Artist: Jean Racine
Genre(s):
Other
Discography:
Ivre du Son
Year: 2007
Tracks: 12
Zyklon
Friday, 27 June 2008
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Panda kicks Sandler at U.S. box office
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Moviegoers across North America
were in a fighting mood during the weekend, cheering the family
cartoon "Kung Fu Panda" to the top spot at a box office packed
with hits.
DreamWorks Animation's Jack Black comedy about a panda who
dreams of martial arts glory handily earned an estimated $60
million during its first three days, distributor Paramount
Pictures said on Sunday. The firms had hoped for an opening in
the high $40 million range.
But it was not a complete knockout. Columbia Pictures' Adam
Sandler comedy "You Don't Mess with the Zohan," in which the
comedian plays an Israeli commando-turned-New York hairdresser,
opened at No. 2 with $40 million. It also beat forecasts of a
debut in the mid- to high $30 million range.
But observers said top honors really could have gone either
way. In one corner, "Kung Fu Panda" was powered by rave reviews
and an underserved family audience; in the other, Sandler could
count on young male fans unlikely to be swayed by negative
notices from puzzled critics.
As it turned out, both played beyond their traditional
audiences. DreamWorks Animation said 71 percent of the audience
was older than 17, while Columbia said women accounted for 51
percent of the "Zohan" crowd.
'SEX' LOSES STEAM
Last weekend's champ, New Line Cinema's romantic comedy
"Sex and the City," fell to No. 4 with $21.3 million, a massive
63 percent drop from its surprisingly strong opening weekend.
Sales to date stand at $99.3 million for the big-screen
adaptation of HBO's fashion-and-relationship series.
Just ahead of it was "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull" with $22.8 million, down one place. The total
for the Paramount-distributed adventure rose to $253 million
after three weekends.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Moviegoers across North America
were in a fighting mood during the weekend, cheering the family
cartoon "Kung Fu Panda" to the top spot at a box office packed
with hits.
DreamWorks Animation's Jack Black comedy about a panda who
dreams of martial arts glory handily earned an estimated $60
million during its first three days, distributor Paramount
Pictures said on Sunday. The firms had hoped for an opening in
the high $40 million range.
But it was not a complete knockout. Columbia Pictures' Adam
Sandler comedy "You Don't Mess with the Zohan," in which the
comedian plays an Israeli commando-turned-New York hairdresser,
opened at No. 2 with $40 million. It also beat forecasts of a
debut in the mid- to high $30 million range.
But observers said top honors really could have gone either
way. In one corner, "Kung Fu Panda" was powered by rave reviews
and an underserved family audience; in the other, Sandler could
count on young male fans unlikely to be swayed by negative
notices from puzzled critics.
As it turned out, both played beyond their traditional
audiences. DreamWorks Animation said 71 percent of the audience
was older than 17, while Columbia said women accounted for 51
percent of the "Zohan" crowd.
'SEX' LOSES STEAM
Last weekend's champ, New Line Cinema's romantic comedy
"Sex and the City," fell to No. 4 with $21.3 million, a massive
63 percent drop from its surprisingly strong opening weekend.
Sales to date stand at $99.3 million for the big-screen
adaptation of HBO's fashion-and-relationship series.
Just ahead of it was "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull" with $22.8 million, down one place. The total
for the Paramount-distributed adventure rose to $253 million
after three weekends.
Friday, 13 June 2008
Could The Simpsons' days be numbered?
D�OH: Last week, I wrote a post about The Simpsons� ascension into the record books, signing with Fox for a 20th season that will tie the animated sitcom with Gunsmoke as the longest running show in primetime, and about the show�s voice cast bit of brinksmanship that rewarded them with big paycheques for the same season � some US$400,000 per episode for actors such as Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Hank Azaria and others.
Not long after I typed the last period on that piece, Verne Gay of Newsday�s TV Zone wrote that the triumph could be short-lived. �With the 20th season, The Simpsons has perhaps become prohibitively expensive; it's sort of like that 15,000 pound Escalade collecting a mantle of dust in your garage because it costs $500 to fill up the tank...�
Gay points out that, while the show has gotten more expensive to produce, it has shed more than half of its viewers since its high water mark 1998 season, dipping to an average of just 7.7 million viewers per episode. �What does all this mean?� Gay asks. �That as the audience declines, the show costs are going up.�
�In television, that always spells one thing, and I'll spell it out for you now: Cancellation.�
After receiving an ominous �No comment� from a PR exec at Fox, Gay lets us linger on that scenario, pregnant with its vision of a Simpsons-less future � except for the syndicated episodes running four times a day. I somehow wish the show�s writers could keep this image in their minds, as it might inspire them to make a potential finale season worthy of the show�s reputation at its best. Or it will mean another dull but profitable movie. In either case, it�s hard for me to summon up a convincing imitation of hope.
IT�S GOOD TO BE THE KING: Especially when, like Larry King, you can rely on your friends to make you look good by comparison. Wearing a neck brace for an unspecified injury, former Johnny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon appeared on King�s CNN show last week to talk about the imminent foreclosure on his house, to pay for some $4.8 million in unpaid mortgage loans.
�If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens," said the new poster boy for financial imprudence in the age of the subprime crisis. "A couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that.�
McMahon�s wife told King that they were a victim of poor financial management, and that until she married Ed, she�d never even owned a house.
�I don't think you'll own one again,� said King, twisting the knife. Backstage, he offered to let the couple sleep in his motor home when he wasn�t using it, provided Ed follow him around laughing at his jokes. Who says there�s no love in showbiz?
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Friday, 6 June 2008
Pete Wentz on marriage to Ashlee Simpson: “We have signed a pre-nup”
“We have signed a pre-nup,” the Fall Out Boy rocker insisted.
Speaking to Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS-FM radio show Tuesday, Pete said Ashlee “legally is a Wentz … I don’t know what she’ll do with her stage name, that’s up to her. She hasn’t decided that.”
And he said their honeymoon plans are on hold for now; and they’ve been hanging out in their basement in L.A.
See Also
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano dies, 86
The legendary Italian tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano has died in Milan.
Di Stefano, who was 86, had suffered poor health after being attacked during a robbery at his Kenyan holiday home in 2004.
The tenor was treated for serious head injuries and went into a coma while in hospital in Milan last December.
Born in Sicily, Di Stefano made his operatic debut in 1946 and gave the late Luciano Pavarotti his big break when illness forced him out of a performance of 'La Boheme' at Covent Garden in London in 1963; Pavarotti performed as his replacement.
During his career Di Stefano made many records with Pavarotti and Maria Callas.
Di Stefano, who was 86, had suffered poor health after being attacked during a robbery at his Kenyan holiday home in 2004.
The tenor was treated for serious head injuries and went into a coma while in hospital in Milan last December.
Born in Sicily, Di Stefano made his operatic debut in 1946 and gave the late Luciano Pavarotti his big break when illness forced him out of a performance of 'La Boheme' at Covent Garden in London in 1963; Pavarotti performed as his replacement.
During his career Di Stefano made many records with Pavarotti and Maria Callas.
Metcalfe joins Douglas in thriller
'Desperate Housewives' star Jesse Metcalfe has been cast opposite Michael Douglas and Amber Tamblyn in the remake of the classic 1956 thriller 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'.
Variety reports that the film tells the story of a journalist investigating a corrupt district attorney who sets himself up as a murder suspect to highlight the flaws in circumstantial evidence.
But the district attorney discovers his plan.
Shooting on the Peter Hyams-directed film begins on 3 March.
For more on 'Desperate Housewives', read our TV blog here.
Variety reports that the film tells the story of a journalist investigating a corrupt district attorney who sets himself up as a murder suspect to highlight the flaws in circumstantial evidence.
But the district attorney discovers his plan.
Shooting on the Peter Hyams-directed film begins on 3 March.
For more on 'Desperate Housewives', read our TV blog here.
Sharon Osbourne to host VH1 Charm School
Sharon Osbourne is set to take over as the host of VH1�??s reality TV show �??Charm School�??, which will see her turn Bret Michaels�?? rejects into �??sophisticated rock & roll ladies�?�.
Osbourne takes the reins from former host Mo�??Nique, who hosted the first series, during which 13 rejects from Flavor Flav's �??Flavor of Love�?? show were trained to become more lady-like.
In the �??rock�?? version, Osbourne will attempt to spruce up 14 rejects from Bret Michaels�?? hugely-successful �??Rock Of Love�?? show, filtering them down to just one who will win $100,000.
Osbourne, herself the ultimate foul-mouthed rock star wife, will educate the girls to "learn and grow in areas of etiquette, fashion, manners, and moderation�?� and �??will attempt to strip the girls of their former rebellious and wild ways.�?�
�??Charm School�?? series two will premiere this fall on VH1.
--By our New York staff.
Find out more about NME.
Osbourne takes the reins from former host Mo�??Nique, who hosted the first series, during which 13 rejects from Flavor Flav's �??Flavor of Love�?? show were trained to become more lady-like.
In the �??rock�?? version, Osbourne will attempt to spruce up 14 rejects from Bret Michaels�?? hugely-successful �??Rock Of Love�?? show, filtering them down to just one who will win $100,000.
Osbourne, herself the ultimate foul-mouthed rock star wife, will educate the girls to "learn and grow in areas of etiquette, fashion, manners, and moderation�?� and �??will attempt to strip the girls of their former rebellious and wild ways.�?�
�??Charm School�?? series two will premiere this fall on VH1.
--By our New York staff.
Find out more about NME.
SAG, AMPTP return to table
Few observers predict an imminent deal
SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers returned to the table Tuesday after a three-day weekend break.
SAG's primetime and theatrical contract expires June 30 and, given the bargaining dynamics, few observers see an imminent deal. Tuesday marked the 22nd day of the negotiations, which began in April and were stopped in early May so that sister union AFTRA could start formal talks on its primetime TV contract.
Last week, AFTRA inked a deal with the studios, allowing SAG to return to the negotiations. SAG has yet to comment in any depth on the AFTRA deal but the union's president, Alan Rosenberg, issued a terse statement last week indicating they were in the process of reviewing the deal and how it impacts their negotiations.
Rosenberg and chief negotiator Doug Allen have been outspoken about standing firm on their demands, including an increase in DVD residuals, which the other unions, including AFTRA, the WGA and DGA, took off the table in order to move forward.
Observers with knowledge of the talks said it's unlikely SAG, the last of the creative unions to bargain with the studios, will be able to make any strides in increasing those residuals. The studios, led by negotiator Nick Counter, have refused to budge on the formula.
"One thing you have to remember about negotiations is that it's give and take and should result in a compromise," labor attorney Alan Brunswick said.
See Also
Suzanne Vega
Artist: Suzanne Vega
Genre(s):
Rock
Pop
Other
Rock: Pop-Rock
Folk
Pop: Pop-Rock
Discography:
Beauty and Crime
Year: 2007
Tracks: 11
Live At Montreaux 2004
Year: 2004
Tracks: 12
Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega
Year: 2003
Tracks: 21
Songs In Red And Grey
Year: 2001
Tracks: 13
Tried and True
Year: 1999
Tracks: 17
Rosemary
Year: 1999
Tracks: 4
Nine Objects Of Desire
Year: 1996
Tracks: 12
Dancing Girl (Live in Zurich '93)
Year: 1993
Tracks: 19
99.9 F
Year: 1992
Tracks: 13
Days Of Open Hand
Year: 1990
Tracks: 11
Solitude Standing
Year: 1987
Tracks: 11
Suzanne Vega
Year: 1985
Tracks: 10
Best Of Suzanne Vega Tried And True
Year:
Tracks: 1
Suzanne Vega was the first major figure in the bumper crop of female singer/songwriters wHO pink wine to prominence during the late '80s and '90s. Her muted, unemotional folk-pop and extremely literate lyrics (inspired chiefly by Leonard Cohen, as well as Lou Reed and Bob Dylan) set the initial musical basis for what later became the trademark reasoned of Lilith Fair (a tour on which she was a unconstipated). Moreover, her leftfield hit single "Luka" helped convert record companies that folk-styled singer/songwriters were non a thing of the past afterwards all, paving material the way for breakthroughs by Tracy Chapman, Michelle Shocked, Shawn Colvin, Edie Brickell, the Indigo Girls, Sinéad O'Connor, and a legion of others on through the '90s. Vega's early commercial success helped open doors for a wealth of talent, and fifty-fifty if she couldn't sustain the level of popularity she reached in 1987 with "Luka" and the atomic number 78 Solitude Standing, she maintained a substantial and dedicated cult next. Her association with -- and man and wife to -- experimental manufacturer Mitchell Froom during the '90s resulted in two intriguing merely spotty albums; however, following their painful divorce, Vega returned in 2001 with her first album in fin old age, Songs in Red and Gray, which was greeted with her strongest reviews in a decade.
Suzanne Vega was innate July 11, 1959, in Santa Monica, CA; her parents divorced shortly thenceforth, and after her female parent (a nothingness guitar player) remarried to Puerto Rican novelist Ed Vega, the fellowship stirred to Manhattan. A shy and subdued baby, Suzanne all the same erudite to charter care of herself growing up in the tough neighborhoods of Spanish Harlem. Her parents often panax quinquefolius family songs round the business firm, and when she began playing the guitar at age 11, she plant herself attracted to the verse of singer/songwriter music (Dylan, Cohen), and base a resort from New York's chaos in traditional family (Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Joan Baez). At age 14, she made her number one attempts at writing songs; however, when she tended to the High School for the Performing Arts as a stripling, it was to subject area dance, not music. She later on enrolled at Barnard College as a literature major, and during this time, she began playing at coffeehouses and folk festivals on the West Side and near Columbia University; she shortly stirred up to the Lower East Side/Greenwich Village folk clubs, including the far-famed Folk City club where Bob Dylan started out. In 1979, Vega tended to a Lou Reed concert, and the burden was a divine revelation: here was an creative person chronicling the rough urban reality Vega knew, with the item and literacy of a family artist. Vega observed a modern voice and sense of possibleness for her original material, and her authorship grew speedily.
Lope Felix de Vega Carpio graduated from college in 1982 and held down several low-level clarence Day jobs while quickly becoming the Greenwich Village folk scene's brightest hope. Record companies were reluctant to take a chance on a singer/songwriter steeped in folk music music, however, since they saw small opportunity of whatsoever commercial returns. After three age of rejections, Vega and her managers Ron Fierstein and Steve Addabbo lastly convinced A&M (which had turned her down twice) to give her a shaft, and she sign a contract in 1983. Former Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye was brought in to co-produce the debut with Addabbo and lend it a electric sander, more than modern-day flavour.
Coroneted simply Suzanne Vega, it was released in 1985 to much critical clapping. Thanks in part to the single "Marlene on the Wall," the album was a genuine gain in Britain, where it finally went platinum; piece it didn't duplicate that success in America, the album's gross sales of two hundred,000 strong still came as a impact to A&M (and Vega). For the 1987 follow-up, Vega overcame writer's obstruct to craft an eclecticist batch of new material, as advantageously as drawing upon a backlog of songs that hadn't agree the debut. Again produced by Kaye and Addabbo, Solitude Standing was Vega's finest accomplishment; the grandness and sort of its compositions were complemented by the lusher full-band arrangements and more approachable (albeit less folky) production. The album's lead single, "Luka," was a persistent first person report of child ill-treat, whose curt (and fictional) lyrics smitten a chord with American radio listeners. As a outcome, the album was an inst hit on both sides of the Atlantic; it debuted at number two in the U.K., and went gold within deuce-ace months in the U.S., peaking at number 11 and eventually release pt. "Luka" hit number tierce on the American pop charts -- unheard of for a singer/songwriter in the '80s prior to Vega -- and was nominated for three Grammys. As record companies rushed to sate a securities industry recession they hadn't known existed (and stripping some major talents in the process), Vega exhausted nigh a yr on the road touring in support of the track record; spent, she returned to New York to take some time sour, and besides tracked down her biological father for the low time. When the meter came to track record her third album in 1989, Vega distinct to co-produce it herself with her keyboardist/boyfriend Anton Sanko (longtime bassist Michael Visceglia likewise had input). Vega began to experiment with her lyrics, pushing beyond the tale story-songs that henpecked her first 2 records, and had minimalist composer Philip Glass contribute a string arrangement. The outcome, Years of Open Hand, was released in 1990, yet didn't get some other hit single and was jolly lost in the shuffle of new female singer/songwriters; though it did sell respectably, reviews were reasonably mixed. Even though the album didn't recapture Vega's 1987 popularity, she was silent -- indirectly -- convoluted in one of 1990's to the highest degree eccentric hit singles. Two British terpsichore producers working under the assumed name DNA took the a cappella Solitude Standing track "Tom's Diner" and localise it to an electronic dance beat, releasing the result as a corn liquor single called "Oh Suzanne." When A&M ascertained the plagiarization, Vega distinct to allow the single's official press release under its original title, and it became a material reach in the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere. The following year, Vega collected a identification number of other unsolicited versions of the sung dynasty and compiled them as Tom's Album.
Intrigued by the success of "Tom's Diner," Vega began look for ways to open up her melodic advance. She aquiline up with producer Mitchell Froom, best known for his work on latter-day albums by Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson, and Crowded House. Froom applied his trademark approach -- dissonant arrangements, clanging pleximetry -- to Vega's new 1992 album, and piece 99.9 F° didn't reinvent her as a dance creative person (as some expected), the synth-centered effectual of the phonograph recording was dissimilar whatever of her old work. Froom and Vega began geological dating several months after the record's closing, and they lesion up marrying; their daughter, Ruby, was born in 1994, and Vega naturally took some time off from medicine. She returned in 1996 with Nine Objects of Desire, over again with Froom in the producer's chair, though his approaching was middling less radical this time proscribed; in terms of Vega's case matter, in that respect was a newfound strong-arm sensualism borne of her married couple and childbirth experiences.
All was non well for long, withal; Froom began seeing Friend McBeal isaac M. Singer Vonda Shepard, and he and Vega rip up in August 1998. In 1999, Vega released the best-of retrospective Tried and true and True, taking caudex of her past career (she had also split with longtime manager Ron Fierstein); she also published her number one al-Qur'an, The Passionate Eye, a compendium of poems, lyrics, essays, journalistic pieces, and the care. Vega began playing shows with bassist Michael Visceglia over again, and worked on material addressing the breakup of her marriage. Songs in Red and Gray was released in the fall of 2001 and marked a come back to the more direct effectual of Suzanne Vega and Solitude Standing; it also garnered her charles Herbert Best reviews since those records. Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega arrived in 2003, followed by the Live at Montreux 2004 DVD/CD in 2006 and the all-new Looker & Crime in 2007.
Squeeze extends comeback, shuffles in US dates
Reunited '80s pop-rockers Squeeze [ tickets ] will continue their comeback this summer with a run of headlining dates in the US and a batch of re-released studio albums.The British group will kick off the outing Aug. 21 in Washington, DC, with plans to hit 13 cities on the three-week run, which concludes in mid-September. The full schedule is included below.The current version of the group features founding members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, along with longtime bassist John Bentley and two members of Tilbrook's touring band, The Fluffers: Stephen Large (keyboards) and Simon Hanson (drums).Former members Jools Holland and Gilson Lavis, who continue to tour as part of Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, will once again abstain from participating in the reunited Squeeze.Last November, Squeeze released "5 Live," which features 19 tracks recorded during last year's US tour."Essential Squeeze," which the band is calling its "definitive greatest hits collection," was released last spring, sporting a pair of unreleased tracks. A DVD version of the set, featuring music videos from throughout the group's career, was released at the same time.Both Difford and Tilbrook have continued to record and tour since the band's initial breakup. Difford's second solo album, "I Didn't Get Where I Am," was released last year, while Tilbrook continues to work on his third solo album, according to a press release.Four of the group's albums--1980's "Argybargy," 1989's "Frank," 1995's "Ridiculous" and 1982's "Sweets From a Stranger"--are being re-released by the band's British record label. More information can be found at the official Squeeze website.
Allred to Rob: Your Tactics are Lowe
Gloria Allred is calling out Rob Lowe -- again! She claims that Lowe and his wife are doing the same denial dance with former nanny Laura Boyce, that they did with ex nanny Jessica Gibson.
Allred issued the following statement to TMZ regarding the legal papers that were filed by the Lowes yesterday:
"Ms. Gibson and her attorney received responses recently to the numerous questions posed in the interrogatories as part of the discovery process in the lawsuit between Gibson and the Lowes. We also asked them to produce documents and other supporting material."
But she doesn't stop there.
"Their blanket objections to virtually all our requests suggest that they do not want to answer questions or produce documents.
Mr. Lowe and his wife are going to learn that the rules that apply to everyone else also apply to them. Celebrities are not entitled to special treatment, and we regard their responses as complete and utter stonewalling. We intend to take them to court to get these questions answered."
See Also
Allred issued the following statement to TMZ regarding the legal papers that were filed by the Lowes yesterday:
"Ms. Gibson and her attorney received responses recently to the numerous questions posed in the interrogatories as part of the discovery process in the lawsuit between Gibson and the Lowes. We also asked them to produce documents and other supporting material."
But she doesn't stop there.
"Their blanket objections to virtually all our requests suggest that they do not want to answer questions or produce documents.
Mr. Lowe and his wife are going to learn that the rules that apply to everyone else also apply to them. Celebrities are not entitled to special treatment, and we regard their responses as complete and utter stonewalling. We intend to take them to court to get these questions answered."
See Also
- Rob Lowe to Nanny: You Have Unclean Hands!
- Nanny Lawyer to Lowe: We're Gonna Fry You!
See Also
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