At The Movies

Race To Witch Mountain
Walt Disney Pictures resurrects one of their time honored franchises with Race to Witch Mountain, a family-oriented sci-fi adventure that tells the story of two alien visitors (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) whose search for their spacecraft gets them caught up in an adventure with a cab driver (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) and a UFO specialist (Carla Gugino). As the group races toward the mysterious mountain in the Nevada desert that has mystified scientists and paranormal researchers for years, the government, gangsters, and an extraterrestrial bounty hunter attempt to prevent them from reaching their intended destination. Should the two planetary travelers fail in recovering their ship, an alien invasion will be launched against the entire planet.

On DVD

Role Models
Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) are two salesmen who trash a company truck on an energy drink fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. Surrounded by annoying do-gooders, Danny struggles with his every neurotic impulse to guide Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) through the trials of becoming a man. Meanwhile, charming Wheeler tries to trade in an addiction to partying and women to assist a fifth grader named Ronnie in redirecting his foul mouthed ways. It would probably help if Ronnie's new mentor wasn't an overgrown adolescent whose idea of quality time includes keggers in Venice Beach. Once the center's ex-con director gives them an ultimatum, Danny and Wheeler are forced to tailor their brand of immature wisdom to their charges. And if they can just make it through probation without getting thrown in jail, the world's worst role models will prove that, sometimes, it takes a village idiot to raise a child.

The Buzz..

ABC's pilot Eastwick has completed its trio of witches, adding former Ugly Betty actress Rebecca Romijn to its cast. In the drama, based on John Updike's novel The Witches of Eastwick and its 1987 film adaptation, Romijn will play a single mother with a cutting sense of humor. She joins Jaime Ray Newman and Lindsay Price (her former co-star in The WB's Pepper Dennis) as the show's three leads; Veronica Cartwright is also in the cast.

One of the stars of Watchmen has taken a role in a FOX pilot, which coincidentally is also based on a comic book. Jackie Earle Haley, who plays Rorschach in the hugely anticipated Watchmen movie, has signed on to Human Target, a drama based on the Vertigo/DC Comics title.

Andrew McCarthy will get paternal for his a role on The CW. The former Brat Pack member has joined the cast of the Gossip Girl spinoff, about the wild young life of Lily Rhodes in the 1980s. McCarthy will play Rick Rhodes, the music company exec father of Lily, who will be portrayed by Brittany Snow. Krysten Ritter will play her older sister Carol.

Watch out, Melrose Place residents. The new girl is not all that she seems. Ashlee Simpson Wentz will continue to build her acting resume as a cast member of the upcoming CW reboot of Melrose Place. Simpson Wentz, 24, will play Violet, a seemingly sweet but savvy small-town girl now in LA who is harboring a secret. Already, the industry has drawn parallels to the original series' Sandy Harling (Amy Locane), a Southern belle with acting aspirations.

As expected, injured celebrities Jewel and Nancy O'Dell were replaced during Monday night's premiere of Dancing With the Stars with Hugh Hefner's former gal pal Holly Madison and Bachelor dumpee Melissa Rycroft. Stepping in for singer Jewel, Madison was able to get in a couple of more days of rehearsal time (five total) for her trip around the dance floor. Meanwhile, Rycroft is having to rely heavily on her own dance background as O'Dell's knee injury caused her to be an eleventh hour dropout and left Rycroft with only 48 hours to get ready, the least amount of anyone on the show ever. The other celebrities each had four weeks to prepare.

Billy Corgan testifies before Congress in support of a new bill that would require radio stations to pay musicians every time their music is played. Under the current law, songwriters get paid by radio stations, but the musicians who play on the track do not. They do, however, get paid if their music is played on satellite radio, cable radio and non terrestrial radio. The Smashing Pumpkins singer doesn't think that's fair, so he's speaking out in support of a group called musicFIRST, which has introduced a piece of legislation called the Performance Rights Act.

Kings Of Leon are the hottest act going on the UK digital download scene. Their single Sex On Fire has become the best selling download ever in the nation's history. The exact figures haven't been released, but we do know it beat the previous record holder, Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love, which sold 547,000 digital copies. The band also holds the record for best selling digital album in the UK, thanks to Only By The Night.

20th Century Fox is looking to reboot the Fantastic Four franchise by bringing on new talent. Director Tim Story and stars Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis would not be asked back and instead, the next movie will be less campy and more in the style of Iron Man. The first two films, despite strong box office performances, never caught on with fans or critics and with the success of Iron Man and The Dark Knight.

Dakota Fanning will appear in the next Twilight, film titled New Moon. Fanning will take on the role of Jane, a "sinister vampire with an angelic exterior who works for the Volturi." Director Chris Weitz is taking over the reigns from Catherine Hardwicke, who helmed the first film. All of the film's main cast, including Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, are returning for the feature.
New Moon is scheduled for release this November.

Steven Spielberg will be wrapping up a 32 day shoot on Tintin and will hand off the project to producer Peter Jackson, who will focus on the film's special effects for the next 18 months. Jackson is serving as producer on the project. Tintin is being shot using special motion capture technology but exact details are being kept underwraps.

Eminem has released a few more details about his upcoming album Relapse. The project is coming out on May 17, and the rap star promises to release a second album, Relapse 2, by the end of the year. Retirement rumours are put to rest, the end.

Scarlett Johansson is the new face of Dolce and Gabbana’s cosmetic line. The actress, alongside Kate Hudson and Orlando Bloom, was in Milan on Monday to launch the new line at a Vogue magazine party. “It's a huge honour for me and it's a lot of fun, just to sort of be the icing on the cake so to speak, the lipstick on the cake," she said.

If you want to own the entire No Doubt catalogue for free, all you have to do is buy the top priced level tickets for their upcoming tour. 81 digital tracks are up for grabs as long as you commit to the premium tickets. No Doubt hit Canada this and have just announced a new date in London, Ontario on June 2nd.

N.W.A. once came Straight Outta Compton, and now they’re going straight to the big screen. A biopic about the pioneering gangsta rap group is currently being developed by New Line. The movie will follow the rise and fall of the group which included Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-E. Their story includes the fall-out of their controversial song F--- Tha Police, their nasty break-up, and Eazy-E's tragic death.