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Vol. 9
No. 41
Pick Hits
At The Movies
Kill Bill
Vol. 1
Uma Thurman is going to Kill
Bill, in Quentin Tarantino's latest film about a former assassin betrayed by her
boss, Bill (David Carradine). Four years after surviving a bullet in the head,
the bride (Thurman) emerges from a coma and swears revenge on her former master
and his deadly squad of international assassins, played by Lucy Liu, Daryl
Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and Michael Madsen. Tarantino's obvious influence here is
Chinese grindhouse cinema, those ultra-violent 1970s kung fu movies. But he also
weaves in imagery, sounds and even emotion from Italian mafia movies, spaghetti
Westerns and Japanese samurai epics. The film is hugely watchable.
On
Video
The Italian Job
Exciting
thriller about a team of crack robbers who rip off a safe in Venice, Italy, are
betrayed by one of their own crew, and then seek revenge a year later in Los
Angeles on that person who is hiding out and slowly but surely selling off the
bullion. An elaborate plan is hatched involving three Mini Coopers and the
commandeering of Los Angeles' traffic control system to create one of the
biggest traffic jams in history as their cover. Spectacular action and revenge
with wonderful acting from the leads.
Off The Record
David Bowie
Reality
Miserable over
9/11 and facing the looming ravages of age that even a superstar must accept,
David Bowie bares his heart and soul on Reality. Bowie lives in Manhattan's Soho
neighborhood just blocks from Ground Zero, that eerie closeness filling Reality
with sadness, contemplation, and righteous anger. Bowie will never completely
let his guard-guise down, but Reality is easily one of his most emotionally
transparent albums. Reality sums up Bowie's journey from planet X to planet
alpha with blistering guitar and massive melodic hooks. So nostalgic is Bowie,
he even covers Jonathan Richman's hyper Pablo Picasso and George Harrison's Try
Some, Buy Some lending both a whimsical, yet certain, sadness.
The Buzz...
Shannen Doherty
is looking to make her first foray into comedy. The
former Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed star has inked
a deal to headline a show about a young woman who is
stuck with a reputation of being headstrong and nasty
but is nice and fragile at heart. The project is set
up at NBC-based production company Pariah TV.
Tenacious D fans are in for a treat when their
definitive DVD, entitled The Complete Masterworks Of
Tenacious D is released next month. The package will
consist of two discs. One will be called For The Fans,
featuring a live 2002 London show, and the other will
be a documentary about the duo's early days entitled
For The Psycho Fans. Tenacious D frontman is The
School of Rock's Jack Black.
Incubus have formed their own charitable
organization, the Make Yourself Foundation. Over the
next year, the band aims to raise $1 million, which it
will donate to various charities.
50 Cent has decided to push back the release of his
untitled sophomore set to June of 2004. The rapper was originally scheduled to
drop the new set in February, but the record company asked 50 Cent to give
G-Unit's Beg For Mercy room to sell. Get Rich Or Die Tryin' continues to
sell approximately 40,000 copies a week adding to more than six million copies
already moved.
Rapper-actor Ice Cube will take over leading-man
duties from Vin Diesel in the sequel to XXX. The original film featured
Diesel as Xander Cage, an extreme sports fanatic turned reluctant secret agent.
The original XXX pulled in $277 million at box offices worldwide. Look for XXX 2
in 2005.
Fans and employees of the Siegfried & Roy show held a candelight vigil as
famed performer Roy Horn remained in critical condition after being mauled by a
tiger. The show has been canceled indefinitely.
Disney has given the greenlight for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
remake to go forward. The project, based on the book by Douglas Adams, will
shoot in London next year. The project has been stalled for years, mainly due to
cast and crew changes. Jay Roach was attached as a director but dropped
out due to Austin Powers in Goldmember and a potential Meet the Parents sequel.
Paramount is looking to replace Ben Affleck in the Jack Ryan series.
Affleck starred in his first Jack Ryan movie, The Sum of All Fears after Alec
Baldwin and Harrison Ford previously played the character in past
films. Affleck's star has been on the wane due to a few high visibility flops.
Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful
Mind) are reteaming together to make a film adaptation of the current hit, The
Da Vinci Code. Grazer will produce the script by Goldsman with Howard set to
direct. Howard will begin work on the project right after he finishes work on
Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe. The novel tells the story of a man who
discovers clues hidden in paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci, which lead to a
mystery and tangled web.
Alex Borstein and Michael Massee have joined
the cast of Catwoman. Borstein will play a friend to Berry, while Massee
will play a foe. Catwoman stars Halle Berry as a woman bent on revenge
againstan evil cosmetics company. The film stars Sharon Stone in the
villainous role. Berry's new costume was revealed earlier this week.
Korn have pushed back the projected release date of their sixth album,
Take a Look in the Mirror, to November 25 through Epic Records. The album's
first single, Right Now, is due to hit U.S. radio outlets during the coming
days.
The 1967 Chevorlet Camaro driven by Metallica frontman James Hetfield in
the I Disappear video had its final bid on eBay at $45,900 yesterday. All the
proceeds will be donated to different music schools across the USA.
A short video of Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde and bassist Jason Newsted
jamming together backstage on the Ozzfest 2003 tour has been posted online at
the Fuse TV web site. Wylde will be presenting a guitar to The Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame.
Kid Rock has selected a cover of Bad Company's classic rock favorite Feel
Like Makin' Love as the first single from his new album. The self-titled set is
due November 11 from Lava/Atlantic. Rock's cover is due to hit U.S. radio
stations next week.
Sum 41 will voice a gang of Christian youths who express their
religious passion through punk rock and skateboarding on King of
the Hill. Gene Simmons will also add his pipes to
the November 9th episode.
Linkin Park has been cleared to perform in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
but they have a few strict rules to adhere to. Male artists must cover their
bodies from the chest to the knees, The artist is strictly forbidden from
displaying rough, raunchy actions, Artists are forbidden from making sexually
provocative gestures or speech, including dance moves, and Artists are
prohibited from wearing clothes or body accessories considered obscene.
Billy Joel is suffering a broken wrist after falling in his home.
Doctors needed five pins to put Joel's wrist back together, but the rocker's
publicist says the Piano Man will make a full recovery.
New Line will pick up the comedy pitch, Little Orphan Anthony, in which Anthony
Anderson (Cradle 2 The Grave) will star and produce. The pitch tells the story
of a young yuppie comedy who mistakenly adopts the world's oldest orphan, a
25-year-old man.
Karl Urban, Eomer from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is close to
signing on to play the villain in The Bourne Supremacy, the sequel to last
year's The Bourne Identity starring Matt Damon.
The Federal Communications Commission decided that U2 singer Bono's
utterance of an obscenity during this year's broadcast of the Golden Globe
Awards did not constitute a violation of the nation's broadcast indecency rules.
ABC is saddling up for a horse racing drama loosely based on the relationship
between renowned Churchill Downs trainer Jerry Romans and his sons.
Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Ricky Martin,
OutKast, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken have
been added to the performance lineup for the 31st annual American Music Awards. |
