MUSIC/ WINEHOUSE IN SURPRISE PUB GIG IN LONDON: Singer Amy Winehouse has made a low-key return to the stage in a surprise performance at her local pub in London. The 27-year-old played an impromptu set of 6 songs during a monthly charity club night at the Hawley Arms in Camden. The 150-capacity pub heard Winehouse sing "Tears Dry On Their Own," the Specials cover "A Message to You" and some new material. It was her 1st full performance since a slew of festival appearances in 2008. Izzy Lawrence, who runs the Apocalypstick club night, said that Winehouse just turned up at the pub. "Amy just whispered to me, 'I know I'm not on the line up but do you mind if I play?'" she said. "Obviously I wasn't going to say no and she got up and played and it was amazing." Winehouse is currently working on songs for her forthcoming follow-up to her successful 2006 record "Back To Black". Ms Lawrence gave a positive reaction to the star's new tracks: "It sounds great, it's quite upbeat, quite funky, very soulful. I think this is going to be massive. If those songs are going to be on the new album, it's going to be huge," she said. The monthly club night places big acts alongside up and coming musicians.
MUSIC/ LADY A RELEASING HOLIDAY EP: Lady Antebellum plans to record its 3rd album in 2011, but before that it has a holiday present planned for its fans. The crossover country trio will release a 6 song EP, entitled "A Merry Little Christmas," next Tuesday, exclusively through Target stores. The set will feature 5 holiday favorites, including a rendition of "Silver Bells," and 1 new song, "On This Winter's Night." The latter was co-written by Tom Douglas, who also collaborated on past Lady Antebellum singles "I Run to You" and "Hello World." Lady Antebellum is currently pushing "Hello World," the 4th single from its double-platinum sophomore album, "Need You Now," and is in the midst of its 1st ever headlining tour. The tour is scheduled to end on November 20. The trio will also perform at the CMA Awards on November 10 in Nashville, where it's up for 5 trophies.
FILM/ TONY CURTIS LAID TO REST: The chapel at Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas overflowed yesterday with more than 400 well-wishers, friends, fans, family members and media representatives at the funeral service for film legend Tony Curtis. Curtis died last Wednesday night at age 85 after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Henderson. The star sampling of those in attendance reflected Curtis' lengthy and universally acclaimed career as an actor and artist. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Curtis' daughter Jamie Lee Curtis, impressionist Rich Little, longtime Las Vegas comic Steve Rossi, and Robert Goulet's widow, Vera, paid tribute to Curtis. "He was a a true movie star in every sense of the word and he loved every minute of it," Curtis widow Jill Vandenberg Curtis said in her moving and spirited eulogy. " The 2 were together for 16 years and married for 12. "He was once asked if it was difficult being with such a young women," Jill Curtis said. "He answered, 'Well, if she dies, she dies.' " Jamie Lee Curtis recalled that the family convened Sunday night and performed their best impressions of Curtis. "No matter what the question is," Curtis said, "the answer is love. Remember that in my father's memory." A film montage titled, "An Affair With Tony Curtis" played at the start of the program. Curtis wa buried with with a melange of his favorite possessions-a Stetson hat, an Armani scarf, driving gloves, an iPhone and a copy of his favorite novel, "Anthony Adverse," a book that inspired his celebrity name. A private celebration of Curtis' life and career was set for today the Luxor.
Just a couple of days after the release of "Hatchet II," the AMC Theatre chain has pulled the unrated slasher sequel from all of the cinemas that were showing the movie. “We woke up this morning and the movie was gone,” said director Adam Green. “I’m bewildered and confused.” Green had earlier said that AMC volunteered to exhibit an unrated version of "Hatchet II" after the MPAA declined to give the movie an R rating “It turns out the people who make the decisions at AMC were big fans of the original "Hatchet" and loved the sequel,” the director said at the time. “I think the quote was that they thought it was the best slasher sequel they’d ever seen.” The decision by AMC to exhibit an unrated film attracted a lot of attention in the media, as did Green’s attacks on the MPAA, which included his assertion that it was an “evil” organization. Green now speculates this may have been the reason why the chain pulled his movie, which stars Kane Hodder as a swamp-dwelling homicidal maniac named Victor Crowley. A spokesperson for AMC confirmed "Hatchet II" had been pulled from all of the company’s screens, and issued the following written statement: “At AMC theaters, we review all films in all of our theatres every week and then make our business decisions based on their performance.”
It’s official: Zack Snyder will direct the Warner Bros. revival of "Superman," the first and most famous costumed superhero of them all. The director of “300” and “Watchmen” will work side-by-side with producers Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, the tandem that pulled the Batman character back toward cinematic credibility with the films “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” the latter grossing more than $1 billion at theaters worldwide. David S. Goyer (“Batman Begins”) is writing the script and shares the story credit with Nolan. The 44 year old Snyder sounded thrilled over the phone. “I feel awesome,” he said before correcting himself. “I feel super awesome.”
TV/ CHO CELEBRATES PRIDE ON "DWTS": While she landed at the bottom of the pack in scoring on last night's "Dancing With The Stars," Margaret Cho made a statement with her partner, Louis van Amstel, dancing in a purposefully rainbow colored dress and calling her samba a coming out. Their dance to “Copacabana,” however, confused the judges, including Len, who said he didn’t understand the story behind the dance. “The story is about having pride while people are criticizing you,” Cho explained. “Keep waving it, girl. Good for you, but I think you lost your way at the Copa,” Bruno said. “Too many drinks for you.” Backstage, Cho, who though married, is bisexual, explained that the pair’s dance was inspired by recent events in society, specifically involving gay teens who were victims of bullying, sometimes with tragic consequences.
TV/ NEW SEASON OF "CATCH" SET TO LENS: Will Discovery bring in its missing "Deadliest Catch" captains? As filming is set to begin next week on the show's 7th season, the network issued a statement yesterday revealing that the Cornelia Marie, the fishing boat captained by the late Phil Harris, will return this season with sons Josh and Jake Harris on board as deckhands. But absent from the statement were popular "Catch" co-stars Capts. Sig Hansen and Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand, who quit the Emmy-nominated reality series last week in the wake of a $3 million lawsuit Discovery filed against the Hillstrands for allegedly failing to complete work on a planned spinoff special. Discovery, Hansen and the Hillstrands all have declined to comment since the "Catch" co-stars said last week that they were "unable" to continue with the show due to "the current situation with Discovery." The silence suggests the 2 sides are at least talking about a possible settlement of the lawsuit that would pave the way for the trio to return to the show. But the clock is ticking because the last of the "Catch" boats is scheduled to leave for Dutch Harbor, Alaska, by October 15 to take advantage of king crab season in the Bering Sea. Ratings for the show's 6th season were way up from Season 5, with a record 8.5 million viewers tuning into a July episode featuring Harris' on-camera death.
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