Zooey Deschanel - The Things They Say 8572 & other: June 2008

Tuesday 24 June 2008

Mandela in London for birthday bash

LONDON —

Nelson Mandela is in London for a week of events to celebrate his 90th birthday.

The former South African president's plane landed at Heathrow Airport Monday morning.

He is due to attend an outdoor concert in his honor in Hyde Park on Friday. Performers include Queen, Annie Lennox, Leona Lewis and the Soweto Gospel Choir. Troubled diva Amy Winehouse is also scheduled to sing, if her doctors allow it. She was taken to a hospital last week after fainting at home.

Proceeds from the concert will go to the 46664 charity, the AIDS charity named for the number Mandela wore while imprisoned by South Africa's apartheid authorities.

Mandela also is due to meet prominent supporters, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

Mandela, who turns 90 on July 18, has visited London many times, and has expressed gratitude to the city for the constant vigil that was held outside the South African Embassy during the apartheid years.

Friday's concert coincides with the 20th anniversary of London's Free Mandela concert, held to demand he be freed from prison.

He was released in 1990 after 27 years behind bars, and was elected South Africa's first black president in 1994.

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Thursday 19 June 2008

Phil Spector - Wrecking Crew Set For Rockwalk Honour

The session musicians who helped PHIL SPECTOR create his legendary Wall of Sound and BRIAN WILSON his PET SOUNDS are to be inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk.

Studio group The Wrecking Crew will officially become part of Hollywood history on 25 June (08).

The musicians backed up dozens of Spector's singers in the 1960s and can be heard on Beach Boys hits like Good Vibrations and California Girls and Simon + Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water.

They also backed stars like the Mamas and the Papas, the Monkees, The Carpenters, Sonny and Cher and Frank Sinatra in the studio.

Members of The Wrecking Crew will place their handprints in cement alongside those of other music legends like Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley on Sunset Boulevard's RockWalk.

Unfortunately, the group will be missing a vital member - guitarist Jerry Cole died of a heart attack last week (ends06Jun08).

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Wednesday 18 June 2008

Robert Johnson

Artist: Robert Johnson

   Genre(s):
Blues

Discography:

King of the Delta Blues

Year: 1997
Tracks: 16

The Complete Recordings CD1

Year: 1990
Tracks: 20

Steve Alexander to join Mosaic Media

Agent formerly with CAA

Veteran CAA agent Steve Alexander -- whose clients ranged from Heath Ledger to Natalie Portman -- has left the talent agency to join the Atlas Entertainment division of Mosaic Media Group.

At Atlas, Alexander is returning to his roots as a producer. He began his career working for Joel Silver and produced the 1994 cult hit "Swimming with Sharks," which starred Kevin Spacey.

"Having worked on various projects over the years with Steve, I was reminded of his roots as a producer," said Mosaic Media's Chuck Roven. "He's one of the brightest minds in Hollywood, has great relationships with the town's top creative talent and executives and understands all facets of the film business."

Alexander joined CAA in 1997. Ledger was among the first clients he signed and Alexander guided the actor through his career until his death in January.

"While I am proud of my work at CAA representing talent, producing and packaging films have always been two of the most fulfilling aspects of my career," Alexander said. "I'm thrilled to return to producing and have the opportunity to work so closely with Chuck and everyone at Atlas."

Mosaic launched in 1999 as a film and management company, including Atlas Entertainment, ACE Media and The Miller Co, and has several films awaiting release in 2008 for various studios, including Warner Bros. releases "Get Smart" and "The Dark Knight," Sony's "Step Brothers" and "The International," Universal's "Land of the Lost" and Dreamworks' "She's Out of My League."

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Kid Rock boycotts Apple iTunes

Kid Rock is refusing to allow his songs to be sold through the Apple iTunes download service because he doesn't believe that Apple pay artists enough for their downloads.

The rapper claimed that the download service was based on an "old system" whereby musicians were cut out of pay deals.

He did, however, concede that it was inevitable that his music would one day be available on iTunes.

"It's based on an old system where iTunes takes the money, the record company takes the money, and they don't give it to the artists," he told BBC News.

"Back in the day, we all know the stories of the Otis Reddings and Chuck Berrys and Fats Dominos who never got paid," he continued. "So the internet was an opportunity for everyone to be treated fairly, for the consumer to get a fair price, for the artist to be paid fairly, for the record companies to make some money.

"I will be on iTunes eventually because I can't avoid it, but I like to always stick to my guns and prove a point and do something original and because I believe in it."

Lance Armstrong Shooting Blanks?

Lance Armstrong needs to work on his dating skills. The cyclist attempted to take his latest fling, Kate Hudson, to the famous Rao's restaurant in New York City for dinner, but failed to make a reservation (via NY Post). Even Lance has to wait in line.

Lance is clearly from out of town, because any New Yorker knows there is a waiting list months long and regulars get priority over out of town visitors.

Lance's attempts for a romantic dinner were thwarted and the couple was eventually forced to find somewhere else to chow.

Princess Eugenie Shows Off Family Jewels

When you're sixth in line for the throne of England, it's easy to go unnoticed. With Prince William and Harry getting all the attention, Princess Eugenie decided to go streaking with her fellow classmates at the end of the school term according to the Daily Mail. That will get people talking.

The 18-year-old daughter of Sarah Ferguson seems to be breaking out of her shell and the shadow of her big sister Beatrice. The group of naked girls was slapped for their antics and that was the end of the matter. This weekend, Eugenie appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the rest of her extended family to celebrate her Granny's birthday, hopefully with her clothes on.

QB Drives Sara Evans to End Zone

Country-singing star Sara Evans scored a touch down this weekend when she married the former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker, in a small, outdoor ceremony, according to People.

The wedding party was made up of the couples 7 children and 130 close family and friends were present to witness the occasion. The couple met when they were both seeking spiritual counseling from a minister after their first marriages ended in divorce.

Party Favors: Professor Kevin Spacey? ... Keith Olberman Moves Like a Lady

Kevin Spacey is now going after college kids. The actor recently took a position as a visiting professor at Oxford University where he replaces Patrick Stewart giving lectures and running acting workshops. ...If Keith Olbermann seems noticeably punchy and always kicking the desk, it's for a good reason. The MSNBC loud mouth was recently diagnosed with restless leg syndrome, a disorder that effects twice as many women as men, according to the NY Post.

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Heath Ledger Scholarship Set-up To Help Aussie Wannabes

A Heath Ledger Scholarship is being launched to help wannabe Australian actors follow in the late star's footsteps. Australians in Film has established a fund, which it will present each year to a young up-and-coming performer with aspirations of Hollywood stardom. Aussie Ledger died in January , aged just 28, after accidentally overdosing on prescription drugs at his New York apartment. The organisation, founded in 2001 to support Australians in the movie and TV industries, has also announced actresses Abbie Cornish and Mia Wasikowska will be honoured at its fourth annual breakthrough awards at a Beverly Hills, California ceremony on 5 June .

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Eastenders' Tanya to bury Max alive?

'EastEnders' character Tanya Branning will bury cheating husband Max alive in a sensational storyline, according to reports.
The mum of three, played by actress Jo Joyner, takes revenge for his affair with his daughter-in-law, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
After weeks of plotting, Tanya seduces Max (Jake Wood) and then drugs him before putting him in a coffin and burying it in woods, according to The Sun newspaper.
The scenes are due to be shown at Easter.
The Sun quotes a BBC source as saying: "Viewers will have to wait to find out whether Max lives or dies."
Max and Tanya's relationship becomes increasingly more volatile as they battle over custody of their children.

Busta Rhymes circles Projekt Revolution

Will join tour in the summer; new album in works

Rapper Busta Rhymes has been tapped to perform on the main stage of this summer's Projekt Revolution tour, which also features performances by Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, the Bravery and Ashes Divide.
Rhymes recently drafted Linkin Park to guest on his new single, "We Made It," which was produced by Cool & Dre and Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda. The track will appear on Rhymes' eight studio album, "Blessed," due in the summer via Flipmode/Aftermath/Interscope.
"It made perfect sense for us to be on the tour together, so we could perform ('We Made It') and bring it to life for people every night," Rhymes said.
The fifth installation of the Linkin Park-reared trek is scheduled to visit 24 U.S. cities, beginning July 16 at the Tweeter Center outside Boston and wrap Aug. 24 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston. Atreyu, 10 Years, Hawthorne Heights, Armor for Sleep and the Street Drum Corps will appear on the smaller Revolution Stage.
Rhymes plans to perform new material from "Blessed" during Projekt Revolution, but doesn't expect his set to get too flashy. "I'm really one that loves the traditional sense of hip-hop," the rapper said. "I like microphones and turntables."
"Blessed" is the follow-up to 2006's "The Big Bang," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 609,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
"This album is Busta Rhymes in a mastered way," he said, noting that "The Big Bang" was a collaborative effort with Dr. Dre. "I think (Dre) felt like it was time to allow me to spread my wings and take the best of what I learned from my experience in doing 'The Big Bang' to this new album."
Along with Linkin Park, "Blessed" finds Rhymes collaborating with T-Pain ("Blown"), Ludacris, Lil Wayne ("Throw It Up"), Akon, T.I. ("Don't Believe 'Em"), Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Common ("Decision"), J. Holiday ("Hits for Days") and the Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger ("If"), among others.
Lyrically, Rhymes drew from "my own personal experience, like a lot of s*** I've been through for the last two years," he said. For instance, in April 2006, the rapper was arrested and charged with assault in New York.
"I'm also giving people my perspective on what my experience was, because I never really made time to communicate with the people about my perspective, especially when a lot of the heat was going on with my situation," Rhymes said. "I'm able to properly control the way everything is addressed on my album."
Music isn't the only thing Rhymes has in the works. The rapper will appear in the upcoming film "Order of Redemption," which also stars actors Armand Assante and Tom Berenger. Rhymes also performed a new song Saturday on Mixed Martial Arts' first primetime TV event on the CBS.
"We're strategically moving the chess pieces to make sure we're doing the most incredible things that we can be doing," said Rhymes, noting that he has a "couple of deals we're going to be closing on a corporate level."
Following the Projekt Revolution tour, Rhymes said he will head overseas to headline an arena tour. "We're starting in Europe and then bringing it back to the U.S.," he said. "We're still coordinating the lineup right now."

My Chemical Romance fans protest at Daily Mail offices

Fans of My Chemical Romance have protested outside the offices of British newspaper the Daily Mail this afternoon (May 31) in response to their articles they have published about emo.

The protest began at noon (BST) and saw around 40 fans cramming into Derry Street outside the newspaper's building.

The fans filled the street with placards and banners with slogans like "I'm Not Afraid To Keep On Living" and "We're Not A Cult, We're An Army � The MCRMY" and sung a selection of My Chemical Romance songs.

"It's been brilliant, such a good atmosphere. We've all united for a good cause," protestor Katie Hughes, 15, from Dorking told NME.COM. "Most people here always listen to [a]My Chemical Romance positively, people committed suicide before the band were around."

The protest has been peaceful and broadly good natured with police telling NME.COM that the protesters have "kept well within the law and organised everything before hand. It's going fine."

Alongside the protest a bigger group of fans have congregated near by at Marble Arch where they are holding a vigil that is expected to last until around 10pm (BST).

The fans are protesting about a series of articles the paper published in the aftermath of the suicide of Hannah Bond, a My Chemical Romance fan and comments the coroner made at her inquest criticising emo's influence in her death, including one particular piece which claimed that "no child is safe from the sinister cult of emo".

However, the Daily Mail has issued a statement in reaction to the protest insisting that its coverage has been balanced and restrained.

However protestor Dani (who did not giver her surname), 14, from London was not impressed with their coverage.

"This isn't the first time the Mail has had a go at bands as a scapegoat," she declared. "I think most of it is just ignorance, they always have to have someone to blame."

Get next week's issue of NME on UK newsstands from Wednesday (June 4) for more coverage of the emo march.