|
Vol. 9
No. 25
Pick Hits
At The Movies
Hulk
After more than four decades of
continuing popularity, one of Marvel Comics’ most
enduring and compelling comic book creations comes to
the big screen, continuing Marvel’s superlative track
record of bringing its classic characters to motion
picture life. Scientist Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) has,
to put it mildly, anger management issues. His quiet
life as a brilliant researcher working with cutting edge
genetic technology conceals a nearly forgotten and
painful past. During Banner’s groundbreaking research,
a simple oversight leads to an explosive situation and
Bruce makes a split-second decision; his heroic impulse
saves a life and leaves him apparently unscathed with
his body absorbing a normally deadly dose of gamma
radiation. This film has the best of both worlds,
filled with visual energy, genuine artistry and
compelling human emotions. Destined to be one of the
summer's big hits, Hulk plants tentpoles far into the
future for a series of films.
On Video
The
Jungle Book 2
Picking up where the 1967 original left
off, when Mowgli's love for a young girl brings him out
of the jungle and into civilization, this enjoyable
sequel has Mowgli living with his adopted parents, his
little stepbrother, and Shanti, the little girl who
stole his heart. But Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) still
feels the call of the wild and soon finds himself
disobeying his father's orders and crossing the river
into the jungle to recreate happier freer times with
Baloo the bear (John Goodman). Naturally there's evil
lurking there, in the form of nasty tiger Shere Khan,
who's still on the hunt for Mowgli. Mowgli must outwit
the tiger, and decide if he wants a life of laid-back
hilarity with Baloo in the jungle or a simpler existence
in the man-village with Shanti.
Off The Record
2 Fast 2 Furious Original
Soundtrack
For
the musical follow-up to the Fast And The Furious
sequel, Def Jam smartly turned matters over to its
Southern division. Unlike the first soundtrack, these
down-home beats have the energy suggested by the movie's
car-racing theme, and guitars squeal like burning rubber
through several cuts. The label's top dog, Ludacris,
provides some power punches on the amiably thuggish Act
A Fool and Pick Up The Phone, a collaboration with R.
Kelly and the film's star, Tyrese. Designed for car
stereos and head thumping, 2 Fast 2 Furious will be the
perfect sounds to listen too as you crack up your
parents car on the highway trying to emulate the movie.
The Buzz...
Fans of The Sopranos thought
they had to wait long enough to see the final 13 episodes, but according to
series creator David Chase, they possibly might have to wait a little
longer. The fifth and reportedly final season of the hit HBO show was schedule
to premiere in the fall, but reports have indicated that it will be pushed back
to March 2004 with a possible addition of more episodes than originally planned.
Mitsubishi is
reporting brisk sales of its Lancer Evolution and Eclipse Spyder, which are
featured in Universal's 2 Fast 2 Furious. The Japanese car company has been
promoting the movie and the cars in TV commercials since the release of the
movie, which topped the box office last weekend. Movie posters have also been
placed in dealer showrooms.
The early footage from the Spider-Man sequel is breathtaking, and when you throw
in a new Spidey suit, a new villain and what insiders say is an especially
strong script, Spidey's second round looks like it's shaping up to top the
first. Of course, the true test won't come until the film hits theaters on July
4 of next year.
Bungie
Studios and Microsoft have released their
award-winning eight-minute
game play demo of the
much anticipated XBOX title Halo 2. Windows Media Player 9 is
necessary to view the demonstration in all its real-time, high-resolution
(640x480), 5.1-channel-digital-surround-sound glory.
MTV
has released start date for the new Spider-Man animated series featuring the
voice talents of Neil Patrick Harris, Lisa Loeb and Ian Ziering.
The first of thirteen episodes ordered by the channel is set to debut on Friday,
July 11 at
10:00/9:00c.
|
 |
|
WWE BAD BLOOD |
Goldberg’s
stay in the WWE might be coming to an end. Tensions have
been mounting between Goldberg and the company since
Linda McMahon revealed her “disappointment” with him
thus far. Executives in WWE feel that he has not been
delivering like they thought he would when they first
signed him.
Goldberg has not been too friendly backstage, has gotten
various angles nixed using his creative control, and
confronted a fan after his match at Bad Blood. Goldberg
was tentatively scheduled to win the World Title from
Triple H at Summerslam, but the WWE might be
rethinking their decision.
The
long-running animation show, Astro Boy, has plans to
make it to the big screen. The Kids WB has also picked
up a new Astro Boy TV series. The budget is more than
$250,000 for each of 26 episodes, which the company said
was three times the cost of most animated shows. It is
due to debut in early 2004.
Homer Simpson
has topped an online BBC poll that asks, "Who is the greatest American?" The
beer-loving dude leaves in his dust Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther
King Junior, George Washington and others.
A rough-cut version of Universal's The Hulk began circulating
over the Internet last weekend, touching off numerous critical comments about
the look of the computer-generated title character.
After the mega-success of X2
at the box office, there's little doubt that there will be an X3. It seems
however that Halle Berry will not be returning, and Bryan Singer
will "step to the side". While even Hugh Jackman isn't convinced that he
would return (although it's likely this is just a negotiation tactic). So far,
only several characters such as Nightcrawler, Mystique and Iceman have
completely agreed to X3.
FBI agents on a drug sting
recovered an Oscar, it was one of three still missing from the infamous Academy
Awards heist three years ago. So far, 53 of the 55 statuettes have been
recovered and returned to the Motion Picture Academy.
Madame Tussauds in
London
is creating a new wax model of Britney Spears based on a photo from a Las
Vegas concert that will feature a pair of "heaving breasts." The figure will
debut in the fall.
Halle
Berry
is counter suing the man who sold her his
Beverly Hills
home for more than $2 million in 2001. The homeowner filed a pre-emptive fraud
lawsuit against the actress, claiming she bought the house as-is. In her suit
Berry
claims the seller concealed more than $1 million in repairs she would have to
make.
James Gandolfini,
who had a bruising salary renegotiation with HBO earlier this year, recently
received his first advance from HBO on his share of the Sopranos profits, and in
turn, the Emmy-winning actor quietly handed out checks in the five-figure range
to series regulars.
Ryan Pinkston,
the pint-sized co-star of the MTV hit series Punk'd, has inked a development
deal with the music cable network to topline a new series project.
Filmmakers Peter and
Bobby Farrelly, the siblings behind such box office hits as There's
Something About Mary and Shallow Hal, are taking their brand of outrageous
comedy to the small screen for the first time. They are developing a Fox project
that centers on a telemarketer with limited physical appeal and a dismal love
life who hits the jackpot after a script he had written on the side becomes a
popular television series.
Dennis Miller
is in talks with Fox News about putting his Encyclopedia Britannica brand of wit
on display on the network's talk show Hannity and Colmes.
Aerosmith
have contributed a song called Lizard Love Rugrats Go Wild! and the video,
featuring the band cavorting with the wisecracking toddlers, is being shown on
Nickelodeon.
Rob Zombie
will provide voices of villains for MTV's animated Spider-Man series, which will
premiere on July 11. Zombie will be providing the voices of Doctor Curt Connors
and the Lizard. In the series, Peter Parker will take a job as Connors' lab
assistant before working at the Daily Bugle. Just as in the comics and previous
animated versions, the doctor will become the Lizard.
Drowning Pool
are strongly rumored to have recruited ex-Built XL frontman Jason
"Gong" Jones to fill the singer slot in the group left vacant by the death
of Dave Williams.
Continuing the trend of
films based on old television shows, Warner Bros. is working on a film version
of The Fall Guy. The original series, starring Lee Majors, told the story of a
combination bounty hunter and stunt man. Hollywood is officially out of ideas.
The makers of Lara Croft
Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life thought Korn’s new single would make the
ideal pounding backdrop for the cartoon-inspired vixen to slay baddies to. The
song, Did My Time, will be featured in the film, but not on the movie's
soundtrack. It will, however, be one of the tracks on the next Korn record,
which should be out by the end of the year.
Time to visit the razor and
shave the head again, Sigourney, as the plotlines to Alien 5 and 6 have now
surfaced. The ultra-successful Alien series will have Sigourney Weaver
slotted to play Ripley as she fights off the seemingly indestructible beast.
Number five is set on Earth, with the planet under attack from alien warrior
drop ships, which made their debut in the original Alien movie. Number six takes
place on the home turf of the navigator of the ship. Aliens are taking over
other plants and Ripley finds herself forced to turn to the dark side in order
to save civilization.
Producer Don Murphy
(Natural Born Killers) and writer/producer Tom DeSanto (X-Men) have
teamed up to produce a feature length live action version of the popular 80’s
‘toon Transformers in which real humans will be transformed into machines via
computer-imaging animation.
What was to have been called
Spike TV is debuted Monday, with a line-up of male-oriented programs on what
will continue to be called the TNN cable network. Viacom was unsuccessful in its
attempt to overturn an injunction won by director Spike Lee, who claims
that the network was attempting to exploit his reputation.
WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and
Trish Stratus will be appearing at the June 22nd MuchMusic Video Awards.
Variety reports that
Queen Latifah is signing for the Twentieth Century Fox remake of Taxi, a
film based on Luc Besson's French comedy.
The CART Champ Car series is
joining Paul Newman in merging two of the actor's favorite off-screen
passions, charity work and auto racing. CART is naming Newman's Hole in the Wall
Camps Inc. as the official charity of the racing series.
|
