Andy Harries, producer of The Damned United, is planning a movie based around the schoolchildren who sang on the 1979 Pink Floyd track "Another Brick in the Wall," and their maverick teacher. His pretty-good one-sentence selling point? "It's Dead Poets Society meets School of Rock." The producer has thus far optioned the life story of the aforementioned music teacher - who arrived at a London public school in the seventies, had his class sing "Another Brick in the Wall," and subsequently got fired - and Steve Thompson is writing the script for BBC Films. However, "Harries admits he hasn't got the rights to the song yet," which seems pretty vital here. [Deadline]
Filtered By:
Music Get RSS
New Jersey-born pop punks My Chemical Romance released their new album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys last week - the very same week Kanye West released his beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy, so the band isn't expecting to hit number one on the billboard charts: "I think it's almost in the cards for us to be number two," Gerard Way told the Hollywood Reporter. "We've never been number one. We got our ass kicked by Miley Cyrus last time, back when nobody knew who she was. It was [a disappointment] at the time because I felt like we'd worked towards [being number one] and it felt like it was in the cards. We expected it - like, who can beat us? A lip syncing child, that's who!" Now, the band has chilled out about all that: "Who cares? Somebody once brought up Glee - like, would that bum me out [to be played on Glee]? I say, why get bummed about that? It's like the radio. I don't watch the show, but I know it would be funny." That would be kind of funny, but only if it were their early work. [HR]
Willie Nelson was charged with marijuana possession after six ounces of weed was found aboard his tour bus at a checkpoint in Texas yesterday. Patrol spokesman Bill Brooks said an officer smelled weed when the bus door swung open for a second. Nelson, 77, who recently told us he prefers to smoke with a vaporizer, admitted the marijuana was his and was held briefly before posting a $2,500 bond. A court date has yet to be set, though the singer could face up to 180 days in county jail, according to a local sheriff. That scenario's extremely unlikely, but commence the "Free Willie!" campaigns anyway. [NYT, El Paso Times]
Axl Rose is suing Activision, the makers of Guitar Hero, for $20 million, saying the company broke an agreement not to include Slash's likeness in Guitar Hero III. Rose claims that he agreed to license "Welcome to the Jungle" to Activision on the condition that Slash's image appear nowhere in the game. Slash appears, and so Rose is now suing, having filed a lawsuit that states, "[Activision] began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and [Velvet Revolver] prominently in GH III but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N' Roses and the band's song 'Welcome to the Jungle.'" At least Rose is not yet suing everyone who associates Slash's image with Guns N' Roses, because then he would be suing everyone in the whole world. [Esq./HR via ArtsBeat/NYT]
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on Recording Kanye’s Dark Fantasy
By Logan HillThe most unlikely collaborator on Kanye West’s new album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy also ended up on nearly half the songs. This meant Bon Iver’s bearded singer-songwriter-producer Justin Vernon would spend more time onstage than any other guest at last night's New York concert. His voice is the first thing you hear on the album’s first track, "Dark Fantasy” and the closer, “Lost in the World,” is based on Bon Iver’s “Woods." We spoke with Vernon about how he and Kanye hooked up, and life in the studio.
"I said, 'Oh, cool, I'll come out to Hawaii, it sounds fun.'"
Kanye West Attacks Taylor Swift, Defends George Bush in Brilliant Debut Performance of New Album
By Logan HillPhoto: Walik Goshorn / Retna Ltd.
Last night at 1 a.m., Kanye West took the Bowery Ballroom stage in front of Diddy, Q-Tip, his pal Aziz Ansari, and a gaggle of music bloggers and writers for a valedictory lap for his Pitchfork-ed ten-of-ten, Rolling Stone-ed five-star, endlessly raved new album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The staging was simple: Bright flashing lights bursting behind West, so bright that they gave a new spin to the album’s obsession with turning the lights on his dark side.
"Taylor never came to my defense in any interview, and rode the waves."
Kanye Totally Weirds Rihanna Out
By Willa PaskinKanye West interviewed Rihanna for the cover story of the forthcoming issue of Interview, and despite the fact that the two of them know each other and have collaborated on songs, he totally manages to weird her out. For good reason. Check it out.
Kanye: So what inspired you to have that pink tank on your last tour? That was amazing, when you were sitting on top of the army tank. Rihanna: I love to combine femininity with a kind of extreme masculine egde, and I felt like the tank is just not a typical thing that you think of when you think of a girl — or in any kind of relation to a girl. Then we made it hot pink. We just added that touch. Kanye: I mean, people really need to see a photograph — the entire tank was pink. That was a great piece of commercial pop art. Was the idea of that to kind of portray an American Dream — like the fantasy of a this hot black girl sitting on a top of a pink tank? Rihanna: I never actually thought of it like that. Kanye: How does it feel to know that you could have any man in the world. Or woman. How does it feel to know that you can turn straight women gay? Rihanna: Is that a real question? Kanye: Yeah. Rihanna: Well … Thank you. I don’t know how to feel about that. I guess that’s flattering. Kanye: But just to have that level of power. How do deal with it? No one woman should have that much power.
And there's more!
As Pitchfork points out this morning, the track list for Jay-Z's new greatest-hits compilation is strictly beginners-only: "Public Service Announcement," "Run This Town," "Encore," "I Just Wanna Love U," "Bonnie & Clyde," "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "99 Problems," "Empire State of Mind," "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," "Hard Knock Life," "Show Me What You Got," "Roc Boys," and "Big Pimpin." Please! Where's "Brooklyn's Finest"? And "Takeover"? And "22 Two's"? If you'd been in charge of summarizing the Jiggaman's career on a standard 80-minute compact disc, which tracks would you have included, and in what order?
Nicki Minaj and Rihanna: Acting Out vs. Staying Private
By Nitsuh AbebeNicki Minaj and Rihanna at the American Music Awards. Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images (l) and MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images (r)
Nicki Minaj is a very good rapper, and over the past few years she's used mixtapes and guest appearances to let everybody know it. Both formats suit her, the same way sketch comedy suits some actors better than leading roles. She's funny, and surprising, and sometimes she leaps from voice to voice with showy speed — a Barbie-inspired chirp gets followed by a Caribbean growl, following which she's just a tough girl from Queens, following which she's English, or crazy, or an evil twin she calls "Roman Zolanski." That range leaves her sounding unhinged and dominating at the same time, which is usually a fun combination. More important, it turns one of the obstacles to her work — being a woman in a job almost exclusively done by men — into an opportunity. The average male emcee doesn't have access to the same number of poses Minaj does: She can roar and spit the way her peers do, but they can't necessarily bat their eyes and drop into coy, teasing voices like she can. Sometimes, next to Minaj, they seem a little penned in by their own masculinity, while she can perform any role she likes — right down to the Day-Glo wigs, bizarro fashion, and Betty Boop facial expressions that have endeared her to the pop world.
Leaked: Daft Punk’s Tron Score Won’t Be Playing Much at Our House
By Lane BrownDaft Punk, Tron: Legacy
Official release date: December 7
The Verdict: You'd better sit down for this (you won't be dancing anyway): Daft Punk's massively anticipated soundtrack for Tron: Legacy, which found its way online last night, doesn't sound much like a Daft Punk album. Despite early snippets that made it seem like more of the same from the French disco robots, it's mostly a (completely appropriately!) serious-faced orchestral score with sinister strings and occasional loud, farting brass (maybe DP performed an inception on Hans Zimmer). So it's fine for what it is, but don't put it on at a party.
Kanye West Is Nothing Like Quincy Jones, Says Quincy Jones
By Willa PaskinAnd, should you ever speak with Quincy Jones, suggest otherwise only at your own risk. The legendary producer set the record straight regarding their lack of similarities while speaking to a reporter who said, not so inaccurately, "West is similar to you in that he's the producer everybody wants to work with in the last decade ... " Jones interrupted,
"How man? No way. Did he write for a symphony orchestra? Does he write for a jazz orchestra? Come on, man. He's just a rapper. There's no comparison. I'm not putting him down or making a judgement or anything, but we come from two different sides of the planet. I spent 28 years learning my first skill. I don't rap. It's not the same thing. A producer has to have some sort of skills that enable him to be a producer. It's totally different to know what to do with 16 woodwinds you know from piccolos down to bass clarinet. It's a whole different mindset. No comparison. None."
America's favorite mop top cleaned up at the AMAs on Sunday with four awards, including Entertainer of the Year, but by last night people weren't so thrilled about his success: Conan's audience booed a mere mention of the pop star's name, and the Wrap speculated that Bieber may have been to blame for the awards show's worst ratings ever. Are these just cynical media types hating on kids today, or has the Bieb's audience already outgrown him? And what does this all mean for Greyson Chance?
PSA for New York City residents, or those who can be here by 10 p.m. tonight: Kanye is playing a show this evening at the Bowery Ballroom. Tickets go on sale at noon, for $100 a pop. You know what to do. [Ticketmaster]
The Times' notoriously tough book critic gives Hova's book a rave in today's paper: "Decoded is a compelling puzzlelike collage ... that places rap in a social and political context ... and underscores how the pressures of Jay-Z's former life as a dealer honed his gifts as a writer, including a survivor's sense of character, an observer's eye for detail and a hustler's penchant for wordplay." And it even made her look closer at Jay's lyrics on the whole: "Decoded highlights the richly layered, metaphoric nature of the author's own rhymes (even those about guns and girls and bling often turn out to have hidden meanings, stashed like 'Easter eggs' in the weeds)." Wow. He has truly won over everyone now. [NYT via NYO]
This Weekend’s Concerts, From Justin Bieber to Frankie Valli
This wasn't the only important live-music event of the weekend, luckily. In today's concert roundup, photos of shows from Bear in Heaven, Free Energy, A-Ha, Justin Bieber, Frankie Valli, Adam Lambert, The Walkmen, Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Black Eyed Peas. Click through, and enjoy.
Advertising
Most Commented
Daily Intel
Last 72 Hours
- 1. President Obama's Seemingly Casual Thanksgiving Basketball Game Ends With Twelve Stitches22
- 2. Bush’s Book is No. 1 — Not That You’d Know It by Going to New York’s Independent Booksellers19
- 3. Teen Arrested After Plotting to Bomb Portland Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony17
- 4. Adorable Things This Holiday Season, Part One15
- 5. Cathie Black To Become City Schools Chancellor After All, With Help From Shael Polakow-Suransky12
Vulture
Last 72 Hours
- 1. Willie Nelson Charged With Marijuana Possession in Texas24
- 2. Looks Like Bella and Edward's Most Passionate Scene Will Be Filmed, After All9
- 3. How Gratuitous Is Anne Hathaway’s Nudity in Love and Other Drugs?9
- 4. Wesley Snipes Surrenders in Advance of Three-Year Prison Term7
- 5. Kanye West Attacks Taylor Swift, Defends George Bush, in Brilliant Debut Performance of New Album6
Grub Street
Last 72 Hours
The Cut
Last 72 Hours
- 1. The Spanish Princess Wore a Brown Velvet Suit11
- 2. Reports: Stella McCartney Is in Labor6
- 3. The Fashion Show Recap: In Which One Man Attempts to Sacrifice Himself So That a More Deserving Candidate Can Enjoy Further Reality-Television Humiliation6
- 4. Models Sue Next for Ripping Them Off5
- 5. Karl Lagerfeld to Design for Macy’s5
- Monday
- The Event, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother
- Tuesday
- Glee, The Fashion Show, The Good Wife
- Wednesday
- America's Next Top Model, Modern Family
- Saturday
- Saturday Night Live
- On Hiatus:
- 24, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Big Love, Breaking Bad, Californication, Caprica, The City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, FlashForward, Friday Night Lights, Fringe, Jersey Shore, Kell on Earth, Lone Star, Lost, Mad Men, NYC Prep, Parks and Recreation, Party Down, The Rachel Zoe Project, The Real Housewives of DC, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, The Real Housewives of New York City, Rescue Me, Rubicon, Survivor,Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, Treme, True Blood, V, Work of Art
Opening This Week
The Projectionist-
Watch the slideshow Eight Ways to Spin Off the Harry Potter Movie Franchise
-
Watch the slideshow From the Speed Bus to the Better Off Dead Paperboy: 10 Other Unstoppable Forces
-
Watch the slideshow Meet the Second Generation of Judd Apatow Protégés
-
Watch the slideshow The Best and Worst Movie Posters of 2010
Masthead
- Entertainment Editor
- Josh Wolk
- Deputy Entertainment Editor
- Lane Brown
- West Coast Editor
- Josef Adalian
- West Coast Editor
- Claude Brodesser-Akner
- Movie Editor
- Kyle Buchanan
- TV Editor
- Willa Paskin
- Assistant Editors
- Amos Barshad, Edith Zimmerman
Advertisement
From Our Partners
Filter By
People
More SlideshowsPeople
More Interviews-
Watch the slideshow Irrfan Khan Talks About His In Treatment Patient, and Why He Walked Out on a Real Therapist
-
Watch the slideshow Boardwalk Empire’s Dabney Coleman on His Career of Playing Hall of Fame Assholes