FILM
Coogan 2
HOLLYWOOD _ British import Steve Coogan plays a frazzled movie director in the hit action comedy "Tropic Thunder." He also has a starring role in "Hamlet 2," a comedy in which he plays a high school drama teacher who stages a musical sequel to "Hamlet" in Tucson, Ariz.
The exposure is bound to bolster the British comedian's career and raise his profile in the U.S. But Coogan isn't just sitting back and watching it happen. The veteran funnyman has been busy the past several weeks traveling to various U.S. cities promoting the films _ and himself _ to the American press.
"It's been pretty grueling, but I'm trying to treat each interview as if it's the first one I've done," he says, smiling.
FILM
'Eye' catcher
D.J. Caruso was surprised to hear that a mid-April Friday can be called a "Disturbia date" _ a release date that can increase a medium-sized movie's chances of hitting it big. Caruso and his star Shia LaBeouf made a splash in April 2007 when "Disturbia," a modern-day take on "Rear Window," grossed over $80 million in North America. Now the duo is together again for DreamWorks and Paramount's "Eagle Eye," a political thriller with more than twice the budget and twice the thrills, but the same chilling concept: You don't know it, but someone is watching you.
LaBeouf stars as Jerry Shaw, a mid-20s slacker shocked by the death of his brother in Iraq. He finds himself suddenly teaming up with single mom Rachel (Michelle Monaghan) when both of them receive phone calls from a woman who seems capable of controlling their every move. Hotly pursued by an FBI agent (Billy Bob Thornton) and an Air Force investigator (Rosario Dawson) who believe them to be terrorists, Jerry and Rachel must run for their lives while the unseen woman manipulates everyday technology to force them to take part in her sinister conspiracy.
FILM
Hamlet on wry
Andrew Fleming's "Hamlet 2" is the funniest American movie since "Juno," positing Steve Coogan as Dana Marschz, a failed former actor now teaching high school drama in Tucson, Arizona. When his latest production _ a miserable recreation of "Erin Brockovich" _ is slammed by a snarky ninth-grade drama critic, his department is faced with an imminent shutdown. He rallies his class of barrio misfits and a couple of obsequious drama nerds into producing a sequel to "Hamlet," all while experiencing a complete personal meltdown as his wife (Catherine Keener) leaves him and his dormant alcoholism resurfaces.
FILM
Deep thinker
In the short film "I Think I Thought," actor-writer-director-producer Matthew Modine portrays Joe, a seemingly average guy who harbors a troubling addiction. The seven-minute ironic fable is based on a joke someone once told Modine about a man with a "thinking problem." The story is spare on dialogue, unfolding almost like an early silent film, enhanced by a contemporary musical score composed by jazz artist Ben Wolfe. Filmed in New York, "I Think I Thought" played at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. Then it was released May 13 on iTunes, in a package with another Modine short, the controversially titled (but highly patriotic) "To Kill an American."
Modine, who recently completed an arc as Mary-Louise Parker's boss on the Showtime hit "Weeds" and has appeared in such films as Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket," financed these shorts himself. He made them, in fact, for very little money _ using digital video technology and the collaborative contributions of friends and family. For "To Kill," for instance, Modine's son recruited New Yorkers in Washington Square Park to talk on camera about their diverse heritages. (The film's premise is that any terrorist would have difficulty identifying an American based on a particular race, ethnicity, or creed.)
FILM
Q&A: Guy Pearce
HOLLYWOOD _ As a boy in Australia, Guy Pearce knew that he wanted to be an actor. He participated in various theater productions then segued into television after high school. His role as Mike Young in the widely popular Australian TV soap "Neighbours" gave him a taste of celebrity. But Pearce was more about his craft.
In the following years, he broke into the global film industry with roles in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of The Desert," "L.A. Confidential" and "Memento."
In his new film, "Traitor," Pearce plays Roy Clayton, an FBI agent on the hunt for the leaders of an international terrorist group. His investigations point to former U.S. Special Operations officer Samir Horn (Don Cheadle). But as Clayton digs deeper, more questions than answers begin to emerge.
TELEVISION
Spike TV at 5
Women have Lifetime, Oxygen and WE. But until Spike TV launched on Aug. 11, 2003 _ rebranded from the service formerly known as TNN _ there was nothing singularly guy-centric on the cable dial.
Five years into its run as a testosterone trailblazer, identity is not the issue at Spike. In hitching its wagon to Ultimate Fighting Championship, "Star Wars" marathons, and no fewer than three awards programs _ Guys' Choice Awards (established 2007), Scream Awards (established 2006) and Video Game Awards (established 2003), the network has fulfilled its mission to provide action-themed comfort food for its male viewership. But simultaneously, Spike is reaching for that next rung on the ladder, looking for the one original programming breakout hit to define it as more than just a network for guys.
MUSIC
New clicks on the bloc
Bloc Party fans expecting a routine Web chat with their heroes got more than they bargained for Aug. 18, when the U.K. alt-rock band announced they would be able to download its new album, "Intimacy," in just 60 hours' time.
"They were very freaked out. It was really funny," frontman Kele Okereke says.
"Intimacy," the band's third album, became available Aug. 21 exclusively from blocparty.com. There are a number of different offers for purchase: an MP3 download available for $10 in North America and a pre-order of the CD with bonus tracks for $20, which includes the free download. CDs will be delivered Oct. 27.
MUSIC
DecembeRadio brings live energy to album
The challenge for any great live band is always finding a way to translate that energy into the studio. DecembeRadio feels it has accomplished that feat on its sophomore record, "Satisfied," due Aug. 26.
"It's full of energy and it's a good time," lead vocalist/bassist Josh Reedy says, noting that the band gained valuable experiences touring behind its 2006 debut. "We learned what works great live. We learned what people reacted to. We're just good old country boys that like writing a great rock song."
That simple philosophy served DecembeRadio well on its self-titled debut. The record earned the band a 2007 Grammy Award nomination for best rock/rap gospel album and a Dove Award for rock album of the year. The single "Drifter" became a major hit and earned a Dove nod for song of the year. The band toured relentlessly and landed a coveted spot this spring opening for Third Day. Along the way, DecembeRadio's members earned a reputation as nice guys with irrepressible talent and a strong work ethic.
MUSIC
Straight bull
She might be more at home racing on the cross-country Bull Run Rally, but Kristine Elezaj is no slouch when it comes to music either.
With major-label interest for her debut album, a tour about to begin and the support of the Marc Ecko brand, the artist is primed for big exposure.
Previewed for Billboard at Marc Ecko's New York corporate headquarters, Elezaj's hip-hop-tinged dance pop sits comfortably between Britney Spears and Rihanna. Among the contributors on her debut are Fergie, who co-wrote the track "Peepshow," writer Alex Cantrall and producer J. Marty.
MUSIC
'Man' of the hour
R&B singer/songwriter/producer Joe is back with a new album, the fittingly titled "New Man," arriving Sept. 23.
"It's a modern, classic R&B album," 35-year-old Joe says. "I focus a lot on lyrics and subject matters. I took my time with the recording and came up with something I call 'today's R&B.' "
Bryan-Michael Cox, the Stereotypes, Phatz and D. Mile are among the set's producers. D. Mile helms first single "E.R. (Emergency Room)," which is No. 60 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the greatest gainer on Adult R&B with an 18-11 jump. Other tracks on "New Man" include the acoustic "Heart Behind My Eyes," "Man in Your Life," club ballad "We Need to Roll," the midtempo "Sex Girl," the live-band-assisted "Friends Don't Let Friends Sleep Alone" and "Why Just Be Friends?"
MUSIC
Can Montano take soca mainstream?
On a recent subway ride from Brooklyn to Manhattan, soca phenomenon Machel Montano was jolted from the anonymity he enjoys in some areas of New York when a female passenger shouted in a thick Trinidadian accent, "Machel Montano's on this train!," prompting many straphangers to hurriedly take out their camera phones.
That Montano, the most in-demand musical export from the oil-rich southern Caribbean republic of Trinidad and Tobago, can anonymously ride a train for several stops and then suddenly be swarmed by adoring fans reflects the dichotomy of his musical stature.
Now, via collaborations with Pitbull and Lil Jon and two high-profile New York shows, the artist is hoping to position himself closer to an international breakthrough.
MUSIC
Nelly knuckles down
Nelly's last album, "SweatSuit," hit shelves four years ago, but his absence hasn't dampened his opportunities. Indeed, the weeks leading up to the Sept. 16 release of the rapper's oft-delayed "Brass Knuckles" album are packed with high-profile appearances.
Thanks to alliances with "Monday Night Football" and a collaboration with Nike's Jordan brand, few in the Nelly camp are concerned that his two recent singles, "Wadsyaname" and "Party People," haven't cracked the top 20 on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The video for a third, "Stepped On My J'z," reached No. 1 on BET's "106 & Park" countdown, but has yet to chart on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. And a fourth, "Body on Me," sits at No. 62 on Hot Digital Songs after four weeks.
But with a track record of 21 million albums sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Nelly is "still very relevant," Universal Motown vice president of marketing Katina Bynum says. "'Hot in Herre' still gets played at every wedding."
MUSIC
Flipping the Script
The Script has written itself into Irish pop's illustrious history, as the Dublin trio's self-titled debut album went straight to No. 1 at home and in the United Kingdom Aug. 17. The band's current single, "The Man Who Can't Be Moved," is also top five in those territories.
Yet guitarist Mark Sheehan stresses it's taken a long time for the Script to become an overnight sensation. He and singer Danny O'Donoghue served time as members of failed '90s Irish boy band My Town and as session musicians in the U.S. studios of hitmakers Teddy Riley and the Neptunes.
"I learned to take nothing for granted after that disappointment," Sheehan says of his time with My Town. "We were being built up, but it didn't happen. What I took from it was that you have to be aware of the commercial side of things."
MUSIC
ZO2 rocks the house
ZO2 wants people to know that it is a real band, one that plays its own instruments, has opened for Kiss and has accumulated plenty of bawdy tales from the road.
The reason Joey Cassata and brothers Paulie and David Zablidowsky want to make sure that point is clear is that a different side of ZO2 is on display in "Z Rock," which premiered Aug. 24 on the Independent Film Channel.
The show is based on the band's previous life of playing at children's birthday parties by day and rocking out as hard as possible by night. The semi-scripted program fictionalizes and exaggerates real experiences for comic effect, but remains grounded in the truth of portraying a band trying to make it.
MUSIC
Thicke reflects on race, R&B and 'Something'
A murmuring line of fans _ mostly women _ snakes around the perimeter of the Hollywood House of Blues. They're waiting for one thing: Robin Thicke. Inside the crowded venue, women begin yelling as his band troops onstage to some James Brown funk and the announcer promises "a true soul experience." Then the whole room seemingly undulates as Thicke, his slender frame encased in black, bounds onstage and launches into his new '70s soul-grooved track "Magic."
Produced by Thicke and his longtime collaborator Pro-Jay, his third album, "Something Else," (due Sept. 30) is described by the artist as a cross between "classic Philly, Motown and '70s black disco meets the creativity of the Beatles and Bob Dylan. It just felt to me that a lot of stuff out there sounds the same. It's a time for change, for something else." The new album, however, isn't the only thing on Thicke's plate. He has written the theme song for Lee Daniels' "Push," is penning his own screenplay and writing a book of poetry. Thicke starts a tour with Mary J. Blige in the fall, and his latest Lil Wayne collaboration, "Tie my Hands," will appear on "Something Else" (it's also on Wayne's "Tha Carter III") and will be featured in the Forest Whitaker film "Hurricane Season."
TELEVISION
Grand old parties for Democrats too
DENVER _ Let the partying begin.
After a long primary fight, polls that show a tight race and this past weekend's selection of Sen. Barack Obama's running mate, the worlds of politics, media and entertainment will converge in the Mile High City this week for the Democratic National Convention.
High-wattage stars such as Ben Affleck, Kanye West and Spike Lee are set to light up parties and the convention floor for four days, culminating in Obama's presumptive nomination-acceptance speech Thursday. With 15,000 journalists and hundreds of bloggers on hand, the DNC undoubtedly will dominate headlines around the globe.
MUSIC
Q&A: Jay Brannan
Singer-songwriter Jay Brannan certainly knows how to make a lasting first impression; the 26 year old got his start in the indie flick "Shortbus," which featured more naked flesh than most XXX flicks.
Since the movie was released in 2006, Brannan has put his clothes back on and bared his soul on his first full-length record, "Goddamned," which was released on July 15 through his own label, Great Depression Records.
Fresh off this first tour, Brannan spoke to Billboard about his future plans.
MUSIC
Q&A: Daddy Yankee
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico _ Daddy Yankee's studio is located in a modest house that looks just like any other in Carolina, a town on the outskirts of San Juan that is home to the reggaeton movement. Inside, it's a different story. There's an expensive, design-conscious look to the floors, walls, soundproofed cream-colored wood and the glass-enclosed booth equipped with the latest sound technology. Construction materials are still spread around the building as the renovation continues but Yankee (whose real name is Ramon Ayala) has recently wrapped up another major project: "Talento de Barrio."
"Barrio," which he produced and stars in and which tells a story of the Puerto Rican barrio, had its premier at last month's New York Latino Film Festival and is slated for release in theaters in September. The soundtrack, which includes Yankee's hit single, "Pose", dropped August 12 on Machete Records.
MUSIC
Q&A: Danny Elfman
By any measure, Danny Elfman is having quite a year. After two characteristically playful, full-bodied orchestral scores for the back-to-back Universal summer releases "Wanted" and "Hellboy II," Elfman did a complete about-face, calling on his remarkable versatility to compose the somber, trenchant score for Errol Morris' unflinching Iraq documentary "Standard Operating Procedure."
Then came his first ballet, "Rabbit and Rogue," a collaboration with choreography icon Twyla Tharp that had its West Coast premiere at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Aug. 6 after a successful run at the Met in June.
As if that weren't enough, after putting the finishing touches on the music for "Milk," his fourth collaboration with indie auteur Gus Van Sant, the 55-year-old composer will then immediately begin work on his first Broadway musical, "Houdini," with three-time Tony Award-winning director Jack O'Brien.
Not bad for a high school dropout who didn't even pick up his first instrument _ the violin no less _ until he was 16.
FILM
Tyler Perry prepares to broaden his empire
HOLLYWOOD _ Tyler Perry is on one heck of a run.
His five movies have grossed $250 million, and he's sold 25 million DVDs. He's got a top-rated TV show, another about to be announced and 11 box-office-busting stage plays. He's landed a book on the best-seller lists and in October will cut the ribbon on his own studio complex.
Perry, who Forbes says pocketed $125 million last year, also has achieved something that even Steven Spielberg can't boast: ownership of his work.
FILM
'Shock' and awe
Alan Rickman's newly released film "Bottle Shock," the actor is called upon to create an entrepreneurial and rather uncomfortable life for his character. The film tells the real-life story of Steven Spurrier, a British expat wine purveyor living in Paris in the mid-1970s. Spurrier is someone only Rickman could play: an open-minded snob, ripe for introduction to the upstart California wine industry. Also required by the role: Rickman must eat KFC and drive a Gremlin.
MUSIC
Lewis back on screen with 'Express' theme
DETROIT _ Huey Lewis says coming up with the title song for the hit stoner movie "Pineapple Express" was not necessarily a huge stretch for he and his band, the News. "I do have some experience in that area," he says with a laugh.
And, Lewis adds, he's not necessarily depending on "Pineapple Express" to vault the News back to the multi-platinum levels of its mid-'80s "Sports" popularity.
MUSIC
Brandon Heath gets in tune with his fans
Singer-songwriter Brandon Heath views releasing a new album like getting up close and personal with his fans, and he's hoping his second effort, "What if We," will earn him high marks.
"I feel like I'm dating my audience," Heath says. "I feel like I'm just starting to get to know them and they are starting to get to know me. This is the third or fourth date, where you get to talk a little bit more about who you are." Indeed, Heath saved the song "London" for several years because it was "like sharing too much too early."
MUSIC
Wilco eyeing spring '09 for new album
NEW YORK _ Wilco hopes to have its seventh studio album out by spring 2009, frontman Jeff Tweedy told Albany, N.Y., radio station WAMC recently.
After opting for a highly performance-oriented recording approach on 2007's "Sky Blue Sky," Tweedy says he expects Wilco will "allow ourselves a little bit more leeway in terms of sculpting the sound in the studio, and doing overdubs and using the studio as another instrument. Last time around, it was more of a document."
MUSIC
Canada's Turner targets US
The U.S. release of Kreesha Turner's debut album may be several months away, but American audiences are already being exposed to the Canadian pop singer's "Passion."
With her first Canadian top 10 hit behind her and tracks featured in several hot U.S. TV shows, Turner has already been described by local media as a Canadian Rihanna. And with American awareness growing, the stage is set for the 23-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta, to enter the limelight with her debut album, "Passion."
MUSIC
Verve makes beautiful racket
Talk of a return to the relative glory days of a decade ago is often hostage to the fortunes of the modern music business. But the re-formation of the Verve has its supporters dreaming big.
The reunited British modern rock quartet, fronted by Richard Ashcroft, releases its "Forth" album Aug. 26. It's the band's first album since its most successful, "Urban Hymns," appeared 11 years ago.
"Forth" is a bracing blend of the experimentalism of the group's early work and the more structured songwriting of its last two efforts. The album is highlighted by the dreamy "Judas," arguably one of the most beautiful songs the band has yet penned, and the anthemic ballad "Valium Skies," a sure-fire future concert staple that is reminiscent of the hit "Lucky Man" from "Urban Hymns."
TELEVISION
Olympic stars struggle in showbiz
Sure, Michael Phelps has racked up more medals than any other Olympian in history, but turning his gold into Madison Avenue or Hollywood cash will be far trickier.
The advertising world has long had an ambivalent relationship with Olympic athletes; though coverage is saturated during the Games, interest in the quadrennial competition fades once its torch is extinguished.
And Hollywood, once a natural next stop for successful Olympic athletes, has become a remote detour.
So despite endless exposure, athletic dominance and a boy-next-door likability, one of the best athletes the U.S. has ever produced might be a ho-hum story when he climbs out of the pool.
FILM
Allen reigns in Spain
HOLLYWOOD _ He's considered an artistic genius. But Woody Allen's choice of Spain as the setting for his new comedy, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," was a practical one. A group of financiers agreed to put up $15 million if he'd make his movie there.
"Writing it, directing it, or anything else is easier than getting the financing," Allen says, "so I said, 'sure, I'll do it.'"
Allen had been kicking around an idea about two American women heading off on a summer European adventure. Why not set it in picturesque Barcelona?
FILM
'Bunny' business
HOLLYWOOD _ Can Anna Faris become the next Reese Witherspoon?
Tired of waiting for good scripts, Faris decided to develop her own movie projects (just as Witherspoon did with "Legally Blonde 2" and "Penelope"). She met with "Legally Blonde" writers Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz a few years ago to propose a concept she thought had potential: What happens to a Playboy Bunny when she gets too old to live at the Playboy Mansion?
Smith and Lutz liked the idea and set out developing a script as a starring vehicle for Faris. Adam Sandler's production company Happy Madison got on board, as did former "Saturday Night Live" writer-turned-film director Fred Wolf. The result is "House Bunny," starring Faris as Playboy Bunny Shelley Darlingson, who suddenly finds herself out on her tail after hitting the ripe old age of 27.
FILM
Q&A: Keke Palmer
HOLLYWOOD _ Best known for her breakout performance in "Akeelah and the Bee," Keke Palmer has since enjoyed a deluge of work from TV shows, guest appearances and movie roles.
In her latest film, "The Longshots," she is reunited with Ice Cube, who gave Palmer her first movie role in "Barbershop 2." She plays Jasmine Plummer, whose talents as a quarterback are discovered and developed by her Uncle Curtis (Ice Cube). He recruits her to play on the local youth football team, and soon they're headed to the Pop Warner Super Bowl.
On the phone from New York, Palmer talks about working with Ice Cube, being a role model for girls and watching the MTV reality show, "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew."
FILM
Playing 'Poole'
HOLLYWOOD _ Luke Wilson is best known for his work in broad comedies like "Legally Blonde" and "Old School," as well as in the more sophisticated comedies of his brothers Andrew and Owen Wilson and their friend Wes Anderson.
But after watching Wilson's performance in the 2005 dramedy "The Family Stone," filmmaker Mark Pellington saw something deeper in the Dallas-born actor _ a certain "inner light" _ that made Wilson the right actor to play the title character in the poignant comedy "Henry Poole is Here." (Initially, Jim Carrey was attached to the role but dropped out.)
Wilson says he was attracted to Albert Torres' script because, "inasmuch as there's a comedic tone to the story, it's very engaging emotionally."
MUSIC
Jennifer Hudson: Triple threat
Jennifer Hudson doesn't drink coffee. Doesn't like it, she says. Doesn't need it, counters her manager, Miguel Melendez.
It's 6:20 a.m. on a Monday morning in July, and an uncaffeinated Hudson is busting full throttle through her warm-ups during a sound check for a performance on "Good Morning America." It is her first TV appearance in support of "Spotlight," the debut single from her first album.
Hudson shakes off any concerns about the ungodly hour. ("The band got there at 4:30 a.m.," she notes.) Melendez, meanwhile, clutches his venti Starbucks as he watches. "Good Lord, she makes me feel old," he sighs.
It's easy to forget Hudson's youth, perhaps thanks to the years she's spent in the pop culture spotlight. At 26, her career path may be impossible to duplicate: She went from being a choir singer at her church in her hometown of Chicago to a Disney Cruise Line chanteuse to an "American Idol" contestant to an Academy Award winner for best supporting actress for her role in "Dreamgirls." Thanks to the ever-expanding entertainment landscape, what this means is that Hudson has built a significant career on a multiple-octave voice _ without releasing an album.
All that changes Sept. 30, when her self-titled debut drops.
MUSIC
Solange: I'm me
It's no twist of fate that the opener on Solange's sophomore album, "Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams" (Aug. 26), is a track titled "God Given Name," on which the 22-year-old artist reminds fans and skeptics alike that she's her own woman.
"I'm not her and never will be/Two girls gone in different directions, striving towards the same galaxy/Let my star light shine on its own/No, I'm no sister, I'm just my God-given name," Solange sings about being compared to her superstar sibling Beyonce.
But she's quick to set the record straight: This album isn't any more about Beyonce than it is "about your mom, auntie or cousin. I'm very good at saying that's not what this project is about. The idea of me being compared to my sister has been addressed before. Fans don't want to hear the same thing and I definitely don't want to answer the same thing."
MUSIC
Calexico aims to build on film exposure
In the past decade, Calexico has likely often been a band you've heard all over without knowing it. Its Tex-Mex country rock sounds have been featured on countless NPR segment segues and Starbucks compilations.
Most recently, the band served as one of two "house bands" on the Bob Dylan biopic soundtrack "I'm Not There," backing My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Iron & Wine's Sam Beam and Willie Nelson.
But Calexico is under the radar no longer, thanks to two big releases in 2006 that posted impressive sales. That year's "Garden Ruin" (Touch & Go) has shifted 45,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while "In the Reins," a collaborative EP with Beam, moved 92,000. In support of the latter, the two acts launched a unique tour, with each playing a set of its own material and then returning to share the stage to play "In the Reins" tracks.
It's all proving to be important in the setup for the next Calexico album, "Carried to Dust," due Sept. 9. A sampler of all the musical exploration the band has undertaken to date, the set stems from what guitarist/vocalist Joey Burns says is a newfound confidence.
"I feel the main thread here is movement," Burns says. "I think we've been fortunate to have all these different projects. There's a lot of imagination in the music, and I think that because it's all over the map. It's indicating its diversity."
MUSIC
6 questions with Amy Grant
Few artists, if any, have had a more powerful impact on the Christian music industry than Amy Grant. She burst on the scene as a fresh-faced teen who helped define the contemporary Christian genre before becoming a pop crossover success with such hits as "Baby Baby" and "Every Heartbeat." After 30 years with Word, the six-time Grammy Award winner signed with EMI Christian Music Group last year, which recently issued a 20th-anniversary edition of her landmark "Lead Me On" album. She'll embark on a reunion tour this fall that features most of the band that accompanied her on the original "Lead Me On" trek. She's also readying "The Christmas Collection," which streets Sept. 30. And, she and husband Vince Gill will embark on a Christmas tour around the holidays.
BB: Did you have any idea "Lead Me On" would have such lasting significance?
AG: No. When you're recording, you're just hoping someone will listen to it then. I remember just thinking, "I'm not going to be one of those women that's just way past her prime and if I'm still singing when I'm 40, somebody get a hook and come drag me offstage." That's how I felt in my 20s, but then you get to be in your 40s and go, "I've got so much more to say now."
BB: What was going on in your life at that time that is reflected on "Lead Me On"?
AG: I was pregnant with [my first child] Matt and my grandmother had just died. I was wrestling with facing some more adult issues. [Ex-husband] Gary [Chapman] and I had been married five years, which is long enough to have gone through some rough patches. I had just realized that life can't be tied up in a neat bow and I wanted to reflect on that. I think I had done a lot of pompom waving up until that point because of my real love for Jesus and my love of hearing songs that would build people's faith up. I remember back then just going, "You know, life is really messy and there's a lot of heartache." I was more interested in exploring the harder things in life.
MUSIC
Oscar nominee Howard delivers debut album
It's 6:30 p.m. on a Friday in Los Angeles. The car ferrying Academy Award-nominated thespian Terrence Howard has just left the Orpheum Theatre, the downtown backdrop for such movies and TV shows as "Dreamgirls" and "American Idol." It's where Howard will return the next morning to direct the video for "Sanctuary," the soulful love ballad/lead single from his Sept. 2 Columbia debut, "Shine Through It."
Racing through a day that segued from taping a segment of the PBS series "Independent Lens" to a video production meeting, a subdued Howard revs back up when the subject switches from his jam-packed schedule to music.
FILM
System of a Downey
HOLLYWOOD _ Robert Downey Jr. is such a prepared actor, he arrives for an interview with a prop. It's a black box resembling an oversized lunch pail, which he sets down without explanation.
"What's in it?" I query, going for the bait.
"This recent maelstrom of success has put me in an interesting political position," he deadpans.
"Actually, I'm working for the Department of Defense. If something alarming goes down I might have to enter my coordinates and be picked up by helicopter," he says, cracking a smile.
Downey, 43, is in a lighthearted mood. And why shouldn't he be?
FILM
Send in the Clones
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. _ I'm sitting in a small, plush screening room at George Lucas' Big Rock Ranch, one of three San Francisco-area facilities where The Great One and his loyal team of artists, engineers and technicians dream up new ways to tantalize audiences with visual magic.
The press-shy filmmaker arrives with his "padawan," Dave Filoni, and Catherine Winder, executive producer with Lucas' Lucasfilm Animation studio. They've invited a small group of journalists to their bucolic offices to discuss their movie "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and a cable TV series of the same name.
Unlike Lucas' live-action features, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" is fully animated as is the half-hour TV series, premiering Oct. 3 on the Cartoon Network (followed by a run on TNT).
Though he vowed just three years ago that the long-running "Star Wars" saga was over, Lucas clarifies that only one storyline _ that of the Skywalker family _ is complete. He has plenty more stories to tell about a galaxy far, far away.
TELEVISION
Q&A: Ted Koppel
For someone who retired after 42 years at ABC News, Ted Koppel doesn't seem to be slowing down much. If anything, he has raised his media profile since leaving "Nightline" in 2005. Koppel works for Discovery Communications doing longform documentaries, the most recent of which was "The People's Republic of Capitalism," about the economic growth of China.
He also provides analysis for National Public Radio and just this month joined as a regular commentator on "BBC World News America." Koppel discussed China ahead of the Olympics, whether he'll stay at Discovery when his contract runs out next year and the future of "Nightline."
TELEVISION
Q&A: Bill Maher
For a movie that skewers organized religion, Bill Maher's "Religulous" is, well, a little preachy. And Maher is fine with that. The documentary, director Larry Charles' follow-up to 2006's smash "Borat," follows the irascible comedian on an anti-spiritual journey from Jerusalem to a Jesus theme park in Florida. It's due Oct. 3 from Lionsgate and Maher returns to TV on Aug. 29 for an election-themed cycle of his Emmy-nominated HBO talk show, "Real Time with Bill Maher."
FILM
Moon toon
"A giant leap for mankind" was what Neil Armstrong famously called it on July 20, 1969, the second that his booted foot first pressed firmly into lunar soil. Imagine what that momentous occurrence must have been like for the common housefly!
Probably you haven't imagined that, but let "Fly Me to the Moon" and its director, Ben Stassen, do the imagining for you. The premise of this fanciful $25 million feature-length cartoon _ the first animated feature created from the ground up as a 3D attraction _ is that a trio of tween houseflies stows away with Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Armstrong on Apollo 11 for the first manned space mission to the moon. The film launches with a voice cast including Christopher Lloyd, Kelly Ripa and Tim Curry.
FILM
Requiem for a professor of desire
In Isabel Coixet's films, women give form and purpose to a world men seem only to occupy. In "The Secret Life of Words," Josef (Tim Robbins) clings to life by a thread, not because he's been burned in an oil-rig explosion, but because he's rootless. Then Hanna (Sarah Polley), his nurse, tells him a story which so completely transforms his perception of the world that he is unable to live without her. In "My Life Without Me," Ann (Polley again), a young woman dying of cancer, chooses her husband's second wife, and leaves recorded messages for her daughters, her mother and her lover, shaping the lives they will all lead without her.
In her latest film, "Elegy," Coixet tackles the work of celebrated writer Philip Roth. Roth's fictional male characters so often objectify women or abuse them that, despite the literary prizes heaped upon him, critics have accused him of outright misogyny. Coixet calls him "an amazing writer" and regards his "American Pastoral" as "one of the great novels of the last century." "Elegy" is adapted from Roth's novella "The Dying Animal," a predictable tale of an aging professor and his beautiful student. The film ends differently than the book, but that's not the director's only departure from Roth's prose.
FILM
Surf legends revisit birth of pro surfing
For many, surfing conjures images of carefree drifters attuned to the rhythms of the ocean. But for several top surfers in the mid-1970s, hitting the waves meant not daydreams but death threats.
"It was a scary, scary time," recounts South African Shaun Tomson, winner of the 1977 surfing world title. Barely out of his teens, Tomson had arrived in Hawaii's North Shore of Oahu, aka, the "Mount Everest of surfing," two years earlier to make a name for himself. Along with Australians such as Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew and Mark Richards, he would soon become a pioneer of the sport, transforming his passion for surfing into an industry now worth billions _ but not before arousing anger among the local community. Their story is the subject of "Bustin' Down the Door," a new action-packed documentary directed by Jeremy Gosch ("Last Ride") and narrated by actor (and fellow surfer) Edward Norton.
FILM
Warsaw 46580
If some of the worst years of your life were spent in high school, Nanette Burstein's new documentary will bring it all back. "American Teen" trails four teenagers from Warsaw, Indiana, through their senior year. Burstein's high-school-in-the-heartland is a portrait of homespun America where the teens grapple with institutional limitations, and the Rubicons of their own personalities. Burstein maps it all with insight and humor, carefully sidestepping the cliches. "In the end," she says, "there's hope that they will get through it and follow their dreams."
Burstein, a New Yorker, is best known for "The Kid Stays in the Picture," a 2002 documentary she co-directed with Brett Morgen, about legendary producer Robert Evans. In 1999, she and Morgen ("Chicago 10") first collaborated on the documentary "On the Ropes," which follows three young Brooklyn boxers and their determined coach, Harry Keit. It garnered the filmmakers an Academy Award nomination, as well as a win at the Directors Guild for outstanding directorial achievement. The 38-year-old filmmaker has also worked as an executive producer, a writer and an editor on other documentaries, as well as her own. "American Teen" is her third feature-length documentary as a director/producer.
MUSIC
6 questions for Loretta Lynn
Seventy-four-year-old legend Loretta Lynn, whose first single, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl," hit the country singles chart in 1960, is as musically active as ever. She still tours, writes songs and is working on not one, but two albums. The first is a collection of her hits that she's rerecording with John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny and June Carter Cash, while the other is a set with her sisters, Crystal Gayle and Peggy Sue. On June 19, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame during a ceremony in New York. Here, Lynn talks to Billboard about the craft of songwriting and her thoughts on the modern music industry.
BB: When you write songs, do you write them with the intention to record them or as a way to express yourself?
LL: What started me writing was a way to express myself; to get back at my husband for whatever he was doing. You know, "Take that! I'm a honky-tonk girl!" I didn't even know hardly what a honky-tonk girl was.
BB: Did you realize songs like "Fist City" and "The Pill" would be controversial?
LL: Not really. I mean, I never took the pill. That's why I've got kids, kids, kids. I never dreamed people would holler about it. But every song that they would holler about would go to No. 1 for me. So I thought, "You know, this is not a bad deal. I'll just write whatever I'm feeling," and that's what I did.
BB: You've been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and have won many awards through the years. But how does it feel to be recognized specifically for your songwriting?
LL: When I was inducted into the [Country] Hall of Fame, that tickled me to death. But this one makes me the proudest.
BB What can you tell us about your new albums?
LL: I've been in the studio recording for six months [with John Carter Cash]. I'm cutting all the old hits over and putting down some new ones that I'm writing. Me and Crystal and Peggy, we're getting our songs ready too. I said, "Girls? We need to write three songs for this album for the three of us." I imagine I'll be talking to MCA [about releasing the albums] before I talk to anyone else.
BB: What are your thoughts on shows like "American Idol" and "Nashville Star," which give young artists record deals? And how do you think you would have done on a show like that?
LL: If there would've been "American Idol," [husband/manager Doolittle Lynn] would've had me on there, because he was the one that got me going. But after he got me started and I was gone so much, he said he wished he would've never gotten me into it because it kind of separated us from being together a lot. I would've probably passed out before I went out, knowing how bashful I was. I could've never done it by myself. But some of them I like. Carrie Underwood _ look how great she is. Kelly Clarkson, she's fantastic.
BB: When you do co-writes, do you have to work harder to get your point across?
LL: No, because I don't write deep. I think if you have to listen to a song real close, it's not going to make it. A good song will tell you what the story is on the first verse. And I like that. If you can't tell what my song is about after the first verse, you are in trouble.
MUSIC
Ready to 'Glide'
A few months ago, famed dobro player Jerry Douglas was having what he describes as "the worst day of my life." It concerned something seemingly trivial: an advertising campaign for a new line of guitars, and amid the "throwdown" that was ensuing, his wife called him, asking if he was sitting down.
It was at that moment Douglas was told he had been selected by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as its 2008 artist-in-residence.
MUSIC
The sound of 'Silencio'
Luis Fonsi looked for songs for 18 months. He looked for them from within, writing like a maniac; he looked for them by writing with others; he listened to whatever was sent his way.
"I wrote some 100-120 songs for this album," Fonsi says of "Palabras del Silencio," due Aug. 26. "I listened to 25 songs a day."
The album is Fonsi's seventh studio set and a crucial recording for the 30-year-old Puerto Rican balladeer, who has evolved from romantic teen singer to respected musician with broad appeal and is on the brink of international success.
MUSIC
Mac attack hits the States
LONDON _ Welcome to the story of a multiplatinum Scottish singer-songwriter named Amy who doesn't include even the faintest whiff of tabloid scandal.
Amy Macdonald has just celebrated a year on the United Kingdom album chart with her debut set for Mercury/Universal, "This is the Life."
TELEVISION
NBC, Dick Ebersol ready for Olympics
NBC Sports & Olympics chairman Dick Ebersol has traveled the Olympic road many times before, since his first Games in Grenoble, France, in 1968.
When it comes to dedication during crunch time, Ebersol is unrivaled in the industry.
FILM
Costner gets out the 'Vote'
HOLLYWOOD _ Is it any surprise Kevin Costner is a believer in the political process?
With the 2008 presidential race barreling towards the finish line, the quintessential American actor co-produces and stars in "Swing Vote," a political satire about the nation's most important political decision coming down to one man and one vote.
Costner, 53, was such a fan of Jason Richman and Joshua Michael Stern's screenplay he helped finance the $20 million project. (Stern also directed the comedy.) The Capra-esque story about one ordinary man making a difference appealed to him. It wasn't an easy sell. Political satires aren't as reliable box office generators as, say, superhero movies.
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