News Archives

Guest Collector: Birdmonster

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:00:02

Scientists may never find the elusive Birdmonster in the wild, but bloggers were quick to find the band when they started making noise across the internet with their D.I.Y. debut, No Midnight. Two years later, the band is back with their follow-up release, From the Mountain to the Sea, supported this time by Fader magazine's label imprint. The ...more

Watchmen Trial Date Set for January 6

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:51:19

A federal judge has set January 6 as the trial date for the suit between 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers over who owns the rights to Watchmen, one of the most hotly anticipated comic book adaptations in years. The film, directed by Zack Snyder and starring Patrick Wilson and Billy Crudup, has a March 6 release date, which Warner Brothers has ...more

Universal Pictures Announces Release of Frost/Nixon

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:15:15

Universal Pictures has announced December 5 as the release date of Frost/Nixon, the film version of the stage play written by Peter Morgan. Directed by Ron Howard, the film features Frank Langhella as disgraced President Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost, a jet-setting television personality with whom Nixon agreed to conduct his first ...more

Great White Makes Offer In Nightclub Fire Lawsuit

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:00:25

Great White has made a million-dollar offer to the survivors and relatives of victims in the February 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 (including guitarist Ty Longley) and injured more than 200 in West Warwick, RI. The band's tentative settlement arrives in the wake of around $175 million in separate lawsuits filed against dozens of other ...more

Stevie Wonder Earns Library of Congress Prize

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:55:40

The Library of Congress has named Stevie Wonder the second recipient of its Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. (Paul Simon accepted the first nod in 2007.) The Librarian of Congress, James Billington, announced Wonder's award yesterday, adding that it will be presented on February 23, 2009. As for what the Gershwin Prize is, it basically honors an ...more

Warner China Remakes Cellular

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:51:22

The 2004-released New Line Cinema film Cellular, starring Kim Basinger as a woman on the other end of a cell phone during a kidnapping, wasn't exactly a huge smash in the United States. Regardless of that fact, Warner China Film HG, which is a venture between Warner Brothers, China Film Group, and Hengdian Group, have teamed up to release a remake ...more

Smashing Pumpkins Ready 'Guitar Hero' Single

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:27:35

Smashing Pumpkins have announced a number of tie-ins with next month's Guitar Hero: World Tour release, including an exclusive single ("G.L.O.W.," available as a downloadable song pack along with "1979" and "The Everlasting Gaze") and the ability to play the game as Billy Corgan. The Pumpkins classic "Today" is also part of the initial soundtrack. ...more

Live Review: Outside Lands (Day 3) - Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:23:53

For Outside Lands' final hurrah, the shroud of clouds that shaded the first two days finally dissipated. Sunburns were already appearing on the napes of some unprepared patrons when Bon Iver took the stage. Flanked by a three-piece backing band, frontman Justin Vernon had the seemingly impossible task of invoking the gelid seclusion that haunted ...more

Santogold Confirms Fall Headlining Tour

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:22:05

After months of hype behind her self-titled debut and appearances throughout the U.S., Santogold has finally lined up her first headlining tour. Set to run from a September 19 stop at New York's Irving Plaza through an October 14 gig in Los Angeles, the "Goldrush Tour" will feature a full live band and DJ, reinforcing Santi White's roots as the ...more

Jerry Reed Passes Away

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:17:45

According to his longtime booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed, Jerry Reed died of emphysema complications early Monday morning. He was 71. Reed's singer/songwriter career began in the '70s, with such hits as "Amos Moses," "When You're Hot, You're Hot," and "The Bird." Soon after, he started acting in such popular films as Smokey and the Bandit, ...more

Sufjan Stevens Scores Natalie Portman Film

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:13:04

Natalie Portman has asked Sufjan Stevens to provide the piano-driven score to her directorial debut, Eve, a 22-minute film starring Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara. The Playlist (http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/) confirmed the pairing along with Stevens' record label, Asthmatic Kitty. One small detail, though: the film and its soundtrack have no ...more

Live Review: F Yeah Fest - ExPlex - Los Angeles, CA

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:45:12

Well-fed Fan| Hungry Fans | by Drew Tewksbury The truly initiated know that any good show begins with the question: What’s that smell? Saturday’s F Yeah Fest in Echo Park proved to be no different, as the summer stink of hundreds of writhing youngsters, punkers, and hipsters filled the darkened basement ...more

Life Imitates Art for David Duchovny

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:44:54

David Duchovny stars as a sex-obsessed playboy in his hit Showtime series Californication. Apparently, art has spilled over into the real life for the actor, who has checked into a rehabilitation facility for his sex addiction. The actor has been married to actress Tea Leoni since 1997. The couple have two children. The actor reportedly has an ...more

Sequel to The Strangers Gets the Go-Ahead

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:33:17

A sequel to the early summer surprise hit The Strangers has been greenlit by Rogue Pictures. Brian Bertino, who wrote and directed the frightening original, is expected to write the follow up's script. It has not been determined if Bertino will direct the second film. Producers expect that actress Liv Tyler will return and reprise her role as ...more

Raging Bull 2 on the Way?

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:22:07

Fans of Raging Bull, the 1980-drama about the rise and fall of middleweight boxer Jake La Motta, are up in arms over a purported sequel to the film which is being produced by Sunset Pictures. The original starred Robert De Niro, who underwent an extreme physical transformation, packing on several pounds to play a later-in-life version of La Motta, ...more

Fox Pushes Australia Back a Week

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:08:51

The November release date shuffle continues. Fox has pushed back the release date of Australia, the epic World War II romance set—you guessed it—down under. The film, starring high-profile Aussie actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, has been shifted to November 26. The film's original release date was planned for November 14. Director Baz ...more

Director John Crowley Goes to The Dogs

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:59:41

Director John Crowley, who lensed Boy A and Intermission, has signed on to direct The Dogs of Babel for Mandate Pictures. The film will be adapted from the best-selling novel about a linguistics professor who tries to teach his dog to talk after his wife's murder, since the dog was the only witness to the horrific event. Crowley is also a ...more

Alias Readies New Solo Record

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:33:54

Alias' first solo studio album in five years, Resurgam, hits stores today. While it's largely a beat-led downtempo affair—largely inspired by the producer's recent move from California to Portland, Maine—Yoni Wolf of Why? and the One AM Radio contribute vocals to "Well Water Black" and "The Weathering" respectively. The longtime Anticon ...more

Snow Patrol Prep iPhone Package For New LP

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:22:05

Snow Patrol has announced a special iPhone/iPod Touch version of its new album, A Hundred Million Suns. Due out this fall, it'll back a digital copy of the record with bonus content such as artwork, behind the scenes photos and lyrics. "It will be an interactive element," Liz Goodwin, the band's product manager, told Music Week, "a digital ...more

Lennon Biopic In Casting Stages

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:13:14

Sam Taylor-Wood—a multimedia artist best known for her work with the Pet Shop Boys and such pop culture icons as Elton John, Robert Downey Jr. and David Beckham—has signed on to direct a John Lennon film that focuses on his childhood and the years leading up to The Beatles' formation. While casting is currently "underway," Matt ...more