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Spider-Man, meet Mickey: Disney buys Marvel
The Walt Disney Co. is buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion, it was announced today. The deal negotiated between two mega-entertainment corporations will put Marvel’s considerable stable of characters (Spider-Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and almost 5,000 others ) into the hands of an entertainment company with global reach, deep pockets and a tendency to control or direct what it owns.
What does this mean? Superheros safe for the small kids? (as if that isn’t the case now with most superhero action films). The Justice League visits Disney World?
More ways to spend your money on superhero products (bingo!)
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Sir Paul rocks Cowboys house
For those who braved the prospect of daunting traffic in Arlington last night — concert attendance of about 40,000 people at Cowboys Stadium and another 30,000 or so for the nearby Texas Rangers game — Paul McCartney’s show was a winner.
That’s how music critics in Dallas and Fort Worth saw it in Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram reviews.
McCartney and his band played a two-and-a-half-hour show - not bad for a 67-year-old - and clearly left fans happy and wanting more.
I know there were a few concert attendees from Waco. If you were there and want to share, feel free to comment.
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The Beatles’ ‘Perfect Storm’ on Sept. 9
Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney plays tonight at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington and for local Beatles fans, this may be the start of a fall of memories. CNET reports that Sept. 9 - 9/9/09, for those of you into symbology or conspiracy theories - will see a convergence of two, maybe three, notable releases of Beatles music.
That’s the day the special The Beatles: Rock Band is released, offering 45 songs from the legendary British pop quartet for videogame players for the first time. It’s also the release date for a box set of 16 remastered CDs of all 12 Beatles albums.
The third possible wave in this release convergence, CNET speculates, could be some sort of announcement by Apple (the computer company, not the Beatles label) about the release of Beatles songs for iTunes, a development my middle daughter (and millions more) has devoutly desired for years.
Locally, there’s one more Beatles-related event this fall, a Classical Mystery Tour pops concert with the Waco Symphony Orchestra on Nov. 5.
After the 40th anniversary of Woodstock last week, I wonder if this recent spurt of Beatlemania signals a declining number of public group hugs for the Baby Boomer generation that muscled pop culture for so many years - at least until the death of another Beatle, someone from the Rolling Stones or The Boss.
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Sony knocks $100 off PlayStation3
The current slump in videogame sales. back to school traffic and around-the-corner Christmas shopping may have forced Sony to do what some in the videogame industry had suggested for months: drop the price of its PlayStation 3.
Here’s the announcement with the additional news that there will be a slimmer PS3 come Sept. 1.
No word if there’s a “cash for clunkers” program should videogame sales remain depressed this fall …
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iTunes shows muscle in American music world
A report by NPD Group shows that music sold through iTunes adds up to about 25 percent of all music, digital and physical, sold in the United States.
CDs are still the predominant format, however, representing 65 percent of the market so far this year. Wal-Mart is the leading CD seller, followed by Best Buy, Target and Amazon.
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Will $1 Redbox rentals kill DVD sales?
Patrick Goldstein’s Los Angeles Times blog asks that question, given the skirmishing between Redbox, operator of those DVD-rental vending machines, and some major film studios.
Warner Bros., Universal and 20th Century Fox want a 28-day or more window between their DVD release dates and the dates when Redbox would offer those films. The issue: As the long-lucrative revenue stream of DVD sales continues to slump, studios worry that cheap and easy rentals, whether through Redbox or online via Netflix, will exacerbate the issue. Sony and Lionsgate, on the other hand, have negotiated long-term deals with Redbox.
Goldstein suggests that studios fighting Redbox because they fear it will undercut their DVD sales are in a losing battle, due to Redbox’s consumer appeal of low cost and high convenience - a combination in the music industry that led Napster to erode the industry’s business model permanantly.
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Kiss to release new album at Wal-Mart
Veteran heavy metal group Kiss is now the latest in a growing list of classic acts that are putting out new music through Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer.
“Sonic Boom” is due to be released only at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club on Oct. 6. It will include a CD of the band’s first new music in 11 years, re-recorded versions of famous Kiss hits and a live DVD.
Other classic acts that have chosen to release albums through Wal-Mart include the Eagles, AC/DC and Foreigner.
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‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ may become TV series
A TV series version of the Brat Pack movie St. Elmo’s Fire is in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Among the show’s producers are Joel Schumacher, who had a hand in the film, and “That ’70s Show” alum Topher Grace (makes me wonder if he’s looking to star in the series). The adaptation is a project for ABC.
The movie, which I’ve seen but remember absolutely nothing about, “was one of the defining movies of the Brat Pack genre. It starred Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham as friends who had just graduated from Georgetown University and chronicled their adjustment to adulthood,” according to THR.
“The series version will use the movie as a takeoff point and as an inspiration as it introduces six new friends: three boys and three girls.”
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‘Reno 911!’ axed
Comedy Central has canceled “Reno 911!,” says The Hollywood Reporter. The spoof of “Cops”-style shows just finished its sixth season.
The THR article didn’t say why “Reno” was axed.
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Les Paul dies at 94
Guitar legend and inventor Les Paul died today at age 94, according to an article on Variety.com. The article says his death was caused by complications from pneumonia.
Paul is credited with developing one of the first solid-body electric guitars and inventing multitrack recording.
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Pitt laughs over New Orleans mayor T-shirt push
Brad Pitt is laughing off the idea he should run for mayor of New Orleans.
Pitt told NBC’s “Today” show today that he has seen the “Brad Pitt for Mayor” T-shirts that many New Orleans residents have been sporting for at least two months.
But when asked if he has considered running, Pitt said, “I don’t have a chance.”
Pitt is right, at least as far as the next mayoral election is concerned. He and partner, Angelina Jolie, bought a home in 2007.
To be eligible, mayoral candidates must have be residents of New Orleans for at least five years before the date of the election. The mayoral primary is Feb. 6, 2010.
Pitt founded “Make It Right” in 2007 to build houses for low-income residents who lost their homes during Hurricane Katrina.
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Jon Heder starring in film for Comedy Central
Aside from a stint last year on “My Name Is Earl,” we haven’t seen much of Jon Heder, better known as Napoleon Dynamite, in the past couple years. Which strikes me as odd, given how popular geeks have become since then (Seth Rogen in particular).
But that will likely change soon, as he’s involved in several projects, including a sitcom and the film Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede, based on a sci-fi novel, reports Variety.
Here’s how Variety describes his role: “Heder will play Oliver Vale, an average geek whose uneventful life changes when Buddy Holly turns up on every TV channel and declares that Vale is the only one who understands why this is happening — which causes Vale to be pursued by a mob of disguised aliens.”
Variety says the movie will be shown on Comedy Central.
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Anne Dudek joins pilot TV show for USA
A former member of “House” has signed on for a pilot for USA.
Anne Dudek — who played Amber, kind of a female version of Hugh Laurie’s Dr. Gregory House, on the medical series — is set to star opposite Piper Perabo on USA’s “Covert Affairs,” says The Hollywood Reporter. She’ll play the sister of Perabo’s character, a CIA trainee.
Also part of the cast is “Ugly Betty” alum Christopher Gorham.
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Outlook iffy for ‘Spider-Man’ musical
According to New York Post blogger Michael Riedel, the future of the “Spider-Man” musical is looking grim.
Work on the sets for the Broadway musical, which boasts Julie Taymor as director and music by Bono and The Edge, has been halted, and Riedel reports that “the actors have been released from their contracts, with no incentive (i.e., money) to hang around waiting for the production to get back on track. …
“And so, while the official line is ‘the production will begin previews on Feb. 25, 2010,’ the betting is that the Hilton Theatre, whose insides have been gutted for this show, is going to be an empty barn this winter,” reports Riedel.
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Is a ‘Poltergeist’ remake in the works?
It wouldn’t surprise me if Hollywood decided to remake Poltergeist, and if the blog /Film is to be believed, the remake will hit theaters in November 2010. (It seems to me, however, that the blogger doesn’t want to believe his own news).
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Farrelly brothers find replacement for Sean Penn
Peter and Bobby Farrelly have found an actor to take on the role of Larry in their Three Stooges movie, according to the Boston Globe’s The Names Blog.
They had originally cast Sean Penn in the role, but he pulled out of the movie in June in the midst of marital troubles.
Replacing Penn is Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti.
The blog also mentions that Jim Carrey is not (yet) playing Curly — that role has yet to be cast.
Benicio del Toro will play Moe.
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A Lego movie? Well, why not?
We can already buy Lego toys and Lego video games (my favorites are “Lego Star Wars” and “Lego Batman”), so I guess the next logical step is a Lego movie.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Risky Business Blog says Warner Bros. will make a live-action/CGI movie “set in the world of Lego that centers on the subject of child-like imaginations and examines themes of creativity and teamwork in the manner of Toy Story.”
Makes more sense to me than a lot of the toy-based movies we’ve been hearing about.
On a (mostly) unrelated side note, the two scribes tapped with writing the Lego movie, Dan and Kevin Hageman, have also been adapting the novel Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom into a movie for Warner Bros. Carpe Demon was written by Baylor alum Julie Kenner.
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A little something for all you children of the 1990s
One of my favorite TV shows of all time lasted only one season. The show aired in 1994 and — I think — helped make a star out of Claire Danes. And now, “My So-Called Life” is available for free on hulu.com.
Well, I’m geeked about it, anyway.
Can you believe that was 15 years ago?
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Let’s start the morning off with some ‘Heroes’ news
Ernie Hudson — whose career includes a stint on “Desperate Housewives” and a role in “Oz” but who is probably best known for his Ghostbusters character, Winston — has landed a recurring part on “Heroes,” says The Hollywood Reporter.
Hudson will play a Baltimore detective. Says THR: “As usual, the show’s producers are keeping story line details under wraps, but it is understood that [Hudson’s Capt. Lubbock] is on the hunt for one of the other characters on the show.”
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Jennifer Hudson gives birth to a son
Jennifer Hudson has given birth to her first child.
Hudson and her fiance, David Otunga, are now parents of a baby boy. His name is David Daniel Otunga Jr. Hudson’s publicist says the baby weighed 7 pounds and 14 ounces.
The birth was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter’s Showbiz411.com.
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Alice in Chains gets Elton John for tribute song
Alice in Chains thought it would take a miracle to get Elton John to play on the band’s tribute record to their late lead singer, Layne Staley. But it only took a listen to the song to get the rock legend on board.
“He’s a really warm person,” said Alice in Chains co-founder Jerry Cantrell of John. “He got up and gave us a couple of hugs, and said, ‘Well Jerry, I just wanted to tell you that I think it’s a beautiful song. … I really dig the sentiment of what it’s about and who it’s for and I just want to tell you that I’m going to play on the song.’”
John plays piano on “Black Gives Way to Blue,” a short but poignant ode to Staley, who died of a drug overdose in 2002. The song is the title track for their upcoming CD, the grunge rock band’s first studio album in 14 years.
Cantrell, who wrote the tune, had already made a demo of the song when someone heard it and suggested John as the perfect person to play the piano part. Although the band knew people connected to the 62-year-old singer, they thought it was a long shot that he would even consider it.
“I didn’t think that would happen. He’s a pretty busy guy doing his own thing,” Cantrell said.
But they sent the song to him, and as fate would have it, both acts were slated to record at a studio complex at the same time.
It wasn’t until Alice in Chains left the studio for a break that they got word that John wanted to meet with them.
“We got a call from our studio manager saying that Elton wanted to talk to us,” said Cantrell, laughing. “We jumped in the car, left our lunches on the table, and cruised back to the studio and walked into the studio where he was recording.”
After John confirmed he would play on the song, the band flew to Las Vegas, where John was performing, to finish the recording.
“One of the most nerve-racking moments I had was actually making a suggestion to him. What do you say to Elton John?” he joked. “But he was really open to the process. … He fit into the song, and he really brought something that was really necessary and took the song to another level.”
The CD, set for release Sept. 29, is Alice in Chains’ first with singer-guitarist William DuVall, who joined the band — which also includes drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez — a few years ago. While DuVall has a different sound than Staley, Cantrell says the music is still Alice in Chains.
“It never gets too far out that you can’t figure out who it is after a couple of notes, and that’s always one of my main goals,” he said. “To find that musical fingerprint I think is the goal of every band and musician, and we’re very grateful that we found ours pretty early, and it’s still intact, although evolved.”
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