Vol. 8 No. 12
Pick Hits
Off The Record
Alanis Morissette
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Under Rug Swept
This is the third full studio
album since the Ottawa-born singer's transformation from teen pop act to
platinum selling megastar. Recorded in several studios, including Toronto's
Great Big Sound, it's also Morissette's first true solo effort, writing and
producing the whole package herself. Her melodic sense and expressive voice
remain the most impressive weapons in her arsenal. We know that Morissette has
mastered the confessional, half-whispered ballad, so it's nice to hear her cut
loose on the brass-knuckled rock of 21 Things I Want In A Lover. As Morissette
has matured, her anger has diminished, which enables a more likeable aspect of
her music to shine through.
At The Movies
Showtime
This spoof of buddy cop movies
is about two very different police officers who are forced to work together, as
stars of a new reality-based TV show a major city's police department hopes will
boost their publicity, morale, and image in general. The two detectives are a
straight-laced, no-nonsense Robert De Niro-type (De Niro) and a
showboating, outlandish rookie with all the attitude of Eddie Murphy
(Murphy). Rene Russo plays their TV show's producer, in this clever and
often hilarious look at our growing fascination with reality shows.
On Video
Training Day
This movie tracks the events of
the first day on the job of a rookie cop (Ethan Hawke) working in the Los
Angeles Police Department's undercover narcotics unit. His partner is Alonzo, a
corrupt veteran cop (Denzel Washington). A movie that was rescheduled due
to 9/11, this multiple Oscar nominated film is not to be missed when it hits
video shelves. Fine casting and strong performances make a well written script
even more poignant.
The Buzz...
The makers of A
Beautiful Mind have objected to an alleged smear campaign aimed at hurting the
Oscar chances of their movie, which is up for eight Academy Awards including
best picture.
Revlon is paying ABC millions of
dollars to be featured as a foil for Susan Lucci's character in the soap
opera All My Children over the next several months. Lucci's character, Erica
Kane, runs her own
cosmetics company,
and when Revlon tries to hire one of her employees, Erica sends her daughter to
become a corporate spy instead. Revlon has promised to pay multimillions in
advertising over the next several months in return for being featured in the
show.
Due to the fact
that the entire new Korn CD, Untouchables, has been leaked and is
currently available for download via a variety of file-sharing applications over
the Internet, Immortal/Epic Records have moved up the album's release date back
up to May 14th.
Aerosmith
has begun working on their follow up to Just Push Play. Joe Perry told
the Aerosmith fan club that it may be a greatest-hits record that would cover
all three decades of their career, with a few new songs as well.
|
KNIGHT RIDER IS GEARING UP FOR A
REVIVAL |
Revolution Studios
is gearing up to revive Knight Rider, NBC's hit 1980's action series featuring
David Hasselhoff as a crime fighter aided by his talking Trans Am K.I.T.T,
for a potential big-screen franchise. Hasselhoff is on board to executive
produce the flick with series creator Glen Larson.
Canadian rock trio
Rush, will release Vapor Trails, their first all new album in 5 years, on
May 14th. A North American tour is planned for summer and fall.
Beginning in April, Internet
service providers with customers in Pennsylvania will be legally responsible
for
blocking access to child pornography.
Sylvester "Pat" Weaver, who
created NBC's Today and Tonight shows, brought opera and a flurry of new
commercials to TV and shaped the way Americans watched the young medium, has
died. He was 93.
Ice Age froze out
the competition at movie theatres as the animated film about prehistoric pals
opened with a whopping $47.9 million, a record for a movie debuting in March.
Representatives of Mike Tyson
and Lennox Lewis were in Memphis to discuss a possible June fight at
The
Pyramid.
Britney Spears
may be adding her name to the growing list of celebrities turned restaurateurs.
The pop princess is reportedly planning to open her own Manhattan eatery with
the aid of famed New York dining-scene impresario Bobby Ochs.
Nathan Lane
and Matthew Broderick's box-office-bursting stint in The Producers has
ended. The two actors, who originated the stage roles of Max Bialystock and Leo
Bloom, bid adieu to the Mel Brooks musical, capping a yearlong run that
saw the show take Broadway by storm with rave reviews, unprecedented ticket
sales and a record 12 Tony Awards.
Foxs Celebrity
Boxing special hooked some of the biggest numbers of the season, attracting
about 15.5 million viewers. The show was so successful that Fox executives are
now planning to go the distance with the concept. Already talk has begun about
putting on future fights featuring the formerly famous (and infamous), with the
next bout possibly coming as soon as May sweeps.
Billy Joel
and Elton John have postponed the rest of their U.S. concert dates
together to allow Joel to recover from an illness.
A trio of top-name
talent including Eddie Murphy, director Rob Minkoff and producer
Don Hahn are negotiating to come aboard Walt Disney Haunted Mansion.
Johnny Depp will star as
Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie in Miramax Films' Neverland. The project, to
be
directed by Monster's Ball helmer Marc Forster, will go into production
in the summer in London.
The NFL might give
ABC's Monday Night Football a boost next year by moving games from the league's
Sunday schedule to Monday night during the last four weeks of the season.
Staind
guitarist Mike Mushok will begin working on the band's new album while
the group takes a break. The new album will be the follow-up to the band's
breakthrough 2001 release, Break the Cycle. Meanwhile, the 11-song Staind: MTV
Unplugged DVD is set for an Aug. 21 release date. It includes two performances
that didn't appear on the TV show, Suffer and Pressure, as well as backstage
footage.
Saturday Night Live
alumna Molly Shannon has signed on for a multi-episode stint on HBO's Sex
and the City. The actress is also in talks to join the cast of ABC's remake of
The Music Man to air under the Wonderful World of Disney banner.
After six years
with Paramount Pictures, Mel Gibson and his producing partner Bruce
Davey are moving their Icon Prods. to 20th Century Fox. Icon has signed a
two-year, first-look deal that includes at least one project in which Gibson
will star.
Ex-Motley Crue
drummer Tommy Lee will be joined by guitarist J3 and drummer
Will Hunt in his solo project formerly known as Methods Of Mayhem.
His sophomore CD, Never A Dull Moment, is due for release on MCA Records May
21st. |