Move over Zooey Deschanel and Scarlett Johansson—Joaquin Phoenix would like to join you in the actor-singer clubhouse. Phoenix is
making an album with Tim Burgess of Charlatans UK (which, in case you didn’t know, is still a fairly big band in England). Burgess has this to say about his actor-buddy’s rock acumen: “Once he learned guitar [in preparation for his role as Johnny Cash in
Walk The Line], he found that he had quite a lot of demons inside himself that he wanted to expel through music.” Alan McGee, former head of Creation Records, is also assisting in the studio, but no title or release date has been announced—in fact, Burgess also says of the project, “It’s an ongoing thing. I’m trying to get Alan to force [Phoenix] to put it out at the moment, but I don’t know whether it will [get released].”
The CW has announced its fall line-up and it's... familiar. (The grid at the bottom of this
Variety article doesn't exactly pop with new material, does it?) New shows include
Surviving The Filthy Rich (previously
How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls). It sounds like a natural extension of
Gossip Girl just as
Stylista sounds like a natural extension of
America's Next Top Model. (Think
Top Model only set at
Elle.) Oh, and then there's
90210, the zip code that summons up nostalgia for sideburns and... wait. Why did we like that show the first time around?
Reaper will return at mid-season.
Also: One Tree Hill is still on. As is Smallville. Sometimes the brain's dead but the body doesn't know to lie down, does it?
Rapper Remy Ma (a.k.a. Reminisce Smith, Remy Martin, and Shesus Khryst) has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for shooting a friend last July. Oops.
XXL has a detailed account, including an apparent
attempt by rapper fiancé Papoose to slip Ma a skeleton key on their wedding day, scotching plans for the their Rikers Island nuptials.
Ah, Chicago. Home to the nation’s highest sales tax for a city its size. The place where you can’t eat foie gras. Where you have to pay extra when drinking water from a plastic bottle. When it comes to sticking it to its residents, the Windy City can’t be beat.
So, in keeping with tradition, Chicago’s City Council votes tomorrow on an “Event Promoters ordinance" that will enact strict requirements for live music, theater, comedy, and whatever else in the city. Among the requirements:
• Promoters must have a license from the city to host the event and have $300,000 in liability insurance.
• "Promoter" = virtually anyone who sets up a show in Chicago, thanks to the loose definition in the ordinance.
• The license will set you back $500-$2,000, depending on expected audience size.
• If you want a license, you have to be over 21. Oh, and you’ll need to be fingerprinted, submit to a background check, and who knows what else.
• If your venue has 500 or more permanent seats, you’re exempt. Sorry small venues!
• Police must be informed at least seven days in advance.
The ordinance was pushed through city council with no input from... read more
News is starting to leak out from official and unofficial channels about next year's fall TV schedule. (As usual,
Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood column has done an excellent job serving as a first responder for the news.) Here's a summary of how things stand now.
ABC:
ABC held its big upfronts presentation today unveiling a fall schedule full of shows you saw last year. (No, not Cavemen.) Apart from the David E. Kelley-produced version of the BBC hit Life On Mars (in which a cop wakes up in the wrong decade and has to figure out what he's doing there), most the action hits at mid-season, which sees the addition of Scrubs (making the move from NBC), an untitled Tyra Banks/Ashton Kutcher reality show project (at last!), some game show called Opportunity Knocks, The Goode Family a Mike Judge animated series.
NBC:
NBC announced its fall schedule a few weeks ago, using upfronts week to confirm Jimmy Fallon as the new host of Late Night. For those who missed it, major additions include a Christian Slater series called My Own Worst Enemy, (readers, I'll let you... read more
