R.I.P: Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman

It's Superbowl Sunday, the groundhog saw his shadow and  Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away today.

Philip Seymour Hoffman first caught my attention in a big way with his role as "Scotty J." whose character had a mad crush on porn star "Dirk Diggler" (Mark Wahlberg) in "Boogie Nights."

He also was in two other favorites of mine Todd Solondz's "Happiness" and Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" as famed rock critic "Lester Bangs." 

And he won the Oscar for playing Truman Capote, in "Capote."

There are so many more roles and movies that he has done and he never turned in a bad performance. 

This tweet from Rose McGowan in his memory sums it up best:  "A giant talent touched by fire. Philip Seymour Hoffman."

One of the greats is no longer among us, may you rest peacefully Mr. Hoffman.

Philip Seymour Hoffman on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000450/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1

Rock Out With Your C#ck Out! It's "All Downhill From Here"

For all of you who love something other than pop music, myself in particular, this is the book for you. 

It's February 1st 2014, I wonder if the groundhog will see his shadow tomorrow? If he does...It's "All Downhill From Here!" 

In 2003, the AFI message board spawned a new webzine called Scene Point Blank. AFI were at the top of the charts, The Blood Brothers and The Locust were making waves in hardcore, and a young folk-punk band called Against Me! released As the Eternal Cowboy. The times have changed, but Scene Point Blank is stronger than ever, celebrating 10 years with All Downhill From Here, a new book that highlights some of their favorite material and includes insight on the wide-ranging cast of writers behind some of the webzine world's longer reviews.

Curated from 4000+ reviews and 200+ interviews, Scene Point Blank has put together some of their most popular items, some of their favorites, and their most memorable pieces into three formats: Kindle, eBook, and print, retailing from $7-15 depending on platform. Content includes interviews and features with Ian Mackaye, Henry Rollins, Larry Livermore, Evan Dando, Jacob Bannon, and many more. 

Scene Point Blank isn't limited to punk and hardcore... They're proud of their varied content, ranging from blackened death to drone to hip-hop and even prog. They feel that music shouldn't be limited to genre and, in fact, discussing it in those terms is far too limiting. Their focus is on heavy, independent music, both the well-known and those just getting started. 

After 10 years of online coverage, Scene Point Blank now offers All Downhill From Here to the public on a format they can carry with them and share, 

Available now at:

http://www.scenepointblank.com/ 

http://www.scenepointblank.com/book/

Paging Madonna: For "Valley Of The Dolls" Remake

Madonna: I Am Helen Lawson Hear Me Roar!

"Boobies, Boobies, Boobies" - Neely O'hara "Valley of the Dolls"

Rumor has it that 20th Century Fox are courting Madonna to play the indomitable aging diva Helen Lawson in a remake of "Valley of the Dolls." 

Given the infamous quote above spouted in the original by Patty Duke as Neely O'Hara and Madonna's obvious affinity for the role, the Big M is a dead on choice for Helen...Here is the 411!

The “new” Valley of the Dolls, will have a decidedly different “spin” on the original with L.A.’s music business being a big part of the story, particularly with the Neely O’Hara character (Patty Duke) the up and coming star who makes it big and has a major fall from grace. One of the writers of the new VOTD is Paul Rudnick, who did the “First Wives Club” and “In and Out." There will be a dark comedy aspect to the film.

Actresses on the “A List” for this movie are Anne Hathaway, perfect as the prim Anne Welles, Jennifer Lawrence as Jennifer North (the fallen Angel played by Sharon Tate) and Emmy Rossum as Neely O’ Hara,  and producers are lobbying hard to get Madonna to play the aging Broadway star Helen Lawson, a role intended for Judy Garland in the original movie.

Lindsay Lohan: I'm Neely O'Hara!

I love all the choices especially the one of  Jennifer Lawrence, one of my favorite actresses who would be dead on as Jennifer North. But if you really want to make this happen I would personally cast Lindsay Lohan as Neely O'Hara, no offense Emmy Rossum, just sayin'....

Way To Go, Margaret Cho!

Margaret Cho

Friend and "Entertain Me" favorite the one the only Margaret Cho landed the coolest gig ever recently!

That's right Ms. Cho has landed the role of the administrator in the untitled Tina Fey and Matt Hubbard university comedy for FOX simply known as "Cabot College" read on peeps...

Fox's untitled Tina Fey and Matt Hubbard women's university comedy has found its administrator in a familiar face.

The comedy takes place at a women's college that has just opened its doors to men for the first time. 30 Rock Emmy nominee Margaret Cho has boarded the untitled comedy known as Cabot College.

Cho will play the series regular role of Laura Thibault, the president of Cabot College who made the difficult decision to admit men into the school. She's further described as a divisive figure on campus and does her best to be welcoming of the male freshmen but is often irritated by their antics. 

Production on the comedy  begins in March!

The casting marks a reunion for Cho with both Fey and Hubbard after the actress played Kim Jong-Il and his son, Kim Jong-Un. She earned a guest actress in a comedy Emmy nomination for the former role.

Way to go Margaret!

Turn and face the Cho at: http://www.margaretcho.com/

Pentatonix Sell Out!

Way to Go! See you guys March 1st at The Orpheum..!

Pentatonix Celebrates 100% Sold Out North American Tour

YouTube Channel Eclipses 300 Million Views with More Than 4.5 Million Subscribers

Pentatonix Collaborates With Lucky Charms on 50^th Anniversary Commercial, Debuting During 2014 Grammy Broadcast

Sesame Street Performance Set To Air February 7

Vocal sensations Pentatonix continue their ascent towards the top of the pop landscape, as their first run of shows in 2014 – a 30-city North American tour – is officially sold out, still weeks before the tour begins.  The run includes multiple dates at New York City’s Beacon Theater (4/3 & 10), Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theater (3/1 & 2) and Boston’s House of Blues (4/5 & 6) in addition to Oakland’s famed Fox Theater (2/22), Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium (3/22) and Washington DC’s 3700-capacity DAR Constitution Hall (3/29).  The North American tour will be immediately followed by a European run that already features 9 sell-outs and has added additional shows at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Amsterdam’s Paradiso.

Pentatonix most recent album – PTX Volume 2 – had originally debuted #10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart and features 8 brand new tracks, with 3 original songs and 4 covers including a 7-song Daft Punk medley, its video released via the group’s YouTube Channel has garnered over 40 million views. The iTunes version of the album also features a medley of the Swedish House Mafia hits “Save The World” and “Don’t Worry Child” as an iTunes album-only bonus track. 

Watch “Daft Punk” Here: http://youtu.be/3MteSlpxCpo

Watch “Save The World / Don’t Worry Child” Here: http://bit.ly/SHMCptx

PTX Volume 2 follows the group’s two 2012 Madison Gate Records Releases – PTX Volume 1 and PTXmas.  Both albums originally debuted on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart and re-entered the chart last month, with a deluxe version of PTXmas leading the charge.  With the addition of new tracks “Little Drummer Boy” and “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” PTXmas has sold more than 200,000 copies, while Pentatonix have sold more than 400,000 albums in total.  The video for “Little Drummer Boy” was a worldwide viral hit, racking up over 25 million views and landing at #13 on the Billboard Top 100 Singles Chart, while the album spent the 2013 holiday season at #1 on the iTunes album chart.

In support of the huge success of PTX Volume 2, Pentatonix have performed on 

Ellenhttp://www.ellentv.com/2013/11/04/pentatonix-performs-evolution-of-beyonce/, Conanhttp://teamcoco.com/video/pentatonix-12-10-2013 

The Today Showhttp://www.today.com/toyotaconcertseries/sing-winners-pentatonix-perform-studio-2D11758792 ,

The Sing-Off http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DMDGbtlg3c 

The Queen Latifah Showhttp://queenlatifah.com/loving/pentatonix-new-album-tour-dates and numerous others.

The group was also featured on 

CNN Headline News http://www.hlntv.com/video/2013/11/08/cappella-pentatonix-sing and on 

ABC World News with Diane Sawyer in the highly coveted “Persons of the Week” segment.  Click here to watch: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/amazing-success-story-testament-giving-20834572     

Next up is a special appearance and performance on Sesame Street February 7, 2014.

In other exciting news, Pentatonix have teamed up with Lucky Charms^® cereal to celebrate its 50^th Anniversary.  The collaboration will include a brand new version of the Lucky Charms song, which has been arranged and recorded by the quintet and and will make its debut on music’s biggest night during the Grammy Awards telecast this Sunday, January 26^th on CBS.  The commercial – which features Pentatonix as animated characters – can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/uwQxviY2cSU

Online, the Pentatonix YouTube channel boasts well over 300 million views, buoyed by more than 4.5 Million subscribers, and is one of the Top 60 most subscribed-to channels and the #16 most subscribed-to music channel. Pentatonix fanbase continues to grow exponentially with over 100,000 new fans added on Facebook and Twitter this past week bringing the current tally to more than 960,000 Facebook fans and 220,000 Twitter followers.  

2014 U.S. Tour Dates

February

4                         Midwestern State University          Wichita Falls, TX

5                         Cain’s Ballroom                              Tulsa, OK

6                          Gillioz Theatre                               Springfield, MO

8                         Chicago Theatre                         Chicago, IL

9                          Egyptian Room                            Indianapolis, IN

11                        Milwaukee Riverside Theatre      Milwaukee, WI

12                        State Theater                               Minneapolis, MN

15                         Paramount Theatre                      Denver, CO

17                         The Complex-Rockwell                Salt Lake City, UT

19                         Vogue Theater                            Vancouver, BC

20                          Paramount Theatre                     Seattle, WA

22                          Fox Theater                                 Oakland, CA

23                          Grand Sierra Resort                     Reno, NV

25                           Soma                                           San Diego

26                           House of Blues                            Las Vegas, NV

27                           Rialto Theatre                              Tucson, AZ

March

1 & 2                      Orpheum Theatre                        Los Angeles, CA

19                           Peabody Opera House               St. Louis, MO

20                           Robinson Center Music Hall       Little Rock, AR

22                           Ryman Auditorium                      Nashville, TN

23                           Iron City                                      Birmingham, AL

25                           Hard Rock Live                           Orlando, FL

26                           Georgia Theatre                          Athens, GA

27                           The Fillmore                               Charlotte, NC

29                           DAR Constitution Hall               Washington DC

30                          The Electric Factory                   Philadelphia, PA

April

3 & 10                      Beacon Theatre                          New York, NY

5 & 6                           House of Blues                           Boston, MA

8                             Danforth Music Hall                     Toronto, ON

9                             UB Center for the Arts                Buffalo, NY

Get with PTX at: http://ptxofficial.com/

                        ttps://www.facebook.com/Pentatonix

                        https://twitter.com/PTXofficial

                        http://www.youtube.com/user/ptxofficial?feature=results_main%20

Get Ready For Shania, Twain That Is

Remember when Shania Twain was hot, hot, hot with the multi-platinum selling album "Come On Over?"  Not only did it sell 20 million copies (Dr. Evil would have been so proud) on CD. Yes people actually used to buy those too. It was actually one of my favorite discs, being a music whore I had many favorites. Time to check out this blast from the Shania past! The Discovery Of Eilleen Twain   CD / DVD combo pack available on February 11 Featuring early footage and songs from Shania Twain,  when she was still struggling artist Eilleen Twain.

Eilleen Twain got her first break in the late 80s  in Viva Vegas, a legendary Vegas style resort show produced by Brian Ayers at Deerhurst Inn Resort in Ontario, Canada.  Vegas North brings revealing interviews with former cast members and music veterans of that era, taking you back to Eilleen's roots along with footage of her heartfelt renditions of "Somewhere Out There" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."   The Bonus CD, Eilleen Twain: Beginnings 1989-1990 features ten re-mastered songs Shania's early career. The tracks are just what the title indicates: the beginnings - tunes intended to be used as demos to help draw attention to a young and struggling singer who would become a country diva known and loved around the world.    These are more rock, power pop, and adult contemporary than country, fitting into the late 80s just as they should have when they were recorded. Pre-order yourself some Shania at: http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=ELE1923

Shop Till You Drop! "Dallas Buyers Club"

Last night I saw one of the best films ever "Dallas Buyers Club!"  In case you are not familiar with this amazing movie that stars Matthew McConaughey , Jared Leto & Jennifer Garner here's what it's about:

Matthew McConaughey stars in DALLAS BUYERS CLUB as real-life Texas cowboy Ron Woodroof, whose free-wheeling life was overturned in 1985 when he was diagnosed as HIV-positive and given 30 days to live. These were the early days of the AIDS epidemic, and the U.S. was divided over how to combat the virus. Ron, now shunned and ostracized by many of his old friends, and bereft of government-approved effective medicines, decided to take matters in his own hands, tracking down alternative treatments from all over the world by means both legal and illegal. Bypassing the establishment, the entrepreneurial Woodroof joined forces with an unlikely band of renegades and outcasts - who he once would have shunned - and established a hugely successful "buyers' club." Their shared struggle for dignity and acceptance is a uniquely American story of the transformative power of resilience. 

Garner, McConaughey & Leto Sitting In A Tree

The transformative power of resilience, dignity and acceptance are very powerful things and because they are, so is this film.

For me this is one the best I have seen this year. It was such a testament to what we all can do as human beings in adverse circumstances and the power of loving your fellow man.

The direction, cinematography and performances were all top notch.

My prediction is Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto who recently won Golden Globes for their roles, will be making speeches at the Academy Awards.

Matthew McConaughey is great, however my in my opinion Jared Leto's performance was brilliant and riveting and I can't wait for him to grab the ultimate gold.

Kudos to Ms. Jennifer Garner as well.

Sprint don't run to catch this one!

"Dallas Buyers Club" : https://www.facebook.com/DallasBuyersClub