Broken Scenster Kevin Drew Preps Solo Album For September

Not a week ago we were remembering Broken Social Scene's excellent contributions to the film "Half Nelson" (and the upcoming projects the filmmakers were going to tackle next) and now we've finally got the word on Social Scener Kevin Drew's solo album that we discussed about a month back (along with many of the related Social film scores).

Much to our surprise, the Social Scene series idea that Drew first told us about back in our MTV News days in February 2006, came to pass. The album is called Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew, Spirit If and is set for release September 18.

Our surprise was not unwarranted; BSS plans are notoriously fickle and no one was really sure what idea they would stick with. Drew admitted as much in the aforementioned MTV interview.

However, like all of their ever-evolving schemes, Drew warns that it could all change at a moment's notice. "We always do this — we put our feet in our mouths and regret it later. Then all of a sudden people are like, 'Solo records!' - via MTV.

Recorded over the last two years during tours at Broken/Do Make Say Think member Ohad Benchetrit house, Spirit If was produced by Drew, Benchetrit, and longtime BSS/Do Make collaborator Charles Spearin. Next up in the series is Social Scene bassist Brendan Canning who is currently recording his solo disc that will see a release sometime in early 2008.

According to a publicist for the band the album will address Drew's favorite topics: "fucking, fighting, fearing and hope." The core Social Scene group Drew, Canning and drummer Justin Peroff will tour the record in September with a new cast of characters performing songs from the album, plus songs from the upcoming series.

Broken Social Scene have practically two albums of unreleased material that they've amassed over the years, so we thought we'd post some BSS rarities to mark the occasion. You never know, one of these might be on this Social Scene Series.

Watch: "Where's Your Heart" (unreleased track)
Watch: Broken Social Scene w/J.Mascis - "Feel The Pain"
PS. Incidentally, the new Stars record is called In Our Bedroom After The War and is due in September according to an article in the Toronto Star, but with Kevin's record coming out that month, we bet release will get pushed to late October/early November. Update: The album has been pushed to early October according to a publicist for the band.

Unsolicited Opinion: How The Sopranos Will End

There's a ton of guesses over at Vulture from marginally to well- informed folks in the entertainment industry on how the Sopranos finale will conclude.

Without having read them, here how we think it will end:

Tony DOESN’T die, however many of those around him including his family members (likely AJ) do. His crew is essentially demolished, his family is decimated by tragedy and what’s left of it leaves him.

He is left alone, the last man standing, either on the run, or at a moral crossroads of what he should do next.
And then it ends. And that’s all the closure we're allowed.

Ok, that's pretty damn vague, obviously, but I'm not Nostradamus and about to guess wildly at plot details. But I really don't think the Feds are going to have much to do with the conclusion or any straws that break anyone's back. Tony is selfish as fuck and many are speculating that he'll rat out to the federalos to save his skin, but we think that's too weak and thin.

Whatever happens, don't expect Paulie Walnuts to EVER end up a snitch or bitch informant. There is apparently a clause in actor Tony Sirico's contract that stipulates he will NEVER play a rat on the show (the Brooklyn born actor who plays Walnuts, apparently lived a shady and real life of crime back in the 1960's).

Here's the Cliff Notes on the entire saga in seven minutes if you want a nice, albeit fast, recap.
*Updates*: Whoa, Will Leitch's theory at Vulture is fantastic and very probable.
"It's been so much fun watching people guess how this show is going to end. And that's been going on for years," Stevie Van Zandt aka Silvio Dante told MTV News in a piece where both he and Bobby stay mum. "And this week, it's even more crazy. When Silvio got shot this week, Bruce and [the rest of the E. Street Band] were watching it. I got a lot of sympathy calls this week. I gotta get shot more often."

The Wall Street Journal is speculating on what song the Sopranos producers will close their finale with. Their guess? Nick Lowe's "The Beast In Me" which was used in the 1999 premiere.

Download: A3 - “Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix)” [aka the Sopranos Theme]

Gus Van Sant's Mala Noche Returns

Gus Van Sant's little-seen first movie is showing at the IFC Center. We're excited. It's been MIA for years. Here's the trailer. Criterion hints that they will have the DVD later this year.

Update: Gus Van Sant will direct the adaptation of Tom Wolfe's '60s hallucinogenic classic "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test." The story of a cross-country road trip that "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" author Ken Kesey orchestrated with his group, the Merry Pranksters, Van Sant has been a longtime fan: he cast Kesey in 1993's "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues," and dedicated 2002's "Gerry" to Kesey, who died the year before.

Rewind: "Out Of Sight" Soundtrack

In semi-celebration (or contextual excuse) of the frat-packers "Ocean's Thirteen" goofoff/finale, we thought we'd look back on David Holmes' first Stephen Soderbergh score for "Out Of Sight."

In contrast to his busy and snappy cool cats 'Ocean's' scores (a hip exotica concoction of sharp, well-dressed and whimsical beats tethered to deep funk cuts and groovy acid jazz), the 'Sight' score sports a slower, sexier groove; subtler and lush with chilled-out trip-hop flavors that were still de riguer at the time.

The soundtrack also featured classy swing tracks by Dean Martin, samba inflected tunes by Walter Wanderly and Mungo Santamaria (you'll recognize the oft-heard "Watermelon Man," classic) and funk by the Isley Brothers.

Here's the very memorable love scene between Clooney and Jennnifer Lopez; some fantastic time crosscutting in this scene.

The original trailer is here. The blog, I Am Fuel, You Are Friends wrote a bit more about the soundtrack last year (but the mp3 links are dead, fyi).

Download: David Holmes - "The Drive To Ripley's"
Download: David Holmes - "The Trunk Scene"
Download: Mongo Santamaría - "Watermelon Man"
Download: David Holmes - "Foley Part 2"

Musicians OnScreen: Edith Piaf, Chet Backer & Sammy Davis Jr.

How helpful of the New York Times, last weekend their movies section was loaded with musical movie related items. A piece about the new Edith Piaf film, a piece on the multiple Sammy Davis Jr. biopics (hello André 3000 and Denzel Washington) and an revisiting look at the 1987 documentary about hipster jazz icon Chet Baker.

Edith Piaf ("La Vie En Rose"):
"The line between fact and cliché has always been rather tenuous when it comes to movies about famous musicians, considering that so many have tread the same self-destructive path," the Times wrote in their piece on the film tracking the life of the legendary French chanteuse.
"I was actually more afraid at the prospect of playing a 47-year-old woman than an icon," "Lae Vie En Rose" star Marion Cotillard told Time Out. The director, Oliver Dahan said, "I don't believe a great artists has to be tormented," but added these qualities are what sometimes make them vulnerable and often, special. The story itself uses Piaf's cinematic biopic as a jumping point to discuss upcoming and past musical biopics; their success, their failures and their attempts on getting the story right (more on those later below).

Sammy Davis Jr. (Various):
"Seventeen years after he died of throat cancer, Sammy Davis Jr. is once again getting the entertainment world’s love he always craved," wrote the Times. They noted there are four Sammy Davis Jr. films in pre-production right now including one which will star Outkast's André 3000 (which will focus on his 1950's affair with Kim Novak and how the then-controversial romance was almost career-killing for them both) and one which will involve Denzel Washington (to what capacity they didn't say; we assume directorial or produce? Washington isn't much of a SDJr. look-alike). "Beyond the drug problems and his love affairs, [Davis's life] offers a vehicle to consider an American obsession: race," Times stringer Pat Broeske wrote.

The piece also notes the horse race to be first out of the gate: "Capote" came first and earned almost $30 million. The 2nd Truman Capote bio, "Infamous" was almost a year late and it barely cracked $1 million. Remember Oliver Stone's "Alexander"? Despite being horrifically awful, it effectively killed Baz Luhrmann's ("Moulin Rouge," "Romeo & Juliet") Alexander project.

Chet Baker ("Let's Get Lost"):
"The jazz musician Chet Baker, who wanders through the documentary 'Let’s Get Lost' with the eerie deliberateness of a somnambulist, appears to be a man who knows a thing or two about dreams," the Times posited. Bruce Weber's near-fetishized look at the ravaged heroin-addict jazzman had been M.I.A. for almost 14 years, but New York's Film Forum is now showing a restored print for a three-week stand. An interesting note about the docmentary is Baker's slipperness and apparently many apocryphal claims (he died falling out of an Amsterdam window, conveniently the same year the film was released). Noted Baker biographer Hal Galper ("Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker") calls Baker's lies an inversely illuminating portrait of the elusive romantic crooner. “I though it was great because it was so jive. Everybody’s lying, including Chet. You couldn’t have wanted a more honest reflection of him.”

The Roky Erikson doc that we went on at length about, "You're Gonna Miss Me," opens this weekend in select cities. The Guardian actually speaks to the 13th Floor Elevators frontman and gets a few monosyllabic mumbles out of him.

Download: Edith Piaf - "C'est Lui Que Mon Coeur A Choisi"
Download: Chet Baker - "It's Always You"

Two Three Fairly Marginal News Items Before Bed: Gilliam, Waits, McGee And Optimus Prime

- Formerly feted, now nearly-washed-up auteur Terry Gilliam will try and move beyond two consecutive failures ("The Brothers Grimm," "Tideland") with "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," a film that will apparently star Heath Ledger and the venerable booze pianist, Tom Waits. Where will the funding come from? An imaginary conglomerate of elves and leprechauns. [Film Ick]
- Alan McGee, the former head of Creation records that helped launch the careers of seminal acts, My Bloody Valentine, Oasis and the Jesus & Mary Chain, has closed the doors on his Poptones label in favor of yelling at 14-year-olds on Myspace via all-caps BULLETINS! [Drowned In Sound]
Megatron: [surprised] Prime.
Optimus Prime: One shall stand, one shall fall.
Megatron: Why throw away your life so recklessly?
Optimus Prime: That's a question you should ask YOURSELF, Megatron.
- Ok, so it's not news. Idolator points out a genius cinematic tip of the cap utilized in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights." Remember that scene where Marky Mark and John C. Reily are recording an amazing power ballad in the studio all hopped up on meth? A cockrock anthem they call, "You Got The Touch"? Well, it turns out that song is by Stan Bush and was originally used in the "Transformers The Movie" the original animated film. What an amazing, sly appropriation. [Idolator] Remember Orson Welles did the voice of Unicron? Officially, it was his final film credit before his death. Oh and here's the amazing, "The Touch" video.

Watch: "You Got The Touch" - From "Boogie Nights"

From The Director of Wet Hot American Summer: Ten

"Not to be a dick about this, but didn't I say this about three hours ago?" With Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, Rob Corddry and the director of "Wet Hot American Summer" (David Wain) and the co-creators of "The State," on board, "The Ten" looks like it can go the distance with any of the Judd Apatow vehicles this summer (though I must say we did not enjoy the State-related, "The Baxter," much). My friend Jim notes that the marginally different unrated trailer is on the movie's website.

Would The Owner Of A White Station Wagon Please Go F*** Yourself?

This is just too good not to post.

Sean Connery Says No To Indy 4; Other Movie Related Nonsense

- Remember when we reported that someone else had reported Sean Connery's tenuous involvement in the 4th Indiana Jones movie as Harrison Ford's father? Well, guess what? Sounds like Lucas and Spielberg are shit out of luck and Sean Connery would rather tan and eat grapes than hang out with those losers. Never say never? Oooooh, burnsauce. "I thought long and hard about it, but in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun," Connery wrote on the "Indiana Jones" website. George Lucas told Coming Soon a few weeks back, "If [Connery] doesn't do it, we'll do a quick rewrite." Amazing and laughable. The movie starts shooting later this month. Delete all references to Indy's dad, quick![Yahoo]
- Matt Damon might be done with the "Bourne" franchises, but that don't mean that he's done with director Paul Greengrass. Damon will star in the adaptation of "Imperial Life in the Emerald City,"a nonfiction novel about the day-to-day in Baghdad's Green Zone. [Variety]
- Why do we link to nerd cinema stories so much when it's a genre we basically loathe? Good question. Frank Miller says after a million years of production headaches and stalls that he himself can't even fathom, there will be a "Sin City 3," on top of the already-planned, "Sin City 2." See you in 2014. [MTV]

Watch: John Williams - "Indiana Jones Theme" (YouTube)

Ocean's 13 Soundtrack: If The Film Sucks David Holmes Will Still Slash The Seats

Film directors frequently have a regular cast of characters they choose from (see Christopher Guest, Wes Anderson, etc.) and many times they have a cast and crew they're fond of working with.

Steven Soderbergh is no different and the man seems to love Irish electronic producer David Holmes who has scored all the "Ocean's" films, plus "Out Of Sight" – Soderbergh's commercial breakthrough after a number of post critical breakthrough, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," flops (.

While the 'Ocean's' films are routinely criticized for being breezy and blithe, but vacuous (not an entirely off-the-mark censure), one of the trilogies consistently reliable trademarks are the impeccable taste of Holmes' scores. Utilizing a smorgasbord of hip sources, Holmes' loots, pilfers and sample from nimble spy films, groovy Italian soundtracks and obscuro Euro-disco to create an assured hybrid of chic instrumentals that brilliantly underscore the characters effortless cool, easy-going jocularity and flawless style (Holmes draws on influences like Ennio Morricone, Quincy Jones, Serge Gainsbourg, Roland Vincent and Lalo Schiffrin to name just a few).
Holmes 1995 classic, This Film's Crap Let's Slash the Seats, received a lot of critical acclaim at the time and the ambient, soundtracky moods of the film quickly found him work in the world of movie scores. Soon thereafter the track "No Man's Land" from 'Seats' was used in the score to Darren Aronofsky's 1998 debut, "PI." The same year, Jersey Films (Danny Devito's production company) comissioned Holmes to compose the "Out Of Sight" score. The 2001 Ocean's Eleven soundtrack also borrowed songs from his albums Let's Get Killed (1997) and Bow Down to the Exit Sign (2000).

"I come in at script level, I read it straight away and [then] ideas start to form. I then compile CDs and send them to Steven [Soderbergh] and we communicate via email. If he’s feeling positive about something he lets me know and the other stuff he just ignores [laughs]." Davis Holmes from Indie London.

The terribly lame "Ocean's Thirteen" soundtrack trailer is here.
Update: The Times review says, "The third time really is a charm, 'Ocean’s Thirteen,' is also a gas; it’s lighter than air, prettier than life, a romp, a goof and an attentively oiled machine. "

Download: David Holmes "Paper Underwear" (from David Holmes Presents The Free Association)
Download: David Holmes - "11, 12 and 13" (from Ocean's Thirteen Soundtrack)
Download: David Holmes - "$165 Millions + Interest" (from the Ocean's Twelve Soundtrack)
Download: David Holmes - "Gritty Shaker" (from Let's Get Killed/Ocean's Eleven)
Watch: "Ocean's Thirteen" trailer

"Knocked Up": As If You Didn't Have Enough Already

We mentioned we had seen "Knocked Up" finally on Monday night and yes, the glowing reviews are warranted (Rotten Tomatoes has given it a 92% rating, Metacritic has given it 85% positive and the NYTimes called it an "instant classic"). Obviously it has elements of raunchy, vulgar comedy, but at the end of the day it's an incredibly sweet story. Dare say I thought it was wonderful.

As previously mentioned the soundtrack is scored by Loudon Wainwright III (he has an excellent little cameo as the doctor Katherine Heigl finally approves of), but the movie itself also contains songs by Bright Eyes, Beck, Britney Spears, Lily Allen, Sublime and the very Beatles-esque Ratatat instrumental, "Tropicana."

Wiki's entire "Knocked Up" song list has the Clash's "Police on My Back," and whether that's in the film or not, I'm not debating, but I'm *95% sure I heard a song the Clash was famous for covering: *Junior Murvin's "Police & Thieves" (the Clash version was used in the Royal Tenenbaums, but was not featured on the accompanying soundtrack). *and we were right!

All The Music Used in "Knocked Up"
"All Night" by Damian Marley featuring Stephen Marley
"Smile" by Lily Allen
"Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright III
"Shimmy Shimmy Ya" by Ol' Dirty Bastard
"We Are Nowhere and It's Now" by Bright Eyes
"King without a Crown" by Matisyahu
"Rock Lobster" by The B-52's
"Santeria" by Sublime
"Swing" by Savage
"Ashamed" by Tommy Lee
"Police and Thieves" by Junior Marvin
"Grey in L.A." by Loudon Wainwright III
"Tropicana" by Ratatat
"Double Vision" by The Ponys
"Clumsy" by Fergie
"Up Loud" by Transcenders
"Shake" by Trina featuring Lil Scrappy
"Biggest Part of Me" by Ambrosia
"Sandusky" by Uncle Tupelo
"Running the Bath" by Mark Everett
"Police on My Back" by The Clash
"All Along the Watchtower" by Darryl McDaniels (as DMC)
"Sunday Evening" by Transcenders
"Keep on Dubbing" by Augustus Pablo
"Consider Her Ways" by Reggie Moore
"Bullcorn" by Coree Carter"
"Love Me" by The Little Willies
"Lullaby" by Loudon Wainwright III
"Love Plus One" by Haircut 100
"Girl" by Beck
"Danger (Been So Long)" by Mystikal
"Sign Your Name" by Terence Trent D'Arby
"Wishing Well" by Terence Trent D'Arby
"If You Let Me Stay" by Terence Trent D'Arby
"Put It On" by Bob Marley
"Manuel's Got a Train to Catch" by Mark Everett
"Toxic" by Britney Spears
"Rock You Like a Hurricane" by Scorpions
"Fruit Salad" by The Wiggles
"Hot Potato" by The Wiggles
"Here Come the Wiggles" by The Wiggles
"Helicopter" by John Powell
"Que Paso" by Joe Cain
"Lighters Up" by Lil' Kim
"Y'All Know Me" by Transcenders featuring J7 D'Star
"Reminiscing" by Little River Band
"Once You Had Gold" by Enya

Download: Loudon Wainwright III "Grey In L.A."
Download: Bright Eyes - "We Are Nowhere And It's Now"
Download: Loudon Wainwright III - "Daughter"
Download: Ratatat - "Tropicana"
Download: Junior Murvin - "Police & Thieves"

How Will It End: David Chase Films 3 Separate Sopranos Endings?

Want to guess how the Sopranos will end on Sunday? Perhaps in a hail of bullets? With a whimper instead of a bang? Will Tony die? Perhaps he'll rat out Phil Leotardo's crew to the FBI to save his skin? And how will A.J. be involved if at all?

Whatever your theories may be, you might want to put your money on multiple guesses: "Sopranos" creator David Chase apparently filmed three different endings to the finale to help keep the conclusion secret. Chase also revels in defying expectations, so the logical ending might not be the the one that ultimately fits. He told Rolling Stone in 2001, "The paradigm of the traditional gangster film is the rise and fall. You have to ask yourself: Do I want to bother with that paradigm?"

In a recent interview with the AP, James Gandolfini himself said he had lost faith in Tony and no longer liked the character. "I used to. But it's difficult toward the end. I think the thing with Christopher might have turned the corner."

Chase has the final word on the finale. He told Entertainment Weekly recently, "There'll be people who will like the finale and people who won't like it, but I think that if people look at what the show was, or could even watch the whole story again, they'll understand what the ending is" (apparently he came up with the ending four years ago)

Btw, the criminal sociopath study that Dr. Melfi and Bogdanovich keep referencing? It's real.

Peter Biskind spoke to him in the March Vanity Fair Sopranos cover story and their conversation then reminds us that Sunday night could end somewhat ambiguously.
Biskind: You're famous for not tying up loose ends.
Chase: I think, probably, that's because that's not what the story was about. It's not important. It seems to be part of life, too, that things recede into the background or whatever. Something that was so important to you Thursday—all of a sudden, you're caught up in something else and it's not important Friday.

Overheard in the Media: Freidkin, Luke Wilson, Hartley on Parker Posey

- "I don't sit in a fucking chair and think, 'Jesus, I won an Oscar 80 years ago'." - Former golden age directorial great, William Friedkin ("The Exorcist," "The French Connection") on the last time he was relevant, around, oh... 80 years ago. [Time Out]
A bit more priceless:
TONY: Your gay cop drama, "Cruising," [starring Al Pacino as an undercover cop in a S&M '70s gay club] is a misunderstood movie.
Friedkin: I think it was understood too well! [Laughs]
TONY: Are you saying it’s homophobic?
Not at all. But you know, if you were going to send out a film to illustrate the necessity for gay rights, it wouldn’t be "Cruising."

- Luke Wilson didn't see eye to eye with the almost-octegenarian Harry Dean Stanton, who didn't want to memorize his lines on the set of "The Wendell Baker Story."
“Harry Dean would complain about me to Owen and Andrew and say, ‘Hemingway claims I can’t change this line,’” Wilson told Paste. “And I’d say, ‘Look, Harry Dean, I’m all for changing a line if it makes it f—ing better! Otherwise just do it as is!’”

“One time I was getting on Harry Dean. He claimed that me, Owen and Andrew were like three Dobermans. He called us ‘Lothar, Guntz and Deiter.’ And he said, ‘Look, Lothar. I’m a highly f—ing trained professional actor and that’s why I work all the time.’ And I was like, ‘I get it, Harry Dean. That’s why I hired you, cause I like you.’ [He] drove me crazy.”

- “The kind of role that would have been good for [Parker Posey] 10 years ago—she doesn’t want to do those anymore,” "Fay Grim" director Hal Hartley said to Paste. The filmmaker notes that he has offered Posey multiple parts through the years that she's turned down. “She’s the first to say, ‘There needs to be someone younger than me,’ or ‘somebody more together than I am.' "

"I remember my agent saying, 'He wants to know what you like to eat.' I was like, Wow, how interesting, I should say the right thing. Then he called me [in a thick German accent]: 'Do you like steak? Come over to my house, I'm going to cook you a steak," Steve Zahn told Esquire about first meeting Werner Herzog, the director of his upcoming film, "Rescue Dawn."
How tough was the shoot? "You'd be an idiot to do a Herzog movie and expect an easy shoot. Christian Bale and I didn't have a trailer; we had huts. I remember [saying to] Christian, "Dude. you're Batman. I want you to have the better hut."

Blah: Kevin Smith, Mike White, Hellboy 2, Knocked-Up Filmmakers Sued

- "A bawdy sex comedy with a heart." The special olympics of filmmaking Kevin Smith has sold a Porno script to the Weinsteins without even trying [L.A. Times]
- Guillermo Del Toro has annouced the cast of "Hellboy 2" [GDT]
- Who's the bully now? Screenwriter Laura Kightlinger is suing Mike White for allegedly ripping off her, "We're All Animals," script for his recent movie, "Year of the Dog." [L.A. Times]
- Cuba Gooding Jr. saves a gunshot victim. Perhaps someone can now save the actor's career. [13Wham.com]
- What's with all the litigiousness of late? A Canadian journalist is suing Judd Apatow and the studio that made "Knocked Up," claiming her 2005 book, "Knocked Up: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-Be," is strikingly similar. [Yahoo]
- Meanwhile, we finally saw "Knocked-Up" last night. Those damn credits go to fast and we're having too many laughs to remember every song, but besides the super-excellent Loudon Wainwright III score we noticed Beck's "Girl," Bright Eye's "We Are Nowhere and It's Now," Britney Spears' "Toxic," and ODB's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" in the film. All the music used in the film is conveniently posted on the movie's wiki page.

Morning Dailies: Spike Lee, Blur, Sopranos

- Spike Lee – who after nearly two decades in filmmaking finally had a sizable hit on his hand with the non-race thriller, 2006’s "Inside Man" – will return to alienating audiences with another hot-topic race issue film. Lee is so offended at the lack of African-Americans in Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima," that he is making his own war film of the WWII black experience. Pssst, Spike, there are no black people in Japan, duh. [Yahoo]
- Marilyn Manson throws stones in his glass house by calling out My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way for stealing his shtick. The bad ass goth transvestite said of Way, ""If they want to identify with me then here's a razor blade. Call me when you're done and we'll talk." The new Manson song, "Mutilation Is The Most Sincere Form Of Flattery" is apparently a dig at MCR. Hey, newsflash, nobody cares. [NME]
- Hollywood will stoop even lower and deeper through the dregs of our semi-nostalgic childhoods: Thundercats the barely-memorable cartoon will head to the big-screen for a live-action feature. Best of luck with that. [Variety]
- Graham Coxon re-joining Blur in the studio? The British press hope if the rumor is reported more than 5,000 times in 5 years, the reality will come to pass. [The Sun]
- Patients outraged with their patients because of Dr. Melfi's selfish treachery on "The Sopranos"? [CNN]
- The bastions of keen musical insight, AOL Music have put together their list of the 77 Most Unforgettable Movie Songs. While it's a cool idea, their placement of Nickelback's "Hero" for the first "Spider-Man" in the top 10 forfeits their right to ever discuss music ever again. [AOL Musak]
- Another very random movie feature calls "Daredevil," "Jersey Girl," and "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" underrated nerd cinema classics. We hear "Ain't It Cool News" is hiring. [MTV]

Sopranos: Made In America; The Brett Ratner Connection?

Less than one week to go and that’s it for our beloved Sopranos. What will happen? Here’s one theory that seems to have a LOT of validity to it.

Brett Ratner, yes, that Brett Ratner has an uncredited writing credit on the final episode. It’s admittedly a small contribution he’s made to the script and more an idea than anything, but two actors he has worked with in the past (namely on “X3: The Last Stand”) have popped up in the Sopranos in this last season.

A.J.’s ex hotness Blanca Selgado (played by Dania Ramirez) and the Virginia Tech-esque mentally ill Asian MIT student named Carter Chong (played by Ken Leung) both played Morlock mutants in X-3 (Callisto and Kid Omega, respectively) and with Ratner’s small, but decided involvement in the final episode (he also shot 2nd unit on a short scene apparently), there’s Internet talk that these two characters will have pivotal roles in Sunday’s finale.

Internet conspiracy or legitimate threat? This is a joke, btw.

"Snow Angels" Come To Brooklyn

On Saturday night we attended the Brooklyn BAM "Sundance Institute" premiere of "Snow Angels," David Gordon Green's follow-up to his 2004 film, "Undertow."

Undertow's disparate tones (part "Goonies," part "Deliverance," part Robinson Crusoe meets "Apocalypse Now") were polarizing to many and the film pretty much came and went without much fanfare, but we're happy to report that "Snow Angels" is a return to form.

An honest, and often brutal, examination of collapsing relationships, the story was adapted by Green from Stewart O’Nan’s 1993 novel. In the post-screening Q&A Green noted that 'Angels' was his first writing pay gig and the script was originally intended for another director (he didn't say who), but eventually he took over the project.

A modest, scaled-back small town drama, Green's vision was straightforward this time. Gone were the lingering, atmospheric moments and in fact, Green alluded to this after the film, noting he enjoyed screen adaptations, because without a narrative in place, he tends to wander.

Stylistically, it's the most conservative Green has ever been with a staid, subtle and graceful tone through out. The actors do much of the emotional heavy-lifting, but there are some understated glimpses of the beautiful cinematography by longtime-collaborator Tim Orr. For a movie that's pretty bleak and tragic, it's also certainly his most humorous and it does an incredible balancing act of imbuing characters with humanity via a sense of comedic relief in the middle of heavy, unsettling scenes.
Also present during the film were "Snow Angels" actors Sam Rockwell and relative newcomer Olivia Thirlby, (the cast is rounded out by Kate Beckinsale, Michael Angarano and Griffin Dunne) plus friends and supporters, a hobbling Cinqué Lee, and Piper Perabo (who if you want to get all US Weekly about it, appears to be dating Rockwell).

Green has a knack for curating ambient, ethereal music and 'Angels' was no different with a gorgeous and haunting score. Utilizing longtime collaborator David Wingo (of Ola Podrida) and his new music partner, IDM artist Lusine (aka Jeff McIlwain), their understated score continues Green's plaintive and simple beautiful acoustics augmented by subtle electronic twinkling and ambient washes (it appears former collaborator Michael Linnen is out of the picture for now?) A Wingo/McIlwain track is on the latter's myspace page (it's unclear if this is a song from the film or an unreleased collab).

The film featured songs by Bread, Mono, the Godspeed You! Black Emperor offshoot, A Silver Mt. Zion and Explosions in the Sky (whose song, "What Happens After," was the only track written originally for the film - thanks Wingo for that little chesnut of info). Dub Electronic artist Shane Hartman (aka Uno Dose) contributes four songs to the film and the track, "New Orleans Slaughterhouse" can be heard on his myspace page.
The entire list of songs is here on Stewart O’Nan’s website (which also includes Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" and a track by '8os hair-metal act, Harem Scarem).

[Speaking of interesting google finds, remember Bust-Ass (Danny McBride) from "All The Real Girls"? His myspace page is here (he apparently has a role in "The Pineapple Express" as well).]

While 'Angels' come out until spring 2008, I think fans who he lost after "Undertow," will return to the fold. Next up: a shot at comedy greatness. Green has joined the Judd Apatow buddy comedy/world domination crew and just finished filming, "The Pineapple Express," with Knocked-Up''s Seth Rogen and Spider Man's James Franco (I swear I've written that about 10 times on this blog). It looks like he'll have two films out in '08 as 'Pineapple' just got scheduled for next summer.

After that, he is signed on to write and direct, of all things, a John Grisham nonfiction book, “The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town” for George Clooney's "Smoke House" production company.

The mostly forgettable Q&A (lame questions people) had few highlights; Green's desire to cast those with an innate comic capability and the story of Kate Beckinsale's unexpectedly funny fart jokes were two memorable parts. Rockwell noted that he had done some born-again research for his character and both he and Thirlby emphasized the inviting improvisation as their favorite part of shooting the film.

I think Emile Hirsch has moved-on from the fraternity hazing film, "Goat," that Green was working on, but we'd love to see that one come to fruition (although according to a rumor posted on the IMDB board just yesterday, a "positive" announcement regarding the film is expected to be made soon. Here's hoping).

You can see some commercials that Green has made (Truth.org and Anti-Drug Media campaigns - the spots incidentally were recognized by adcritic.com and Boards Magazine as top spots to watch.) here.

*Update* We finally uploaded the Silver Mt.Zion song used in the film.
Download: Mono - "Thousand Paper Cranes"
Download: Explosion In the Sky - "First Breath After Coma"
Download: A Silver Mt. Zion - "This Gentle Hearts Like Shot Birds Fallen"
After all this we would be remiss if we did not mention our "If I Were David Gordon Green" soundtrack playlist.

All My Friends And Friends And Friends.

Remember when we went on about LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends" and all the various connection and covers? Well, Franz Ferdinand's very Joy Divison-y version of the song now has a video to go along with it (Sorry, Cale's version is still better).

Morning Dailies: Dylan Movie Poster, Black Joins Apatow, Arcade Fire Allegedly Steal Basketball

- The alleged poster for the new Todd Haynes, Bob Dylan biopic, "I'm Not There," has apparently leaked. Apocryphal? The poster offers a look at Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and someone who may or may not be Richard Gere all portraying Zimmy. [Cinematical]
- Judd Apatow threatens to ruin his incontestable comedy track record by hiring Jack Black to star in "Year One. Harold Ramis will direct, co-produce and take a role in the film along with "Superbad's" Michael Cera (George Michael from "Arrested Development") [Variety]
- Plans are moving ahead on the scheduled Mamas & the Papas movie. "The gears are all churning," Michelle Phillips said. No word on who will play the ham sandwich. [Billboard]
- Jessica Biel and Sarah Silverman almost make-out. Goddamit. [MTV]
- Having directed the original "Wicker Man" and then disappeared for 34 years, Robert Hardy finally explains where the hell he's been. [Guardian]
- The Arcade Fire apparently stole some kids basketball. Hell hath no fury like a hoop dreams kid scorned. [Arcade Fire Stole My Basketball]
- Ahh, the interweb, so quick to make a rebuttal. [Arcade Fire Didn't Steal Dude's Basketball]
- Plus a spoof. [Arcade Fire Stole My Basketball Player]
- Lines in the "Knocked Up" trailer are conspicuosly absent from the movie. Stop the presses. [Vulture]
- Remember Canadian "Twitch City" writer/actor/filmmaker Don McKellar? He's written a new feature for director Fernando Meirelles ("City of God," "The Constant Gardener") that will star Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore. We honestly didn't know McKellar was taking work for hire these days. [Variety]

The Thanks They Get? Wilco And The Volkswagen Campaign Flap

After years of being one of the most-forward thinking and progressive acts of the digitial era – streaming their albums for free, condoning the tape-trader, show recording community, releasing free mp3 EPs of their music – Wilco have partnered with Volkswagen to licence music for their latest TV campaign and fans have responded in kind by crucifying the band on various message boards for "selling out."

The heat has gotten so bad that Wilco singer's Jeff Tweedy's brother-in-law even took to the Interweb to defend him.

Then it started to get a bit tricky. Early last week there was no mention of Wilco on the VW website whatsoever. Then a press release went up on the site on Friday, June 1 and in a strange move, was quickly taken down as the controversy boiled out of control. However, thanks to Google cache, the page is here. It reads:

"VW and Wilco create music and advertising first
In a new form of music/promotion/communications, the band Wilco's recently released album Sky Blue Sky is the soundtrack to Volkswagen's latest TV campaign. This new form of marketing collaboration has the creative forces of Wilco and VW combining to launch both an album and a VW campaign in the same week (May 22nd). The partnership spans multiple commercials and multiple songs, with the first song being "The Thanks I Get." The Wilco Volkswagen union will run for the summer and all songs can be streamed on vw.com. It's also the first-ever licensing deal for Wilco."

Meanwhile, Wilco themselves aren't hiding, and have finally responded to all the hubub on their website.

"As many of you are aware, Volkswagen has recently begun running a series of TV commercials featuring Wilco music.

Why? This is a subject we've discussed internally many times over the years regarding movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement. With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands (including Wilco); we see this as another way to get the music out there. As with most of the above (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them.

If you're keeping track, this is not the first time Wilco has licensed a song to or even been involved in a commercial -- most recently a TV spot for Telefonica Mobile in Spain used a Wilco song and some years prior Jeff Tweedy appeared in a campaign for Apple Computer. Wilco have licensed hundreds of songs to television shows and films worldwide... from festival-only indie films to major motion pictures and weekly TV shows."

So yeah, they don't really see the fuss and considering just how good to fans they've been over the years, we can't say we blame then in the least. It's nice to get paid for your art.

"The Thanks I Get" Ad


The 2nd ad using, "You Are My Face," has been taken down by
Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the people who created the TV spots.

Kurt Cobain Soundtrack Scores Bowie, R.E.M, Stooges

Billboard is reporting the soundtrack for the new Michael Azerrad documentary, "Kurt Cobain: About A Son," is ready and set for a September 11 release on Barsuk. Tracks on the album will include many Cobain favorites including, Half Japanese, the Vaselines, Scratch Acid, Ledbelly and the Butthole Surfers.

Other tracks include the Bowie song that Nirvana covered on their MTV Unplugged, and songs from artists Cobain contacted late in life for potential collaboration (R.E.M. and Iggy Pop).

An plaintive, ambient score has been composed by Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Steve Fisk -- a Seattle-based engineer that at one time worked with practically every artist in the grunge scene during its '90s heyday. Gibbard also covers Beat Happening's "Indian Summer," for the album; another band dear to Cobain.

The movie is centered around rock journalist, Azerrad's audio interviews with Cobain and puports to be something other than a documentary. Azzerad interviewed Cobain many times in the early '90s and the two became so close, Azzerad wrote their official biography, "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana."

"We didn't want to call it a documentary," Azerrad told MTV News in August of last year. "We'd call it a nonfiction film, because it wasn't really going to trace a journalistic narrative. It became more of an intimate visit with a person who a lot of people thought they understood but probably didn't. You're listening to him talk in these very intimate conversations, and you get a feeling that I don't think anyone has ever gotten from Kurt. He talks about his generation — the world as it was when he was a kid and the world it became later."

Co-director A.J. Schnack echoed Azerrad's sentiment. "It won't fit into what anyone is expecting about a Kurt Cobain documentary, and it's not a traditional rock doc," Schnack told MTV. "There's no archival footage in the film, and Kurt only appears at the very end. Basically it's the chance to sit with his voice and listen to him tell his story."

"Kurt Cobain -- About a Son" tracklist:
"Overture," Steve Fisk and Ben Gibbard
Audio: Never Intended
"Motorcycle Song," Arlo Guthrie
"Eye Flys," the Melvins
Audio: Punk Rock
"Banned in D.C.," Bad Brains
"Up Around the Bend," Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Put Some Sugar on It," Half Japanese
"Son of a Gun," the Vaselines
"Graveyard," Butthole Surfers
Audio: Hardcore Was Dead
"Owner's Lament," Scratch Acid
"Touch Me I'm Sick," Mudhoney
Audio: Car Radio
"The Passenger," Iggy Pop
"The Borgeois Blues," Leadbelly
"New Orleans Instrumental No. 1," R.E.M.
Audio: The Limelight
"The Man Who Sold the World," David Bowie
"Museum," Mark Lanegan
"Indian Summer," Ben Gibbard
Download: R.E.M - "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1"
Download: David Bowie - "Man Who Sold The World"
Download: The Vaselines - "Son Of a Gun"