Santogold offers free MP3, tours
Philadelphia-raised Santogold's MySpace bio opens with these words: "Santogold is a survivor of a half century worth of living along musical evolution’s most cutting edges. The only live act that can boast of having out-aged Barbara Bush, having outlived Mr. Miyagi and out styled Liberace, Santogold is here with future flavor." Not to be confused with Santo Gold, a recording artist who apparently recorded a song entitled "Your Fired" [sic], inspired by Donald Trump, Santogold is the latest artist in the M.I.A./Diplo/Spank Rock circle, and her self-titled album has been receiving massive amounts of critical praise in the last... read more
Family Guy’s MacFarlane signs enormous deal with 20th Century Fox TV
Family Guy survived two cancellations by 20th Century Fox before it became the cultural phenomenon it is today. Now, after a similarly bumpy process, show creator Seth MacFarlane has signed quite the lucrative deal with Fox. Over two years of negotiations have finally come to fruition for MacFarlane, who has just signed a deal that would make him the highest-paid TV writer-producer according to Hollywood Reporter. The deal is said to be worth more than $100 million and keeps MacFarlane at 20th Century Fox TV through 2012 as executive producer of Family Guy, American Dad and the upcoming Family Guy... read more
?uestlove says Dave Chappelle's Block Party going to Dubai
Hot off the release of the new Roots album, ?uestlove has spent his time...at a Bryan Adams photography opening? In any case, while there, he spoke with New York Magazine's Vulture about new plans with comedian Dave Chappelle. Since Chappelle disappeared from his show and quickly reappeared in South Africa, he's mostly lain low and hung around his home in Ohio. His most notable project since then was the revolutionary concert documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party, directed by Michel Gondry and featuring The Roots as house band. It looks like he's readying to do a sort of sequel to that... read more
New MacGyver movie in the works
Remember when MacGyver wasn't just a reoccurring joke on Saturday Night Live? Us either, really, but that doesn't seem to be stopping Hollywood from eyeing it as the next television-to-movie adaptation. Gizmodo reports that series creator Lee David Zlotoff has announced preparations for a new MacGyver film. MacGyver's been in retirement since his 1994 television movie, MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday. The new film is said to be big budget, with Zlotoff in full control of the property after its film rights confusingly ended up back in his hands. While we have no idea when the project will take no shape,... read more
Luke Wilson gets miraculous as Henry Poole
It's been a while since we heard from Luke Wilson. Lately, media attention has been (unfortunately) focused on his older brother, and Luke's behind-the-camera debut, The Wendell Baker Story, was a certified box-office flop. Of course, none of this makes any of the three Wilson brothers (oldest Wilson bro Andrew co-directed Wendell Baker) less talented or watch-worthy. And Luke is poised to make a big-screen comeback with his latest movie, the miracle fable Henry Poole is Here. The family-friendly film, co-starring (random alert!) Radha Mitchell, Cheryl Hines and George Lopez, centers on the morbidly depressed Henry Poole (Wilson), who moves... read more
Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Collette in Mendes/Eggers film
Question: How do you live up to a legacy like American Beauty? Answer: Cast as many great actors as possible. The forthcoming, still-officially-untitled Sam Mendes-directed movie, penned by McSweeney's helmsman Dave Eggers and wife Vendela Vida (co-editor of The Believer), has attracted a new cast member. Maggie Gyllenhaal will play the role originally claimed by actress Toni Collette in the Focus Features film, recently vacated by Collette becuase of scheduling delays, Variety reports. Filming recently began in Connecticut on the romantic comedy, which will star actors John Krasinski of The Office and Maya Rudolph of SNL fame, and explores a... read more
Go Getter to feature Zooey Deschanel, Jena Malone, more
By now, you’ve probably (hopefully!) listened to She & Him and thought to yourself, “I wonder about the serendipitous events that brought Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward together to make such sweet, sweet music.” Your answer? Just like most L.A.-borne collaborations, they met on a film set. Martin Hynes wrote and directed said film, The Go Getter, which will be opening on June 7 in L.A. and NYC. Rumor has it that it will be available to the rest of us commonfolk sometime in August. An Official Selection at Sundance 2007, The Go Getter runs at 93 minutes and is... read more
Constellation Hydra reveals Tom Waits summer tour dates
Earlier this morning, Tom Waits unveiled his upcoming Glitter and Doom Tour across the South, from Phoenix to Atlanta. Cities like El Paso, Tulsa, Jacksonville and Mobile might seem like random pit-stops for his traveling carnival, but he begs to differ. “Frankly, there’s absolutely nothing that’s random about it,” the world’s fourth best living songwriter said in the greatest YouTube sketch since those adorable sky-diving puppies. “Think about it, from the beginning of time, we’ve all looked to the night sky for guidance and meaning. I mean, how did the magi find the Christ child in the manger?” Watch the... read more
Gervais and Co. make progress on This Side of the Truth
Ricky Gervais is a demanding director. He’s a man of all seasons who likes his scenes fresh and his wasabe strong. Yet he has a more refined side, too; he drinks milky tea and prefers dishes that used to have less legs rather than more. The crabs somewhere around week eight just didn’t cut it. What’ll Mr. Gervais be having this evening? Why, chicken and ‘mash. It does a body good. “I consider Gervais a handsome man because he gives people rides in horse-drawn carriages,” co-star John Hodgman writes on the blog for Gervais' directorial debut, This Side of the... read more
J.J. Abrams: Star Trek film for fans of movies, not Star Trek
J.J. Abrams says his forthcoming Star Trek prequel will appeal to fans of movies, though not necessarily to fans of the long-running television and movie franchise. In an interview with the Associated Press, the Cloverfield producer said the feasibility of any future Star Trek films may depend on attracting a new generation of fans to the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) was a resounding box office flop, a fate Abrams hopes to avoid when his Star Trek hits theaters in 2009 by returning to the series’ roots. Of course, he'll also toss in a few special... read more
Kidman, Cunningham reunite for Dusty Springfield biopic
Perhaps motion picture studios have icon databases that remind them whenever the significant anniversary of an important artist’s death is on the horizon. Almost 10 years after British, blonde-beehived legend Dusty Springfield passed on from cancer, both Fox 2000 and Universal have biopics in the works. Vulture revealed last week that The Hours author Michael Cunningham is hammering out the script for Fox, which has cast a previous conduit for his Pulitzer prize-winning words, Nicole Kidman, as the soulful singer herself. Kidman, of course, demonstrated her pop-standard abilities in Moulin Rouge. As for what else will be asked of her... read more
Spike Lee to collaborate with filmmakers for Nokia project
Spike Lee will direct a film comprised entirely of footage, text and music submitted by everyday people, Reuters reports. The latest Lee joint will focus on the way music tells the story of humanity, and will be constructed in three acts. Lee is helming the as-yet-untitled film for Nokia Productions as a collaborative effort that may push the boundaries of user-generated content past YouTube territory into uncharted waters. Lee and Nokia are asking aspiring filmmakers around the world to shoot the entire film, as well as compose its music, capture its images and write its text. Each month, an “assignment”... read more
Yo La Tengo soundtracks Superbad director's new film
Lost amidst all of the teen lust overdrive of director Greg Mottola's Superbad was a pretty killer soundtrack, which boasted prime slices of vintage soul, classic rock and The Rapture. But Mottola might have outdone himself with his next project, the amusement park-bound comedy Adventureland. Supplying the tunes for the film will be none other than the mighty Yo La Tengo. Apparently, the veteran indie-rock trio is getting deeper into movies. Its film credits before this project include composition work for Junebug and Old Joy, both of which happened to feature Will Oldham as an actor. Oldham isn't appearing in... read more
Common set to release Invincible Summer on June 24
Common, the man who once announced to the world that he was music, is back with some more...wait for it...music. Entitled Invincible Summer, the album hits stores on June 24, just in time for the last long stretch of summer. The MC recently spoke to Billboard.com about the album, saying, "I created this music for the summer time, it's about feeling good. This is the type of music I felt was missing from my body of work." Invincible will feature an array of artists that include Cee-Lo (of Gnarls Barkley) and super-hyped/super-awesome newcomer Santogold. No word currently on what's... read more
Cross, Oswalt, more coming soon to Heckler DVD
“Why don’t you make like a Kennedy and die young!” The strangled cry comes from the back of a comedy club in Saskatchewan, Canada directed at a taken-aback Jamie Kennedy onstage. Kennedy responds with the astute point that “I came to this show in a limousine. You came behind 12 Siberian huskies.” The scene is the opening to the trailer of Kennedy’s new documentary Heckler which takes on the heckler in all its forms. In the film, which has been making the rounds of festivals for the past several months, Kennedy strikes back at not only the live-show heckler, but... read more
ThinkFilm buys rights to Roman Polanski doc
ThinkFilm has bought the domestic theatrical and DVD rights to the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired from HBO, Variety reports. Filmmaker Marina Zenovich’s documentary was one of the most buzzed-about pictures at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, sparking a bidding war that ended in one of the festival’s first big sales. As previously reported, HBO Documentary Films purchased the film Jan. 20 for nearly $1 million only two days after the festival began, and The Weinstein Company snapped up international rights soon after. Zenovich’s film chronicles the life of Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski, a life with more... read more
Demetri Martin in talks for Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock
You may know Demetri Martin from his "Trendspotting" segment on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart where he serves as the Youth Correspondent, covering such “youthy” topics as text-messaging, the Internet and credit card debt. Martin's segments report on trends like the term “Youthquake” used liberally by various television anchors to describe young voters influencing the 2008 election. The comedian is now in negotiations for the starring role in Ang Lee’s next film, Taking Woodstock. As previously reported, the film takes a fresh look at the often chronicled festival. Lee has teamed up with James Schamus again—the duo created Brokeback... read more
Hold Steady, Breeders, more dive into JellyNYC's pool
JellyNYC’s wildly popular Pool Party concert series is back this summer, featuring a stellar lineup of artists including MGMT, The Hold Steady, Black Lips and the Breeders. This summer, JellyNYC and Helio will host a free concert from 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. every Sunday at New York City’s McCarren Pool. Revelers can hula-hoop, Slip ’n’ Slide, swim and sunbathe, all while enjoying the music of Aesop Rock, Deerhunter or the Ting Tings. More than 50,000 people attended last year’s parties, and even more are expected this year. Dates and additional bands will be announced soon. Although admission is free,... read more
The Cure announces monthly singles, new album and tour
In a world where one can collect many worthy things—stamps, Coke cans, baseball cards—why not collect The Cure? In anticipation of its September 13 release, the band has opted to release a single for the 13th of each month leading up to its 13th studio album, which comes on Sept. 13th. That’s right, expect four exclusive singles with b-sides in the coming months and then a whole new album. So far the singles have only been announced for May and June. “The Only One” will include the b-side “NY Trip.” On June 13, the band will release “Freakshow,” including the... read more
Tom Wolfe's Charlotte Simmons heading to the big screen
Tom Wolfe's 2005 novel, I Am Charlotte Simmons (Picador), about an innocent country girl facing the comparative social wilds of an American college, will get its chance to shock theater audiences when music video director Liz Friedlander takes all its scandalous content to full-length feature format next year. The last book the newspaper reporter-turned-bestselling author optioned for film was 1987's The Bonfire of the Vanities. Freidlander's previous directorial credits include episodes of One Tree Hill, 2006's Antonio Banderas-led Take The Lead and a segment in Blink 182: Greatest Hits, as well as music videos for the likes of U2. John... read more
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