Gollum At The Golden Globes

Source: Ringer Spy Cat

Super 'Alias' will bowl you over

Here's an image that should grab a Super Bowl fan's attention: Jennifer Garner in black scanties.

Oh, there's much more to Sunday's fabulous post-Bowl episode of Alias than those opening shots of Garner, undercover and underdressed as CIA agent Sydney Bristow. But the scene, and the humorous twist it takes, is a prime example of how knowing and witty this show can be, and how eager it is to get the kind of ratings it has long deserved.

Besides, if there's a TV star who can carry off that opening (and that outfit) with more style than Garner, I don't know who she is. Garner is not just the sexiest spy since Emma Peel, she's one of the few actresses who can stand up to comparison with Diana Rigg.

Sunday, she has the kind of showcase that actors dream about: a heart-stopping, plot-packed adventure that lets her hit just about every emotional note. And the good news extends beyond Garner. Seldom has Alias produced a more exciting hour or one more user-friendly for newcomers to the show.

Conveniently enough, Sydney is introduced to a new class of CIA recruits, which allows Alias to reintroduce its premise: Sydney and her father, Jack (the invaluable Victor Garber), are double agents assigned to destroy SD-6, one of 12 cells that make up the criminal syndicate The Alliance. And they have just been handed a new tool: a secret computer that can reveal the location of all Alliance agents.

Naturally, there are complications. The Bristows have a new boss at SD-6 (played with cool authority by Rutger Hauer- who IS still alive), and he has questions about their job performance.

Revealing much more would spoil the fun.

What sets Alias apart? For one thing, there's writer J.J. Abrams (Felicity), who knows how to surprise you without making you feel as if you've been duped. He also has been smart enough to hire actors who are as talented as they are attractive and who are able to keep the often outrageous plots grounded. This week, watch Carl Lumbly as Sydney's partner and see if you don't believe every move he makes.

Action, suspense and a last-minute twist: Sunday's Alias provides everything you'd want from a show following the Super Bowl and, for that matter, from the Super Bowl itself. Whether the game will deliver, I can't say, but the postgame show is a champ.

Seriously!

If this is you, if you are Melody Lewis, I have a crush on you! Please email me!

Melody Lewis was on the Wednesday edition of Fox's "American Idol" dressed as Dorothy from "The Wizard Of Oz" and sang "Somewhere Overe The Rainbow." It wasn't her outfit, or the singing, that has me smitten, it was her.

She possesses the attributes preferred by the superficial male, of which I am one.

Melody, baby, email me! Seriously!

Your new friend,

Dan

TRAINSPOTTING Sequel Finds Trouble in Face Cream

According to director Danny Boyle, PORNO, the sequel to TRAINSPOTTING, is having problems because the original cast of Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller look too healthy; the film takes place ten years after the first film. "None of them look any different," Boyle said. "I need them to look like they've burned themselves out, but they have all been using face cream and Vitamin E lotion."

No Cypher For THE MATRIX: RELOADED

Actor Joe Pantoliano (THE SOPRANOS) talks about why he won't be returning as Cypher in the sequels to THE MATRIX.

Joe Pantoliano told SCI FI Wire that money wasn't the reason he won't reprise the role of Cypher in the upcoming sequel films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. "I wanted to come back," Pantoliano said in an interview. "You ain't kidding. The Wachowskis put a restraining order on me. It was never a money issue," he added, joking about directors Andy and Larry Wachowski.

Pantoliano added, "They never wanted me. I called them up and said, 'Listen, I'm going to make it sound like I turned down $6 million, because you don't want to pay me.' And they said, 'Hold out for $10 million, Joe. You're worth much more than that.' I love those guys. They're my favorite, favorite people in the world. It's not like I've been sitting around for two years waiting for them to make the sequels. In fact, they actually asked me to do a cameo in (Reloaded and Revolutions), but we couldn't work it out (because of scheduling conflicts)."

Pantoliano said that he's still eager to see the finished sequels. "I'm still so excited to see Reloaded and Revolutions," he said. "I think that group is so bright that everything you see after that is an imitation of what they invented. And I know the Wachowskis well enough to know they're probably going to invent themselves again (with the Matrix sequels)."

EPISODE III Name Hints

Details about what George Lucas might be thinking about for the title of STAR WARS EPISODE III, as well as a set that's being built for the film.

Appearantly TheForce.net received a tip a week ago about what word may be included in the official chapter title for Episode III. The site's source states that the current most popular working title for the film uses the word "circle", and it apparently has some direct connection to a line that Vader spoke in Episode IV: "The circle is now complete."

TheForce.net also has a recent report from an individual who claims to know that one of the sets Lucas wants built for the new Star Wars film is that of a lava planet.

See "This Is CNN...It's Me Simba.." post from January 23rd, 2003, for more details!

Steely Dan Embraces 'Everything'

Legendary jazz/rock act Steely Dan has put the finishing touches on a new studio album, "Everything Must Go," due May 6 via Reprise. The set is the follow-up to 2000's "Two Against Nature," which was the Donald Fagen/Walter Becker-led group's first album since 1980's "Gaucho." "Two Against Nature" went on to win the Grammy for album of the year and has sold 1 million copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In marked contrast to Fagen and Becker's notoriously methodical recording pace, "Everything Must Go" was wrapped up in about a year. "We went for live tracking this time and got great, in-the-pocket tracks," Becker said in a statement, adding that the album was recorded on analog tape. "It's mad: it's wiggy: I love it," Fagen concurred.

Fagen and Becker are backed on the new set by drummer Keith Carlock, keyboardists Ted Baker and Bill Charlap, and guitarists Jon Herrington and Hugh McCracken. Beyond his usual bass and guitar duties, Becker takes the mic on one as-yet-unnamed tune, marking his first lead vocal in Steely Dan's history.

Despite its critical acclaim, "Two Against Nature" didn't generate any hits along the lines of the "Gaucho" favorites "Hey Nineteen" (No. 10 on The Billboard Hot 100) and "Time Out of Mind" (No. 22). Indeed, backstage at the 2000 Grammys, Fagen told Billboard any new Steely Dan music wouldn't likely be influenced by any modern tunes. "I haven't listened to the radio for, like, 30 years," he admitted. "I still listen to the same jazz records I listened to in high school, basically."

The group is expected to tour in support of "Everything Must Go," but no dates have yet been unveiled.

New DVD Announcements

Boom!

Yep, yet another edition of Sam Raimi's cult classic Army of Darkness is on the way. On March 4th, the money grubbing bastards at Anchor Bay Home Entertainment will release The Boomstick Edition, a two-disc set that virtually replicates the two-disc set originally released a few years back (not to mention the myriad of single-disc permutations released since.) Featuring new packaging and an 8-page booklet, extras are plentiful. Disc one features anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions, the original ending presented as a supplement, the featurette "The Men Behind The Army" narrated by Bruce Campbell, talent bios and the trailer. Disc two features the extended cut of the film with 15 minutes of additional footage presented in anamorphic widescreen, an audio commentary by Raimi, Campbell and co-writer Ivan Raimi, and four deleted scenes. Retail is $29.95 but I don't care as I won't be buying it!

What About Miles One Through Seven?

Just in are the full specs for Eminem's smash motion picture debut 8 Mile, due March 18th from Universal Studios Home Video. Available in separate anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions, each will come with Dolby Digital English and French 5.1 surround tracks, an interview with Eminem, a tour of 8 Mile Road in Detroit with director Curtis Hanson, "The Music of 8 Mile" featurette, never-before-seen "rap battles," a new music video from "The Eminem Show," and trailers.

And Then...

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment has finally announced the full specs and episode lists for Married...With Children - The Most Outrageous Episodes, Volume 1 and Volume 2. Each includes five episodes presented in full screen and English 2.0 Dolby stereo, plus the featurette "A Salute to Sinatra" (on both volumes) and bonus trailers. Episodes on Volume 1 include "A Dump of My Own," "You Better Shop Around (Parts 1 & 2)," "No Chicken, No Check," and the "I'll See You in Court (The Lost Episode)," while Volume 2 includes "A Man's Castle," "Raingirl," "Have You Driven a Ford Lately," "If Al Had a Hammer," and "Who'll Stop the Rain?" Retail is $19.95 each.

Seriously, they are money grubbing bastards!

Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst Defends Feelings For Britney Spears

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst is taking some heat for his relationship with pop star Britney Spears, both in the posts by fans in the band's web folders and by members of the media.

"Well I'm sure we've had it up to our necks with all the hype. Isn't it amazing how something very simple, pure, sweet, and innocent can be blown so far out of proportion?" wrote Durst in an online letter on the Limp Bizkit website. "Who really gives a sh-t that I wanna be with Britney Spears? It seems as if everyone does. The only person that should give a sh-t is Britney. I never meant to be in this situation. Sh-t happens. What's the big deal? Yeah, she is a big POP star and her last relationship with another big POP star was a big deal, but damn y'all need to chill. Do you think I should not like someone because you don't want me to? F--k that!! You people are my family and I respect you and as you should me. I never meant to fall into all of this."

Durst then blamed the media, "All the media is doing is trying to create a lot of controversy. To them its just more interesting to make up lies and crazy dramatic sh-t. I've heard and seen some unbelievable things since I've been liking her. Now all the media has done is twisted the whole thing around and made other people come back running. And I assure you that anything besides that fact that I definitely have feelings for Britney isn't true. It is simple, honest, and pure. That's that. I feel bad for Britney having to have her life put on blast and manipulated by the media like this. Now I've been brought into it. I don't give a f--k about anything anyone thinks and definitely the media. Let's just drop this right here in the Bizkit camp. Let's move on...We don't need to be wasting our time worrying about some birds and bees sh-t!! Next time I'll fall in love with a tree."

Tupperware Says the Party Is Over in Britain

LONDON (Reuters) - The party's over for a generation of housewives after Tupperware said on Thursday its army of sales agents will be scrapped.

For around half a century, British women used to hold get-togethers in their front rooms, so-called Tupperware parties, to sell the plastic food containers.

But 21st century life has sounded the death knell for one of the country's most enduring -- and mocked -- traditions.

"We needed to update our business model," said Jane Garrard, vice president for investor relations at Orlando-based Tupperware.

About 1,500 sales demonstrators in Britain will have their contracts ended on March 30.

Terence Cosgrave, editor of Retail Intelligence said he believed the waning popularity of Tupperware parties was due to changes in eating habits.

"Tupperware was primarily used for storing food. Nowadays more people buy convenience foods and have less use for containers," he told Reuters.

He added that Tupperware, which was seen as a revolution in food hygiene and kitchen style when it was introduced, had faced increasing competition from other manufacturers.

In recent years Tupperware parties have also had to compete with the glamour of lingerie and wrinkle-smoothing Botox parties.

Tupperware said it may focus on selling through retailers.

MOURNED BY SOME

Although the Tupperware party, a sign of sophistication in the 1960s and 1970s, had become a butt of satirists in later years, the end is still likely to be missed by some.

Helen Fairweather, 64, said she attended Tupperware parties in the 1960s.

"You would get a group of friends together -- bit like an Ann Summers lingerie party -- and a person from Tupperware would come along to show their wares."

"You'd provide some nibbles and then, to lighten up the mood a bit, you used to have a little general knowledge quiz and the winner would get a piece of Tupperware," the London pensioner said.

But Fairweather said Tupperware was expensive and in time it discolored.

"You might as well buy the cheap ones and throw them away."

Geoff Jones, 72, a retired railway worker, from London, remembered his wife regularly hosted Tupperware parties.

"It used to be a social thing, something for the ladies to get together," he said, quickly adding he had never attended one himself.

Perhaps summing up the problem Tupperware faces was a comment from a member of the younger generation:

"Tupper-what party? Never heard of it. Sounds kinky," said 25-year-old office administrator Sally Wilkes from Croydon.

Fincher Boards 'Lords' Picture

NEW YORK (Variety) - It could be an endless summer for director David Fincher.

He's committed to shoot "The Lords of Dogtown," a film about the surf and skate culture that took root in a blighted area of Venice in the 1970s.

Sony Pictures has acquired the picture, which has a long development history. Fincher's shingle, Indelible Pictures, set up an earlier version at New Line, where it was to be the directorial debut of Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. At the time, Fincher was on board only as a producer.

The acquisition by Sony puts it in the same family as "Dogtown and Z-Boys," a documentary directed by Stacy Peralta and released by Sony Pictures Classics in 2001. "Z-Boys" portrayed the Dogtown teenagers, including Peralta, who began skateboarding in empty swimming pools around Los Angeles, inventing the daredevil aerial style that prevails today.

Peralta wrote an earlier draft of Fincher's picture. Now Roger Avary ("The Rules of Attraction") is doing a rewrite, which is likely to be Fincher's next stint in the director's chair, beginning production in late 2003.

Fincher's picture will be a coming-of-age story -- a departure for the director of gritty thrillers like "The Panic Room" and "Seven." It's likely to treat '70s skateboarding as a cultural movement that helped usher in a revolution in fashion and music.

Fincher is also in line to direct "Mission: Impossible 3" for Paramount, but that's not likely to start production until 2004.

"Dogtown" is one of several skateboarding projects in development in Hollywood.

Warner Bros. plans to distribute Gaylord Films' "The Grind" later this year, featuring popular boarder Colin McKay.

Disney is prepping a biopic on skateboarding icon Tony Hawk -- a figure considered big enough to also have projects set up around him at Revolution Studios and Universal Pictures.

Jimmy Kimmel Premieres Sunday on ABC

NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel is live, devouring a burger at a Manhattan steakhouse and talking about his ABC late-night show.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" premieres with a special post-Super Bowl telecast Sunday night, then continues Mondays through Fridays in the time slot right after "Nightline," which in no way it resembles. (For starters, "Nightline" isn't always live and anchorman Ted Koppel doesn't fancy flannel shirts.)

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" will air from Hollywood's El Capitan Theater as "the first live nightly talk show in over 40 years," according to ABC publicity. (Which maybe it is, if you don't count Joan Rivers on Fox 16 years ago, for all of six months.)

The late-night failure rate is high. Think of Chevy Chase, canned after six miserable weeks in 1993.

"When he came on, a lot of people thought he was going to be really good," says Kimmel. "That's what worries me, about ME!"

But he doesn't look worried. As Kimmel speaks between bites, he seems relaxed, perhaps a little sleepy (jet lag). Even though just days remain before opening night.

And even though his specialty, up to now, has been bad-boy talk radio and, more recently on cable, playing guru to the guy brigade — most notably, as a creator and host of Comedy Central's "The Man Show," where he reveled in something he promises he won't bring to his new show: buxom girls on trampolines.

Despite this note of restraint, he aims to bring an unaccustomed bounce to late-night talk-variety. And he guarantees his studio audience an open bar.

The challenge: broadening his appeal beyond his guy laity and viewers who know him from Comedy Central's "Win Ben Stein's Money" and Fox's NFL pregame show — and maybe even holding on to "Nightline" nerds with his maverick style.

"I don't believe that lack of intelligence and appreciation for lowbrow comedy go hand-in-hand necessarily," he says.

Meanwhile, ABC is promoting Kimmel as "Late Night Fresh."

"Fresh?!" he groans. "There's nothing less fresh than the word `fresh.'"

Maybe he's just feeling a little pressure.

"I feel a lot," he says. "It's like when I was in college and I was a wedding DJ. Even though it was just a job for me, each time I knew if I screw it up, if my record skips or my equipment blows out, I've screwed up someone's wedding. The pressure was really intense."

Now 35, Kimmel is still a hard worker, a trait that contradicts the party-hardy image he took to cartoonish extremes on "The Man Show."

"You want to make it look easy and fun," he says. "The best time I had this year was my buddy's bachelor party. We went up to Lake Tahoe — 12 guys in a cabin for three days. I think that's what people imagine that I am, and it's what I like to be.

"But when I'm at work, there's stuff that has to be taken care of, and I'm involved in every little thing."

So maybe it's like Fred Astaire gliding across the floor with Ginger Rogers in all those movies — whereas, behind the scenes, he painstakingly choreographed every step.

"Yeah," says Kimmel gamely. "A hairy, fat Fred Astaire — that's a good analogy.

"But the only responsibility I feel is to try to be as original as possible, and not to ever steal anything. And that's been a challenge for me, through my whole career, to not be overly derivative of Letterman. I have to make sure that I don't. Because everybody that matters will know it."

Kimmel is an unabashed fan of David Letterman. But there are other broadcasters he admires — particularly Mike Douglas, a daytime TV talk pioneer whose guests ran the gamut and who, to keep things fresh, teamed up with a different celebrity co-host for a week at a time.

Kimmel, too, will book weeklong celebrity co-hosts. (First week: Snoop Dogg.)

Another policy he's borrowing: "No cards with questions on them! Mike Douglas just did the interview, just went with things. It's not like that on talk shows anymore. They're pretty regimented, very highly produced.

"He was real good," Kimmel affectionately says. "I remember pretending to be sick because Steve Garvey was gonna be on `Mike Douglas' and I wanted to see it. Staying home from school is a great association with Mike Douglas."

A Brooklyn native, Kimmel grew up in Las Vegas, where he and his pals "took advantage of everything the city has to offer. There was no rule that said you had to be a tourist to eat a $2 steak dinner at the Horseshoe — every night for like 35 nights in a row one summer. That's Vegas!"

Leap forward a few years and Kimmel is a rising TV star about to invade the late-night kingdom. But fame and fortune can't undo those formative years or compromise the inner guy that got him where he is. Not Kimmel, who savors memories of a $2 steak while feasting on a burger that costs 12 bucks.

Are TV Fans Sick of the Osbournes?

NEW YORK (AP) — There's some bleepin' bad news for the Osbourne family: Television viewers may be getting sick of them.

Ratings for MTV's hit reality sitcom have been tumbling in its second season, from a high of 6.6 million viewers for its Nov. 26 premiere, to 3.5 million on Jan. 14. This week's episode climbed back to 3.8 million.

Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack Osbourne were also hosts of last week's American Music Awards, which suffered its worst ratings ever.

Less than a year after "The Osbournes" began airing and the family became ubiquitous, are the Osbournes burning out?

"The people came in, they tried it and they just haven't gotten back on it," Harry Keeshan, senior vice president of broadcasting for the ad buying firm PHD, said on Thursday. "I don't think a lot of these people will return."

The show's tone is different this second season because the family's life is different. Instead of showing the eccentric home life of a marginal celebrity and his family, the latest episodes depict them coping with sudden fame, as well as Sharon's bout with cancer.

Brian Graden, chief programming executive at MTV, said he's not worried about the numbers. The first season started slow and built into a phenomenon while the second season started fast and faded, roughly even in viewers.

"The same number of eyeballs are seeing this season on both a premiere and repeat basis," Graden said. "If you're in my shoes, you're not complaining."

Although the show may not be as popular as it was last spring, MTV says it's still doing well among the 12-to-34-year-old viewership. Executives also privately say MTV's business model relies on quick sensations that burn out fast.

Keeshan also points out that his clients that bought advertising time on "The Osbournes" are still happy.

After the current 10-episode season ends, another set of shows are planned for this summer. After that, who knows?

MTV may be ready to move on to something new. Graden is touting a new series about life makeovers, "Made," that premiered strongly last week.

The Osbournes' heavily bleeped host stint on the American Music Awards was not only unpopular with viewers, it reportedly caused one celebrity, "Everybody Loves Raymond" actress Patricia Heaton, to walk out of the theater in disgust.

Don't blame the family for its ratings, suggested Jim Paratore, head of Telepictures Productions.

"The American Music Awards' problems are more indicative of where music is today than who the host of the show is," he said.

Paratore has reasons to hope that's true. Telepictures has signed Sharon Osbourne to be host of a new syndicated talk show set to premiere in the fall. He doubts viewers will be tired of her by the time the talk show premieres.

Telepictures' research shows that viewers feel warmly toward Sharon and appreciates what she's been through with a tumultuous marriage and substance abuse, he said.

"She has lived just about every topic that these shows cover," he said.

Stations representing about two-thirds of the country's population have agreed to air her talk show starting this fall, he said. By comparison, a new talk show by Ellen DeGeneres, also created by Telepictures, already has 78 percent clearance.

Super Halftime Show Lined Up

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The halftime entertainment for Super Bowl I was handled by the University of Michigan and Arizona marching bands and cost the NFL almost nothing.

Thirty-six Super Bowls later, this year's halftime show will require a budget in the millions, it's own title sponsor, an Emmy Award-winning producer, a production crew that numbers in the hundreds and some of the record industry's hottest acts.

Sultry Grammy-winning singer and country diva, Shania Twain, will front Sunday's extravaganza between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders.

The Canadian will add her name to a long list of Super Bowl halftime alumni that includes Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Backstreet Boys, Cher, the Beach Boys, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and U2.

Over the years, former-presidents, astronauts, Olympic figure skaters and even OJ Simpson have played varying roles in Super Bowl halftime and pregame shows.

"We are connecting the music world with the world of sport," declared producer Joel Gallen.

As the Super Bowl has grown in stature, so have the halftime shows -- in many cases rivaling the game itself for the spotlight.

A media conference Thursday with this year's headliners attracted over 40 television crews, or about four times as many as those who attended the NFL's rookie of year announcement one day earlier.

In an adjoining room, a press briefing jointly held by Milt Ahlerich, NFL vice-president for security, and the San Diego police chief could attract only 15 reporters.

Twain will perform two songs and producers have assured that the singer would not lip synch her hits as she did last November during her performance at the Grey Cup -- Canada's version of the Super Bowl.

The Canadian diva will certainly have a tough act to follow when she steps on stage in front of a worldwide television audience that is expected to exceed 800 million.

International superstars Paul McCartney and U2 appeared at last year's halftime show to offer their support to the American public at the first Super Bowl to be staged after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

'Six Million Dollar Man' Lee Majors Sues Universal

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Lee Majors, best known as television's "Six Million Dollar Man," is locked in a bionic legal battle with the producers of his 1970s series.

The 63-year-old actor, who starred as a physically enhanced test pilot on the ABC series while married to actress Farrah Fawcett, has sued Universal Television Group for breach of contract and fraud, claiming he was short-changed on profits from the show.

The suit seeks a full audit of Universal's books and financial records relating to the show dating back to its inception and payment of unspecified sums found to be owed him.

A spokesman for the studio, a unit of Vivendi Universal, said the company never comments on pending litigation.

According to the suit, Universal agreed in 1975, after the show had been on the air for two years, to pay Majors 15 percent of net profits earned from the series and its post-network syndication.

The profit-sharing was supposed to commence from the first year of production, but Majors has never received any money from profit participation, the suit says.

The suit, filed Dec. 31 in Los Angeles Superior Court, disputes the accuracy of an accounting provided to Majors at his request last year. In particular, the suit says Universal miscalculated the amount of interest it was allowed to charge on certain production costs.

Majors starred in "The Six Million Dollar Man" as astronaut and test pilot Steve Austin, who was gravely injured in the crash of an experimental aircraft but was retrofitted with "bionic" prosthetics to replace the eye, arm and both legs he lost in the accident.

The high-tech enhancements leave him with superhuman speed, strength and vision, which Austin puts to good use as a covert agent for the fictional Office of Scientific Information (OSI), battling international villains, mad scientists and even alien monsters. The adventure series first appeared in the fall of 1973 as a made-for-TV movie, then returned as a series in January 1974, running on ABC until March 1978.

The popularity of the series sparked a wave of superhero TV shows in the 1970s and spawned the spin-off "The Bionic Woman," starring Lindsay Wagner.

Universal's cable network, USA Network, recently announced plans to develop a remake of "The Bionic Woman."