Vol. 8  No. 40

Pick Hits

Toy Box

The Simpsons: Moe’s Tavern

All your favorite Simpsons barflies will be drawn to this playset, recreating Springfield’s one and only watering hole, Moe’s Tavern. This set comes with an exclusive Duffman action figure, and is the only way to get this highly popular collectable. Plug him onto the Tavern floor and he (and any other Simpsons figure), will utter original dialog from the hit TV series. Don’t look for this item on your everyday department store shelves. To get your hands on this item you will have to seek it out at your local comic and toy stores.

At The Movies

Red Dragon

Based on Thomas Harris’ 1981 novel, which depicts events that preceded those chronicled in the author’s later novels The Silence of the Lambs (1988) and Hannibal (1999). An ex-FBI agent Will Graham, quits the Bureau after almost losing his life in the process of capturing the elusive serial killer Hannibal Lecter. Years later, after a series of grisly murders, Graham reluctantly agrees to come out of retirement and assist in the case. But he soon realizes that the best way to catch this killer, known as the Tooth Fairy, is to find a way to get inside the killer’s mind. And the closest thing to that would be to probe the mind of another killer who is equally brilliant and twisted. For Graham, that means confronting his past and facing his former nemesis, the now-incarcerated Lecter. Red Dragon is Hannibal's Lecter's birth, and his swan song.

On Video

Panic Room

A first-rate thriller from David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) stars Jodie Foster as a single mother home shopping in New York who falls in love with a townhouse that has all the amenities one could want plus more: a panic room that has its own electricity, security cameras, and thick steel doors. Unfortunately for Foster and daughter (played by Kristen Stewart) the original owner left behind a fortune in a secret safe and on their first night there, three invading bad guys force the pair into the panic room. The chills and thrills escalate as the three hoods can't get into the room and Jodie and Kristen are stuck inside, unable to summon help.

The Buzz...

Young girls everywhere were giddy last week when rumours were rampant that their favourite girl group, the Spice Girls were hooking up sans Geri Halliwell to record two new tracks for an upcoming greatest hits collection. Unfortunately Virgin Records has denied that the girls will be working on a new record anytime soon.

Oscar-nominated British actress Minnie Driver is going to have a U.S. TV series built around her next year but nobody knows if it will be a comedy or drama.

Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg, two of Hollywood's biggest celebrities, said that they strictly limit how much television their children watch and emphasize reading rather than viewing.

After scoring a runaway bestseller with their Nanny Diaries novel debut, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have cleaned up with a two-book deal at Random House that sources pegged at $3 million for North American rights.

Pop princess Britney Spears, the bubbly dancing spokesgirl for Pepsi, will soon be hawking again but on a more serious note in a commercial to warn people of the evils of online piracy.

Confirming weeks of speculation, Warner Bros. announced it has hired Rush Hour helmer Brett Ratner to get Superman's long-stalled movie comeback moving. 

If you’re into movies and you have a computer, then stop by this web site to check out their cool screensavers. www.joblo.com/moviescreensavers.htm

The new Batman animated film will star the voice of Kelly Ripa, co-host of Live with Regis and Kelly, as Batwoman, the lead character. 

Hellraiser VII: Deader is about to go into production, with a six week shoot in Romania (Romania seems to be the trend for direct to video horror sequels these days).

The long-awaited release of the Back to the Future films has been announced. Universal will put out the Back to the Future Trilogy on December 17.  

CBS was the most popular network during opening week of the new season, narrowly beating its top rival. CBS averaged 13.9 million viewers last week in prime-time, while NBC had 13.4 million. The Big Two have most of television's popular shows: CSI, Everybody Loves Raymond, Survivor and the new CSI: Miami on CBS; Friends, ER, Frasier and The West Wing on NBC.

The publisher of Rosie magazine is filing a $100 million lawsuit against former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell for abruptly pulling out of their business partnership last month.

The five top U.S. distributors of compact discs and three large music retailers have agreed to pay $143 million in cash and CDs to settle charges they cheated consumers by fixing prices.

Sweet Home Alabama starring Reese Witherspoon debuted as the top film with $35.6 million in its opening weekend.

The final season premiere was the most-watched episode ever of NBC's Emmy-winning sitcom Friends. The potential untangling of the Ross, Rachel, Joey triangle snagged 33.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Val Kilmer is in negotiations to star as the late porn legend John Holmes in Lions Gate Films' true-crime tale Wonderland for director James Cox.

Director Rob Cohen (XXX) has inked a rich overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television and has received a put pilot commitment from Fox Broadcasting Co.

Warner Bros. Animation will launch Daffy Duck and Porky Pig into outer space for Duck Dodgers, a new series scheduled to bow in 2004 on the Cartoon Network.

MGM has optd for The Quarterback's Tale, picking up the script from writing duo Jim Burnstein and Garrett Schiff for Marc Platt to produce. The project is described as Almost Famous set in the world of contemporary NFL football.

John Travolta is in negotiations to star in Intermedia Films' Joe's Last Chance for director Andrew Bergman and Outlaw Prods.

Queen Latifah has signed a deal with CBS to develop and star in Mali Anderson, a drama series project based on Grace F. Edwards' popular Mali Anderson Mystery series of books.

"The End Always Comes Dry," a leftover track that didn't make Our Lady Peace's latest album, "Gravity" is rumored to appear on the upcoming soundtrack for the film Daredevil.

Christina Aguilera's video for her provocative new single "Dirrty" has angered many people. Apparently if you watch the video closely the camera captures some writing on the wall of a Thai phrase that translates to: "Trip for Sex in Thailand." As for the rest of the video, some stations have had to edit out the really naughty parts, whereas MuchMusic will show you the goods.
 
Mariah Carey was in New York City shooting a video for her first single for Def Jam records "Through The Rain." The diva appeared confident and carefree, strutting around in a trademark thigh-baring skirt and too-tight top while waving happily to the fans that had gathered to see her. In other Mariah news, it appears that Mariah and Eminem are still dating despite the rapper's denials.
 
Drowning Pool has made the difficult decision to continue on as a band despite the death of lead singer Dave Williams earlier this year. The band say that they have begun jamming and writing new material, but they have not brought on a replacement vocalist yet.
 
Robbie Williams and EMI announced a groundbreaking deal. Robbie Williams has signed a record deal with his label EMI for a groundbreaking $199 million CDN. The 28 year old singer scored the biggest recording deal ever in England, and puts him second only to Michael Jackson in music biz history. Robbie's first album under his new deal will be "Escapology," which will be released in Canada on November 19.