‘Bad’ The Anniversary Edition : Brad Pitt Killing Them Softly : Selena Gomez Fine After Earthquake : Gerard Butler Snubbed At Cannes Auction & More Entertainment
Posted in E-News on 23. May, 2012
Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ to get 25th anniversary reissue
In the three years following Michael Jackson’s death, his estate has been conservative with posthumous releases from the King of Pop’s archives while focusing on other endeavors such as a hit video game and a Cirque du Soleil production.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of his seminal 1987 disc, “Bad,” his estate, in collaboration with Epic/Legacy Recordings, will reissue the disc with new music and a never-before-released concert video, the label and his estate announced on Monday.
The anniversary edition of “Bad,” the first re-release of an album from Jackson’s catalog since his 2009 death, will hit stores Sept. 18.
To roll out the reissue, the label will re-release the album’s first single, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” — the first of five of the album’s singles to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — as a CD single with the previously unreleased bonus track “Don’t Be Messin’ ‘Round (demo)” on June 5. The single is a Wal-Mart exclusive and won’t be available through digital retailers.
“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” will also be made available June 26 as a replica of the 7” vinyl released back in the day and includes the original B-side, “Baby Be Mine,” not the unreleased bonus track.
Dubbed “Bad 25″ (like his “Thriller” reissue), the deluxe package will feature three CDs, two collectible booklets, and the first-ever authorized DVD release of a concert from his record-breaking Bad tour.
The DVD features Jackson’s full performance for Britain’s Prince Charles, Princess Diana and 72,000 fans at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1988. The video was discovered in the singer’s private collection on VHS, and is said to have been the sole copy.
Of the three CDs, one is a remastered version of “Bad,” another features demos and songs recorded in Jackson’s studio that didn’t make the cut, as well as remixes, and the third will feature audio from the soundtrack recordings of the accompanying DVD, making it Jackson’s first live album.
“The era of ‘Bad’ represented Michael’s creative ‘coming of age’ as a solo artist in charge of every aspect of his career — from recording to touring to endorsements to merchandising. This was the first album on which nearly all of the songs were written by Michael,” John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of his estate, wrote in a statement.
“Bad 25” follows the posthumous album “Immortal,” a “musical tapestry” that accompanied the Cirque du Soleil production of the same name. The disc featured reworked versions of some of Jackson’s classic hits, mash-ups and never-before-released outtakes.
Jackson’s estate also issued a greatest hits soundtrack to accompany “This Is It” and a disc of unreleased material, “Michael,” which was met with tepid sales and controversy.
credit & thanks : Los Angeles Times : Gerrick D. Kennedy // photo: Michael Jackson’s 1987 album “Bad.” Credit: Epic Records.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/05/michael-jacksons-bad-to-get-25th-anniversary-reissue.html
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Cannes 2012: Brad Pitt criticises ‘toxic’ US politics
At Cannes 2012, Brad Pitt says his new film Killing Them Softly ’speaks more of our great toxic divide’.
Brad Pitt criticised the “toxic” politics of the US election campaign as he launched his latest film in Cannes.
Killing Them Softly is a gangster crime thriller with a political message, set during the backdrop of the 2008 presidential campaign in an unnamed city where families are unable to meet their mortgage payments and businesses are failing.
It ends with the line: “America is not a country, it’s a f—— business.”
Pitt said he “leaned more to the Left” and did not want to criticise Barack Obama, but added that the hope and jubilation of Obama’s win seemed a distant memory.
One of Obama’s campaign speeches is played towards the end of the film.
Pitt said: “I was there the night in Chicago when Obama won. It was an amazing night – the people out on the streets were connected and jubilant. It was just an electric, kinetic event.
“I see the speech that’s chosen at the end of the film not as a cynical look back, a statement of failure, but a real expression of hope that speaks more of our great toxic divide, where it’s more about a party winning the argument than the issues themselves. It’s a serious, serious problem.
“I think we’re going to see more negative advertising than ever before and I think it’s going to be rather ugly.”
The film, directed by Andrew Dominik, was made at the height of the sub-prime mortgage “debacle”, as Pitt referred to it.
“We are certainly living in our country at a time of great divide.
“Of course there are many facets to America. It’s very complex, an amazing country and I find it amazing to be there right now.
“The idea of America is innovation and integrity and fairness and justice, but these ideals must always be protected and guarded, because it’s easy to slip, especially the more powerful the nation is.”
Pitt spoke at length about the political situation in the US but was happy to take questions about his personal life.
The 49-year-old actor recently became engaged to Angelina Jolie but quashed rumours of imminent marriage plans.
“We have no date. We really, truly have no date. Date-wise, it’s an absolute rumour,” he said.
“And I’m still hoping we can figure out our marriage equality in the States before that date.” The couple are supporters of same-sex marriage and previously stated they would not marry until same-sex couples were allowed to do so.
credit & thanks : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-film-festival/9283171/Cannes-2012-Brad-Pitt-criticises-toxic-US-politics.html
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Jenny McCarthy to pose for Playboy at 39
NEW YORK, (UPI) — U.S. actress, autism activist and author Jenny McCarthy says she plans to pose nude for Playboy at the age of 39.
The New York Daily News said she is to appear sans clothing in the publication’s July-August issue, which hits newsstands June 29.
She made her first appearance in Playboy nearly 20 years ago when she was just starting her career. She was named 1994 Playmate of the Year and last appeared in the magazine in bunny ears and fishnet stockings in 2005.
“All I wanted to do was work with my clothes on, and now I just hope to get them off!” she told E! News, reflecting on her early days a pinup model.
credit & thanks : : http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2012/05/21/Jenny-McCarthy-to-pose-for-Playboy-at-39/UPI-82881337650296/#ixzz1vcmSTCvD
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Coldplay to perform at Paralympic Games closing ceremony
LONDON, (UPI) — British rock band Coldplay confirmed on its Web site plans to perform at the Paralympic Games closing ceremony this summer in London.
The Paralympics are multi-sport events in which athletes with disabilities compete. This year’s edition is to start Aug. 29.
Coldplay said Sunday it has been booked to play one show at the Festival of Flame ceremony Sept. 9 in the Olympic Stadium.
“The London 2012 Paralympic Games are going to be spectacular,” Seb Coe, chair of the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said in a statement. “I am delighted that Coldplay are going to be helping us celebrate not only the end of a fantastic Paralympic Games, but also the end of a seven-year journey. With tickets back on sale tomorrow I can guarantee that whatever ticket you decide to go for, the Paralympic sport will leave a deep and lasting impression on you. The athletes involved in the Paralympic Games are incredible sportsmen and women and I urge everyone to take this chance to be there and to form memories that will last a lifetime.”
credit & thanks : : http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2012/05/21/Coldplay-to-perform-at-Paralympic-Games-closing-ceremony/UPI-40091337636033/#ixzz1vcmko09a
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Lady Gaga will go solo for Indonesia show
Lady Gaga is planning to ditch her troupe of backing dancers and perform solo in Jakarta, Indonesia next month in a desperate bid to get around a concert ban.
The Poker Face hitmaker is faced with the prospect of axing the 3 June gig on her Born This Way Ball world tour after local police revoked her performance licence.
It came amid a storm of protest from hardline Muslim groups, who have branded the star the “devil’s messenger” for her raunchy stage routines.
Concert bosses are desperately trying to overturn the ban, and Gaga has now vowed she will take to the stage alone if it helps to calm fears her gig will be too explicit.
In a series of posts on her Twitter.com page, she writes, “The Jakarta situation is 2-fold: Indonesian authorities demand I censor the show & religious extremist (groups) separately… are threatening violence. If the show does go on as scheduled, I will perform the BTWBall alone.”
Gaga’s comments come just hours after she was given permission to stage a second show in the Philippines since officials ruled her Monday night gig complied with decency laws.
In a reference to her prison breakout themed video for Telephone, her collaboration with Beyonce, Gaga told her Twitter fans, “Don’t worry, if I get thrown in jail in Manila, Beyonce will just bail me out.”
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/lady_gaga_will_go_solo_for_indonesia_show
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Lady Gaga given permission for Philippines show
Lady Gaga has been given permission to stage a second show in the Philippines after officials ruled her Monday night gig complied with decency laws.
The pop star faced protests over her racy act from hardline Christian groups, who took to the streets of capital city Manila on Friday for a ‘Stop the Lady Gaga concerts’ rally.
Officials allowed the Monday night show in the city to go ahead, but urged the singer to obey the country’s strict rules which ban onstage nudity, blasphemy, and lewd conduct.
A group of around 500 campaigners reportedly attempted to demonstrate in the area where the show was held, but police stopped them before they could reach the venue.
Gaga took to the stage wearing a full-length yellow gown inspired by Philippine national dress and told the crowd she wanted to put on the best show possible for them, saying, “Some people think that I stand for like really inappropriate things, really bad or really irresponsible.
“Listen, you don’t have to boo. I’m slightly irresponsible. Let’s be honest, okay? It’s okay. But they are not completely right. The truth is, I want the… best for you. I want the best for every single one of you. I love you with all my heart and all my soul, I really do.”
Protesters had warned Gaga not to perform her hit track Judas at the show, but she went ahead with the song anyway, declaring, “I’m not a creature of your government, Manila.”
However, local authorities have now declared Gaga didn’t breach the conduct code and have given the go-ahead for her second show in the city on Tuesday night.
Antonino Calixto, mayor of Pasay City, the district where the concert was held, tells AFP, “Admittedly, some of the statements and choreography were provocative but the content and presentation taken all together can be considered as part of an artist’s expressions. Therefore, the city government of Pasay sees no compelling or legal reason to disallow the second concert from proceeding.”
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/lady_gaga_given_permission_for_philippines_show
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Tea with Gerard Butler snubbed at Cannes auction
Gerard Butler has been snubbed at a charity auction in Cannes, France, after he offered up a tea date as a prize.
The actor was dragged up onstage at the Carnival in Cannes Gala for Haitian Relief on Friday night by writer/director Paul Haggis, in a bid to drive up the value of a a weekend pass to the 2013 Golden Globe awards in Los Angeles.
Butler was stunned when Haggis insisted the winning bidder would also get a tea date with the Scot – but it appears he won’t have to give up his time after all.
The man who paid £78,125 for the package insisted he didn’t want the Butler tea date.
Butler laughed off the snub, telling USA Today, “I know the guy that bought it; he didn’t need to buy tea with me.”
But the actor admits he didn’t realise he’d be part of the package when he turned up at the auction: “No one has the ability to make a fool of me like Paul Haggis. He makes me come up and stand on stage. He makes me feel like an idiot.
“I think most of my most humiliating experiences in my whole career have been caused by Paul Haggis. He pimps me out. I put up with it because it’s for a good cause.”
The auction raised more than £1.25 million for Haitian charities.
It’s not the first time Butler has offered up tea at a celebrity auction – Oscar winner Adrien Brody bid £9,400 for the odd item last year at a fundraiser to build a school in Haiti – and he’s still waiting for a call from the 300 star.
Brody says, “I attended a charity function for Artists for Peace & Justice and one of the things they were auctioning off was tea with Gerry Butler, which I thought was really interesting, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ I had the winning bid and I’ve yet to have tea with Gerry Butler. He has not fulfilled his obligation… I paid thousands and thousands of dollars… It was, like, 15 grand.”
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/tea_with_gerard_butler_snubbed_at_cannes_auction
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Demi Moore signs up for first movie since medical emergency
Demi Moore has signed up for her first film since a medical emergency put her career on hold in January.
The 49-year-old has signed on to star in Very Good Girls, opposite former California school pals Elizabeth Olsen and Dakota Fanning.
Moore will play Olsen’s mother.
She was forced to pull out of Linda Lovelace biopic Lovelace in January after falling ill at her home and checking into a treatment facility for exhaustion.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/demi_moore_signs_up_for_first_movie_since_medical_emergency
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David Beckham plays Beethoven in new ad
David Beckham has turned classical musician for a new advertising campaign – he plays Beethoven’s Ode to Joy by kicking footballs at a wall of drums.
Olympics ambassador Beckham has teamed up with bosses at electronics company Samsung, the official sponsor of the London 2012 Games, to promote their new Galaxy Note cell phone.
In the short film, the sportsman enters a film studio while speaking on his mobile as the drums are prepared for the task.
He then lines up 15 balls and kicks them at the instruments, recreating the sound of Beethoven’s famous work.
Once he hits the final drum, Beckham spins around and strikes a large gong at the back of the room with another ball.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/david_beckham_plays_beethoven_in_new_ad
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Selena Gomez fine after earthquake
Selena Gomez has assured fans she’s okay after she was caught up in a “scary” earthquake in Bulgaria on Tuesday.
A 5.8-magnitude tremor shook the country’s capital Sofia in the early hours, prompting locals to flee their homes over fears buildings would collapse.
Fans of Gomez were left worried as the Disney star is in the country filming new movie The Getaway, but she’s taken to Twitter.com to inform them she is fine – and she also reached out to her Italian fans after the country suffered a deadly quake on Sunday.
In a post on her page, she writes, “Thank you for all of your concerns!! Earthquake was scary but thankfully everyone is ok. Praying for Italy.”
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/selena_gomez_fine_after_earthquake
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