Tune It...
Ibanez RG7420
Ever since Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare album in 1990, Ibanez has ruled the roost for hard-rock 7 strings. The RG7420 is Ibanez's latest seventh wonder. Cosmetically, this RG looks much like the 6-string RGs of yore, but with a bigger, more authoritative vibe. Like many Ibanez guitars the 7420 cleans up amazingly well when you turn down the volume control. If you want the look and the sound of new metal, the 7420 is a perfect choice. It's well made, plays easily, and sounds great. When you factor in the RG's righteous price point, it's an absolute slam-dunk.
 

At The Movies...
The Crew
Four senior citizens (Richard Dreyfuss, Seymour Cassel, Burt Reynolds and Dan Hedaya), who just happen to be ex-Jersey wiseguys, are rotting away in a decaying hotel in South Beach, Miami. Faced with eviction, they steal a corpse from the morgue and blow its head off in the hotel lobby, figuring correctly that the fashion models who've overrun the place will beat a hasty retreat. Unfortunately, the corpse turns out to be the father of a paranoid Latin drug lord who's convinced he, too, will be rubbed out by a mysterious rival. Director Michael Dinner keeps things moving efficiently, and it's clear that everybody involved is having a ball, which is infectious. The unexpected parodies of other mob movies are pretty much worth the price of admission alone.
 

On DVD...
The Abyss
After the success of Aliens in 1986, director James Cameron spent his time on this big-budget, special effects-laden underwater saga. The story revolves around the crew of an underwater oilrig commandeered by the Navy to locate an errant nuclear sub. The crew find themselves 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface, facing a mysterious force from outer space while an impending storm closes in on everyone. Fabulous special effects and underwater photography. Fox has finally entered the world of DVD with a big splash. This two-disc set features more than 440 minutes of video and 6,000 screens of storyboards, stills and text detailing every aspect of the film.

The Buzz...
An Austin Powers Shagmobile and a 3-D version of the futuristic 1960s cartoon car Speed Racer were sold at auction for $225,000 to the founder of a Los Angeles auto museum.

It's official. Scary Movie is Miramax's highest-grossing film ever. Earning approximately $150 million, the Keenen Ivory Wayans' horror spoof easily outstripped Miramax's previous number one film, Good Will Hunting, which took in $138.4 million during its original run.

Former Pink Power Ranger and current Felicity co-star Amy Jo Johnson has signed on to appear with X- Men's Cyclops James Marsden in Interstate 60. Directed by Back to the Future writer Bob Gale, the film also stars Gary Oldman and concerns a young man's journey along a highway that isn't listed on any map.

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment announced plans to prepare a special edition of the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for theatrical release. Containing new footage and computer-generated enhancements, the new version of the Steven Spielberg sci-fi classic will be put together in the same manner as George Lucas' 1997 special edition of the Star Wars trilogy.

RollingStone.com, an EMusic Web site and the Internet's premier authority on music and popular culture, today launched a new online contest to find Madonna's number one fan. The grand prize winner will be selected by the recording superstar herself, and will win an enlarged, autographed copy of Rolling Stone Magazine's current cover, featuring Madonna.
 

K-Mart announced that it would soon be requiring its employees to check the identification of its young customers who are trying to purchase video games with the M rating.

WWF mainstay Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has backed out of a science fiction film project being developed for him by Sony's Revolution Studios.

Producer Joel Silver has hired Richard D'Ovidio to write a remake of Michael (Jurassic Park) Crichton's 1973 robots-gone-bad thriller, Westworld.

Producers of the Mummy sequel have cut a $20 million plus paycheck for the Industrial, Light and Magic special effects house. This is just insurance money for director Stephen Sommers, who wants this film to be better than the original.

George Clooney has come up with his own idea about what the next Batman movie should be about. Taking place after Alfred's funeral and the death of Robin, Clooney's idea sees the whole Batman story as a figment of Bruce Wayne's imagination, created to help him deal with the tragic murders of his parents.

At the end of October, Total Energy Records is releasing an album by MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, collecting rare and previously unreleased live and studio tracks from 1974 to 1978.

Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine is among the industry heavyweights who have joined the advisory board for StarPolish.com, a new website that is “dedicated to educating and empowering artists, with an emphasis on artist advocacy and artist development."

Hole is considering adding departed Nashville Pussy bassist Corey Parks to the line-up to replace Melissa Auf Der Maur, who left to join Smashing Pumpkins.

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