Pick Hits

Off  The Record

Faith Hill - Cry

Looking a lot like Britney Spears older sister on the cd cover of her latest effort, country singer Faith Hill is back. Don’t expect the image to reflect the music, this album heads in the direction of competing at the Celine Dion level. The Nashville hottie shakes off some of her past cobwebs for slicker, bawdier rock and a collection of power ballads that will have all high school proms slow dancing for the rest of the school year. Cry, the first single, has a respectable swagger, while the tender restraint of You're Still Here remind us that there's a huge heart beneath that soft-rock production. Mrs. Hill is hoping her fans will follow her as she moves away from her country roots, so have faith in Faith and enjoy.

At The Movies

Ghost Ship

When Canadian Air Force pilot Jack Ferriman (Desmond Harrington) recruits the team to investigate a mysterious vessel he has spotted floating adrift off the coast of Alaska, they discover the remains of the fabled Antonia Graza, thought lost at sea for more than 40 years. The salvage rights alone could be worth a fortune, and by the law of the sea, any vessel discovered on international waters can be claimed by whomever is fortunate enough to find her and skilled enough to haul her back to port.  But once onboard the eerie, cavernous ship, the crew discovers that the decaying vessel is anything but deserted. It’s home to something more deadly and horrific than anything they’ve encountered in all their years at sea. Now the crew must uncover the truth about the ship’s past and unlock the mystery that threatens their very survival.  A great thrill ride just in time for the Halloween festivities.

On Video

Mr. Deeds

Adam Sandler takes on the classic Mr. Deeds, playing Longfellow Deeds, a simple-minded, small-town pizzeria owner whose life is turned upside down when a long-lost relative leaves him an inheritance of $40 billion. It's a rags-to-riches story that quickly puts Deeds in a media frenzy. Leading the pack of tabloid reporters salivating for the story is Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder), a beautiful TV producer who devises a devious plan to get the scoop and falls for Deeds in the process. Deeds quickly learns what life is all about and sets out to prove that money changes everything, but not everyone. Certainly not the classic that the original was, but Sandler is able to take his likable persona and give this tale a fresh new twist.

The Buzz...

Rosie O'Donnell fired a $125 million-plus lawsuit at her ex-publishing partners, blaming them, not her, for the wilting of Rosie and accusing them of trashing her Queen of Nice image in the process. This counters the $100 million suit brought against O'Donnell by Gruner/Jahr, Rosie's publisher.

DROWNING POOL TRIBUTE DVD

Wind-up Records will release Drowning Pool's Sinema DVD on November 19. The two-and-a-half hour program celebrates the meteoric rise of the Dallas-based metal band, and its late charismatic frontman Dave Williams who passed away on August 14th. The label has committed $250,000 from the sale of the title towards buying a home for the parents of the singer, one of his primary dreams while alive.

Christina Aguilera’s latest clip is too much for Thailand. Government officials there are fuming over the pop diva's racy new video Dirrty. But it's not Aguilera's R-rated bumps 'n' grinds or her revealing getups that’s the issue. Those Thai-language billboards that she’s gyrating in front of translate to "Thailand's sex tourism" and "young underage girls."

The folks who brought you Scream are looking to sink their teeth into something scary again.

Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson are reuniting with Dimension Films for the werewolf tale Cursed.

British singer Claire Sweeney followed in the steps of Dame Vera Lynn and Marilyn Monroe on Thursday as she set off for the Middle East to give a series of morale-boosting concerts for troops stationed there.

A judge dismissed drug possession charges against actress Winona Ryder on Wednesday and said her trial on charges of shoplifting about $4,000 worth of goods from Saks Fifth Avenue must start immediately.

Vietnamese actor Don Duong, branded a "national traitor" for a role in a movie about the Vietnam War starring Mel Gibson, has not been jailed but authorities were considering how he would be punished.

Victorian supersleuth Sherlock Holmes has become the first fictional character to be granted an honorary fellowship by Britain's prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry.

Marilyn Manson is set to score the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Tobe Hooper cult classic about a chainsaw-wielding madman and his rural family of cannibals. Filming begins in July 2003.

KISS will perform with a symphony orchestra in Australia next year. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss will fly to Melbourne to announce the show with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

In three short weeks, Elvis Presley's 30 #1 Hits has passed the one million copies sold mark, making this his fastest platinum release. At the same time, Elvis held the number one spot all three weeks, fending off major debuts by such heavyweights as the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Xzibit, Beck, India.Arie and the new American Idol compilation.

Audioslave, the new group featuring ex-Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and former Rage Against the Machine members have posted a teaser for the upcoming video for the first single off their self-titled debut album, Cochise.

The bickering trio of American Idol judges has agreed to reunite for the second edition of the summer’s smash pop talent search on Fox. The network has confirmed that Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson will once again join razor-tongued Simon Cowell for American Idol 2.

Puddle of Mudd will perform two dates on Nissan's free concert series, the Z Tour. Recent Z Tour performers include No Doubt, Eve, Enrique Iglesias and Stone Temple Pilots.

AC/DC reportedly will release the follow-up to 2000's Stiff Upper Lip in March.

HBO has decided not to pick Arli$$ for an eighth season, despite scoring its highest ratings ever in its seventh season earlier this year. But Robert Wuhl, the show's creator, star and executive producer, is expected to stay in the fold. A deal is in the works for Wuhl to develop a new series and other projects for HBO.

John Woo is in negotiations to direct Paramount Pictures' Paycheck for producers John Davis and Michael Hackett. The project is aimed to go into production in February.

NBC is ordering more episodes of the new dramas American Dreams and Boomtown, but it's curtains for the 5-year veteran Providence.

Hoping to hit a home run on the big screen, Major League Baseball has struck a deal with Imax Corp. and Mandalay Entertainment to create the first-ever baseball-themed large-format film.

The Betty Ford Center celebrated its 20th anniversary Saturday by honoring more than 56,000 alumni worldwide who have been treated for drug and alcohol abuse.

Rock pioneers Queen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Various Roadrunner/Island/Def Jam artists including the likes of Chimaira, Slipknot, Stone Sour, Killswitch, Murderdolls and more will be featured on the Soundtrack to the upcoming Playstation 2/Gamcube videogame, Evolution Snowboarding. 

Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers have told Martha Stewart that they are ready to file civil securities fraud charges against the home decor entrepreneur for her alleged role in an insider trading scandal.