Weekly Entertainment News

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Madonna Voicing Luc Besson's Arthur
Source: ComingSoon!
Madonna will head the voice cast of the big-budget CG-animated Arthur, directed by Luc Besson, which the director's Europa Corp. also is producing.

The Hollywood Reporter says Arthur is adapted from a series of children's books written by Besson, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie. Ten-year-old Arthur, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from developers, goes in search of treasure hidden in the land of the Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony with nature.

The $80 million English-language movie, scheduled for a 2006 release, will include some live-action sequences. The 3-D animation is being crafted by French specialist Buf Compagnie.

Madonna will be voicing the part of Princess Selenia, a character who travels with Arthur to a mysterious forbidden city where an evil being dwells. A major male star is also being cast.

"Arthur" will be the first film directed by Besson since The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc five years ago. Besson also is working on a parallel live-action project, which he has written but which remains a closely guarded secret.

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Warner Bros. Official Picture of Brandon (Superman) Routh

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Don't Expect an Avengers Movie Anytime Soon
Source: SuperheroHype!
In an article in USA Today talking about Marvel Comics' revamping of the Avengers comic book, Brian Bendis says not to expect a movie based on the comic anytime soon.

"We own all the comic-book characters, but different studios own their film rights. An Avengers movie would cost $700 million," says Bendis.

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Iron Man Script Approved & Early 2005 Start
Source: SuperheroHype!
'Stax' at IGN Filmforce tells us that screenwriter David Hayter's latest draft of Iron Man has won over New Line and the studio is going out with it to directors to get the project started in early 2005:

Sources advised IGNFF that this draft of Iron Man is very Tom Clancy-esque in tone and involves the conflict between Tony Stark and his father Howard over Stark Industries. The Armored Avenger's origin has been updated from the Vietnam back story used in the comics.

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For Box Set, Ozzy Duetting With Ol' Dirty, Wu-Tang — And A Pig
Source: MTV


Anyone who's ever even heard the name Ozzy Osbourne knows that nearly everything about him is unconventional. It's only fitting, then, that a retrospective box set to mark his 25-year solo career would be anything but typical.

Fans expecting a collection of greatest hits get that on the first two discs of the 52-track Bible of Ozz, due February 8. Remastered studio versions of "Crazy Train," "Mr. Crowley," "Dee" and "Dreamer" appear alongside concert takes of "Suicide Solution," "Ultimate Sin" and "Gets Me Through," while demos and rare B-sides round out the remaining tracks.

On the third and fourth discs, things really get weird. So weird that collaborations with the Wu-Tang Clan ("For Heaven's Sake") and the combined force of techno duo the Crystal Method, rappers Ol' Dirty Bastard and DMX, and P. Diddy's former rock protégés Fuzzbubble ("Nowhere to Run") seem expected compared to Ozzy's pairings with the muppet Miss Piggy ("Born to Be Wild"), Dweezil Zappa ("Stayin' Alive") and Was (Not Was) ("Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)"). Other matchups on the disc titled "Oddities and Duets" include ones with those more in tune with the metal scene, such as Motörhead, Primus and Type O Negative.

Osbourne, with guitarists Jerry Cantrell (ex-Alice in Chains), Robert Randolph and Leslie West (Mountain) in tow, recently recorded some of his favorite songs for the fourth disc, "Under Covers." It's easy to imagine Osbourne taking over the lyrical reins for hard rock classics like King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" and the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil"; it's anyone's guess how his versions of the Beatles' "In My Life" and Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" will come off.

Bible of Ozz track list, according to Epic Records:
Disc 1
"I Don't Know" (live)
"Mr. Crowley"
"Crazy Train"
"Goodbye to Romance" (live)
"Suicide Solution" (live)
"Over the Mountain"
"Flying High Again" (live)
"You Can't Kill Rock and Roll"
"Diary of a Madman"
"Bark at the Moon" (live B-side)
"Spiders" (B-side)
"Rock and Roll Rebel"
"You're No Different"
"Dee"

Disc 2
"Ultimate Sin" (live)
"Never Know Why" (live)
"Thank God for the Bomb" (live)
"Crazy Babies"
"Breaking All the Rules"
"I Don't Want to Change the World" (demo)
"Mama, I'm Coming Home" (demo)
"Desire" (demo)
"No More Tears" (single version)
"Won't Be Coming Home" (demo)
"Perry Mason" (live)
"See You on the Other Side" (demo)
"Walk on Water" (demo)
"Gets Me Through" (live)
"Bang Bang" (original demo for "Facing Hell")
"Dreamer"

Disc 3
"Iron Man" (with Therapy)
"N.I.B." (with Primus)
"Purple Haze" (with Zakk Wylde, Randy Castillo and Geezer Butler)
"Pictures of Matchstick Men" (with Type O Negative)
"Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)" (with Was (Not Was))
"Born to Be Wild" (with Miss Piggy)
"Nowhere to Run" (with Crystal Method, DMX, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Fuzzbubble)
"Led Clones" (with Gary Moore)
"For Heaven's Sake" (with Tony Iommi and Wu-Tang Clan)
"I Ain't No Nice Guy" (with Motörhead)
"Therapy" (with Infectious Grooves)
"Stayin' Alive" (with Dweezil Zappa)

Disc 4
"Good Times" (originally recorded by Eric Burdon)
"21st Century Schizoid Man" (King Crimson)
"In My Life" (The Beatles)
"Mississippi Queen" (Mountain)
"For What It's Worth" (Buffalo Springfield)
"Fire" (Arthur Brown)
"Hi-Ho Silver Lining" (The Jeff Beck Group)
"All the Young Dudes" (Mott the Hoople)
"Sympathy for the Devil" (The Rolling Stones)
"Changes" (Black Sabbath)




—Joe D'Angelo

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Collateral Due 12/14 on DVD
Comes on a two-disc set.
Source: IGN

October 12, 2004 - DreamWorks/Universal Home Video plans to release Collateral, the Michael Mann action flick starring Tom Cruise in his first villainous role, along with Jamie Foxx as a hapless cabbie dragged along for the ride, on December 14 for a suggested price of $29.99.


The two-disc package will feature an English DTS soundtrack, anamorphic widescreen video and a second disc of extras. These include City Of Night: The Making of Collateral featurette, deleted scenes, a Tom Cruise/Jamie Foxx rehearsal footage featurettes and a look at Cruise training with weapons for the film.

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Fantastic Four Sneak Peek
Source: DarkHorizons


Entertainment Tonight profiled the superhero film on Tuesday, including airing actual scenes from the still shooting production. Shown were the massive Brooklyn Bridge set, the aftermath of the cosmic storm and the aftermath of Ben leaving Doom's quarantined room. Check out Comics Continuum by clicking this link.

Meanwhile, some truly great shots of Chiklis in full Thing suit and the other cast filming out on the street are up at this link.