Vol. 9 No. 14
Pick Hits
Caught in the Act
Bon Jovi - Kohl Center, Madison WI
With close to 100 million in
albums sales and almost 20 years behind them as a group, Bon Jovi has nothing
left to prove yet they continue to deliver night after night. From the opening
notes of Bounce, their current album namesake, Jon and the boys ripped off a set
of hits, reaching back to album one for Runaway, through the 80’s with Living On
A Prayer and You Give Love A Bad Name, mixed up with some of their more recent
smashes such as It’s My Life. Guitarist Ritchie Sambora did vocal duties on I’ll
Be There For You, while Jon Bon Jovi belted out the rest of the hits at a
frantic but almost effortless pace. There’s a reason Bon Jovi is still around
despite changes in the musical landscape around them, they have never been ones
to follow, they continue to forge their own path, much to the delight of
millions.
At The Movies
Phone Booth
Stu Sheperd (Colin Farrell) is an unethical, self-serving media
consultant who is trapped in a public phone booth after being told by a caller
(Kiefer Sutherland) with a sniper rifle that he'll be shot dead if he hangs up.
A sudden and shocking act of violence near the booth draws the attention of the
police, who arrived with a small army of sharpshooters. They believe that Stu,
not the unseen caller of whom they remain unaware, is the dangerous man with a
gun. As afternoon turns into evening, Stu must dig deep into his soul, find his
strength and attempt to outwit the caller, taking the game to an even more
dangerous level. Clocking in at just over 80 minutes, it has no time for silly
subplots or unnecessary sentimentality in an effort to give the audience more
bang for your buck.
On Video
Maid in Manhattan
Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is a single mother who works as a maid in a
luxury hotel in
Manhattan. A street smart, beautiful young woman, Marisa is not initially
motivated to rise to greater things until she is given the chance for a
management position. But the future has some obstacles in store for her. She
meets Christopher Marshall (Ralph
Fiennes), a handsome heir to a political dynasty who believes that she is a
wealthy guest at the hotel. Fate steps in and throws the unlikely pair together
for a series of comical mix-ups and romantic interludes. But when Marisa's true
identity is revealed, the two find that they are worlds apart even though the
distance separating them is just a subway ride between
Manhattan and the Bronx. A
charming romantic comedy that harkens back to the social class comedies of the
1930s.
The Buzz...
Metallica's
new album, St. Anger, will include a free bonus DVD featuring the band playing
all 11 songs from the album in a live setting.
Unlike most songs off Saliva's
latest album, Back Into Your System, their next single Rest in Pieces didn't
stem from frontman Josey Scott's pen. The album's uncharacteristically
somber offering was written by the singer's childhood idol, Mötley Crüe's
Nikki Sixx, who also makes a cameo in the video. The video, which follows
their first-single clip Always, is expected to surface in April.
Warner Bros. sent a copy of the
Superman script to Justin Timberlake's reps last week, apparently eyeing
the heartthrob for the role of Jimmy Olsen.
Peter Jackson,
mastermind of The Lord of the Rings is looking to helm Universal's epic remake
of the Hollywood fantasy classic King Kong. Jackson will go back to the source
and base his story on the original 1933 RKO film.
Hot off their Best Picture
Oscar win for Chicago, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have
signed a deal with Paramount Pictures to transform 1984's Kevin Bacon
vehicle, Footloose, into
a full-blown big-screen musical.
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TRIPLE THREAT |
Saliva's
Josey Scott is ecstatic his band has been added to open for this summer’s
Aerosmith / KISS tour. The superstar triple threat dates have yet
to be confirmed, but Scott expects it to start in July and run through October.
KISS will perform with Tommy Thayer playing Ace Frehley's parts,
and Aerosmith will reportedly be touring in support of a new Columbia blues
album. A tentative tour date is set for Alpine Valley on September 5th.
New or unreleased songs from
P.O.D.,
Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Deftones and 'Tones frontman
Chino Moreno's Team Sleep side project have made the cut for the
Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. The two-CD Matrix Reloaded: The Album, which also
will boast previously released songs from
Linkin
Park
and Rage Against the Machine, hits stores May 6, while the film itself
arrives in theaters May 15.
Pearl Jam
fans can now pre-order official bootlegs from the first leg of the band's
upcoming North American tour, which kicks off in Denver. After purchasing a
bootleg of a particular show, fans will be allowed to download unmastered MP3s
of that gig the day after the performance. The mastered two-disc set will then
ship 2-3 days later.
We'll be going down to
South Park
for at least another two years. Comedy Central confirmed that show creators
Trey Parker
and Matt Stone
had reupped with the cable network to keep churning out their twisted 'toon
until at least 2005, with an option to renew for a third year.
In a move that's becoming
all too common, the producers of American Idol kicked another contestant off the
show after learning of an undisclosed rap sheet.
Corey Clark
is due in court next month on charges that he assaulted his teenage sister and
resisted arrest when cops showed up to quell the family feud. The news comes
just five days after it was revealed that fellow finalist
Trenyce
was convicted of a 1999 felony theft charge.
Paul Rudd,
who plays Lisa Kudrow's
boyfriend Mike on friends and has already appeared in nine episodes this season,
has inked a deal to return for the last two episodes this season and to become a
recurring character on the show's 10th and final season. Rudd has signed on for
five episodes next season with an option for five more.
A new biography on the life
of Stone Cold Steve Austin appears to be in the works by World Wrestling
Entertainment. Jim Ross has signed on to assist with the project.
Warner Bros. is trying to
avoid making a political statement in its ads for the movie What a Girl Wants.
Print advertisements for the teen comedy originally featured a photograph of
star Amanda Bynes
wearing a tank top with an American flag on it and flashing the peace sign with
her fingers as she stands between two British royal guards. New versions of the
image feature Bynes with her right hand at her side, although many of the
original posters already had been placed on billboards and buses before the
change was made.
Kate Hudson
is in preliminary negotiations to star in Universal Pictures' Skeleton Key, with
helmer Iain Softley directing. The project is aimed to go into production
in the fall.
In what will be her first
comedic role in several years,
Michelle Pfeiffer
is attached to star in the comedy She's Gone, in development at Beacon Pictures
and the Walt Disney Co.
Taken with the ratings
success of Steven Spielberg Presents Taken, Sci Fi Channel is in
discussions with
DreamWorks to team on another big-budget miniseries.
David Duchovny
will star opposite Nia Vardalos
and Toni Collette
in Spyglass Entertainment's music-driven Connie and Carla.
Kathy Bates
is set to play Queen Victoria in Walden's upcoming big-screen adaptation of the
Jules Verne classic Around the World in 80 Days.
Madonna
has decided to withdraw the violent, anti-war video for her new single American
Life out of respect for the troops fighting in Iraq.
Just three months into 2003,
after a major programming overhaul, Black Entertainment Television has seen
double-digit increases in advertising and subscribers. BET attained its highest
ever prime-time ratings in January.
Paul McCartney
may turn down the volume to avoid disturbing the pope when he plays to an
expected 300,000 fans outside Rome's Coliseum in May. Organizers of the free
concert said the former Beatle may drop some of his louder rock numbers,
including Back In the U.S.S.R. so the concert won't disturb the pontiff at his
quarters in the Vatican nearby.
Diana Ross
is writing a memoir that will offer a tough look at the recent heartaches in her
life, including her drunken driving arrest, the breakup of her marriage and her
disastrous Supremes reunion tour.
The musical based on the
John Travolta-Debra Winger film
Urban Cowboy announced a
closing for Saturday night after only four performances, the shortest run of any
Broadway musical this season.
Despite receiving a cease
and desist order from lawyers for
Axl Rose,
The Offspring
have announced plans to indeed title their next release Chinese Democracy, the
same name as the long-awaited GN'R album.
Metallica
have signed a new agreement with Mercury Records for territories outside the
United States and Japan. The new deal includes the band's multi-Grammy-winning
back catalogue and comes ahead of the release in June of the band's eighth
studio album, St Anger.
