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Vol. 9
No. 21
Pick Hits
At The
Movies
Bruce
Almighty
An
outrageous comedy that stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan,
a human interest television reporter who is discontented
with almost everything in life, despite his popularity
and the love of his girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston).
At the end of the worst day in his life, Bruce angrily
ridicules and rages against God and God responds. He
appears in human form (Morgan Freeman) and, endowing
Bruce with all of His divine powers, challenges Bruce to
take on the big job and see if he can do it any better.
Giving Carrey unlimited powers increases his comic
potential tenfold. Bruce Almighty is a clever, funny
movie and exactly what you would expect which will make
it a big hit for Jim.
On Video
Star Trek: Nemesis
Captain
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise
crew find themselves on a diplomatic mission to initiate
peace with the Romulans. Learning that the Romulans have
undergone a political upheaval, and their new leader, a
Praetor, wants to discuss a peace treaty with the
Federation, Picard and crew must investigate the
situation and determine their sincerity. But Picard and
crew learn that not only isthe new Praetor not a Romulan
at all, they also find that he is a human replica of
Picard, originally bio-engineered by the Romulans to be
substituted for the captain as a weapon against the
federation. Now Picard and crew must determine if the
Romulans truly desire a peace treaty or if they have
other plans in mind.
Toy Box
Lara Croft Action Figure
Lara
Croft, globe-trotting Tomb Raider of video game and
movie fame returns to screens this summer in the
action-packed sequel, and following along are the action
figures that bring star Angelina Jolie home to your toy
collection with new, realistic scans of the actresss
likeness. The assortment is scheduled to include: Lara
in Tomb Raider Gear, Lara in Wetsuit, and Shadow
Guardian. Each figure stands 6 ½" tall and features up
to 20 points of articulation while coming with all
accessories. Now if you can only figure out how to
shrink yourself down to that size.
The Buzz...
John Travolta
has been cast as the lead villain in The Punisher, the
feature film production of Marvel Comics' enormously
popular comic book series of the same name. Travolta
will play Howard Saint, a man involved in the criminal
underworld who has managed to conceal his violent
beginnings and become a paragon of society until a
darker, vengeful side emerges after his son is brutally
slain. Starring Thomas Jane in the title role and
being directed by renowned screenwriter Jonathan
Hensleigh, The Punisher is scheduled to hit theaters
in summer 2004.
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MEAN, GREEN...
AND SLOW? |
Execs at Universal are turning green this week after a
not so incredible screening of Hulk. Apparently,
director Ang Lee has turned in a melodramatic
take on the comic book with an emphasis on drama--as in,
really long and boring. The suits concerns are way
beyond the fanboy fears that the CGI big guy will look
cheesy.
Despite
earlier vowing to leave when her current contract comes
up in 2006, Oprah Winfrey has reconsidered,
signing a two-year contract extension with King World
Productions that will guarantee The Oprah Winfrey Show,
will remain on the air through the 2007-08 television
season.
The Practice will be back next
year on ABC, but it will be six cast members short. In an effort to pull the
long-running, Emmy-winning legal drama back to budget, creator David E.
Kelley has announced that a half-dozen key players, Dylan McDermott,
Lara Flynn Boyle, Kelli Williams,
Lisa Gay Hamilton,
Chyler Leigh and Marla Sokoloff will not be back in court.
Marcus Chong,
who played Tank in the original Matrix, is suing Warner Bros. and the filmmakers
for breach of contract and slander and libel. Chong says he was promised a role
in the two sequels but was dropped without explanation.
Universal Pictures has obtained the rights to turn the
Spy Hunter video game into a live-action film. The
Rock is among the top candidates for the lead role.
Speaking of The Rock, he is expected to return to the
WWE sooner than expected. He could be back as early as
fall of 2003.
Rumors are flying that
Marvel Studios is eyeing actor George Clooney to star as Reed Richards in
his upcoming Fantastic Four film to be released on November 4, 2004.
Never one to rest on his
laurels, Survivor producer Mark Burnett
announced plans for an all-star version of the show featuring past competitors.
Richard Hatch has
already taken off his pants in preparation.
Sharon Osbourne
is in talks with record companies about a new deal for hubby Ozzy and
daughter Kelly Osbourne, netting the family even more millions. She is
offering the pair in a special package deal.
Perhaps as a sudden response to Sony's bundling of the PlayStation 2 with its
Network Adaptor, Microsoft has belatedly reduced the price of the Xbox to
$179.99 in the US and $249.99 in Canada, thus manages to undercut even the
online-enabled PS2 package by a modest $20.
Nintendo has announced that they will offer a new retail
package, for a limited time only, that will feature an add-on for the Gameboy
Advance. Beginning on June 23, Nintendo will offer the Gamecube packaged with
the Gameboy Player, a device that allows you to use your Gamecube to play all
your Gameboy Advance games. The package will retail for $149.99
U.S.
Fox has officially cancelled three series:
Fastlane, John Doe, and Futurama. The net also finally acknowledged the death of
Firefly.
Mariah Carey
is downsizing her North American tour, which was originally scheduled for
arenas, into smaller, more intimate venues to be closer to her fans. The trek
kicks off on July 18 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Organizers for Michigan's
Muskegon Summer Celebration are canceling Ted Nugent's gig there after
the conservative rocker made derogatory racial remarks against Asians and blacks
in an interview with two Denver deejays.
Limpbizkit
frontman Fred Durst surprised a crowd in Lowell, Massachusetts by
appearing on stage during an Avril Lavigne concert. Durst sang along with
the Canadian pop sensation on her hit song Complicated.
U.S.
military units have been breaking Saddam supporters with long sessions in which
they're forced to listen to heavy metal and children's songs. The songs that are
being played include Metallica's Enter Sandman and Drowning
Pool's Bodies. Kiddie songs include the Sesame Street theme and some of
purple dinosaur Barney's crooning.
Godsmack's
third full-length album, Faceless, has been certified platinum by the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying sales of more than a million
units.
Barry White
is suffered a stroke that has impaired his speech. White, who has been
undergoing dialysis for kidney failure since last fall, is in "great spirits."
A Texas man is filing suit in
federal court claiming Fox and the producers of American Idol stole his idea.
Harry T. Keane Jr, who calls himself a concert and film producer, says he
dreamed up the idea in 1994.
Hollywood Reporter reports that
rock music remains the most popular genre among U.S. consumers, while
rap/hip-hop has replaced pop as the No. 2 choice.
Hugh Jackman,
who co-stars in the current hit film X-Men 2, will be the host of the 2003 Tony
Awards show June 8.
R.J. Helton,
a finalist in the first season of American Idol, has signed a recording contract
with a gospel label.
NBC cleaned up on Monday with
its Martha Stewart TV movie, which scored the highest adults 18-49 demo
rating of any telefilm this season, according to preliminary estimates from
Nielsen Media Research. Martha Inc: The Story of Martha Stewart averaged 14
million viewers from 9-11 p.m. and 5.2 rating/12 share in the adults 18-49 demo.
Top-selling British pop star
Robbie Williams has got off to a slow start in the key U.S. market, but
his music company EMI Group is still determined to make him a big hit in
America. After re-signing Williams in a multi-million dollar deal last year, EMI
denied the 29-year-old pop singer needed to break the United States to justify
his contract, but said it was committed to repeating his European success in the
world's biggest market.
Melissa Stark
will not return to ABC's Monday Night Football' for a fourth season as a
sideline reporter. Stark, who married Mike Lilley in 2001, is expecting
her first child in September.
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