Sympatico stories.

President Obama to sing on Idol?

Filed under: Music, Pop, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 12:18 pm on January 31, 2012

January 31, 2012

Is the American president headed to American Idol?

He will be if Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe gets his way.

The Huffington Post reports that Lythgoe was so impressed with President Barack Obama’s recent rendition of the Al Green classic “Let’s Stay Together” that he wants to stage a star-studded duet on Idol’s stage.

Obama caused a recent stir online when footage surfaced of the President singing a few lines from the soul song at an event at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theater.

Now Lythgoe has taken to Twitter to issue an invitation to Obama to join Green onstage for a proper duet.

“@BarackObama we loved your vocal performance so much we’d love to invite you on to #AmericanIdol this Season for a duet with Al Green,” Lythgoe tweeted.

Republican presidential wannabe Mitt Romney failed to win such raves with his own recent performance however. Romney sang at a campaign stop last week, drawing a negative review from Lythgoe.

“If it were an election based on vocal talent @barackobama would beat Romney hands down,” Lythgoe tweeted. “Mitt was very flat singing ‘America the Beautiful.’”

(Photo by PR Photos)

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Trisha Yearwood to host cooking show

Filed under: Country, Music, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 11:20 am on

January 31, 2012

Country music superstar Trisha Yearwood will soon be the host of her very own cooking show.

Billboard reports that Yearwood has signed a deal to host a six-episode series for the Food Network in which she’ll share family recipes and stories while demonstrating her Southern hospitality.

“Fans know Trisha best as a music powerhouse, and through her new Food Network show audiences will learn first-hand what her friends and family already know — that Trisha is a talented, passionate rock-star cook too,” says Food Network GM Bob Tuschman.

“We look forward to sharing this side of Trisha with viewers, showcasing an intimate, entertaining look at her personal recipes, family traditions and warm Southern hospitality.”

The show doesn’t have a name just yet, but production is already underway and the show will begin airing in April.

Yearwood, who previously published two best-selling cookbooks, says she’s having a blast sharing the food she loves.

“I’m so grateful to Food Network for the opportunity to share my family’s favorite recipes and precious memories in this show,” Yearwood says. “I’m having so much fun, it’s a very special experience.”

(Photo by PR Photos)

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Lana Del Rey on SNL performance: “I sang fine”

Filed under: Music, Pop, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 11:00 am on

January 31, 2012

Polarizing hipster chanteuse Lana Del Rey says she’s happy with her recent performance on Saturday Night Live despite the critical drubbing she’s received as a result.

Del Rey performed two songs, “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” live on the NBC comedy sketch show on January 14 and soon found herself on the receiving end of some nasty criticism suggesting that the newcomer was unready and unfit for such a stage.

MTV reports that NBC news broadcaster Brian Williams wrote that Del Rey’s performance was “one of the worst outings in SNL history.”

The singer tells Rolling Stone, however, that she’s unfazed by the negativity and pleased with her performance on the show.

“I actually felt good about it,” she tells the magazine. “I thought I looked beautiful and sang fine.”

The young star admits she’s uncomfortable on stage, but says she’s gotten used to the haters.

“I’m not a natural performer or exhibitionist,” Del Rey admits. “When I was younger, I hated the focus, and it made me feel strange…There’s backlash about everything I do. It’s nothing new. When I walk outside, people have something to say about it. It wouldn’t have mattered if I was absolutely excellent.”

Del Rey’s first album Born to Die, is out now.

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)

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Twilight’s Taylor Lautner drops Stretch Armstrong

Filed under: Entertainment, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 10:25 am on

January 31, 2012

Twilight hottie Taylor Lautner will not be stretching his acting talents to portray a rubber toy.

Empire reports that plans to bring Stretch Armstrong to the big screen have taken a turn, with Universal dumping the project and Relativity Media scooping it right back up.

The biggest change in plans, however, is that Lautner – famous for playing bad boy Jacob in the blockbuster sparkly vampire franchise – seems to have left the project as well.

In 2010 it was reported that Lautner was all set to play a live-action version of the toy hero who made his debut back in the 1970s.

In a statement, Relativity co-president Tucker Tooley says the studio is still excited about the Stretch Armstrong project, even without Lautner’s involvement.

“We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Hasbro, a company whose global reach and ability to innovate has made them immensely successful in the arena of brand re-imagination – as evidenced by their legacy of creating such franchises as Transformers and G.I. Joe,” said Tooley. “We look forward to bringing Stretch Armstrong to audiences worldwide.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lautner will instead be stepping away from the world of blockbusters for his next project, an independent film by acclaimed art film hero Gus Van Sant based on a nonfiction article found in the pages of The New Yorker.

(Photo by PR Photos)

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo banned in India

Filed under: Entertainment, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 10:07 am on

January 31, 2012

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been banned in India.

David Fincher’s Oscar-nominated adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novel won’t reach India’s theatres after Fincher refused to cut the film’s explicit sex and rape scenes.

The Wrap reports that India’s Central Board of Film Certification wanted five scenes cut from the film, including two sex scenes between stars Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara and another scene in which Mara’s Lisbeth Salander is violently raped by another character.

Fincher said ‘no’ to the cuts and now Sony has scrapped plans to release the picture in the country.

“Sony Pictures will not be releasing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in India,” reads a statement from Sony’s India HQ. “The censor board has judged the film unsuitable for public viewing in its unaltered form and, while we are committed to maintaining and protecting the vision of the director, we will, as always, respect the guidelines set by the board.”

Though a bit of a box office disappointment, Dragon Tattoo has still raked in nearly $200 million at the global box office before a general release in Asia.

Deadline reports that, though the numbers are lower than what the studio had hoped for, Sony is still planning on moving forward with production on the film’s sequels, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest.

Word is screenwriter Steve Zaillian has reportedly already penned a script for Girl Who Played With Fire and is busy working away on a script for Hornets’ Nest.

(Photo by PR Photos)

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Chariots of Fire to become a play

Filed under: Entertainment, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 9:54 am on

January 31, 2012

The classic Oscar-winning British film Chariots of Fire is headed to the stage.

Entertainment Weekly reports that the 1981 drama about two runners, one Christian, one Jewish, preparing for the 1924 Olympics, will be adapted for the theatre just in time for London’s hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The stage play version of Hugh Hudson’s film will be produced by London’s Hampstead Theatre and directed by Hampstead’s artistic director Edward Hall.

“I am delighted to announce a new season of major theatrical events for Hampstead Theatre which reflects our ambition to give memorable evenings in the theater in what promises to be a memorable year for us all,” Hall said in a statement regarding the theatre’s upcoming year.

The film’s unforgettable theme song by composer Vangelis will be featured in the show, along with new music by Tony Award-winning Sunday in the Park With George orchestrator Jason Carr.

Chariots of Fire caused a sensation upon its original release, winning Best Picture at the 1981 Academy Awards.

The British Film Institute ranks the picture as the 19th greatest British film of all time.

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)

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Ice-T sells hip-hop doc at Sundance

Filed under: Entertainment, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 8:59 am on

January 31, 2012

Hip-hop legend Ice-T has sold his first documentary at the Sundance film festival.

Thompson on Hollywood reports that Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap has been picked up for international distribution by Indomina.

The film features the legendary rapper talking to other notable figures in the game such as Chuck D, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Afrika Bambaataa, Ice Cube and Kanye West, discussing the history and importance of hip-hop as a musical genre.

“The Art of Rap is a perfect fit for Indomina – a masterfully crafted, superbly riveting and star studded film about rap that only Ice-T could deliver,” says Indomina’s Jasbinder Singh Mann.

In a recent interview with Movieline, Ice revealed that having his film premiere at Sundance had been his goal from the beginning.

“When you think about it, I’m an indie artist; I started out making hardcore records, so I wanted to make something that was raw,” Ice-T told the site. “I said, I know Sundance is artsy but if I can get accepted there, then I’m on the right track.

“So when the movie came on and people started cheering and laughing and bobbing their heads, it was like oh my god – we got it! It’s kind of like not a normal documentary, it’s like a performance experience, an intimate concerts with a lot of the artists that people love. I was just happy.”

(Photo by PR Photos)

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X-Men: First Class sequel announced

Filed under: Entertainment, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 8:51 am on

January 31, 2012

The younger versions of the X-Men will be back in full force for a follow-up to the 2011 superhero smash X-Men: First Class.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox has signed deals with director Matthew Vaughn and with the film’s cast of mutants for a sequel to the hit, which travelled back to the 1960s to reveal the early days of the super squad.

That the studio would be keen to bring back stars Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence and the rest isn’t surprising given that First Class managed to revive the X-Men franchise following the critical disappointment of X-Men 3: The Last Stand.

X-Men: First Class grossed over $353.6 million at the international box office.

THR notes that the cast’s star power will have upped considerably by the time a First Class sequel hits theatres, given Fassbender’s quick rise up the Hollywood star ladder, Byrne’s notoriety from her role in Bridesmaids and Lawrence’s upcoming star turn in the highly anticipated sci-fi flick The Hunger Games.

No start date for production on the First Class sequel has been announced just yet.

(Photo by PR Photos)

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Rev. Jesse Jackson may protest Grammys

Filed under: Music, Pop, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 12:44 pm on January 30, 2012

January 30, 2012

Outspoken preacher, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, is threatening to organize a protest over the axing of 31 Grammy categories.

Since The Recording Academy announced that they would be downsizing the number of categories at this year’s Grammys from 109 to 78, there have been a number of complaints over which ones were chosen for the chopping block. Some opponents of the cuts, including Jackson, have accused the Academy of getting rid of categories commonly linked to minorities.

The Associated Press reports that in a letter to Academy president and CEO, Neil Portnow, Jackson asked if representatives from his organization, the Rainbow Push Coalition, could “meet with you urgently to express our concerns and to see if we might help resolve this conflict.”

Portnow responded in a statement to the AP, confirming that he would be open to talks with Jackson saying, “We are receptive to meeting with the Rev. Jackson to explain how our nomination process works and to show the resulting diverse group of nominees it produced for the 54th Grammys – many in the musical genres he cited in his letter.”

While Jackson has stressed that he wants “cooperation, not confrontation,” he may also choose to protest the Grammy Awards ceremony on February 12 in Los Angeles if the talks don’t go especially well.

“We are prepared to work with artists and ministers and activists to occupy at the Grammys so our appeal of consideration of mercy really might be heard,” he said.

Back in 1996, Jackson called for a boycott of the Grammys over the industry’s approach to minority groups. This time, he says, “I don’t think that we have to prove that [the cuts are racially motivated] to make our point,” adding that “Sometimes inclusion is inconvenient but it’s the right thing to do.”

(Photo by PR Photos)

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Shakira is a knight in France

Filed under: Music, Pop, Sympatico — D.I.S.H. @ 12:35 pm on

January 30, 2012

Shakira has been awarded a knighthood in France.

The UK’s Daily Mail reports that the Colombian singer was given the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of the Arts and Letters) for her musical contributions. Frederic Mitterand, the French Minister of Culture and Communication presented the award at a ceremony in Cannes.

Shakira joins the formidable ranks of past Chevalier award winners including Kylie Minogue, George Clooney, Tim Burton and Jude Law.

The singer was also in Cannes for the NRJ Music Awards, which take place at the opening of MIDEM, the largest music industry trade fair in the world. Racking up yet another prize, Shakira was named this year’s recipient of the NRJ Award of Honour, as recognition of her 22-year career in music.

During her acceptance speech at the NRJs, she expressed her gratitude to the French people.

“I’m happy. I always felt connected with France. Thanks for all the love you send me.”

In December, Shakira released an official video for her cover of “Je l’aime a mourir.” The ballad was a huge hit for Francis Cabrel in 1979, spending 5 weeks at No.1 on the French charts.

(Photos by PR Photos)

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