't been invited," Bingham said, seeming a bit surprised.

Yet there will still be dancing on the show. Producer and choreographer Adam Shankman announced on his Twitter page that he cast 69 dancers for the show's production numbers, though he hasn't revealed exactly what he has planned.

The Oscar troupe includes at least a dozen dancers from the Fox reality show "So You Think You Can Dance," where Shankman serves as a judge.

"All there for the movies!" he tweeted.

The Academy Awards will be presented March 7 at the Kodak Theatre and broadcast live on ABC.

Tiger Woods to break silence on Friday - agent

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Tiger Woods will break his silence on Friday, when he is expected to address his plans for the future in the wake of a sex scandal that drove the golf superstar into seclusion.

Woods' agent said Wednesday that the 34-year-old golfer will speak at 11 am Eastern Time (1600 GMT) on Friday at the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass, headquarters of the US PGA Tour at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Woods will make a statement to a select group of media, with one television camera to relay the event live, but he won't take questions, agent Mark Steinberg said.

"While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between him and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him," Steinberg said in a statement. "He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends, and that's what he's going to discuss.

"His remarks will be open to a press pool for live coverage. It is NOT a news conference."

It remains to be seen how deep Woods will delve into the scandal that erupted around him in the wake of a mysterious car crash outside his Florida home in the early hours of November 27.

"It's encouraging that he's coming back to at least be seen by the public, and the rest of us, too," British Open champion Stewart Cink said at the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

"I don't know what he's going to talk about," Cink said. "I think this is maybe the beginning of the comeback process for him.

"It will be good to see Tiger's face again and see that he's actually out there somewhere."

Ireland's Padraig Harrington said Woods was wise to make his first public appearance a strictly controlled one.

"The first time out, he's better controlling it," Harrington said. "Over time, there will be questions. At the moment, the best thing is a more controlled environment and gradually ease his way back into it."

Shortly before Woods' crash, the National Enquirer published a story claiming he had been seeing a nightclub hostess.

After the crash, a welter of women claimed they had affairs with Woods, and he became a target of tabloids and television comedians.

In December, Woods announced via his website that he would take an "indefinite break" from golf.

"I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children," the married father of two said in a statement on his website then.

"I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness."

Since then speculation has raged as to the 14-time major champion's whereabouts, the state of his marriage and just when and where he would make his return.

In January widespread reports placed Woods at a rehabilitation clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he was receiving treatment for sex addiction.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, who was at the Match Play Championship, declined to speculate on what Woods would have to say, but like Cink he welcomed his decision to speak.

"I'm pleased he's going to make some comments," Finchem said, adding that Woods had asked to use the TPC Sawgrass facility.

"We were asked to make the facility available and help with the logistics," Finchem said.

"Like everybody else, we'll learn what he has to say. My sense is that this is part of his schedule and what he's going through. I don't know what he's going to say, what he's going to do after he finishes his rehab."

Finchem will certainly be on hand to hear what the player who has become the face of the game globally has to say.

"I will be in attendance," Finchem said.

Woods' long awaited public appearance will comes in the middle of the Match Play tournament, whose chief sponsor Accenture dropped Woods in the midst of the scandal.

"I suppose he might want to get something back against the sponsor that dropped him," said world number eight Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.

Finchem said he didn't believe Woods' appearance would detract from the elite event.

"We have tournaments every week," Finchem said. "I think it's going to be a story in and of itself. A lot of people are going to be watching golf this week to see what the world of golf says about it, my guess is. So that will be a good thing."

Lady Gaga sweeps Brit Awards

Flamboyant chanteuse Lady Gaga swept the U.K.'s Brit Awards on Tuesday, winning three categories and offering an emotional tribute to Alexander McQueen, the British fashion designer who died last week.

Gaga collected awards for best international female artist, best international breakthrough act and best international album for The Fame, and performed at the ceremony wearing a towering white wig and lace veil, complete with ornate lace eyebrows.

At points, the singer appeared overcome with emotion and paid tribute to McQueen as she collected her first prize, referring to the designer by the name Lee. "Thank you to Lee McQueen," Gaga said, her voice strained.

Gaga, a friend of the designer, recently wore his iconic lobster-claw shoes in her Bad Romance music video. The designer was found dead Thursday after apparently committing suicide.

The awards are the British equivalent of the Grammys, with most winners selected by a vote of more than 1,000 industry members.

U.S. rapper Jay-Z also claimed an award, for best international male, during a ceremony at London Earl's Court arena. Other international nominees had included Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Jay-Z, Canada's Michael Buble and Shakira.

British boy band JLS claimed an award for best domestic breakthrough act, while recently split rockers Oasis won a one-off prize when their (What's The Story) Morning Glory? was named best British album of the last 30 years.

Best British band award went to Kasabian. Former Take That member and solo artist Robbie Williams received a special award for contribution to music.

Longtime Leno bandleader Kevin Eubanks may exit

NEW YORK – Jay Leno's longtime bandleader, Kevin Eubanks, may not play very long once the Leno troupe returns to "The Tonight Show."

NBC said Tuesday that Eubanks has expressed interest in personal touring and recording. The network says he will be part of the show when it reoccupies late night March 1, but his continued involvement is uncertain.

The 52-year-old Eubanks, whose duties include comic sideman to Leno as well as guitarist, has been a fixture since Leno took the reins of "The Tonight Show" in 1992. He became musical director when Branford Marsalis left in 1995.

Eubanks was also part of "The Jay Leno Show," the NBC prime-time flop that just ended.

Leno is returning as "Tonight Show" host, a job he held for 17 years until giving it up to Conan O'Brien last May.

'Mad Men' star hurt by weight jabs

Mad Men star Christina Hendricks was hurt by the negative reaction to her voluptuous figure in the fashion press - insisting the comments left a "bad taste in her mouth".

The ravishing red-head showed off her curves in a lavish ball gown at last month's Golden Globes ceremony.

A New York Times style critic was forced to apologize after writing, "big girls shouldn't wear big dresses". The blogger later insisted the photograph of Hendricks had been accidentally distorted.

The actress was stunned by the talk about her weight - and she's urging reporters to focus on her performances rather than her dress size.

She tells New York Magazine, "It kind of hurt my feelings at first. Anytime someone talks about your figure constantly, you get nervous, you get really self-conscious. I was working my butt off on the show, and then all anyone was talking about was my body! It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

Hard-up EMI seeks buyer for Abbey Road studios

LONDON – Cash-strapped music company EMI Group Ltd. is seeking a buyer for Abbey Road studios, where The Beatles recorded some of their most famous songs, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

The person said talks had been going on for several months, but a buyer had not yet been found. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

A spokesman for EMI refused to comment on the sale bid, which could raise tens of millions of dollars for the label.

EMI, whose artists include Coldplay, Lily Allen and Robbie Williams, has struggled financially since it was bought in 2007 for 2.4 billion pounds by private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners.

Several big-name acts, including Radiohead and the Rolling Stones, quit the label amid the cutbacks and restructuring that followed Terra Firma's takeover.

An audited report released last week revealed that Terra Firma needs a huge cash infusion by June to avoid defaulting on its loans from Citigroup Inc. and may require more than $165 million to last through this year.

If funds can't be raised and the loan goes into default, Citigroup could seize EMI and cause it to be sold or broken up.

Abbey Road is one of the company's most high-profile assets, as both a recording studio and a tourist attraction for Beatles fans.

EMI bought the Georgian town house in London's residential St. John's Wood neighborhood in 1929 and turned it into one of the world's most sophisticated recording studios.

Since the 1960s, it has been one of the world's most famous rock music studios. Albums recorded there include Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," Wings' "Band on the Run" and Radiohead's "OK Computer."

It is most closely associated with The Beatles, who recorded most of their albums there. The crosswalk in front of the north London studio was immortalized on the cover The Beatles' final studio album, 1969's "Abbey Road."

Potential buyers beware: The famous black-and-white crossing is not included in the deal.

‘Taxi Driver’ sequel in the works?

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are planning a sequel to their hit 1976 movie Taxi Driver, according to industry gossip at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The new movie is rumoured to be a collaboration between Scorsese and Danish director Lars Von Trier, and will see De Niro reprise his role as troubled New York taxi driver Travis Bickle.

Von Trier and Scorsese, whose new movie Shutter Island premiered at the German festival on Saturday, have yet to confirm any plans.

But the rumours have been fuelled by Von Trier's production partner Peter Aalbaek, who has revealed an announcement about the project will be made shortly.

Meanwhile, Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader has provided some insight into the rumoured sequel's plot, revealing Scorsese has been considering a follow-up film for years.

Schrader tells the New York Post, "I was talking with Martin Scorsese about doing a sequel to Taxi Driver, where (Travis Bickle) is older."

Parton writing big screen biopic

Country legend Dolly Parton is eyeing a musical movie of her life - she's currently working on bringing her biopic to the big screen.

The superstar, 64, is putting plans into place for the story of how she went from a poor girl living in the mountains of Tennessee to one of the biggest-selling country singers in history.

And Parton, who has previously hinted she'd like Scarlett Johansson to play her in a movie, is on the lookout for an actress with similar charms to hers.

She says, "I'm working on my life story. I'm not decided if it's going to be a musical or a movie with music in it. I've not thought about who will play me - but we need someone little.

"And if they don't have enough up top we'll have to give them a big old boob job."

Bilodeau wins Canada's first gold on home soil

Mogulist Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada's first ever gold on home soil laying down a near-perfect final run at Cypress Mountain on Sunday.

"I went out and I knew what to do," Bilodeau said immediately following the event.

The 2009 overall World Cup champion executed a back full off the top air and a perfect-scoring back iron cross off the bottom air to earn a score of 26.75.

Dale Begg-Smith, competing for Australia, took the silver medal. American skier Bryon Wilson claimed the bronze medal.

Bilodeau, of Rosemere, Que., has topped the podium six times at previous World Cup events. The 22-year-old has often said his brother, Frederic, who has cerebral palsy, has inspired him to push his limits.

"It's really getting me right now," Bilodeau said. "My brother is my inspiration. Growing up with a handicap puts everything in perspective.

"I have no regret on what I've done in the last four years. I've said I'm ready, the most ready I've ever been. I went out and knew what to do."

Vincent Marquis, the first Canadian to ski in the final, placed fourth ahead of teammate Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau in fifth place.

"My goal was to cross the finish line and give it all I have," Marquis said. "I am excited, but at the same time, fourth is so close."

Marquis received a score of 25.88 in the final while Rousseau laid down an exceptional run delivering a back iron cross off the top jump and earning himself 25.83 points.

Canadian Maxime Gingras finished in 11th place.

"It was amazing with the crowd. I was not too stressed, I went for it. I just wanted to make he podium," Gingras said.

Following her silver medal run on Saturday, mogulist Jenn Heil suggested a gold medal for Canada was within reach.

"That gold medal is going to come soon," she said.

The Knack lead singer Doug Fieger dies

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack who sang on the 1979 hit "My Sharona," died Sunday. He was 57.

Fieger, a Detroit-area native, died at his home in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles after battling cancer, according to The Knack's manager, Jake Hooker.

Fieger formed The Knack in Los Angeles 1978, and the group quickly became a staple of Sunset Strip rock clubs. A year later he co-wrote and sang lead vocals on "My Sharona."

Fieger said the song, with its pounding drums and exuberant vocals, was inspired by a girlfriend of four years.

"I had never met a girl like her — ever," he told The Associated Press in a 1994 interview. "She induced madness. She was a very powerful presence. She had an insouciance that wouldn't quit. She was very self-assured. ... She also had an overpowering scent, and it drove me crazy."

"My Sharona," an unapologetically anthemic rock song, emerged during disco's heyday and held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard pop chart for six weeks, becoming an FM radio standard.

It became a pop culture phenomenon, parodied by Weird Al Yankovic and others and sampled by rap group Run DMC.

In 1994, "My Sharona" re-entered the Billboard chart when it was released as a single from the soundtrack of the Ben Stiller film "Reality Bites."

"My Sharona" gained attention again in 2005 when it was reported that George W. Bush had the song on the presidential iPod.

Their songs, about young love and teenage lust, included the hits "Good Girls Don't," "She's So Selfish" and "Frustrated."

The Knack continued to release albums and tour through the mid-2000s but they never replicated the success they enjoyed with their first two albums, "Get the Knack" and "... But the Little Girls Understand."

Fieger battled cancer for six years. In 2006 he underwent surgery to remove two tumors from his brain.

He is survived by a sister, Beth Falkenstein, and a brother, attorney Geoffrey Fieger of Southfield, Mich., who is best known for representing assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian.

A Los Angeles memorial service for friends and family is being planned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVdnqEyToqg

"Silent Bob" Thrown Off Southwest Flight For Being Too Large

OAKLAND - He wasn't even supposed to be there that day.

Filmmaker Kevin Smith, fresh from delivering a speech at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, unleashed his fury on Southwest Airlines after the pilot on Smith's flight from Oakland to Burbank ejected him for being "too fat to fly" Saturday evening.

"I'm way fat, but I'm not there just yet," Smith wrote on his Twitter.com account after the incident, adding that he was able to lower both arm rests at his seat. "I broke no regulation."

Southwest Airlines measures whether a customers too large to fly based on the passenger's ability to lower both armrests while sitting on the plane. If the passenger cannot lower one or both armrests, the carrier typically requires the passenger to purchase an additional seat or make arrangements on other flights that may accommodate for extra space.

"Wanna tell me I'm too wide for the sky?" Smith inquired on his Twitter account. "Totally cool, but fair warning folks: If you look like me, you may be ejected from Southwest Air."

The director of Clerks and Chasing Amy, who is also known for playing a character named "Silent Bob" in several films, added that Southwest Airlines did offer him a $100 voucher for his troubles. Additionally, Smith wrote that a female passenger seated next to him was also "chastized for not buying an additional seat."

A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines wrote an apology on the company's Twitter account following the Twitter-lashing unleashed by Smith Saturday evening.

Smith is expected to further address the Southwest Airlines issue on his podcast Sunday evening. The director eventually landed in Burbank on another flight.

'Valentine's Day' courts $52.4M opening weekend

LOS ANGELES – The star-studded romance "Valentine's Day" has wooed audiences with a $52.4 million opening weekend.

The movie easily grabbed the No. 1 spot on Valentine's weekend. The cast of "Valentine's Day" includes Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Biel, Shirley MacLaine, Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner.

Opening in a tight race for No. 2 were the action fantasy "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" with $31.1 million and the werewolf tale "The Wolfman" with $30.6 million.

The blockbuster "Avatar" was fourth with $22 million. "Avatar" raised its domestic total to $659.6 million and its worldwide haul to $2.3 billion.

The Couch Potato Report - February 13th, 2010

This week The Couch Potato Report peels Love, because it is in the air, everywhere I look around. It’s in the air, in every sight and every sound.

Today is the 13th day of February, meaning tomorrow is the 14th…yes, once again, that will mean that it is Saint Valentine's Day, a day to celebrate love and affection.

And once again this year, the studios have released a wide array of films that have one connection or another to the day at hand.

Yes, love is in the air…and up first… I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY!!

No…that is not a statement from me, I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY is the latest movie from Winnipeg’s Nia Vardalos of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING fame.

John Corbett, Nia’s co-star from MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING co-stars in this film…yes Toula and Ian are together again…but make no mistake, this film is not that film.

This one is about an independent woman who owns a flower shop and has a very strict rule about dating – no relationship should last no more than 5 dates.

Her rule is in place because she believes that this way, no one gets dumped or hurt…but then she meets someone she thinks she could love, and she doesn’t know what to do.

Even though I like Nia Vardalos and her work, I have to admit that I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY is nothing special…it is one of those movies that if you like the cast and the characters they play, you might enjoy the movie. If you don’t, you won’t care for it at all.

I liked them, and I liked it…liked, not loved. I’ll never watch it again, but I am glad I’ve seen it.

And that is also true about THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE…liked, not loved, glad I’ve seen it, but will never watch it again.

London, Ontario born actress Rachel McAdams from THE NOTEBOOK stars in THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE, along with Eric Bana from FUNNY PEOPLE and MUNICH.

Based on the 2003 novel of the same name, this is a love story about a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably. It is also about his wife who has to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences.

Bana plays the traveler and McAdams his wife and their’s is a love affair that lasts for years as they first meet when she is but a little girl.

I was always engaged by THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE, and I bought into the movie’s premise, but this film just isn’t anything special.

It is what it is, and then it ended…nothing special.

If you do pick it up this Valentine’s Day weekend, and expect something more substantial…I hope you enjoy it more than I did.

From a pair of love stories that I am glad I’ve seen, let me tell you about one that I thought was just a waste of time.

LOVE HAPPENS is about a widower whose book about coping with loss turns him into a best-selling self-help guru.

On a business trip to Seattle, he falls for a woman who, only to learn that he hasn't yet truly confronted his wife's passing.

Aaron Eckhart from THE DARK KNIGHT and ERIN BROKOVICH is the widower. Tabloid staple – and former FRIEND – Jennifer Aniston is the woman.

Both Eckhart and Anniston are likeable actors, and their film has a few nice moments and a few laughs, but the love story here seems like it was added as an afterthought, and I have to admit that I just didn’t care for this movie at all.

LOVE HAPPENS…yes, that is true. BAD MOVIES HAPPEN as well. Skip this one, unless you are HUGE fans of either Eckhart or Aniston.

LOVE HAPPENS is Jennifer Aniston’s latest cinematic romance, back in 2006 she made one with Vince Vaughn called THE BREAK-UP.

Vince’s latest cimematic romance is the romantic comedy COUPLE’S RETREAT…and I enjoyed this one a heck of a lot more than either LOVE HAPPENS or THE BREAK-UP.

A heck of a lot more!!

Now, in addition to Vince Vaughn, COUPLE’S RETREAT stars Jon Favreau, Canadian actress Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis from SEX AND THE CITY, Kristen Bell, and Jason Bateman from JUNO.

COUPLE’S RETREAT is a comedy that shows us the lives of three couples who decide to go to a tropical-island resort for a vacation, in order to help their friend’s marriage.

They all think that in addition to helping their friends, a vacation will be great too…until they discover that attending the resort's therapy sessions is not optional.

COUPLE’S RETREAT has that great cast, some fantastic locations and scenery, and it offers up some huge laughs – and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau acting together again – as they did in SWINGERS – but the movie is only, it is not great by any means.

So, lets call this one a good rental.

So far this morning, this pre-Valentine’s Day edition of The Report, has only featured films about love between one man and one woman, but all that changes now as I have a great Quebec-made documentary about one man and five women…ooh la la!!

Michel Louvain is a French Canadian singer who was most popular over forty years ago. His first hit, "Buenas Noches Mi Amor", launched his career, and he has also worked as a host for a varieties of shows on television and radio. He is, and remains, the Wayne Newton of Quebec’s music industry.

The documentary LADIES IN BLUE is about Louvain and his five of his fans, women from different generations who made a place for the crooner in their hearts and in their lives and it shows us how he remains there to this day.

These woman have pictures of Louvin above their beds, in the same frames as their husbands and children, and they all have hundreds of his cassettes, albums and CDs.

We all have one musician or another we love more than the rest, and so this movie is a nice tribute to the artists we love, and the fans who love them.

If you have never heard of Michel Louvain, don’t let that keep you away LADIES IN BLUE is a very entertaining film!!

Yes, we all love musicians, and many of us love filmmakers as well. This morning, I would now like to share my love of Joel and Ethan Coen, who collectively are known as The Coen Brothers.

The films they have made include Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men and Burn After Reading and through their ups and downs, I love them. As far as I am concerned, they can do no wrong.

That is why I loved their latest film, A SERIOUS MAN, although I know many people won’t love it as much as I did.

A SERIOUS MAN is a comedy set in 1967 about a professor whose life starts to unravel.

His wife wants to leave him, his inept brother won't move out of the house, and his students are offering bribes for higher grades.

I can’t deny that parts of A SERIOUS MAN could be seen as self-indulgent to anyone who is just a casual fan of Joel and Ethan Coen. I would also have to agree that the storyline might seem dull to people who are looking for another movie like FARGO…but, to me…someone who loves these guys…I think the film totally belongs in the Brother’s filmography.

A SERIOUS MAN is a very interesting and entertaining film that I really loved, and if you are someone who completely enjoys the Coen Brothers’ films, then I think you will too.

If not, I suggest that you grab a movie by your favourite filmmakers and enjoy that one instead.

In addition to loving filmmakers, some of us also love different genres. My personal favourites are comedy, action and science-fiction, but I do enjoy a good horror film now and then.

Sadly, in order to find a good horror film, I sometimes have to sit through bad ones, and I had to do that this week as I watched the remake of the 1987 horror film THE STEPFATHER about a serial killer who is searching for the perfect family to be a part of...and when he doesn’t find them, he kills them.

The original version of THE STEPFATHER remains a pretty good horror film that stars Terry O'Quinn – who plays John Locke on LOST as the title character.

The remake features Dylan Walsh from NIP/TUCK in the lead role and it is just not as good. It truly is a slasher film for fans of the genre only.

Up next is a movie that is a loose adaptation of an autobiography about an undercover informant within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), from 1987 to 1991.

It is called FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING.

This film takes its name from the informant’s claim to have saved the lives of fifty people during his time as an informant.

FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING, based on a true story or not, is boring.

The real life tales of what happened during through troubled times in Ireland is full of drama, intrigue and violence that I still can’t believe this film about it fails to capture much of it.

This movie is one to just ignore.

From a serious war movie about soldiers, we have arrived now at one that is a comedy.

Monty Python’s John Cleese stars in PRIVATES ON PARADE.

This 1982 comedy is about the members of a Song And Dance Unit in South East Asia who fall in and out of love while trying to dodge Malayan Communist bullets.

And in addition to that, they have to contend with a loony, bible bashing Major who creates far more danger than any of the jungle inhabitants.

PRIVATES ON PARADE was a great film when it came out, and it still is!

No, it isn’t the funniest war movie ever – that title remains with M*A*S*H – but this one is definitely in the Top Ten!

Love, it is still in the air this Valentine’s Day weekend, and I love watching new releases on blu-ray!!

This week’s BLU-RAY BEACON shines on a two-disc set featuring episodes from the television show STARGATE UNIVERSE.

I mentioned a few minutes ago that I love science-fiction, and I do…I’ll watch just about any sci-fi shows that come out.

Some stick with me, some are forgotten as soon as they are over. STARGATE UNIVERSE definitely goes into the latter category.

STARGATE UNIVERSE reveals the previously unknown purpose of the "Ninth Cheveron", something that you’ll know if you watched the other STARGATE television shows.

The Stargate takes a team to an Ancient ship, and traps them there, as they are unable to change its programmed mission.

Along the course of the episodes, they encounter new races, new technology and new enemies, as the runaway ship takes them to the far ends of the Universe…and unless you are a huge fan of this series, it won’t matter to you.

STARGATE UNIVERSE – SGU 1.0 as it is known on Blu-ray and DVD – is not awful, but it isn’t great either.

Yes, you will forget it once in concludes, but it isn’t necessarily a waste of time along the way

Of all the love stories that I have spoken about this morning – whether it is love between one person and another, love for a person, love of a filmmaker, or love of a format to watch films on – the greatest love story I have for you this week is this next one, yes I have saved the best type of love for last…love that will stand the test of time.

That was the kind of love that was shared between Johnny and June Carter Cash, and that is the love that is on display in the movie WALK THE LINE.

WALK THE LINE is the 2005 Academy Award winning film starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny and Reese Witherspoon as June, and this great movie shows us the ups and downs of their love.

WALK THE LINE is primarily a look at all of Johnny Cash's life – from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins – but it is the love story at it’s core that continues to resonate with me.

I absolutely love this movie, and it is now available in High Definition and it looks – and especially sounds better than ever!!

The movies to and about love WALK THE LINE, STARGATE UNIVERSE – SGU 1.0, FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING, THE STEPFATHER, COUPLE’S RETREAT, A SERIOUS MAN, LOVE HAPPENS, THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE and I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY are available on Blu-ray and DVD.

PRIVATES ON PARADE and LADIES IN BLUE are all available now only on DVD.

Oh...and Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

The made-in-Regina film WALLED IN; the made-in-Winnipeg movie AMREEKA; and the made-in-Hamilton-and Toronto project YOU MIGHT AS WELL LIVE; will preceed COCO AVENT CHANNEL; WOMEN IN TROUBLE and the revenge thriller LAW ABIDING CITIZEN.

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 again next time on The Couch!

'We Are the World' debuts, worldwide airing set

LOS ANGELES – The revamped "We Are the World" made its world premiere Friday during NBC's coverage of the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, and a simultaneous worldwide screening of the full, seven-minute version of the music video is planned for Saturday.

The worldwide simulcast on 53 domestic and international channels is planned for 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) Eastern time.

A three-minute version of the video aired Friday. Filmed by Oscar winner Paul Haggis, the video shows images of devastation from the island nation after the January 12 earthquake that has claimed more than 200,000 lives.

It also shows some of the 85 artists who gathered in Los Angeles earlier this month to re-record the 1985 charity anthem.

Teen sensation Justin Bieber opens the song. Also featured are Jennifer Hudson and Nicole Scherzinger, Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion and Fergie. Josh Groban, LL Cool J, Nick Jonas, Lil Wayne (and his auto-tune), Jeff Bridges, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus and Haitian-American singer Wyclef Jean also get screen time.

Michael Jackson, who co-wrote the original hit with Lionel Richie, is shown in a clip from the original music video. In the new version, Jackson, wearing his trademark 1980s pseudomilitary regalia, sings alongside his sister, Janet Jackson.

Richie and fellow producer Quincy Jones introduced the song Friday via video, saying money raised by its sales will provide food, shelter and medicine for the Haitian people.

Fans can download "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" online now. All proceeds will benefit earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti.

Gabriel to miss Genesis Rock Hall induction

NEW YORK – When Genesis gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month, founding member Peter Gabriel won't be there.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame president Joel Peresman said in a statement Thursday that Gabriel says he has a scheduling conflict with his tour that begins in Europe.

Along with Gabriel, the band's original lineup included Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips and Steve Hackett. Phil Collins joined the band later and replaced Gabriel as lead vocalist in 1976.

Genesis was inspirational in the progressive rock movement. Gabriel's vision helped define the genre's theatrical approach to a rock show with costume changes, innovative stage design, and intricate lighting effects.

The induction ceremony takes place March 15 in New York.

Fans want Betty White on 'SNL'

NEW YORK - More than 188,000 people on Facebook are urging "Saturday Night Live" to make Betty White a host.

The campaign has been gaining followers and attention, just as the 88-year-old actress has become more ubiquitous. She was given a lifetime achievement award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and starred in a Super Bowl commercial for Snickers that has ranked as one of the game's most popular.

The Facebook page, which isn't affiliated with White, says she would be a "fantastic" host and that it would be a terrific way to honour her.

Representatives for White said she had no comment. NBC is also not commenting.

"Valentine's Day" poised for box-office win

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Garry Marshall's "Valentine's Day," which opens Friday, is a prohibitive favorite to top the four-day frame that includes the movie's namesake holiday and Presidents Day.

The ensemble romantic comedy from Warner Bros. is expected to claim the weekend's box-office crown with $45 million or more in domestic receipts.

Two other big pictures also are set to bow wide. Twentieth Century Fox sends out kids' movie "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," while Universal debuts the Benicio Del Toro-starring horror remake "The Wolfman."

Date-movie couples will represent key support for "Valentine's," though the PG-13 movie is expected to skew heavily female. Figuring among "Valentine's" cast are Anne Hathaway, Topher Grace, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Patrick Dempsey, Jessica Alba, Taylor Lautner, Queen Latifah and Jamie Foxx.

"We're going to have a big weekend," Warners distribution chief Dan Fellman said. "All the stars are aligned, no pun intended."

Directed by Chris Columbus -- who's touted in "Percy" commercials as a "Harry Potter" helmer -- PG-rated "Percy" features teen Logan Lerman in the title role. Based on a series of youth adventure novels, "Percy" should pull in upward of $30 million through Monday.

"There could be a bit of a traffic jam this weekend," Fox distribution boss Bruce Snyder said. "But we're well positioned with a family movie, as there hasn't been one for a couple weeks."

The release of the Joe Johnston-directed "Wolfman," co-starring Anthony Hopkins, was delayed four times because of production and marketing considerations. The film originally was set to unspool in November 2008.

"That was something that was written about every time we did it, but it's had no bearing on anything," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said. "All you have to do is look at the tracking. The tracking is huge, and it's good with both younger and older demos."

Each of the debuting wide releases is uniquely positioned and "should be compatible with one another," Rocco added. R-rated "Wolfman" could wolf down $30 million or so during the holiday-bloated weekend.

Fox-distributed "Avatar" should ring up more than $20 million this session. That likely would land it in fourth place, after settling for second place for the first time last weekend, after seven weeks at No. 1.

Last weekend's No. 1 movie -- romantic drama "Dear John," from Sony Screen Gems and Relativity Media -- is expected to absorb a sizable drop from its opening grosses to post a sophomore-session tally in the teen millions.

Meantime, Fox Searchlight's "Crazy Heart" might be the sole film to enjoy a box-office bounce from its Oscar nominations, judging from last weekend's ho-hum grosses elsewhere. The Jeff Bridges-starring drama totes a $12 million-plus total into this weekend, when it will add a couple of hundred venues to its recent 819-theater distribution.

Hollywood will be looking to jump back into the win column after posting a 26 percent year-over-year weekend downtick last session. Year to date, the domestic box office is lagging the comparable period of 2009 by 2 percent at $991 million.

Biel, Garner as 'Laverne & Shirley'?

Pretty Woman director Garry Marshall is taking Jamie Foxx's advice and pushing forward with a movie remake of his hit TV sitcom Laverne & Shirley with new best pals Jessica Biel and Jennifer Garner in the title roles.

The actresses became bosom buddies on the set of Marshall's new film Valentine's Day, prompting their co-star to suggest they'd be perfect for a Laverne & Shirley remake.

And Marshall admits he's committed to making the movie, which will feature cameos from his sister Penny and Cindy Williams - the original Laverne & Shirley.

He says, "We're gonna work on that. My sister Penny and Cindy are going to be a guest cameo."

And Garner can't wait to work with her new best friend: "Are you kidding? We're dying to do it."

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's Chris Nolan! He'll Mentor Superman 3.0 And Prep 3rd Batman

Warner Bros is trying to ready its DC Comics stalwart Superman to soar again on the Big Screen, and the studio has turned to Chris Nolan to mentor development of the movie. Our insiders say that the brains behind rebooted Batman has been asked to play a "godfather" role and ensure The Man Of Steel gets off the ground after a 3 1/2-year hiatus. Nolan's leadership of the project can set it in the right direction with the critics and the fans, not to mention at the box office. Besides, Nolan is considered something of a god at Warner Bros and has a strong relationship with the studio after the success of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Though he wasn’t obligated to do so, he gave the studio first crack at his spec script Inception, and Warner Bros was able to buy it before other studios even got a sniff. While Nolan completes that Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer for a July 16th release, he's also hatched an idea for Warner Bros' third Batman installment. Now his brother and frequent collaborator Jonathan "Jonah" Nolan, and David Goyer who co-wrote Batman Begins and penned the story for The Dark Knight, are off scripting it. (See 'FlashForward' Showrunner Exits For Features).

Legendary Pictures will partner with Warner Bros on the next installment of Superman. Legendary also co-produced/co-financed Superman Returns in 2006. Legendary was partnered with Warner Bros as a co-producer/co-financier on the recent Batman films including Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and will be involved in Nolan’s 3rd Batman film.

Let us emphasize that Superman 3.0 is in the early stages of development. And we doubt Nolan would direct. This wouldn't be a sequel to Superman Returns but a completely fresh franchise. As one of our insiders reassures: “It would definitely not be a followup to Superman Returns." Nolan coming on board follows a hiatus period for Superman after that 2006 reboot as the studio tried to figure out whether or not to make a sequel to that version starring Brandon Routh directed by Bryan Singer. As recently as this summer, Warner Bros was still contemplating how to proceed. That's when we were told that "Bryan or Brandon are not completely out of it yet. But Warner Bros doesn't have a handle yet on it, either. [Producer] Jon Peters is trying to make something happen since he stands to benefit financially. But they [the studio] need to hear a great story that makes sense." Another insider explained to us, "We know what we don't want to do. But we don't know what we want to do. We learned a lot from the last movie, and we want to get it right this time."

Fans have long been yearning for Superman to finally get the big screen Nolan-ized treatment this classic superhero deserves.Warner Bros clearly has learned from all five Superman movies. Superman: The Movie and Superman II starring Christopher Reeve and produced by Ilya and Alexander Salkind, were critical, fan, and financial successes. Their 1983 Superman III was mediocre. Then came a real dud in 1987, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace which continued wth Reeves but unfortunately was made by Golan-Globus's Cannon Films in association with Warner Bros. The inbetween period between that pic and 2006's Superman Returns was plagued by long delays and budget troubles and script misses. In 1997, original Batman director Tim Burton tried to make a Superman movie starring Nicolas Cage. Around 2004, J.J. Abrams wrote a film that was the first leg of a trilogy. Abrams wanted to direct, but had only directed episodes of his TV series (and wouldn't make his feature directing debut until 2006's Mission:Impossible III. McG and Brett Ratner separately were attached to that film. Ratner got closest, but Warner Bros was wary of a budget that swelled to $250 million, and which seemed risky after established star Josh Hartnett turned down the 3-picture deal that could have brought him $100 million in salary. After that, Warner Bros bosses didn't embrace Ratner's s choice of soap opera actor Matt Bomer to star.

Other prominent filmmakers were reportedly in the loop, but Warner Bros never pulled the trigger on the picture until Bryan Singer's involvement. Singer's Superman Returns was respectably reviewed for the genre. But it turned in only $52 million opening weekend, and $391 million worldwide gross. Problem was it cost too much (the budget was reportedly $270 million), and the promotion was lousy (Joel Silver was brought in at the last minute to inject macho into the marketing campaign). Worse, it left diehard fans only "meh" about a sequel starring Routh. Singer fared better, but it seems doubtful he'll be asked for an encore now. After all, Singer is now developing the spinoff X-Men: First Class for 20th Century Fox whose bosses were furious when he took on The Man Of Steel reboot instead of helming X-Men 3. But Singer and the studio subsequently made peace and he's back in the Fox fold and on board.

The restructuring of Warner Bros' business with DC Comics became Warner Bros Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov's first priority since having his contract reupped by Time Warner last summer. Problems have plagued the DC Comics-Warner Bros relationship for more than a decade. But the biggest failure has been to leave the most valuable DC Comics characters in movie development limbo by chaotically starting and stopping development on the high profile live action pics. Most recently, Warner Bros and DC Comics are finally getting their act together as evidenced by the progress on Green Lantern.

Superman 3.0 would test Warner Bros veteran executive Diane Nelson, the head of DC Entertainment Inc, that new company founded to fully realize and integrate the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms into Warner Bros Entertainment's content and distribution businesses. Nelson especially was charged with suping up Superman again because it's way too valuable to leave dormant like this. Besides, the clock is ticking.

Attorney Marc Toberoff, who keeps suing Warner Bros on behalf of creative rightsholders, warns that, in 2013, the Jerome Siegel heirs along with the estate of co-creator Joe Shuster will own the entire original copyright to Superman -- "and neither DC Comics nor Warner Bros will be able to exploit any new Superman works without a license from the Siegels and Shusters". He's also pointed out that, if Warner Bros does not start production on a new Superman sequel or reboot by 2011, the Siegels could sue to recover their damages on the grounds that the deal should have contained a clause in which the rights returned to the owners after a given time if no film was in development. The heirs of Siegel have already been awarded half the copyright for Superman. And in 2013 the heirs of co-creator Joe Shuster get the remaining half. After that, neither DC Comics nor Warner Bros will be able to use Superman without a financial agreement with the heirs. There are also stipulations on what parts of the origins story can be used in future Superman movies and which require re-negotiations with the creators' heirs or estates.

At first, Warner Bros felt no pressure to rush out another Superman pic. As Warner Bros chairman Alan Horn told a court hearing about rights to Superman, he hoped to make another Superman movie but no film was in development, no script had been written, and the earliest he foresaw another Superman film released would be 2012. He told the judge: "We had hopes to keep the character alive and to once again reinvent Superman. Our hope is to develop a Superman property and to try again. What hurt us is that the reviews and so on for the Superman movie did not get the kind of critical acclaim that Batman got, and we have other issues with Superman that concern us."

So Warner Bros is now bringing in Batman's saviour. What Nolan would do with the Superman character and story is intriguing to say the least. And he has the experience necessary of prepping and pepping a played-out franchise. The 2005 Batman Begins grossed $373 million worldwide on a reported $150 million budget. And of course 2008’s The Dark Knight crossed the $1 billion worldwide gross mark on a reported $185 million budget (and Heath Ledger posthumously won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor).

Batman was rebooted according to Frank Miller's film noirish take on Batman. But there's a big difference between Superman's cinematic incarnations and comic book version. Warner Brothers and DC Comics for a long time weren’t sure which version they liked better. The cinematic version has been squeaky clean, occasionally campy, and has more-or-less unlimited power except when confronted with Kryptonite. The comic book version has some limits on his powers, can be darker, and fights aliens a lot more. Shortly after Dark Knight hit it big, fans assumed that Superman would be taken to the “dark” side as well. That's because Warner Bros mogul Jeff Robinov stressed post-Dark Knight that "we have to look at how to make these movies edgier". One of our insiders interpreted this to say: "He meant more sophisticated."

A more comic-accurate Superman seems like the way to go. No need to worry: Chris Nolan knows what he's doing.

Bonnaroo to feature DMB, Kings of Leon, Wonder

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bonnaroo is known for its eclectic lineup. This summer's roster takes it to a new level.

Organizers announced Tuesday night a lineup that features the Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder and Jay-Z at the head of a list that includes a little bit of everything.

The festival will be held June 10-13 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., about 60 miles south of Nashville.

Other top names in the genre-jumping lineup of 125 acts include Norah Jones, Weezer, Jack White's newest band The Dead Weather, Nas with Damian Marley, and the Flaming Lips will perform Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon."

Bonnaroo also features a formidable comedy lineup led by Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon and Jack Black's Tenacious D.

The headlining slot earned by Kings of Leon is a milestone for the Nashville-area band, which won a Grammy for record of the year for "Use Somebody" last month. They are the first band to start on a tiny tent stage at the festival, then go on to a headline slot.

Buoyed by their platinum-selling album "Only By The Night," they'll likely play in front of 60,000 to 70,000 fans.

The festival also has a strong country flavor this year, with the Grammy-winning Zac Brown Band, Kris Kristofferson, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert and Dave Rawlings Machine. There will also be roots rockers like John Fogerty, the Avett Brothers, John Prine, The Black Keys.

There's even a chance to see a few moonlighting actors with banjo enthusiast Steve Martin performing with the Steep Canyon Rangers and Zooey Deschanel's She & Him performing.

You can see the complete list here: here.

Cruise suits up for `Mission: Impossible IV'

LOS ANGELES – Tom Cruise is starring in another impossible mission.

Paramount Pictures announced Tuesday that Cruise will be back in front of the camera for "Mission: Impossible IV," due in theaters over Memorial Day weekend in 2011.

Cruise and "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams previously agreed to produce a fourth movie in the action franchise. But it had not been known if Cruise would star again.

Abrams will stick to producing this time, with the search on for a director to shoot the new installment. Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec are writing the script, based on a story idea from Cruise and Abrams.

The movie reunites Cruise and Paramount, which cut the actor loose from a long-term development deal in 2006.

Leno to Letterman: Thanks for Super Bowl ad invite

NEW YORK – Jay Leno has a message for David Letterman: Thanks.

Leno said that "whatever happened in the last 18 years disappeared" when the two comics got together to film their surprise Super Bowl ad last week.

"He was very gracious," Leno said Monday on his prime-time show, which ends Tuesday. "We talked about the old days. We told some jokes. It was really good to see him."

Letterman's bitterness at losing the "Tonight" show job to Leno nearly two decades ago has long been obvious to his CBS viewers. Leno is a frequent target of Letterman's jokes, which escalated during last month's drama over Leno reclaiming the "Tonight" show. Leno returned fire when the jokes got particularly rough.

It was a perfect setup for the Super Bowl promo. A grumpy Letterman complained to Oprah Winfrey about being at a lousy Super Bowl party, and the camera panned back to reveal Leno on the other side of a couch, saying, "he's just saying that because I'm here."

"No matter what animosity there is between comedians, a good joke is a good joke," Leno said.

Letterman, for his part, joked in his monologue about his mother wondering who it was sitting on the couch with Winfrey and Leno.

"People really thought this was big-time stuff, so I just want to take a second here now to thank the actors who played Oprah and also Jay Leno," he said on his show Monday. "They did a tremendous job."

Leno, a notorious workaholic, took a day off from his show to fly to New York to make the 15-second promo. He was driven to Letterman's studio on a black SUV and hustled in, wearing a disguise.

Leno said an NBC executive later approached him, saying the network believed Letterman was taping a secret show because someone entered the studio from a black SUV. NBC believed that Letterman was doing a show with President Barack Obama, he said.

"I said, `keep me posted,'" Leno said.

Letterman stagehand hospitalized

David Letterman's TV sidekick was hospitalized on Monday after a game of catch on the show went awry.

The talk show host was enjoying a break during the taping of The Late Show with David Letterman when he started passing a ball to his stage manager, Biff Henderson, who is often involved in comedy segments of the TV program.

But Letterman's last throw to his sidekick went wrong when Henderson moved to catch the ball and tumbled off the stage in front of the studio audience. Before he knew Henderson had been hurt, Letterman quipped, "I can smell a lawsuit."

Audience member Sheva Oliver tells the New York Daily News, "They cut the cameras and the band played for about 20 minutes and that's how we all knew it was serious."

The crew cut the taping and the 63 year old was attended by medics, who moved him onto a gurney and took him to Roosevelt Hospital in an ambulance.

Henderson was treated for a leg injury and released later that night.

Hagar not up for Aerosmith gig

Rocker Sammy Hagar’s manager has dismissed reports linking the ex-Van Halen star to the vacant frontman slot in Aerosmith.

Guitarist Joe Perry and his bandmates have been on the hunt for a new singer since Steven Tyler announced he was taking a hiatus from the band last year, and Hagar has emerged as the latest frontrunner - but the Why Can't This Be Love singer's manager insists there's no truth to the rumours.

John Carter quips, "His Led Zep gig conflicts with the Aerosmith job... Seriously, Sam is very happy to be going into the studio with (band) Chickenfoot to start the second album in April."

Reports suggest Billy Idol, Chris Cornell and Paul Rodgers have been approached as potential replacements for Tyler. Lenny Kravitz, who was one of the first names linked to the job, has already made it clear he's not interested in the job.

Last week, Perry confessed he's not ruling out a female star as Aerosmith's new singer.

Stern confirms ‘Idol’ rumours

Shock jock Howard Stern has confirmed reports he has been approached to replace Simon Cowell when the British music mogul quits American Idol.

The controversial radio DJ is currently in discussions with TV bosses to take on Cowell's spot on the U.S. talent show's panel when the Brit's contract expires in May.

And he insists he would love to take part in the series - if executives at TV network Fox can pay him enough money.

Speaking on his Sirius XM Radio show, Stern says, "There's not a better job on the planet than judging that f**ing karaoke contest. It might be possible, we'll see. They'd have to pay me a ton of dough because I already make a ton of dough."

And Stern promises he will be even more frank with the wannabe pop stars than Cowell: "I'd say, 'Go work out!' I'm going to be frank with these people and say, 'You're fat! How many fat pop stars do you see?' I'm gonna wear a badge on my chest and say there's a whole new sheriff in town."

Stern's multi-million dollar contract with Sirius expires next January.

Grohl Sets 'SNL' Record

Maybe Dave Grohl should host "Saturday Night Live" some time.

Performing on the show with his sidegroup Them Crooked Vultures with John Paul Jones and Josh Homme on Saturday, Grohl set a new record for the number of time a guest musician has appeared on the show -- 10.

But Grohl seems particularly well suited to the rest of the show too. He's always been game for comedy (and costumes) in so many Foo Fighters videos and got his chance to show that side Saturday by appearing in a skit in which a father gathers his old band on stage to play at his daughter's wedding reception.

In it, former musician Fred Armisen sings as frontman; Will Hader played bass; fourth time host Ashton Kutcher was playing guitar and Grohl was back on the drums for a set of noisy metal that climaxed with the destruction of the reception room.

The band (which I believe Armisen called "Christ of the Deformity"), was the sixth different group Grohl has played with on the show (and the second of the night).

Alec Baldwin or Steve Martin may be the ranking record holders on the number of times they've hosted the show (14 and 15 respectively), but Grohl is the new leader among musical guests on the show, surpassing Paul Simon as the only one to reach double digits

Grohl of course first appeared with Nirvana twice, and then was on five times with the Foo Fighters. But he also sat in with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and backed up Tenacious D before playing drums in Them Crooked Vultures (and the skit band) on Saturday.

Saving Private Ryan appears in high definition

Paramount Home Entertainment and Dreamworks Home Entertainment this morning also officially announced the Blu-Ray release of Saving Private Ryan, scheduling the title for May.

Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII's D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and he chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), cynical Reiben (Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian-American Caparzo (Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (Barry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. The film's historical consultant is Stephen E. Ambrose, and the incident is based on a true occurance in Ambrose's 1994 bestseller D-Day: June 6, 1944.

“Saving Private Ryan” will boast a 1080p high definition transfer with lossless high definition audio. As extras you will find the Featurettes ”Shooting War” and the making-of ”Saving Private Ryan” on the release. Additional bonus materials may yet be announced.

The Blu-Ray version will be in stores on May 4 for $39.99.

Super Bowl is most watched TV show ever

NEW YORK – The New Orleans Saints' victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M-A-S-H" to become the most-watched program in U.S. television history, the Nielsen Co. said Monday.

Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the attempt at a second Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning propelled the viewership. Football ratings have been strong all season.

"It was one of those magical moments that you don't often see in sports," said Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports.

Nielsen estimated Monday that 106.5 million people watched Sunday's Super Bowl. The "M-A-S-H" record was 105.97 million.

The viewership estimate obliterated the previous record viewership for a Super Bowl — last year's game between Arizona and Pittsburgh. That game was seen by 98.7 million people, Nielsen said.

The "M-A-S-H" record has proven as durable and meaningful in television as Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs was in baseball until topped by Hank Aaron. Ultimately, it may be hard to tell which program was really watched by more people. There's a margin for error in such numbers, and Nielsen's Monday estimate was preliminary, and could change with a more thorough look at data due Tuesday.

"It's significant for all of the members of the broadcasting community," said Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp. CEO. "For anyone who wants to write that broadcasting is dead, 106 million people watched this program. You can't find that anywhere else."

Moonves predicted CBS will earn more in advertising revenue than in any other Super Bowl. The good ratings for the game and football in general also set CBS and other football broadcasters up well when selling advertising for next season, he said.

The Nielsen estimate also drew some congratulations from Alan Alda, the star of "M-A-S-H," and the slugger whose record was beaten.

"If the `M-A-S-H' audience was eclipsed, it was probably due in large part to the fact that the whole country is rooting for New Orleans to triumph in every way possible," Alda said. "I am, too, and I couldn't be happier for them. I love that city."

There are more American homes with television sets now (114.9 million) than there were in 1983 (83.3 million). An estimated 77 percent of homes with TVs on were watching "M-A-S-H" in 1983, compared with the audience share of 68 for the Super Bowl.

Nielsen also measures only the United States, and it's possible some World Cup soccer games were seen more worldwide. Accurate measurement of television audiences outside the United States is spotty at best.

Alda also wondered whether the numbers were too close to declare a new champion. He thinks Nielsen didn't take into account large numbers of people watching "M-A-S-H" communally, which is often the case for football games, too.

"Not to say I'm competitive, but in part we are talking about sports," he said. "And I actually AM competitive."

McManus didn't want to jinx it, but the abnormally strong viewership for football this year left him hoping for a record. The NFC and AFC championship games both had their biggest audiences since the 1980s. The growth of high-definition television and its appeal to sports fans has also helped.

A competitive game until the final minutes sealed it. McManus acknowledged some nervousness when Indianapolis jumped out to a 10-0 lead — a Super Bowl rout often makes people turn away from the game — but New Orleans roared back.

The Mid-Atlantic blizzard also helped CBS. After New Orleans, the highest-rated market was snowbound Washington, Nielsen said. More people watched the game from their homes in that area instead of going to parties or bars, and Nielsen does a much better job counting viewers in homes than outside of them.

"Bad weather in the Northeast and good weather in Florida was a good combination for us," McManus said.

The Super Bowl also proved a strong launching pad for the new CBS series "Undercover Boss" that premiered after the game. An estimated 38.6 million people watched the first edition of a series about corporate honchos working secretly as low-level employees in their own companies, Nielsen said. That's third only to a 1996 "Friends" and 2001 "Survivor" as the most-watched program after the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, Dorito's was a big winner in a measurement of interest in the commercials played during the Super Bowl. TiVo Inc. said the snack company's ad featuring a boy telling a man to keep his hands off his chips and his mom was stopped and played back in 15 percent of homes with the digital video recorder.

The secretly filmed CBS promo with David Letterman, Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey came in second, followed by the Snicker's ad with Betty White and Abe Vigoda flattened in a football game.

In general, however, TiVo found less interest in the commercials than it has in previous years, judged by how many people paused live action to see them, said Todd Juenger, general manager of TiVo's research department.

CBC's Galloway to replace Barrie on Metro Morning

A familiar voice will greet listeners of CBC Radio One's Metro Morning in Toronto starting in March, when afternoon show host Matt Galloway takes over the mic of his long-standing a.m. colleague, Andy Barrie.

Galloway will step into the role permanently beginning March 1, the CBC announced Monday morning.

Since 2004, the 39-year-old Galloway has hosted Here and Now, CBC Radio One's Toronto afternoon drive show. More recently, he added a regular stint as the main back-up host of the top-rated Metro Morning.

"Matt is, in many ways, already a member of the Metro Morning team," Susan Marjetti, managing director of CBC Toronto, said in a statement.

"He's been filling in for the past year when Andy is away and has helped the show maintain its number 1 standing in the community. We're delighted he's decided to make the leap to morning radio full-time."

Prolific CBC credits

A familiar voice on CBC Radio for the past 10 years, Galloway has worked on a range of programs, including The Current, Sounds Like Canada, Global Village and Q.

The passionate soccer fan also had an early CBC gig as a roving reporter for Metro Morning during the 1998 World Cup, anchored the public broadcaster's coverage of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup of Soccer and was a part of the team reporting live from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Previously, Galloway was a music writer for the Toronto alternative weekly NOW and hosted radio shows, including for the campus station of York University, his alma mater. After having grown up listening to CBC shows like Brave New Waves, his first connection with the CBC was as an occasional freelance producer for the acclaimed, now-defunct alternative and indie music and culture show.

Raised in Kimberley, about 27 kilometres from the resort community of Collingwood, Ont., Galloway lives in Toronto's west end with his partner and two daughters.

Barrie, who revealed he had Parkinson's disease in 2007, informed listeners of his impending retirement on Feb. 1, near the end of that day's show.

"All I know was [my] body was getting a very loud wake-up call of its own, and the call said: 'Fifteen years is more than anybody's held this job. A guy's got just so much stamina. You have been there and done that, and it's time to do something new,'" he said.

The CBC said Barrie would continue to be involved with the public broadcaster in a different capacity, but wasn't releasing details yet.

Neil Gaiman 'has written Doctor Who episode'

Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman has said he is to write a forthcoming episode of Doctor Who.

Gaiman, the author of Stardust and Coraline which were both adapted for the big screen, revealed the news at a sci-fi convention in Sussex.

The episode, with the working title of The House of Nothing, will air in 2011, the writer said.

Gaiman previously wrote the fantasy TV series Neverwhere which aired on BBC Two in 1996.

During his acceptance speech for best comic at the SFX Awards, Gaiman said: "As anyone who's read my blog knows, I'm a big fan of a certain long-running British TV series. One that I started watching - from behind the sofa - when I was three.

"And while I know it's cruel to make you wait for things, in about 14 months from now - which is to say, not in the upcoming season but early in the one after that - it's quite possible that I might have written an episode.

"And if I had, it would originally have been called 'The House of Nothing'. But it definitely isn't called that any more."

A spokesman for Doctor Who would not confirm Gaiman's announcement.

The next series of the show, starring Matt Smith as the 11th Time Lord, is due to air in the spring.

Pete Townshend: Nice to be part of spectacle

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Pete Townshend is used to playing in front of stadiums filled with rabid fans who know every note of The Who's songs. He didn't get that at the band's Super Bowl halftime performance, but he's OK with that too.

Townshend and bandmate Roger Daltrey performed a medley of some of their most famous songs on entertainment's biggest stage Sunday, including "Won't Get Fooled Again" during a 12-minute set that included a laser-lit stage and plenty of fireworks.

While the crowd was involved, and some held up their cell phones to illuminate the night as instructed by the stadium announcers, they were somewhat subdued, and was clear it was not a Who event.

Backstage after their show, Townshend laughed and said: "You know, you could kind of tell from the stage the crowd is really here for the game."

"It was nice for that reason. It was nice to feel a part of something and not having it all to be about us," he added. When it was mentioned that most rock stars want everything to revolve around them, he joked and said: "We're too far gone to care I think."

It was the first football game Townshend and Daltrey, both Brits, ever saw (Daltrey went after his performance to watch the game, which the New Orleans Saints won over the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17). Townshend said he was awed by the spectacle, and the sheer work of putting together the event.

"It's extraordinary," said Townshend. "You forget how big sport is and how every week it happens ... I'm not trying to be humble but we felt like a very small piece of a huge team."

The Super Bowl also saw the debut of a new remix of "My Generation" by will.i.am and Slash. It is available for sale on Amazon.com, will.i.am's dipdive.com and the Who's Web site, and proceeds will go to aid Haiti after the earthquake there.

Townshend said he was impressed with the remix: "It's actually very elegant, it's not gangsta," he said of will.i.am's rap on the song.

Townshend called his entire Super Bowl experience a success, despite protests by some children's rights advocates about his presence in the Super Bowl.

Townshend was arrested in 2003 in Britain as part of a child pornography sting but later cleared. He accessed a Web site containing child pornography but said it was for research for his own campaign against child porn. He was required to register as a sex offender, despite being cleared. Townshend said he has been a children's advocate for years and was abused himself as a child.

He had to address the controversy at the Who's Super Bowl news conference, and though he feels like the protests were "a bit of a cheap shot," he said it was "dealt with fairly elegantly in the press conference."

"I think if people don't believe, they fall on that side of the line, there's little I can do, but most people have been very kind, very understanding, and I know I did nothing wrong," he said.

How David Letterman, Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey pulled off their secret Super Bowl promo for CBS' 'Late Show'

To pull off the surprise Super Bowl spot he did with rival David Letterman, Jay Leno flew secretly to New York on the NBC jet last Tuesday and managed to sneak into the Ed Sullivan Theater undetected wearing a hoodie, sunglasses and a fake mustache.

Rob Burnett, executive producer of the “Late Show,” said keeping Leno’s participation under wraps was the key to preserving the effect of the 15-second promo, which featured the two late-night comedians uncomfortably watching the Super Bowl together, with Oprah Winfrey trying to keep the peace.

“We wanted desperately to keep this a secret,” said Burnett, who said the only CBS official who knew of the plan was Chief Executive Leslie Moonves. “Most of the staff didn’t know. We just knew we had to keep the circle extraordinarily tight.”

At NBC, Leno’s executive producer, Debbie Vickers, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin and NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker were in the loop, but few others had a clue that Letterman and his longtime rival had joined forces for what was easily the most unexpected Super Bowl ad of the night.

In the spot, Letterman is seen on a couch, glumly munching potato chips. “This is the worst Super Bowl party ever,” he says.

“Now, Dave, be nice,” responds Winfrey, seated beside him. The camera then pulls back to reveal Leno squeezed on the couch on the other side of her, with his own bowl of potato chips. “Oh, he’s just saying that ‘cause I’m here,” the NBC host says. Letterman then mimics Leno in a high-pitched voice, prompting Winfrey to roll her eyes, sigh and throw up her hands in frustration.

Letterman came up with the idea and wrote the script himself after CBS told him they were giving his show a brief promo during the Super Bowl, Burnett said. Letterman pitched the idea to Winfrey, who had appeared in a similar spot with him in 2007. She quickly agreed to it, and then Burnett ran it by Vickers. She thought it was funny, and within minutes, Leno was on the phone, agreeing to do it.

“I think for Jay, he thought of it less as a promo and more of a funny piece to be doing on the Super Bowl,” Burnett said. While the “Late Show” staff speculated internally about what the ad would do for Leno’s image, Burnett said Letterman was focused on another aspect.

“Dave is ruled by one law: Is it funny?” he said. “That’s all he really cared about. And the sense I got in the room was that all three sides thought it was really funny.”

Though Letterman and Leno have both flung pointed insults at each other on the air in recent weeks during NBC’s messy late-night imbroglio, Burnett said the two men got along well during the 20-minute shoot.

“Dave and Jay were very professional and cordial and friendly with each other,” he said. “And Oprah, in addition to her many talents, is a wonderful comedienne.”

NBC officials had no comment on Leno's participation in the ad. The taping kept Leno from doing his show Tuesday, so the network extended Tuesday’s edition of “The Biggest Loser” to fill his time slot.

Sandra Bullock: 'I'm So Not Winning an Oscar!'

Sandra Bullock has news for anyone waiting to see her give an acceptance speech at the Academy Awards – don't hold your breath!

"I'm so not winning an Oscar," Bullock, who received her first-ever nomination, as best actress for The Blind Side, told reporters at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Friday, where she received the American Riviera Award for her influence on film.

Bullock considers herself an expert oddsmaker for the annual awards show, so she has strong feelings about her own chance for victory. "Nine times out of ten I always pick who's going to win," the actress, 45, said. "And I already know who's going to win. I'm not going to say, but nine times out of ten, I'm right."

Bullock isn't practicing false humility. After all, she’s already won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award this year. She’s just not overanxious to snag the trophy. "I have to say, all the ladies in our category, we don't care who wins," she said. "Someone's going to win and the rest of us will be really happy for whoever won. We're just happy to be here. And we like the company we're in."

Bullock admitted she has to push herself into enjoying the build-up to the Academy Awards. "It's amazing how you are asked to hit the ground running the minute you hear the news," she said. "It's not like you can sit back and have bonbons and champagne."

"I thought that's what it was about," she said. "I had it already. I said, 'OK, where are the bonbons and champagne?' No one brought me any. They just told me I had to work. So I'm like, 'OK.' "
Everyday Tasks

"I'm so bad at taking in compliments or flattery," she said. "I'm better taking in the bad than I am the good. So I'm trying very hard just to be present and enjoy the moments."

She's also embracing the everyday tasks at home which keep her grounded. "You go home and you have to pick up dog poop – and we have a two-legged dog," she says. "To me, that's not mundane, though. Life is tricky enough that I actually love and embrace the normal day-to-day rituals. You get up, you make your coffee, read your paper, you do the school run, you go do your things. I'm just lucky that I get to do them."

Up Flies Off with Top Honors at Annie Awards

Oscars, schmoscars. This weekend was all about the best and brightest in Hollywood animation.

At Saturday's 37th Annual Annie Awards, Pixar's Up, the little gem that's also in the running for top honors at this year's Academy Awards, was named Best Animated Film and Best Directing in a Feature. The Oscar contender stole the prize from hits such as Coraline, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Secret of Kells.

Elsewhere in the animated realm, Walt Disney Studios knocked out a majority of its competition, taking home a total of six Annies, including three for the hand-drawn critical favorite, The Princess and the Frog, while Dreamworks Studios garnered five Annies for their numerous made for TV productions.

The remaining 2010 Annie Awards winners include:

Animated Feature: Up

Home Entertainment Production: Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder

Animated Short: Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5

Animated TV Commercial: Spanish Lottery "Deportees"

Animated TV Production: Prep and Landing

Animated TV Production for Children: The Penguins of Madagascar

Animated Effects: James Mansfield, The Princess and the Frog

Character Animation in TV Production: Phillip To, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space

Character Animation in Feature: Eric Goldberg, The Princess and the Frog

Character Design in TV Production: Bill Schwab, Prep and Landing

Character Design in Feature: Shane Prigmore, Coraline

Directing in TV Production: Bret Haaland, The Penguins of Madagascar "Launchtime"

Directing in Feature: Pete Docter, Up

Music in TV Production: Guy Moon, The Fairly OddParents: "Wishology-The Big Beginning"

Music in Feature: Bruno Coulais, Coraline

Production Design in TV Production: Andy Harkness, Prep and Landing

Production Design in Feature: Tadahiro Uesugi, Coraline

Storyboarding in TV: Robert Koo, Merry Madagascar

Storyboarding in Feature: Tom Owens, Monsters vs. Aliens

Voiceacting in TV: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob, SpongeBob SquarePants

Voiceacting in Feature: Jen Cody as Charlotte, The Princess and the Frog

Writing in TV Production: Daniel Chun, The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX

Writing in Feature: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Winsor McCay Award: Tim Burton, Bruce Timm, Jeffrey Katzenberg

June Foray Award: Tom Sito

Ub Iwerks Award: William T. Reeves

Special Achievement: Martin Meunier and Brian McLean

Certificate of Merit: Myles Mikulic, Danny Young and Michael Woodside

'Dear John' bumps 'Avatar' with $32.4M debut

LOS ANGELES – A sci-fi love story has given way to an earthbound romance at the box office, livening up typically slow times at theaters over Super Bowl weekend.

Released by Sony's Screen Gems banner, "Dear John" debuted as the No. 1 movie with $32.4 million, knocking off "Avatar" after seven weekends in first place, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"It is very cool to know that it was our movie that audiences just totally embraced and made No. 1 for the weekend," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony. As for runaway blockbuster "Avatar," he quipped, "I think they're going to be fine in the long run."

"Avatar" slipped to No. 2 with $23.6 million, raising its domestic total to $630.1 million. Directed by James Cameron, 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" surpassed his own "Titanic," which had held the domestic revenue record at $600.8 million.

With a record $2.2 billion worldwide, "Avatar" also has soared past the $1.8 billion "Titanic" took in globally.

Factoring in today's higher admission prices, however, "Avatar" has sold fewer tickets than "Titanic."

"Avatar" had been No. 1 domestically longer than any movie since 1997's "Titanic," which held on at first place for 15 weekends. The studio was unconcerned that "Avatar" finally fell out of the top spot.

"It had to happen sometime," said 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. "There's nothing that could disappoint me with this movie."

By the eighth weekend, most Hollywood movies have long since dropped out of the top 10 rankings.

"Avatar" still is going strong after eight weeks, with the added luster of a monthlong buildup to the Academy Awards on March 7. Following the example of Oscar champ "Titanic," "Avatar" tied for the lead at the Academy Awards with nine nominations and is a front-runner to win best picture.

Fox executives would not speculate what number "Avatar" eventually might hit at the box office.

"Who knows what that is? It just keeps on going," Livingston said.

The weekend's other new wide release, Lionsgate's spy story "From Paris With Love," opened at No. 3 with $8.1 million. The movie stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as CIA men trying to crack a terrorist plot.

Fox Searchlight's acclaimed country-music tale "Crazy Heart" expanded from narrow release and broke into the top 10, coming in at No. 8 with $3.7 million. Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal have acting Oscar nominations for the film, which follows a boozy country star trying to turn his life around.

While "Avatar" features a human-alien romance light-years away, "Dear John" centers on a long-distance love story between a soldier (Channing Tatum) and his sweetheart (Amanda Seyfried) back home.

"Dear John" had a record opening for Super Bowl weekend, topping the $31.1 million debut for "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" in 2008.

The movie was based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, whose Hollywood adaptations such as "The Notebook" and "A Walk to Remember" have been steady draws for women. Female crowds made up 84 percent of the audience for "Dear John," according to Sony.

Sparks "creates these stories that really pull at your heartstrings, and certainly that may be first and foremost for women rather than men, though I think a few of us have hearts, too," Bruer said. "But his stories really resonate and are very compelling for women."

That bodes well for the movie over Valentine's Day weekend, said Geoffrey Ammer, head of marketing for Relativity Media, which produced "Dear John." Valentine's weekend draws big date crowds, with women often picking which film to see.

Business on Sunday was predictably slow as football fans watched the Super Bowl instead of going to the movies. But "Dear John" already exceeded industry expectations with $26.2 million on Friday and Saturday.

"Super Bowl weekend isn't about men. It's about women," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "This counter-programming strategy just absolutely works, the female audience propelling a movie to unprecedented heights."

Hollywood could use more fresh hits like "Dear John" if it hopes to match 2009's record box office pace. The first couple of weeks this year, "Avatar" had revenue and attendance running well ahead of last year.

But revenues have now declined for four straight weekends. So far in 2010, domestic revenues are at $1.2 billion, 1.5 percent ahead of last year's, according to Hollywood.com.

Factoring in higher ticket prices this year, though, movie attendance is down 0.5 percent.

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. "Dear John," $32.4 million.
2. "Avatar," $23.6 million.
3. "From Paris With Love," $8.1 million.
4. "Edge of Darkness," $7 million.
5. "The Tooth Fairy," $6.5 million.
6. "When in Rome," $5.5 million.
7. "The Book of Eli," $4.8 million.
8. "Crazy Heart," $3.7 million.
9. "Legion," $3.4 million.
10. "Sherlock Holmes," $2.6 million.

David Scarpa is feeling his inner 'Daredevil'

Another Hollywood entity is trying the daredevil move -- literally -- of rebooting a superhero franchise that hasn't really been away that long.

The Fox-affiliated production company New Regency, which produced the initial "Daredevil" back in 2003, is making another go of a movie headlined by that character. The company is interested in restarting the Marvel franchise and has hired David Scarpa, a writer best known for the script of the 2008 sci-fi remake "The Day the Earth Stood Still," to offer a new take. Former News Corp. executive Peter Chernin will also produce the project via his new production company.

Fox/New Regency have been rumored for some time to be interested in a new "Daredevil," but to this point had taken few concrete steps in that direction.

The first "Daredevil," which came out in 2003, starred Ben Affleck as the supersensory superhero and Colin Farrell as his nemesis Bullseye, with Jennifer Garner playing love interest Elektra Natchios. Despite some mixed reviews, that film performed reasonably well (about $180 million in global box office) -- enough to prompt the spinoff "Elektra" with Garner back in 2005 (which didn't perform as well). It's not yet established who from those casts might return if the new "Daredevil" moves forward.

The original Marvel comic book series "Daredevil" told of the adventures of Matt Murdock, a young man from the working-class neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan who acquired particularly keen touch and hearing senses after a bio-chemical accident left him blind. Those familiar with the reboot say that the new project would give Scarpa latitude to reinterpret plot points and character nuance.

Mark Steven Johnson, who also counts "Ghost Rider" among his credits, wrote and directed the 2003 "Daredevil." (He recently moved on to a less fannish realm, directing the Kristen Bell romantic comedy "When In Rome.") In addition to "Earth," Scarpa also wrote on the military-prison thriller "The Last Castle" that starred James Gandolfini.

New Regency is following a vogue for reboots of franchises that were, well, just booted. Sony is scrapping its existing Spider-Man franchise to start over with "(500) Days of Summer" director Marc Webb and screenwriter James Vanderbilt, who will tell a high-school-set origin story. The initial "Daredevil" did feature some details of the character's beginnings, though a new script would not be burdened down with nearly as much of the mythology that saddles the "Spider-Man" franchise, which over three films intensively explored the character's origins and development.

Studios generally are eager to continue development even on less-high-profile comic book characters. Fox, in particular, wants to ensure that it doesn't miss out on the superhero bounty ("X-Men" and its spinoff characters are currently its most vibrant superhero properties). Keeping comic book licenses in active development also legally prevents the characters from reverting to Marvel, which would happen over the coming years if new development work wasn't done on the Marvel-licensed titles.

'Idol' producers want Howard Stern to replace Cowell

"American Idol" producers are eager to hire Howard Stern to replace Simon Cowell as the show's tough-talking judge, sources tell The New York Post's Page Six.

An insider said that producers of the hit Fox show say Stern, America's highest-paid radio personality, is their top choice to take over from Cowell, who leaves at the end of this season. They approached the King of All Media after he repeatedly mentioned on-air that his exclusive Sirius XM Radio deal expires next January and he was open to other offers. Cowell was paid $50 million a year.

A source connected to "Idol" said, "It's one of the few shows that could compete with Stern's $100 million-a-year Sirius contract, and 'Idol' bosses think he'd be even nastier than Simon.

"They know he would be great TV and would clash with the other judges such as Ellen DeGeneres and the contestants. 'Idol' will do what it takes to sign him."

But a second source says that Stern hasn't made the "Idol" talks easy, and has been giving out mixed messages about his intentions.

"Despite what he's been saying on-air, Howard isn't ready to leave radio and would like to stay on at Sirius," the source said. "We believe this is a ploy to make Sirius pay up and keep him on his huge contract. But if Sirius can't pay him the money he wants, he may negotiate to film 'Idol' on the side."

Stern is also believed to be reluctant to commit to a show that would require him to tour the US as a judge and spend much of the year in Los Angeles.

He recently said, somewhat cryptically, "I was approached by a major TV network to take over a TV show and leave here and do that next year -- and I did turn it down . . . I'm not even sure if I want to be working. I'm waiting to see what happens."

Calls to Stern's agent and producer were not returned. A rep for FOX declined to comment.

Celebrities sing out for Haiti, but how long will public listen?

More than three weeks after the earthquake that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12, musicians continue to channel their concern into a range of relief projects.

The evening after the Grammy Awards, a bevy of stars gathered to record an updated, Haiti-themed version of the 1985 anthem We Are the World. The benefit concert SOS Saving Ourselves — Help for Haiti airs live Thursday night from Miami on BET, MTV, VH1 and Centric. A new Haiti-relief remix of The Who's My Generation will premiere Sunday during the Super Bowl.

But while artists remain galvanized by the disaster, some are questioning how long their endeavors can sustain the public's attention — not to mention its financial support.

"Everyone's hearts are in the right place," says Billboard senior charts manager Keith Caulfield. "But as we've seen in the past, when something like this happens, the first charitable efforts out of the gate tend to do the best. After a while, the novelty of artists coming together on behalf of a good cause is gone."

Caulfield points to 2001's telethon America: A Tribute to Heroes, which was broadcast just 10 days after 9/11. Packed with music and film icons, the program raised more than $100 million for relief, "and the musical performances are well-remembered." Jan. 22's Hope for Haiti Now was similar in timing, structure and star power, and has drawn $66 million in donations.

A collection of performances from Hope became the first digital-only release to make its debut atop Billboard's album chart (selling 171,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan), but Caulfield attributes that feat to "the instantaneous delivery and distribution of the music, which was recorded on a Friday night and released Saturday. Had they waited a month and a half for a physical CD, it probably wouldn't have had the same impact."

Yet new benefit shows and charity recordings keep cropping up, from local and independent efforts to high-profile outings such as Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige's performance of Bridge Over Troubled Water at the Grammys, made available at iTunes. This Monday, Blige, Wyclef Jean and Whoopi Goldberg will appear in New York with other personalities to launch the initiative Hope Help & Relief Haiti.

A remake of R.E.M.'s Everybody Hurts, which will be downloadable Sunday, brought best-selling Brits Susan Boyle and Leona Lewis together with American icons such as Rod Stewart and Mariah Carey. We Are the World: 25 for Haiti showcases an even larger and more eclectic lineup.

"I can only hope this can have the impact that the original had," says one participant, Josh Groban. (The first World has raised more than $63 million from discs, downloads and merchandise.) Granted, music sales aren't what they were 25 years ago — or in the Sept. 11 era, for that matter. But Celine Dion, another voice in the new World, echoes Groban's goal: "We have to react and act and make a difference."

Some music consumers are skeptical. Danny Gillane, 44, of Lafayette, La., and his wife, Jenna, contribute to organizations that "have responded to the Haiti tragedy," but he feels less confident that musicians are positioned to deliver such assistance. "I do not always trust the recording industry's or the artists' abilities to optimize the use of the funds, or even to guarantee the delivery of the funds," he says.

BET programming co-president Stephen Hill acknowledges that it's "always a challenge to maintain the public's attention, especially as the media focuses on other stories." Hill hopes to put together an album from SOS, but more generally plans to provide BET viewers "with constant reminders, as the weeks go on, that this crisis is not yet over. That's what we did with Katrina: We kept making it clear that New Orleans still needed our help."

Celebrities play a role in maintaining awareness, particularly outside the country, says Francis Ghesquiere, the World Bank's regional coordinator for disaster risk management.

"People tend to get tired of one issue and start talking about the next crisis, but the truth is we'll just be starting reconstruction of Haiti in about a year," he says. "We'll need the long-term engagement of the international community, and this is an opportunity to enlist its support."

Kenny Rogers to mark 50 years in music on TV

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country music veteran Kenny Rogers is marking 50 years in the music business with a star-studded TV special.

"Pretty courageous, isn't it?" Rogers, 71, said in a phone interview, laughing.
"The whole idea is to get together with some friends of mine," he added. "I really don't want it to be a tribute. That's not what my deal is. It's kind of a celebration."

Friends including Dolly Parton, Allison Krauss, Lionel Richie and Wynonna Judd are already signed on to take part in "Kenny Rogers — The First 50 Years," which will tape on April 10 at the MGM Grand At Foxwoods in Connecticut.

The special will take viewers through the six decades of Rogers' hits, including "The Gambler," "Lucille," "Lady" and the Dolly Parton duet "Islands In The Stream." Entertainers who have known Rogers throughout the years will host segments of the show. Rogers will also perform, and he hopes that producers build in some unscripted time.

"I'm at my best when they turn me loose and just let me do something," he said.

There will undoubtedly be pictures and videos spanning six decades as well. Rogers is ready to embrace his fashion history. He started out in a jazz band wearing three-piece suits, but then changed it up when he joined The First Edition in 1967.

"I had never had a beard, and I parted my hair on the side like everybody else did," he said. "Then when I got in The First Edition, I was the oldest one, and they were saying, 'You may be too old for this group,' and I said, "Whoa, whoa, hold on. Give me a chance here.' So I went back and parted my hair in the middle, which was a little more contemporary. I put an earring in my ear, and then I grew a beard, and I wore those brown, rose-colored glasses to kind of give me an identification for that era."

While he has adapted to changing fashions, Rogers said the secret to long-term success is to be genuine.

"Everybody is three people. We're who we think we are, we're who the audience thinks we are, and we're who we really are, and the closer those three people are together, the longer your career can last," he said. "You can be a jerk, if you're a jerk all the time. But I think you have to be what you represent. The audience doesn't like to be fooled."

As for his next 50 years, Rogers is clear about his goals.

"Musically, I think I'm capable of making hit songs. Will they get played? Radio has said to me four or five times since my big success, 'Do a great song, and we'll play it.' They did it with 'The Greatest.' The did it with 'Buy Me a Rose.' They did it with 'I Can't Unlove You.' So I think I just have to find that song they can't say 'no' to, and I will constantly be trying to do that."

The network airing "Kenny Rogers — The First 50 Years" will be announced later. The special will also be syndicated internationally.

Rogers has sold over 105 million albums, earned dozens of awards, including three Grammys, and is ranked 8 on the R.I.A.A.'s list of top selling male artists of all time. His television movie, "The Gambler," is one of the highest rated TV movies of all time.

AC/DC rocker attacks Geldof charity

AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has taken aim at Live Aid hero Bob Geldof for publicizing his tireless charity work.

The heavy rocker, who himself supports a number of organizations, insists philanthropy isn't something celebrities should boast about.

Johnson admits he keeps his giving to himself because he doesn't want to make less affluent people feel guilty for not parting with their hard-earned cash.

He tells Australia's Herald Sun newspaper, "I do it myself, I don't tell everybody I'm doing it. I don't tell everybody they should give money - they can't afford it."

And Johnson isn't stopping there - he's also attacking Geldof's 1985 charity concert, which was held to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia, claiming it was in vain because the cash raised didn't benefit the people it should have.

He adds, "When I was a working man, I didn't want to go to a concert for some bastard to talk down to me that I should be thinking of some kid in Africa. I'm sorry mate, do it yourself, spend some of your own money and get it done. It just makes me angry. I become all tyrannical.

"Bob Geldof is a canny lad. He did what he thought was right at the time but it didn't work. The money didn't go to poor people. It makes me mad when people try to use politics or charity for publicity. Do a charity gig, fair enough, but not on worldwide television."

'80s hit Down Under copies kids' song, court says

Australian band Men at Work copied a well-known children's campfire song for the flute melody in its 1980s hit Down Under and owes the owner years of royalties, a court ruled Thursday.

Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree was written more than 70 years ago by Australian teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition, and the song has been a favourite around campfires from New Zealand to Canada.

The teacher died in 1988, and publishing company Larrikin Music owns the copyright to her song about the native Australian bird. Larrikin filed the copyright lawsuit last year.

"I have come to the view that the flute riff in Down Under … infringes on the copyright of Kookaburra because it replicates in material form a substantial part of Ms. Sinclair's 1935 work," Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson said.

He ordered the parties back in court Feb. 25 to discuss the compensation Larrikin should receive from songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert and Men at Work's record companies Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Songs Australia.

Adam Simpson, Larrikin Music's lawyer, said outside court the company might seek up to 60 per cent of the royalties Down Under earned since its release — an amount that could total millions.

The songwriters and their recording companies did not immediately comment.

Down Under and the album Business As Usual topped the Australian, American and British charts in early 1983. The song remains an unofficial anthem for Australia and was ranked fourth in a 2001 music industry survey of the best Australian songs. Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for best new artist.

Stump: 'I'm not in Fall Out Boy'

The future of Fall Out Boy looks increasingly uncertain - frontman Patrick Stump has declared he's no longer in the band.

Bassist Pete Wentz confirmed the group is on a break in a series of posts on his Twitter.com blog earlier this month, hinting the hiatus could be permanent.

He wrote, "I don't know the future of Fall Out Boy... A hiatus is forever until you get lonely or old. I don't plan on either."

Stump has now echoed his bandmate's sentiments, insisting he's too busy working on a solo project to be concerned about the Dance, Dance hitmakers.

He tells Spin.com, "I'm not in Fall Out Boy right now... I'm really not worried about Fall Out Boy. I'm so psyched about where I'm at right now, recording this solo album."

But the singer isn't convinced the band will fade away: "One way or another, the band will always be around. Steven Tyler isn't in Aerosmith anymore, but his gravestone will probably say something about Aerosmith.

"Whether we play again or not, I don't know. If we do, it will be for the right reasons. If we don't, it will also be for the right reasons."

'MacGyver' creator aims to stop spoof

The man behind MacGyver is consulting lawyers in a bid to block the release of an upcoming spoof movie based on the 1980s TV series.

A new film, titled MacGruber and starring Val Kilmer, is set to hit cinemas in April, but Lee Zlotoff, creator of the original show, alleges the parody breaches copyright laws as he retained the movie rights to his TV creation.

A lawyer for Zlotoff has fired off a series of cease-and-desist letters to executives at Relativity Media, the company behind the new comedy, according to Thresq.com.

Zlotoff's attorney, Paul Mayersohn, tells the website his client is currently considering filing a lawsuit in a bid to block the film's release.

He says, "We feel they're infringing our rights."

A threat to 'Avatar's' reign

"Avatar" will have to fight off "The Hurt Locker" at next month's Academy Awards, but James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster faces a more imminent threat this weekend: losing the top spot at the box office.

For seven consecutive weeks, "Avatar" has ruled the domestic charts. The film surpassed the writer-director's "Titanic" on Tuesday for the biggest domestic gross in Hollywood history, as "Avatar's" North American receipts of more than $601.1 million improved upon "Titanic's" haul of $598.5 million. "Avatar" previously beat "Titanic's" global record gross of $1.8 billion, with worldwide ticket sales of more than $2 billion and counting.

For all the records that the Pandoran fantasy has amassed, it will not outdo one of "Titanic's" most remarkable achievements: holding the No. 1 box-office position for 15 straight weekends.

In fact, while "Avatar" might lose its perch this weekend to the military romance “Dear John,” the film will definitely fall the following week to the fast-rising romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” -- which could gross more than $50 million in its four-day debut -- according to audience tracking surveys. Two events make "Avatar's" exact fall from first place difficult to predict: the Oscar nominations and the Super Bowl.

When "Titanic" collected a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations 12 years ago, the sinking superliner movie (then playing in its ninth weekend) improved more than 22% from the previous weekend. "Avatar" drew nine Academy Award selections on Tuesday, tying it with director Kathryn Bigelow's bomb defuser drama "The Hurt Locker" for the most Oscar selections overall.

But "Titanic's" post-nomination surge in 1998 didn't coincide with the Super Bowl, which typically deflates grosses for all movies but can be slightly more punishing for films aimed at men.

Ticket sales for movies in wide release typically drop about 45% from Saturday to Sunday. But when that Sunday happens to be the same day as pro football's championship, the decline can be more precipitous -- 70% or more. A year ago, "Taken" premiered the same weekend as the Super Bowl. The thriller grossed $9.4 million on Friday, $11.7 million on Saturday, but just $3.6 million on Sunday, when the Pittsburgh Steelers were beating the Arizona Cardinals.

"Avatar" has been remarkably consistent from week to week, and slipped just 10.5% last weekend from the previous weekend, grossing $31.3 million. If the movie drops an additional 10% to 15%, it would finish with a three-day take of about $27 million. That's close to the predicted opening of "Dear John."

The latter film, adapted from a novel by Nicholas Sparks ("The Notebook"), stars Channing Tatum ("G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra") as a soldier on leave who falls in love with an idealistic college student played by Amanda Seyfried ("Mamma Mia!"). Audience tracking surveys show that while most men would rather iron napkins than sit through the film, women -- particularly those younger than age 20 -- are eager to see it. Audience interest in the other new wide release, the John Travolta thriller “From Paris With Love” (from "Taken" director Pierre Morel) does not look especially strong. Neither film is attracting favorable early reviews.

Marty Bowen, one of the producers of "Dear John," says its appeal might be broader.

"Men are reluctant to say that they care about [romantic movies], just like they are to say they care about beauty products," Bowen says. " 'Dear John' is particularly unique to the male perspective, given that it's about the soldier. But the relationship he has with his father is compelling to any man."

"Valentine's Day" looks far more robust, thanks to a cast filled with popular performers -- "Twilight's" Taylor Lautner, singer Taylor Swift, "The Hangover's" Bradley Cooper and even Julia Roberts -- and the seemingly perfect marriage of title and release date. A trailer for the film benefited greatly from being attached to prints of "The Blind Side."

"It's a Garry Marshall romantic comedy," producer Mike Karz says of the film's director, who also made "Pretty Woman." "So you know it's going to appeal very strongly to women. But what we've really been happy about is how well it's been playing to men. And it's such a feel-good movie, the perfect film for the times that we are in. You walk out of the theater in a very good mood."

If it is indeed the movie that pushes "Avatar" out of first place, "Valentine's Day" will be the second straight New Line film to unseat a Cameron-directed smash -- 12 years ago, "Titanic" was finally dethroned by New Line's "Lost in Space."

Avatar flies over Titanic at domestic box office

Titanic's record as the biggest box office winner in U.S. history has sunk, pushed under by James Cameron's next blockbuster Avatar.

Avatar's domestic box office climbed to $601.1 million US on Tuesday, the same day it earned nine Oscar nominations including best picture. That includes Canadian and U.S. ticket sales.

That total pushes it past Cameron's earlier Oscar winner Titanic, which brought in $600.8 million US.

Avatar, a breakthrough in 3-D movie-making, has earned more than $2 billion US worldwide.

It stars Sam Worthington as a paraplegic marine who regains use of his body as an avatar on another planet, Pandora, and helps the blue-tinged residents battle developments that would destroy their environment.

After 47 days in cinemas, it continues to pack houses. Titanic had achieved only $311 million US after 47 days, but it sold at a lower ticket price.

Avatar's sales have been boosted by the fact that audiences pay a premium to watch the film in 3-D and Imax.

Kapuskasing, Ont.-born Cameron has as Academy Award nomination for a best director for the film. Avatar also won the Golden Globe for best drama.

Mark your calendar: 'Lost' finale date set for May

Mark your calendars, "Lost" fans, because your final trip to The Island has been set for a special night in May.

Oh, don't look so sad. You knew it was coming.

ABC formally announced that the "Lost" series finale will air on Sunday, May 23. The two-hour episode has been set from 9-to-11 p.m. and it will, as always seems to happen with "Lost" events, be preceded by an hour-long recap special.

"Lost is an example of what happens when you put creativity above everything else, trust the creative vision, and take the risks required to be truly original," says ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson in the network's statement. "It's a testament to staying true to the creative vision of one of the most iconic shows ever on television, and we’re giving the producers an unprecedented opportunity to respect the fans and really satisfy the viewers with a spectacular conclusion."

The finale announcement came the morning after "Lost" premiered its sixth season to a large and receptive audience, improving on the fifth season premiere by 6 percent in total viewers, 10 percent in viewers 18-49 and a whopping 20 percent in adults 18-34.

The sixth season premiere was the most-watched "Lost" telecast in nearly two years among adults 18-49 and 18-34.

Mel Gibson loses his cool again

Mel Gibson has been caught name calling again - and this time it aired on TV.

The movie star had an uncomfortable satellite interview with U.S. TV presenter Dean Richards on Friday and signed off by calling the host an "a**hole".

The WGN-TV personality pressed Gibson, who was promoting new film The Edge of Darkness, on his past indiscretions, asking the Aussie if he thought the public's perception of him had changed following his 2006 drink driving arrest, in which the actor spewed anti-Semitic insults at a police officer and was publicly shamed.

A visibly annoyed Gibson replied, "That's almost four years ago, dude. I've moved on, I guess you haven't... I've done all the necessary mea culpas, so let's move on, dude. Come on."

Richards then concluded the interview, urging film fans to see Gibson's new film.

The actor said, "Bye bye," took a swig of coffee and then called the TV host an "asshole", thinking he was no longer live and the interview was over.

The TV encounter has been picked up and aired on TMZ.com.

Cowell's Haiti charity single gets first airing

LONDON – A star-studded British single to raise money for victims of the earthquake in Haiti has had its first radio airplay.

The cover of R.E.M.'s 1993 ballad "Everybody Hurts" made its debut on breakfast-time broadcasts Tuesday.

Susan Boyle, Rod Stewart, Leona Lewis, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams are all featured on the track, coordinated by TV mogul Simon Cowell.

R.E.M. has agreed to waive royalties and the British government says the record will be exempt from sales tax.

It goes on sale by download Sunday and will be in stores starting Monday.

The song is one of several records raising money for victims of the Jan. 12 quake. Another is a re-recording of 1985 anthem "We Are The World" by 80 artists including Pink, Celine Dion and Kanye West.

Apollo 13 on a course for Blu-ray

40 years after the launch of Apollo 13, the film which bears its name comes to Blu-ray from Universal.

Like many Univeral titles, Apollo 12 will contain U-Control, and will also carry the audio commentary from the DVD along with the featurettes Lucky 13, Lost Moon and Conquering Space. Th edisc also includes BD-Live and D-Box as well as pocketBlu controls.

No problems here as the 50Gb disc arrives on April 13th.

Fall out Boy falling out?

Rockers Fall Out Boy appear to have fallen out - if 'tweets' written by bassist Pete Wentz are anything to go by.

In a series of recent posts on his Twitter.com blog, Wentz has confirmed the band are currently on hiatus, and hints that it might be a permanent thing.

He writes, "I don't know the future of Fall Out Boy. It's embarrassing to say one thing and then have the future dictate another. As far as I know Fall Out Boy is on (a) break.

"As much as I don't have a solo project, I also can't predict that I'd ever play in Fall Out Boy again."

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 2009, Wentz explained he and his bandmates desperately needed a break from each other: "We've been seven years straight of just driving albums and tour, tour, tour. Everybody just needs to decompress."

The band formed in 2001 and became a big deal four years later, when their debut album From Under the Cork Tree achieved double platinum status after selling more than 2.5 million albums in the United States alone.

They have since become one of America's top bands.

Cameron: 'Avatar' won't win

James Cameron is convinced his sci-fi epic 'Avatar' will lose out at the upcoming Academy Awards, but hopes his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow takes home the Best Picture Oscar instead.

Cameron's blockbuster will go up against Bigelow's gritty war drama 'The Hurt Locker' for the coveted prize at the upcoming ceremony in March, along with eight other films including 'Up In The Air', 'The Blind Side' and 'Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire'.

The moviemaker will also compete with his former spouse for the Best Director Oscar, but he's convinced Academy bosses will overlook 'Avatar' because of his previous behaviour at the famous event.

Cameron is adamant Oscar bosses weren't impressed with his speech when he picked up the Best Director trophy for Titanic in 1998, in which he quoted one of the film's famous lines, telling the crowd, "I'm king of the world!"

He tells Empire magazine, "I always believe it's very unlikely that lightning will strike twice. I believe it's very unlikely that we will win because I made such a jackass out of myself last time. Although there might be some curiosity about what I might do."

But Cameron hopes Bigelow's movie goes on to rule the ceremony instead.

He adds, "The Hurt Locker is a very, very strong picture. Of the contenders, it's definitely the strongest. Certainly it's Kathryn's moment. I would happily lose to her. I've already got one of those damn statues. I'd be pissed off if somebody else won, but I wouldn't mind if she won."

Among expected picks, `District 9' still surprises

NEW YORK – In an Oscar year defined by inclusion, fewer movie folks than normal spent nominations morning feeling snubbed.

With the field of best picture nominees doubling from five to 10, there were more celebrations Tuesday and still some surprises:

"DISTRICT 9" INVADES: Yes, the relatively low-budget South African science-fiction hit was in the Oscar buzz. But no film benefited more from the expansion of best picture nominees, and it's still surprising to hear it announced alongside movies such as "Up in the Air" and "The Hurt Locker." Science-fiction is among the rarest of genres to cross that threshold, with only "Star Wars" and "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" (and now "Avatar") previously getting best picture noms. "District 9" earned four nominations in all, including editing, visual effects and best adapted screenplay.

COENS RETURN: Ethan and Joel Coen are back at the Oscars. Their "A Serious Man" earned mostly high praise, but had floated on the edge of predictions through awards season. For a film from heavyweight filmmakers, it has been a distinct underdog. But two years after they took home best picture and best director for "No Country for Old Men," the Coens are again up for best picture and best original screenplay.

COMEDY LOSES OUT, AGAIN: The best picture expansion didn't help comedy. Sure, there are comedic qualities to movies such as "Inglourious Basterds," "Up" and "A Serious Man," but out-an-out comedies like "The Hangover," "(500) Days of Summer" and "It's Complicated" all came away empty handed. After a win for best comedy or musical at the Golden Globes, some had thought "The Hangover" — one of the most crowd-pleasing films of the year — would squeak into the top 10. But after the nominees were read, "(500) Days of Summer" didn't even get the best original screenplay nomination that many had predicted. One comedy, a dark one, did earn a surprising nomination for best adapted screenplay: "In the Loop."

SUPPORTING ACTRESS SWAP: While Jeff Bridges' performance in "Crazy Heart" has been roundly hailed and is generally viewed as the favorite for best actor, co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal has gone mostly under the radar. Tuesday, she was nominated for best supporting actress — her first Oscar nomination.

MUSICAL CHAIRS: A few of the most interesting choices were hidden away in music categories. Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was, as expected, nominated for best animated film (a category that included the shocker of "The Secret of Kells"). But Alexandre Desplat's playful original score also earned a nomination. In best song, "Loin de Paname" from the somewhat unheralded French film "Paris 36" was nominated. Another foreign film also sneaked into the best makeup category. The terrifically stylish and underrated "Il Divo" will compete in the three-film field with "Star Trek" and "The Young Victoria."

Oscar nominations -- who was NOT Nominated: Clint Eastwood, 'Star Trek,' Tobey Maguire ...

Even with 10 films in the race for best picture at the Oscars, there was no room for Golden Globe champ "The Hangover," BFCA and PGA nominee "Invictus," BFCA, Globe and SAG nominee "Nine" and PGA nominee "Star Trek."

Clint Eastwood -- who won two of his four Oscars for directing best picture champs "Unforgiven" (1992) and "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) -- was snubbed for his helming of "Invictus" despite his win with the National Board of Review and a nod from the Golden Globes. Eastwood had also contended at the Oscars for his directing of best picture nominees "Mystic River" (2003) and "Letters From Iwo Jima" (2006).

The all-star cast of "Nine" was loaded with past Oscar winners headed by two-time champ Daniel Day-Lewis but only previous supporting actress champ Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona") merited a mention in the acting races.

Also missing from this year's Oscars ballot are Globe drama actor nominee Tobey McGuire ("Brothers") as well as all the leading men who contended for the musical/comedy Globe. Globe drama actress nominee Emily Blunt ("The Young Victoria") failed to make the cut as did all the musical/comedy Globe actress contenders save for winner Meryl Streep ("Julie & Julia").

NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE
"The Hangover"
"Invictus"
"Julie & Julia"
"The Messenger"
"Nine"
"A Single Man"
"Star Trek"
"This Is It"

NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "A Serious Man"
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, "Up"
Clint Eastwood, "Invictus"
Tom Ford, "A Single Man"
Rob Marshall, "Nine"
Lone Scherfig, "An Education"

NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTOR
Sharito Copley, "District 9"
Matt Damon, "The Informant!"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Nine"
Robert Downey Jr., "Sherlock Holmes"
Ben Foster, "The Messenger"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "(500) Days of Summer"
Hal Holbrook, "That Evening Sun"
Tobey Maguire, "Brothers"
Viggo Mortensen, "The Road"
Michale Stuhlbarg, "A Serious Man"

NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTRESS
Emily Blunt, "The Young Victoria"
Abbie Cornish, "Bright Star"
Marion Cotillard, "Nine"
Penelope Cruz, "Broken Embraces"
Audrey Tautou, "Coco Before Chanel"

NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, "It's Complicated"
Anthony Mackie, "The Hurt Locker"
Christian McKay, "Me and Orson Welles"
Alfred Molina, "An Education"
Peter Sarsgaard, "An Education"

NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Diane Kruger, "Inglourious Basterds"
Melanie Laurent, "Inglourious Basterds"
Julianne Moore, "A Single Man"
Samantha Morton, "The Messenger"

NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
"Avatar"
"(500) Days of Summer"

NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"Invictus"
"Julie & Julia"
"The Road"
"A Single Man"

Oscar's Snubs: Star Trek, The Hangover, Michael Jackson!

Does it count as a snub if you never believed that no matter how many Best Picture spots there were, there'd never be enough for your favorite movies?

And so it came to pass today, that popular (and critical) favorites Star Trek, The Hangover and Michael Jackson's This Is It found themselves denied a shot at Oscars' biggest prize.

Star Trek earned four technical nods, natch, for the 82nd Academy Awards. The Hangover and This Is It got zip.

Some other notable snubs:

• Inglourious Basterd's Diane Kruger was a Screen Actors Guild nominee for Best Supporting Actress. Today, was denied an Oscar nod when Crazy Heart's Maggie Gyllenhaal "stole" her spot.

• Say, remember that delightful romantic-comedy (500) Days of Summer? Oscar didn't. Nothing.

• Nancy Meyers movies usually produce Oscar nods, but not this time. It's Complicated didn't figure anywhere, for anyone—Oscar cohost Alec Baldwin, included.

• Once, onetime Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard looked like she might save Nine from awards-season obscurity. Instead, Penélope Cruz got the film's lone acting nod, in the Best Supporting Actress category. (Overall, the box-office bust managed four nods.)

• You may have not heard of The Secret of Kells, but the folks who made Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs likely will never forget the film that "stole" its nomination for Animated Feature.

Canadian Jason Reitman gets three Oscar nominations

Two Canadians will face off in the battle for Best Picture and Best Director at the March 7th Academy Awards.

Montreal’s Jason Reitman has been nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Up in the Air. And Kapuskasing native James Cameron is up for Best Director and Best Picture as well for his 3-D epic, Avatar.

Toronto-born Christopher Plummer was nominated for his portrayal of Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station.

Reitman was also nominated, along with Sheldon Turner, for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The announcements were made at about 5:35 am PST Tuesday.

Adding to the strong Canadian contingent is writer/director Neil Blomkamp; the South African-born Vancouverite earned an adapted screenplay nod for District 9, which is also up for Best Picture.

There were few surprises among the major nominations — Avatar and The Hurt Locker led with nine nominations each, including a face off between former husband-and-wife directors James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow.

In the acting races, Maggie Gyllenhaal was a surprise Best Supporting Actress nomination for Crazy Heart. As expected, Sandra Bullock was nominated for The Blind Side, which is also up for Best Picture. And the entire leading cast of Up in the Air — George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick were also nominated.

Jeff Bridges garnered his fifth Oscar nod — he has yet to win — this time for playing a broken-down country singer in Crazy Heart.

Hurt Locker director Bigelow — only the fourth woman to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar — could make history if she takes home the golden statuette.

The expanded Best Picture list — now 10 from the usual five — left room for a few surprises among the expected nominations for James Cameron’s Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Precious, Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire and Inglorious Basterds. Pixar’s animation Up was nominated, along with alien drama District 9, The Blind Side and the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man.

'Avatar,' 'The Hurt Locker' lead Oscar nominations

BEVERLY HILLS, California – The science-fiction sensation "Avatar" and the Iraq war thriller "The Hurt Locker" lead the Academy Awards with nine nominations each, including best picture and director for former spouses James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow.

For the first time since 1943 the Oscars feature 10 best-picture contenders instead of the usual five.

Also nominated for best-picture Tuesday: "District 9"; the animated comedy "Up"; the World War II saga "Inglourious Basterds"; the football drama "The Blind Side"; the recession tale "Up in The Air," the 1960s drama "A Serious Man," and the teen tales "An Education" and "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' By Sapphire."

Acting nominees include the four stars who have dominated early awards shows: lead players Sandra Bullock for the American football drama "The Blind Side" and Jeff Bridges for the country-music tale "Crazy Heart" and supporting performers Mo'Nique for "Precious" and Austri's Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds."

The best-picture and director categories shape up as a showdown between ex-spouses who directed films that have dominated earlier Hollywood honors.

Cameron's "Avatar" won best drama and director at the Golden Globes, while Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" beat out Cameron at the Directors Guild of America Awards, whose recipient usually goes on to earn the best-director Oscar.

"The Hurt Locker" also beat "Avatar" for the Producers Guild of America top prize and was chosen as last year's best film by many key critics groups.

Bigelow, whose films include "Point Break" and "K19: The Widowmaker," is only the fourth woman nominated for a directing Oscar, following Sofia Coppola for 2003's "Lost in Translation," New Zealand director Jane Campion for 1993's "The Piano" and Italian director Lena Wertmuller for 1975's "Seven Beauties."

No woman has ever won the directing Oscar, and until Bigelow, no woman had ever won the Director's Guild honor.

Lee Daniels, who made "Precious," became only the second black filmmaker nominated for best director, after John Singleton for 1991's "Boyz N the Hood."

Also nominated for best director are Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air" and Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds." "Up in the Air" co-writer Reitman also had a nomination for adapted screenplay, while Tarantino also earned a nomination for original screenplay.

Longtime audience darling Bullock has never been nominated for an Oscar before but is considered the best-actress front-runner, playing a wealthy woman who takes in homeless teen Michael Oher, now a star with the American football team the Baltimore Ravens.

Bullock is up against past Oscar winners Meryl Streep as chef Julia Child in "Julie & Julia" and Britain's Helen Mirren as Leo Tolstoy's bullheaded wife in "The Last Station," along with first-time nominees Carey Mulligan as a British teen involved with an older man in "An Education" and Gabourey Sidibe as a Harlem teen overcoming horrible abuse and neglect in "Precious."

Sidibe made her screen debut in "Precious," earning an Oscar nomination for her first professional acting job.

Bridges, nominated four times previously without winning an Oscar, is viewed as the man to beat this time for his role as a boozy country singer trying to clean up his act in "Crazy Heart."

Also nominated for best actor are past Oscar winners George Clooney as a frequent-flyer junkie in "Up in the Air" and Morgan Freeman as South African leader Nelson Mandela in "Invictus," Britain's Colin Firth as a grieving gay academic in "A Single Man" and Jeremy Renner as a bomb disposal expert in Iran in "The Hurt Locker."

Mo'Nique and Waltz were nominated for wicked roles, she as a reprehensible welfare mother in "Precious," he as a gleefully garrulous Nazi in "Inglourious Basterds." They were breakout roles for both, Mo'Nique leaping into the awards elite after a career of mainly lowbrow comedy, Waltz making his first Hollywood splash after working mostly in European theater and television.

Also up for supporting actress are "Up in the Air" co-stars Vera Farmiga as Clooney's frequent-flyer soul mate and Anna Kendrick as his reluctant business protege. The other nominations went to past Oscar winner Spain's Penelope Cruz as a filmmaker's needy mistress in the musical "Nine" and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a single mom involved wit Bridges' character in "Crazy Heart."

Joining Waltz in the supporting-actor lineup are Matt Damon as a South African rugby player in "Invictus," Woody Harrelson as a military man giving bad news to next of kin in "The Messenger," Canadian Christopher Plummer as aging author Tolstoy in "The Last Station" and Stanley Tucci as a serial killer in "The Lovely Bones."

With 10 best-picture contenders, this is the first time since 1943 that so many films are competing for Hollywood's highest honor. From 1931 to 1943, the Oscars featured between eight and 12 best-picture nominees. There were 10 in 1943, when "Casablanca" won best picture, but the show switched to five nominees after that.

Last summer, academy organizers decided to go back to 10, saying they wanted a broader range of titles in the mix, including worthy populist movies that often miss out on best-picture nominations in favor of the smaller dramas Oscar voters typically prefer.

Freeman got the news of his nomination while in Rome.

"This is my fifth nomination and I'm more proud of that than all the rest of it I think," he said, also approving of the expansion of the best picture category although it did not include "Invictus."

"I think it's a good call, a good call, some good pictures. We didn't get a best picture nomination? Well that's a big letdown. Well there you go. That's my problem, I thought we should get a best picture nomination. But it's OK."

Blockbuster best-picture contenders usually translate to better ratings for the Oscar broadcast, whose TV audience peaked with Cameron's "Titanic" triumph 12 years ago. Ratings have been so-so ever since, hitting an all-time low two years ago.

Luckily for Oscar overseers, the show this time includes the biggest thing since "Titanic." Cameron's "Avatar" has soared past "Titanic" to become No. 1 on the box-office charts, with $2 billion and climbing worldwide.

"Up," a travel adventure about a lonely widower who flies his house off to South America suspended from helium balloons, is only the second animated film ever to earn a best-picture nomination, following "Beauty and the Beast" in 1991, when the category had only five contenders.

Along with best picture, "Up" was nominated for animated feature, along with "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Princess and the Frog" and "The Secret of Kells." Pixar Animation, which made "Up," has produced four of the eight winners since the animated-feature category was added in 2001, including "Finding Nemo" and "WALL-E."

Along with "Avatar" and "District 9," a third sci-fi hit, "Star Trek," had been considered a likely best-picture nominee, but it missed out, scoring only technical nominations, including visual effects and makeup.

Best-picture nominee "The Blind Side" was a huge hit but generally viewed as a longshot for a nomination in the top Oscar category.

Actors snubbed for acclaimed performances included Emily Blunt for "The Young Victoria," Julianne Moore for "A Single Man" and Diane Kruger for "Inglourious Basterds."

Oscar nominees are chosen in most categories by specific branches of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, such as actors, directors and writers. The academy's full membership of about 5,800 was eligible to vote for best-picture nominations and can cast ballots for the winners in all categories at the Oscar ceremony itself.

The 82nd Oscars will be presented March 7 in a ceremony airing on ABC from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

This season's ceremony continues last year's effort to liven up the show. Organizers chose song-and-dance Hugh Jackman as host a year ago rather than the usual comedian, and this time, they decided to go with dual hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

Oscar producers Adam Shankman, a choreographer and director whose films include "Hairspray," and Bill Mechanic, former studio boss at 20th Century Fox, are promising to step up the fun quotient at this year's show.

Honorary Oscars, which took up a big chunk of space during past shows, were moved to a separate event last fall, freeing up more time to focus on the expanded best-picture nominees and other categories viewers care most about.

List of 82nd annual Academy Award nominations

Complete list of 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:

1. Best Picture: "Avatar," "The Blind Side," "District 9," "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "A Serious Man," "Up," "Up in the Air."

2. Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"; George Clooney, "Up in the Air"; Colin Firth, "A Single Man"; Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"; Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker."

3. Actress: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"; Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"; Carey Mulligan, "An Education"; Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire"; Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia."

4. Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, "Invictus"; Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"; Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"; Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"; Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds."

5. Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Nine"; Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"; Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"; Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

6. Directing: James Cameron, "Avatar"; Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"; Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air."

7. Foreign Language Film: "Ajami," Israel; "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Argentina; "The Milk of Sorrow," Peru; "Un Prophete," France; "The White Ribbon," Germany.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, "District 9"; Nick Hornby, "An Education"; Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, "In the Loop"; Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, "Up in the Air."

9. Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"; Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, "The Messenger"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man"; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, "Up."

10. Animated Feature Film: "Coraline"; "Fantastic Mr. Fox"; "The Princess and the Frog"; "The Secret of Kells"; "Up."

11. Art Direction: "Avatar," "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," "Nine," "Sherlock Holmes," "The Young Victoria."

12. Cinematography: "Avatar," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "The White Ribbon."

13. Sound Mixing: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Star Trek," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

14. Sound Editing: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Star Trek," "Up."

15. Original Score: "Avatar," James Horner; "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Alexandre Desplat; "The Hurt Locker," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders; "Sherlock Holmes," Hans Zimmer; "Up," Michael Giacchino.

16. Original Song: "Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman; "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman; "Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas; "Take It All" from "Nine," Maury Yeston; "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

17. Costume: "Bright Star," "Coco Before Chanel," "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," "Nine," "The Young Victoria."

18. Documentary Feature: "Burma VJ," "The Cove," "Food, Inc." "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers," "Which Way Home."

19. Documentary (short subject): "China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province," "The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner," "The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant," "Music by Prudence," "Rabbit a la Berlin."

20. Film Editing: "Avatar," "District 9," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

21. Makeup: "Il Divo," "Star Trek," "The Young Victoria."

22. Animated Short Film: "French Roast," "Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty," "The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)," "Logorama," "A Matter of Loaf and Death."

23. Live Action Short Film: "The Door," "Instead of Abracadabra," "Kavi," "Miracle Fish," "The New Tenants."

24. Visual Effects: "Avatar," "District 9," "Star Trek."

Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – The groundhog has spoken. And it's bad news.
Punxsutawney Phil has emerged to see his shadow before chilly revelers in Pennsylvania, meaning winter will last another six weeks.

German tradition holds that if a hibernating animal sees its shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early.

The Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club annually announces Phil's forecast at dawn on Gobbler's Knob, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Phil's announcement came before hundreds of onlookers who huddled as temperatures hovered in the teens.

The Groundhog Club says since 1887 Phil has predicted more winter weather by seeing his shadow nearly 100 times, but there are no records for nine years.

David vs Goliath as Oscars race heats up

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The race for the Oscars goes into overdrive here on Tuesday when nominees for Hollywood's most coveted awards are unveiled, with the best picture battle shaping up as a David and Goliath showdown.

The identities of Oscars contenders will be revealed before hundreds of bleary-eyed media shortly after 5:30 am (1330 GMT) at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

All eyes are on the race for best picture, where low budget Iraq war drama "The Hurt Locker" has emerged as the favorite to thwart James Cameron's science fiction blockbuster "Avatar," the most expensive film ever made.

The contrast between the two films couldn't be more stark.

Cameron's film -- with a reported budget of 500 million dollars -- has rewritten the box office record books, earning more than two billion dollars since December to become the highest grossing film in history.

Yet it is "The Hurt Locker" -- directed by Cameron's ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow -- which has become a surprise contender in the best picture race after winning a series of awards, indicators that augur well for the March 7 Oscars.

As a commercial venture, however, the film has flopped, earning just 16 million dollars worldwide after costing around 15 million dollars.

Yet Bigelow's film about a US Army bomb disposal squad in Iraq has been a critical darling, winning a series of prizes and accolades so far this year.

The latest of those came on Saturday when Bigelow pipped Cameron to the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards top prize, the first time a woman has ever won the award.

In 62 years, only six winners of the DGA award have failed to go on and win the corresponding best director Oscar -- and the directing Oscar often goes to the film which wins best picture.

Bigelow's film also scored a surprise win at the Producers Guild of America Awards in January, another reliable Oscars barometer.

"'The Hurt Locker' is definitely the front-runner," said Tom O'Neil, an awards season pundit for The Los Angeles Times's theenvelope.com.

"There doesn't seem to be any confusion. There is a clear consensus within the industry, which is strange because 'The Hurt Locker' is a movie without stars, it's made no money.

"In recessionary times, voters seem to be turning their back on the most successful film ever made in favor of a money loser."

Oscars organizers doubled the number of best picture nominees in a move analysts have said was intended to help boost television ratings for the awards show, which increased by 13 percent in 2009 after hitting a record low in 2008.

The expansion of nominees could see a number of interesting sub-plots unfold, with Pixar's "Up" likely to be only the second animated film to win a best picture nomination.

There is also the possibility of science-fiction -- a genre traditionally ignored at the Oscars -- being well represented, with "District 9" and "Star Trek" both outside bets to join "Avatar" on the shortlist.

While the best picture race is close, the competition for the coveted acting awards is starting to acquire a look of inevitability.

Popular Hollywood veteran Jeff Bridges is the heavy favorite in the best actor race after already winning a slew of honors for his portrayal of a washed-up country singer in the drama "Crazy Heart."

Bridges's likely rivals are expected to include George Clooney for "Up In the Air," Morgan Freeman for "Invictus" and Colin Firth for "A Single Man."

In the best actress stakes, Sandra Bullock has emerged as a front-runner after winning at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Bullock's accolades have come for her performance in "The Blind Side," where she plays a southern housewife who takes in homeless black teen Michael Oher, who goes on to become an American football star.

However, Bullock is expected to face stiff competition from perennial Oscar favorite Meryl Streep, who is tipped to pick up her 16th Academy Award nomination for her performance in "Julie & Julia."

"There's still some suspense about the best actress but it looks like Bullock has the momentum," O'Neil said.

In the supporting acting categories, "Inglourious Basterds" star Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique of the drama "Precious" are favorites.

Tuesday's nominations announcement takes place at 5:38 am (1338 GMT) local time.

Stars gather to cover 'We Are the World' for Haiti

LOS ANGELES – Twenty-five years after star-studded anthem "We Are the World" raised millions of dollars to aid famine relief in Africa, celebrities of a different generation were set to gather Monday night to re-record the charity tune to benefit Haiti.

Among those scheduled to perform on the revamped track the night after the Grammy Awards were Akon, Jason Mraz, Bono, Wyclef Jean, Carlos Santana, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Toni Braxton and Lady Gaga. The session will be held at the same recording studio where the original was cut — the historic A&M complex in Hollywood.

Quincy Jones, who produced the 1985 anthem, announced last week that he planned to redo the song to benefit recovery from the deadly Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.

The session was all the talk at Sunday night's Grammy festivities. Music producer RedOne said being asked to participate was "the biggest honor a musician can ever do."

"Having Quincy, our father of music ... and Lionel Richie asking me to contribute and help, I said of course, because this is not about me," he said. "It's about Haiti."

Written by Michael Jackson and Richie, the original "We Are the World" thundered up the charts when it was released on the radio and in record stores in March 1985.

An unprecedented number of top pop musicians gathered at A&M the night of Jan. 28, 1985, following the American Music Awards, to record the tune. The song featured 45 American superstars, including Jackson, Richie, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan and Cyndi Lauper.

The record raised more than $30 million for USA for Africa, a nonprofit organization founded by the singers to fund hunger relief in African nations.

CBC host Andy Barrie to retire

Andy Barrie, the widely respected host of Toronto's CBC Radio One program Metro Morning, has announced he's stepping down from the top-rated show.

With his deep baritone voice and incisive questioning, Barrie will continue his hosting duties until March 1.

The 65-year-old broadcaster, who revealed in 2007 that he had been diagnosed with the degenerative disorder Parkinson's disease, made his announcement at the end of his show Monday.

Barrie said that when the show moved to a new start time of 5:30 a.m., he found it especially difficult to adjust.

"All I know was that body was getting a very loud wake-up call of its own, and the call said: 'Fifteen years is more than anybody's held this job. A guy's got just so much stamina. You have been there and done that, and it's time to do something new,'" said the host.

"If we go back to my student radio days hosting something called The Suppertime Show in university, I've been doing daily radio now for 45 of my 65 years. Forty-five years of me doing the talking and you doing the listening. Well, it's that part of the conversation where it's time to say, well, enough about me."

"We're sad to see Andy give up the morning show microphone, and we're sure that's a view shared by his loyal audience," stated Denise Donlon, executive director of CBC Radio.

"We celebrate his legacy and honour the immense contribution he has made to CBC, to the broadcasting industry and to this city and community during his esteemed career."

Managers at the Toronto station say they'll announce a new host for the show later this month.

Susan Marjetti, managing director of CBC Toronto, expressed her sadness at the veteran announcer's departure, noting that the workers at Metro Morning are like an "extended family."

"He will continue to be part of that family and certainly part of this station's rich history," said Marjetti.

Born in Baltimore, Barrie can trace the beginnings of his broadcast career to age nine, when he was assigned to wake up campers every morning over the public address system at summer camp. After university, he snagged radio jobs in various cities as an announcer and reporter before getting his own program with Metromedia Radio in Washington.

In 1969, Barrie made a decision that set his life's path, leaving the United States during the Vietnam War and coming to Canada.

Jumped to CBC in 1995

He landed in Montreal and was hired by CJAD radio. In 1977, he moved to Toronto to take on a new job at CFRB, where his commentaries garnered him an ACTRA Award. The Andy Barrie Show was the highest-rated program in its time slot for many years.

Barrie made the leap to public broadcasting in 1995. His presence boosted ratings on the CBC show and Metro Morning now attracts more than a quarter of a million listeners every day.

Barrie's personal life hit the headlines twice, when he divulged his Parkinson's and when his wife of 39 years passed away in 2009.

Barrie indicated he might turn up at the CBC once in a while.

"As far as CBC is concerned, the adoption papers were signed long ago. I'm family. So I'll be here at the Broadcasting Centre trying to do less talking and more listening, sticking my nose into all kinds of interesting projects, and turning my ears to Metro Morning from the comfort of home.

"Again, this is for me, good news. This is my idea," Barrie said to his listeners. "This is not the end, this is just the beginning."

The show ended with a rendition of the 1939 Vera Lynn song We'll Meet Again, with the host joined by his co-workers.

'Transformers,' `Land of the Lost' lead Razzies

LOS ANGELES – "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" made a fortune. "Land of the Lost" tanked.

Both films are equal earners at the Razzies, though, grabbing seven nominations each on Monday, including worst picture of 2009 and worst-acting slots for Will Ferrell and Megan Fox.

Other worst-picture nominees: Sandra Bullock's romance "All About Steve," the action tale "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" and the Robin Williams-John Travolta comedy "Old Dogs."

Bullock earned a worst-actress nomination for "All About Steve." She's expected to score an Academy Award nomination Tuesday for her hit drama "The Blind Side."

"She could be the first person ever to win a Razzie and an Oscar in the same weekend," said John Wilson, founder of the Golden Raspberry Awards, now in their 30th year of singling out Hollywood's low points. Winners will be announced March 6, the night before the Oscars.

Razzie voters also are making worst-of-the-decade picks. The worst-picture nominees are Travolta's "Battlefield Earth," Tom Green's "Freddy Got Fingered," Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's "Gigli," Lindsay Lohan's "I Know Who Killed Me" and Madonna's "Swept Away."

Affleck and Travolta are up for worst actor of the decade, along with Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers and Rob Schneider. Lohan, Lopez and Madonna are nominated for the decade's worst actress, along with Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton.

Wilson said the worst-actress category probably would come down to Hilton and Lohan, while "Eddie Murphy I would guess would be pretty hard to beat as worst actor of the decade."

Razzie 2009 nominees also include Miley Cyrus as worst actress and her dad, Billy Ray, as worst supporting actor for "Hannah Montana: The Movie."

All three Jonas brothers shared a worst-actor nomination for "Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience." Razzie voters also included "any two (or more)" Jonas brothers in the category for worst screen couple.

Robert Pattinson was nominated as worst supporting actor for "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." Co-star Kristen Stewart is in the running for worst screen couple paired with either Pattinson or "New Moon" player Taylor Lautner.

Ferrell has nominations as worst actor for "Land of the Lost" and as worst screen couple paired with "any co-star, creature or `comic riff'" in the action comedy inspired by the children's TV show. "Land of the Lost" also was nominated for worst supporting actor (Jorma Taccone), director (Brad Silberling), screenplay and worst sequel, rip-off or remake, a category that includes the "Transformers" sequel.

Fox was nominated as worst actress for both "Revenge of the Fallen" and "Jennifer's Body." "Revenge of the Fallen" star Shia LaBeouf was cited for worst screen couple alongside Fox or any Transformer, while the movie also had nominations for supporting actress (Julie White), director (Michael Bay) and screenplay.

Joining Ferrell and the Jonas brothers for worst actor were Steve Martin in "The Pink Panther 2," Murphy in "Imagine That" and Travolta in "Old Dogs."

For worst actress, Bullock, Cyrus and Fox are up against Beyonce Knowles for "Obsessed" and Sarah Jessica Parker for "Did You Hear About the Morgans?"

Taylor wins Grammy best album; Beyonce wins 6

LOS ANGELES – Beyonce became the most decorated female on a Grammy night as she collected six trophies, including song of the year for her anthem "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," but it was another diva — Taylor Swift — who nabbed the top honor, album of the year, for her best-selling "Fearless."

Swift, who won a total of four awards, jumped around like the 20-year-old kid that she is when beat out Beyonce, the Dave Matthews Band, Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas for the honor.

"Oh wow — thank you so much! I just hope that you know how much this means to me.... that we get to take this back to Nashville," said Swift, whose "Fearless" was last year's best-selling album of any genre.

"Oh my God, our families are freaking out in their living rooms," she added. "My dad and my little brother are losing their minds in the living room right now."

Although Beyonce also lost out on record of the year, which went to the Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," the multihyphenate entertainer still owned the most awards of the evening.

Beyonce, who in 2004 won five Grammys on the strength of her debut album "Dangerously in Love," a mark tied by the likes of Alicia Keys, Norah Jones and Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse and Alison Krauss, reached that milestone again Sunday en route to the new record. She is the first to reach that mark twice.

She shared the song of the year trophy with three writers for "Single Ladies" and also won best R&B contemporary album for "I Am ... Sasha Fierce."

"This has been such an amazing night for me and I'd love to thank the Grammys," Beyonce said after winning best female pop vocal for "Halo."

The Kings of Leon were a bit more entertaining when they picked up their record of the year trophy, the family quartet's third of the night.

"I'm not going to lie, we're all a little drunk. But we're happy drunks," said lead singer Caleb Followill.

Lady Gaga won two Grammys during the pre-telecast ceremony but didn't get a chance to show her multitude of outrageous dresses during the primetime show, losing out on record, song and album of the year. But she made her presence felt when she kicked off the night with a sequined green leotard with massive shoulders as she sang her Grammy-nominated hit "Poker Face," then brought out Elton John as they melded her song "Speechless" and his classic "Your Song" together in a performance that featured dueling pianos, and glitter-painted faces.

Swift, who was second to Beyonce in Grammy nominations with eight nods, also won best country album among her other awards. The victory capped an amazing run for Swift, whose "Fearless" is only her second album. Her self-titled debut was a platinum success but "Fearless," with songs like "You Belong With Me," took her into the superstar stratosphere, as she won accolades across genres.

Another country act to take a top award was the Zac Brown Band, which won best new artist.

The Black Eyed Peas also had three trophies, as well as Jay-Z, who won for best rap solo performance and two awards for "Run This Town" with Rihanna and Kanye West.

Rihanna — who was forced to bow out of last year's awards as a performer after being assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown, accepted the trophy along with Jay-Z and with Beyonce's young nephew in tow. West — who has kept a relatively low profile since his dustup with Swift a few months back — was a notable no-show.

Maxwell, up for six awards, also won his first Grammys — best R&B male vocal for the ballad "Pretty Wings" and best R&B album for "BLACKsummers' night." The album marked the R&B crooner's return after an absence of eight years from the music business.

Many participants in the program wore red cross buttons in support of Haiti earthquake relief. Mary J. Blige joined Andrea Bocelli in a rousing rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which was not only designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song's big Grammy wins, but to raise money for the people in Haiti. The performance, introduced by Haitian native Wyclef Jean, will be available via iTunes.com/target, with the funds going to earthquake relief.

The show also included a special 3-D tribute to Michael Jackson featuring a video clip he made of "Earth Song" as Usher, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson sang along.

Jackson's young children, Prince and Paris, accepted a lifetime achievement award for their late father.

"Through all his songs his message was simple, love. We will continue to spread his message and help the world," Prince said.