Rainn Wilson, one of the stars of the US version of 'The Office', will have a cameo role in the 'Transformers' sequel.
Speaking to MTV, the actor said that he would play a professor in the blockbuster.
'Transformers 2' is due in cinemas in June 2009.
Among Wilson's other film credits are 'Juno', 'The Last Mimzy' and 'My Super Ex-Girlfriend'.
Thursday 29 May 2008
Saturday 24 May 2008
Boy band mogul Pearlman sentenced to 25 years
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Boy band mogul Lou Pearlman, who launched the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, was sentenced on Wednesday to 25 years in prison for swindling investors and major U.S. banks out of more than $300 million.
In an audacious two-decade-long scam, Pearlman enticed individuals and banks to invest millions of dollars in two companies that existed only on paper and won the confidence of investors with strong but fake financial statements created by a fictitious accounting firm, according to his plea agreement.
U.S. Judge G. Kendall Sharp held up a book with letters from Pearlman's victims, saying they included "his family, his close friends and people in their 70s and 80s who have lost their life savings."
"So the sympathy factor doesn't run high with the court," Sharp said.
Pearlman, 53, unsuccessfully sought to delay his sentencing to allow time to launch his latest creation, European pop band US 5, in the United States and Asia.
Pearlman said he was developing US 5 at the time of his arrest and the bankruptcy trustees for his companies agreed he had the potential to earn "significant profits" on the band -- money that could be used to pay restitution to his victims.
Pearlman proposed a plan for him to have supervised access to a telephone and Internet connection while in custody to pursue the business plan.
Federal prosecutors opposed the plan, noting that Pearlman's fraud proved he could not be trusted in conducting business by phone or Internet.
(Editing by Jim Loney and John O'Callaghan)
In an audacious two-decade-long scam, Pearlman enticed individuals and banks to invest millions of dollars in two companies that existed only on paper and won the confidence of investors with strong but fake financial statements created by a fictitious accounting firm, according to his plea agreement.
U.S. Judge G. Kendall Sharp held up a book with letters from Pearlman's victims, saying they included "his family, his close friends and people in their 70s and 80s who have lost their life savings."
"So the sympathy factor doesn't run high with the court," Sharp said.
Pearlman, 53, unsuccessfully sought to delay his sentencing to allow time to launch his latest creation, European pop band US 5, in the United States and Asia.
Pearlman said he was developing US 5 at the time of his arrest and the bankruptcy trustees for his companies agreed he had the potential to earn "significant profits" on the band -- money that could be used to pay restitution to his victims.
Pearlman proposed a plan for him to have supervised access to a telephone and Internet connection while in custody to pursue the business plan.
Federal prosecutors opposed the plan, noting that Pearlman's fraud proved he could not be trusted in conducting business by phone or Internet.
(Editing by Jim Loney and John O'Callaghan)
Muppet creator's life screen bound
A new biopic about the life and work of 'The Muppets' creator Jim Henson is to be made.
Empire Film Group, Inc has acquired the motion picture production and distribution rights to Robert D Slane's screenplay 'Henson'.
The film is due to begin production in the late summer with a budget of $30m.
Commenting, Empire Home Entertainment President Eric Parkinson said: "Jim Henson is one of the best known and most beloved entertainers of all time. His story is inspiring, tragic, heartwarming and epic, and will make for an important and entertaining motion picture."
Empire Film Group, Inc has acquired the motion picture production and distribution rights to Robert D Slane's screenplay 'Henson'.
The film is due to begin production in the late summer with a budget of $30m.
Commenting, Empire Home Entertainment President Eric Parkinson said: "Jim Henson is one of the best known and most beloved entertainers of all time. His story is inspiring, tragic, heartwarming and epic, and will make for an important and entertaining motion picture."
Celestial Winds
Artist: Celestial Winds
Genre(s):
New Age
Discography:
Oceans Of Love
Year: 1995
Tracks: 11
Christmas Morning
Year: 1994
Tracks: 13
Celestial Winds I
Year:
Tracks: 14
New Carlos Santana/Miles Davis Art Exhibition Opens
A new fine art and memorabilia exhibition, "A Tribute To Miles Davis and Carlos Santana [ tickets ]," opened in San Francisco May 15 at Lush Life Gallery, which is part of The Jazz Heritage Center in The Fillmore, according to a press release. The art show was scheduled in May to coincide with Davis' birthday month and with the release of Santana's new career-spanning 2-CD set, "Multi Dimensional Warrior." "A Tribute To Miles Davis and Carlos Santana," which runs through July 30, features multimedia works of art including limited edition photographs and sculptures, and original paintings. Rare artifacts and memorabilia related to Davis and Santana also will be on display.Santana is set to perform two club dates, May 20-21, at The Fillmore to celebrate his new release and the exhibition's opening.
Billy Idol Records Two New Songs for 'The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself,' to Be Released June 24 by Capitol/EMI
Two Brand New Billy Idol Songs Exclusively Featured on Career-Spanning CD,
Deluxe Edition CD/DVD & Digital Album; Deluxe Edition Debuts 13 Music
Videos on DVD
Idol to Perform on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' Outdoor Stage June 24
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 1 -- Billy Idol has recorded two
brand new songs for The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself, a new
career-spanning CD, Deluxe Edition CD/DVD and digital collection to be
released June 24 by Capitol/EMI. The two songs, "John Wayne" and "New
Future Weapon," will be exclusively available on the new release, which
features all seven of Idol's Top 10 hits among its 18 tracks, including two
#1s. The Deluxe Edition adds 13 music videos making their DVD release
debuts, including two alternate video edits that have never before been
released in any format. The CD and CD/DVD packages are both designed by
Shepard Fairey and include liner notes by David Wild.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080501/LATH107)
The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself gathers together the
music that Billy Idol has taken to stages all around the world, as well as
two brand new songs. The new tracks find the man still at the peak of his
powers, working with longtime partner and guitar great Steve Stevens and
his other current band members, drummer and songwriting collaborator Brian
Tichy and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. On June 24, Idol will perform songs
from the new release on the outdoor stage of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
Of his new song "John Wayne," Idol says, "When I'm singing it, I'm
thinking about the characters John Wayne played. They were usually men with
a flaw in their character or something dark in their past they're trying to
rise above before the end of the movie. So it's not about the
kick-in-the-door John Wayne or the barroom fight John Wayne -- it's more
the man who overcomes."
Of the collection's other new track, "New Future Weapon," Idol says, "I
was reading about the new stealth fighter plane the Raptor, and I was
struck by the ambivalence of the pilot talking about the enemy. Musically,
it's got a bit of the Spaghetti Western about it. It's a sick song, as you
might expect."
The two new songs are produced by Josh Abraham, whose production
discography includes Velvet Revolver's double platinum, Grammy
Award-winning Contraband, 30 Seconds To Mars' platinum A Beautiful Lie,
Staind's eight-times platinum Break The Cycle and double platinum 14 Shades
of Grey, Limp Bizkit's seven-times platinum Chocolate Starfish and the Hot
Dog Flavored Water, and Courtney Love's America's Sweetheart, among many
others.
The Deluxe Edition CD/DVD adds 13 music videos that helped forever
define Idol as a rock icon, including previously unreleased edits of
"Cradle Of Love" and "Hot In The City." "We worked hard so there would be
some consistency to the videos and so we wouldn't have to be embarrassed
one day," Idol says. "We sweated over them -- video hell, we would call
it." As with his vital music, Idol liked to use his videos to shake things
up as much as possible. "That was a pretty bland time of corporate rock and
afternoon television music, and we wanted to bring in a little more danger
and after hours fun into it," he explains. "Maybe that's why we looked like
vampires."
Part of the Bromley Contingent of early Sex Pistols fans, Billy Idol
was inspired to front the popular British punk band Generation X from 1976
until the band's break-up in 1981. From there, he decided to try his luck
in America. "I definitely took punk with me wherever I've gone," Idol says.
"That was the whole idea really. I wanted to transform my music, but I
didn't want to ever lose sight of that punk rock attitude. Whether we
turned to hard rock or disco or whatever the hell else we did over the
years, that helped give the music a spirit it would not have had if I
hadn't come out of the punk movement."
Idol's first solo album was released by Chrysalis in 1982, but it
didn't hit its chart peak until the following year. The self-titled album's
"White Wedding" and "Dancing With Myself" (a new version of a song Idol
first recorded with Generation X) were major club hits in 1983, fueled by
heavy video play on MTV. "White Wedding" also crossed over to the Top 5 of
the Mainstream Rock chart, while "Hot In The City" made the Top 50 of the
Billboard Hot 100, and Billy Idol was certified gold with U.S. sales
totaling more than 500,000 units.
Idol really smashed through with his 1984 double platinum album, Rebel
Yell. Stocked with major radio and MTV hits, including "Rebel Yell," "Eyes
Without A Face," "Flesh For Fantasy" and "Catch My Fall," the album reached
#6 on the Billboard 200.
1987's platinum-selling Vital Idol collection presented his hits in
expanded remixes, including the chart-topping smash "Mony, Mony;" that same
year, Idol released a new album, the platinum Top 10 Whiplash Smile, with
its standout singles "To Be A Lover" and "Don't Need A Gun." The
platinum-certified Charmed Life album followed in 1990 with "Cradle Of
Love" and "L.A. Woman." 1993's Cyberpunk included the Top 10 Mainstream
Rock hit "Shock To The System." A platinum-selling Greatest Hits
collection, released in 2000, re-charged Idol's catalog, and 12 years after
his last new album release, he returned with Devil's Playground in 2005
(Sanctuary). The album's "World Comin' Down" is included in the new
collection's tracks.
"It's funny what you have to do to carve out your own niche," Idol says
with a laugh when asked about the new collection's Idolize Yourself title.
"But everyone should idolize themselves, shouldn't they?" The niche that
Billy Idol has created over these past few decades is no laughing matter.
Beyond the platinum sound and the platinum hair, Idol is respected as the
original punk rocker who long ago found a way to take that sneering punk
attitude to the top of the charts.
Listening back to The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself, the
man himself felt a real sense of pride. "I was knocked out," Idol says.
"For all the up and downs, there's some quality there. So I feel like I can
walk into my house justified. The highs were very high -- sometimes too
high -- and the lows were low, but somehow it still holds up."
The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself (CD, Digital Album & Deluxe
Edition CD/DVD)
CD
1. Dancing With Myself 10. Sweet Sixteen
2. Hot In The City 11. Mony, Mony (Live)
3. White Wedding Part 1 12. Cradle Of Love
4. Rebel Yell 13. L.A. Woman
5. Eyes Without A Face 14. Shock To The System
6. Flesh For Fantasy 15. Speed
7. Catch My Fall 16. World Comin' Down
8. To Be A Lover 17. John Wayne -- new exclusive track
9. Don't Need A Gun 18. New Future Weapon -- new exclusive track
DVD (Deluxe Edition CD/DVD)
1. Dancing With Myself
2. Hot In The City (Uncensored Version) -- previously unreleased
3. White Wedding, Part 1
4. Rebel Yell
5. Eyes Without A Face
6. Flesh For Fantasy
7. Catch My Fall
8. To Be A Lover
9. Don't Need A Gun
10. Sweet Sixteen
11. Mony, Mony (Live)
12. Cradle Of Love (Extended Billy Idol Only Version) -- previously
unreleased
13. L.A. Woman
Deluxe Edition CD/DVD & Digital Album; Deluxe Edition Debuts 13 Music
Videos on DVD
Idol to Perform on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' Outdoor Stage June 24
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 1 -- Billy Idol has recorded two
brand new songs for The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself, a new
career-spanning CD, Deluxe Edition CD/DVD and digital collection to be
released June 24 by Capitol/EMI. The two songs, "John Wayne" and "New
Future Weapon," will be exclusively available on the new release, which
features all seven of Idol's Top 10 hits among its 18 tracks, including two
#1s. The Deluxe Edition adds 13 music videos making their DVD release
debuts, including two alternate video edits that have never before been
released in any format. The CD and CD/DVD packages are both designed by
Shepard Fairey and include liner notes by David Wild.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080501/LATH107)
The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself gathers together the
music that Billy Idol has taken to stages all around the world, as well as
two brand new songs. The new tracks find the man still at the peak of his
powers, working with longtime partner and guitar great Steve Stevens and
his other current band members, drummer and songwriting collaborator Brian
Tichy and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. On June 24, Idol will perform songs
from the new release on the outdoor stage of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
Of his new song "John Wayne," Idol says, "When I'm singing it, I'm
thinking about the characters John Wayne played. They were usually men with
a flaw in their character or something dark in their past they're trying to
rise above before the end of the movie. So it's not about the
kick-in-the-door John Wayne or the barroom fight John Wayne -- it's more
the man who overcomes."
Of the collection's other new track, "New Future Weapon," Idol says, "I
was reading about the new stealth fighter plane the Raptor, and I was
struck by the ambivalence of the pilot talking about the enemy. Musically,
it's got a bit of the Spaghetti Western about it. It's a sick song, as you
might expect."
The two new songs are produced by Josh Abraham, whose production
discography includes Velvet Revolver's double platinum, Grammy
Award-winning Contraband, 30 Seconds To Mars' platinum A Beautiful Lie,
Staind's eight-times platinum Break The Cycle and double platinum 14 Shades
of Grey, Limp Bizkit's seven-times platinum Chocolate Starfish and the Hot
Dog Flavored Water, and Courtney Love's America's Sweetheart, among many
others.
The Deluxe Edition CD/DVD adds 13 music videos that helped forever
define Idol as a rock icon, including previously unreleased edits of
"Cradle Of Love" and "Hot In The City." "We worked hard so there would be
some consistency to the videos and so we wouldn't have to be embarrassed
one day," Idol says. "We sweated over them -- video hell, we would call
it." As with his vital music, Idol liked to use his videos to shake things
up as much as possible. "That was a pretty bland time of corporate rock and
afternoon television music, and we wanted to bring in a little more danger
and after hours fun into it," he explains. "Maybe that's why we looked like
vampires."
Part of the Bromley Contingent of early Sex Pistols fans, Billy Idol
was inspired to front the popular British punk band Generation X from 1976
until the band's break-up in 1981. From there, he decided to try his luck
in America. "I definitely took punk with me wherever I've gone," Idol says.
"That was the whole idea really. I wanted to transform my music, but I
didn't want to ever lose sight of that punk rock attitude. Whether we
turned to hard rock or disco or whatever the hell else we did over the
years, that helped give the music a spirit it would not have had if I
hadn't come out of the punk movement."
Idol's first solo album was released by Chrysalis in 1982, but it
didn't hit its chart peak until the following year. The self-titled album's
"White Wedding" and "Dancing With Myself" (a new version of a song Idol
first recorded with Generation X) were major club hits in 1983, fueled by
heavy video play on MTV. "White Wedding" also crossed over to the Top 5 of
the Mainstream Rock chart, while "Hot In The City" made the Top 50 of the
Billboard Hot 100, and Billy Idol was certified gold with U.S. sales
totaling more than 500,000 units.
Idol really smashed through with his 1984 double platinum album, Rebel
Yell. Stocked with major radio and MTV hits, including "Rebel Yell," "Eyes
Without A Face," "Flesh For Fantasy" and "Catch My Fall," the album reached
#6 on the Billboard 200.
1987's platinum-selling Vital Idol collection presented his hits in
expanded remixes, including the chart-topping smash "Mony, Mony;" that same
year, Idol released a new album, the platinum Top 10 Whiplash Smile, with
its standout singles "To Be A Lover" and "Don't Need A Gun." The
platinum-certified Charmed Life album followed in 1990 with "Cradle Of
Love" and "L.A. Woman." 1993's Cyberpunk included the Top 10 Mainstream
Rock hit "Shock To The System." A platinum-selling Greatest Hits
collection, released in 2000, re-charged Idol's catalog, and 12 years after
his last new album release, he returned with Devil's Playground in 2005
(Sanctuary). The album's "World Comin' Down" is included in the new
collection's tracks.
"It's funny what you have to do to carve out your own niche," Idol says
with a laugh when asked about the new collection's Idolize Yourself title.
"But everyone should idolize themselves, shouldn't they?" The niche that
Billy Idol has created over these past few decades is no laughing matter.
Beyond the platinum sound and the platinum hair, Idol is respected as the
original punk rocker who long ago found a way to take that sneering punk
attitude to the top of the charts.
Listening back to The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself, the
man himself felt a real sense of pride. "I was knocked out," Idol says.
"For all the up and downs, there's some quality there. So I feel like I can
walk into my house justified. The highs were very high -- sometimes too
high -- and the lows were low, but somehow it still holds up."
The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself (CD, Digital Album & Deluxe
Edition CD/DVD)
CD
1. Dancing With Myself 10. Sweet Sixteen
2. Hot In The City 11. Mony, Mony (Live)
3. White Wedding Part 1 12. Cradle Of Love
4. Rebel Yell 13. L.A. Woman
5. Eyes Without A Face 14. Shock To The System
6. Flesh For Fantasy 15. Speed
7. Catch My Fall 16. World Comin' Down
8. To Be A Lover 17. John Wayne -- new exclusive track
9. Don't Need A Gun 18. New Future Weapon -- new exclusive track
DVD (Deluxe Edition CD/DVD)
1. Dancing With Myself
2. Hot In The City (Uncensored Version) -- previously unreleased
3. White Wedding, Part 1
4. Rebel Yell
5. Eyes Without A Face
6. Flesh For Fantasy
7. Catch My Fall
8. To Be A Lover
9. Don't Need A Gun
10. Sweet Sixteen
11. Mony, Mony (Live)
12. Cradle Of Love (Extended Billy Idol Only Version) -- previously
unreleased
13. L.A. Woman
Stallone faced Rambo death threats
Sylvester Stallone has said he received a number of death threats while filming the new Rambo movie. Watch an exclusive clip here.
The 61-year-old star said he received threats over the Burmese troubles, which are touched on in the film.
Stallone said: "Yes, got them all the time. It's a very dangerous part of the world. A lot of people do disappear and you know they didn't want this film to be made."
He continued: "The civil wars have been going on for 60 years and no one knows about it because they pay a fortune to keep it quiet."
Twenty years have passed since Rambo last appeared on the big screen, now Stallone has revived the franchise with this fourth instalment in which Vietnam veteran John Rambo is called back into action to rescue a group of Christian Aid workers held hostage by Burmese militia.
He said: "This is the greatest action film, mainly because it's a real story. As we are speaking people are being destroyed. Hopefully we can bring awareness to this."
The 18-certificate film is said to be the bloodiest Rambo yet. Stallone said: "War is a horrifying situation. If anyone's dropped into a war zone you come back damaged the rest of your life. The film has got a responsibility; if you're going to make a war let's show it the way it is."
Asked what the secret was to his fitness regime his answer was "fish, fish, fish".
The first Rambo film, 'First Blood', was released in 1982 with sequels in 1985 and 1988. Stallone has joked previously: "I feel like I'm 20 again - but with arthritis."
"I tried to ignore the scepticism about my age and just get on with making films. The stunts in 'Rambo' were pretty hard but I still did all but one of them myself," he said.
Stallone has admitted that the last Rambo film was a "crock of crap" and says the franchise is now returning to its roots.
'Rambo' is released in Irish cinemas on Friday 22 February.
The 61-year-old star said he received threats over the Burmese troubles, which are touched on in the film.
Stallone said: "Yes, got them all the time. It's a very dangerous part of the world. A lot of people do disappear and you know they didn't want this film to be made."
He continued: "The civil wars have been going on for 60 years and no one knows about it because they pay a fortune to keep it quiet."
Twenty years have passed since Rambo last appeared on the big screen, now Stallone has revived the franchise with this fourth instalment in which Vietnam veteran John Rambo is called back into action to rescue a group of Christian Aid workers held hostage by Burmese militia.
He said: "This is the greatest action film, mainly because it's a real story. As we are speaking people are being destroyed. Hopefully we can bring awareness to this."
The 18-certificate film is said to be the bloodiest Rambo yet. Stallone said: "War is a horrifying situation. If anyone's dropped into a war zone you come back damaged the rest of your life. The film has got a responsibility; if you're going to make a war let's show it the way it is."
Asked what the secret was to his fitness regime his answer was "fish, fish, fish".
The first Rambo film, 'First Blood', was released in 1982 with sequels in 1985 and 1988. Stallone has joked previously: "I feel like I'm 20 again - but with arthritis."
"I tried to ignore the scepticism about my age and just get on with making films. The stunts in 'Rambo' were pretty hard but I still did all but one of them myself," he said.
Stallone has admitted that the last Rambo film was a "crock of crap" and says the franchise is now returning to its roots.
'Rambo' is released in Irish cinemas on Friday 22 February.
Sugababes star Berrabah is arrested
Sugababes singer Amelle Berrabah has been arrested over allegedly attacking a car and causing criminal damage to it.
According to the BBC, police confirmed that a 23-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and a public order offence.
The arrest stems from an incident which allegedly took place on 9 January.
The singer has now reportedly been bailed to appear at Aldershot Police Station on 21 February. Berrabah's boyfriend Freddie Fuller recently sustained serious arm and leg injuries in machete attack.
According to the BBC, police confirmed that a 23-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and a public order offence.
The arrest stems from an incident which allegedly took place on 9 January.
The singer has now reportedly been bailed to appear at Aldershot Police Station on 21 February. Berrabah's boyfriend Freddie Fuller recently sustained serious arm and leg injuries in machete attack.
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