Off The Record...

5IVE

Five

Five is just pure pop, no deep and meaningful stuff to be pondered here. The five lads who make up Five were hand chosen by the same guy who put together the Spice Girls. There are 16 disposable dance songs like fast food, with a tried and true formula that certainly works for a mass market. They at times play around with vintage riffs, Everybody Get Up is based on the old Joan Jett I Love Rock and Roll classic, but then again pop music was never meant to be debated over, just enjoyed until the next new thing comes along.

At The Movies...

The Negotiator

Danny Roman (Samuel L.Jackson), is a hostage negotiator renowned who's life is shattered when he is framed for murder. He discovers that it has something to do with his precinct's police pension fund and that the corruption reaches all the way up, forcing him to adopt a desperate strategy. He takes a roomful of hostages and demands a negotiator from another precinct, Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey).  A movie full of tension crackling with dialogue, not mindless, teeth-rattling action, with dark and unpredictable undertones. A welcome change from all the "I know how it's gonna end" movies of this summer.

On Video...

The Wedding Singer

Adam Sandler shows off his impressive musical talent while romancing Drew Barrymore despite both of their impending marriages.  Set in 1985, a semi-nostalgic soundtrack provides a vivid background for a decade that most people are still trying to forget. Sandler will never make a film that will generate great critical acclaim, but that should be the least of his worries.  The fans love him for making them laugh, and this movie reminds people that life's not all that bad, and you can still fall in love and be happy about it.  

The Buzz...

Howie Long has a new five year contract with Fox Sports to continue on as part of the NFL Sunday crew.  A good move, since Long's attempt a film stardom (remember Firestorm) bombed.

Actor Rod Steiger has written a sequel to The Wizard of Oz. Steiger reportedly wants Elizabeth Taylor to play a sixtysomething Dorothy who returns to Oz.

A themed restaurant/club with the name Voodoo Lounge, the flagship of what is intended to be a worldwide chain, opened in London this week.  The Rolling Stones granted the use of the name of their 1994 album for a percentage of profits.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas will be leaving Home Improvement after the first two episodes of the new season to prepare for college. He will return during the Christmas season for his final last episode. 

Debbie Reynolds has sold her debt-ridden hotel and casino for $9 million to the World Wrestling Federation.  No clue yet as to why the WWF would want to buy the property.

The creator of  Beavis and Butt-head, Mike Judge,  has signed a $16 million development deal with 20th Century Fox TV to create live-action and animated series, as well as continuing on as executive producer of King Of The Hill.

A number of rock musicians will be making cameo appearances on the Drew Carey Show when Drew puts out a call for a guitarist for his reunited high school band.  Slash, Joey Ramone, Lisa Loeb, Jonny Lang and Bille Joe Armstrong have all been asked to appear.

Best Buy will give away a 17-song live Pearl Jam CD with each purchase of the band's video, Single Video Theory.

Director Wes Craven will make a small cameo in the third film of the Scream trilogy, but he won't be on the screen for long.  Craven will get his own shocker treatment and be killed of quickly.

In addition to a line of Ozzy Osbourne action figures, Todd McFarlane is also working on a deal to produce action figures based on Ozzy's old (and current) band Black Sabbath.

Three jail guards who disconnected a surveillance monitor and linked it to a TV cable to watch the last episode of Seinfeld have lost their jobs. One of the guards was fired, another suspended and the third resigned after the incident.

And while on the subject, Jerry Seinfeld has reimbursed the $60 ticket charge to fans who payed to see his shows in the Midwest.  The shows went on as planned, but it seems that the multi-million dollar star isn't interested in the money.  Nice gesture...

Michael Douglas has been named as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. The award is given to individuals in the arts or sports who have agreed to focus attention on the U.N.'s work.

Sabrina Goes to Rome, based on the Sabrina, The Teenage Witch series, will be a movie presented as part of ABC's Wonderful World of Disney in the upcoming season. The movie was shot entirely on location in Italy.

And The Beat Goes On, an original made for TV movie has been give the go ahead by ABC.  It will be based on the turbulent relationship between former network stars Sonny and Cher.  Look for it next year.  

Adam Sandler will reteam with director Dennis Dugan, who directed Sandler in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore, in Guy Gets Kid, a comedy about a slacker who adopts a 6-year-old boy to impress his girlfriend.

Hank Azaria will be the voice of the title character on the new animated sitcom, Stressed Eric, which premieres on NBC this week.  Azaria has a long list of voicing credits, giving sound to Moe, Apu, Chief Wiggum and Dr. Nick Riviera on the Simpsons, as well as a regular role on Mad About You.

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