Entertainment news from Metronews.ca

New 'Game of Thrones' might surprise readers

Michael Oliveira, The Canadian Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:23:00 -0400

TORONTO - Readers who have devoured all the books in George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series may be surprised by some of the plot twists on TV's "Game of Thrones" in season 2 and beyond, says star Michelle Fairley, who plays Catelyn Stark.

"Anyone who's read the books knows exactly what happens to Catelyn (in the series eventually) but it may not necessarily," Fairley said in a recent interview.

"You don't know which way it's going to go, it's entirely up to (executive producers) David Benioff and D. B. Weiss to decide how they want to take the series. Just because it's in the books doesn't mean you're going to end up on the screen.

"That's one of the exciting things about what the guys are doing because they don't stick to the books, not all the time. So you think (someone) might be safe but you don't know."

Season 2 of the hit series kicks off on HBO Canada on Sunday and it doesn't take long for viewers to be reminded of just how loathsome young tyrant Joffrey is as king of the Iron Throne.

Fairley wouldn't divulge much about new plotlines ahead but hinted her character "goes in a different direction this year."

"She's not a stupid woman, she knows evil exists in this world and it's not just coming from people," she offered.

"There's something ethereal out there as well but in a dark, dark way — and she has first hand (knowledge) of this in season 2."

Fairley admits she hadn't read Martin's books before auditioning for the part — "to my shame," she said — but was quickly captivated when she started.

"It's the nature of what they go through, the paths that they choose to go on and what actually happens to them. It's so rich and layered and I think if you strip away the fantasy element ... these are real people and real issues that they're going through," she said.

"Everyone thinks they're in the right, that they're on the side of the good and the great in this series. And nobody is what they seem and they'll do whatever it takes for them to survive and achieve their goals."

She also appreciated the strength of the female characters in the story.

"Behind every strong man there's an even stronger woman, as they say, and the female characters are not as they seem at all in George's world," she said.

"Sometimes you have to start thinking like a man, you have to operate like a man.

"Catelyn becomes an envoy on behalf of her son Rob and she's strong, she's feisty and she can stand her ground."

Even before the show became a hit it was clear to the cast that they had lucked in to something special, she said.

"The quality of craftsmanship, the crews, the camera people, the costume designers, the set designers, the quality of the writing ... you just knew you had something really special here so you wanted it to be a success and thankfully, and rightfully so, it was," she said.

"When it came to doing season 2, you didn't just go in thinking, 'Wow, we're in a hit,' you actually had to go, 'Right, we have to maintain this.' So the pressure is on you for season 2 and you feel that, you do feel it, but ultimately you can't give into it."

Junos' new metal category surprises nominees

Nick Patch, The Canadian Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:19:00 -0400

TORONTO - Jesse and Shane Matthewson had just returned from a 40-date-plus tour through Europe with their pummelling noise-rock outfit KEN Mode when they immediately got back to work.

After all, it's tax season.

The two brothers who head up the heavy Winnipeg trio both work day jobs as accountants, you see. To outsiders, it might seem incongruous for men to crunch numbers by day and crunch titanic riffs by night — in a band whose moniker stands for Kill Everyone Now, no less — but the seeming contradiction has made sense to the trio for 12 years and four studio albums.

But a Juno nomination? For an aggressive band that stands outside the mainstream even within the closeknit world of metal? Well, it doesn't take a pair of accountants to calculate the long odds of that ever happening, so the band was suitably shocked to find itself in the running for the inaugural metal/hard music album of the year trophy at this weekend's awards.

"I knew that our label threw us into the pool but we had no idea anything would ever come of that — because that's just silly," Jesse Matthewson said in a recent telephone interview from his home in Winnipeg.

"And then it happened. And my email box was full, my Facebook wall — I was kind of just going: 'What the hell? Seriously?'"

Seriously. And KEN Mode wasn't the only heavy outfit to be bowled over by a Juno nomination previously thought to be unattainable.

The metal/hard music award was announced in September, bringing the Junos' total award tally up to 41. While the music award gala actually introduced a hard rock/metal award way back in 1991 — Rush won that year for "Presto" — the "metal" portion of the category was cut the following year and the award was eliminated altogether soon afterward.

When the Junos announced the new category last year, the metal community was simultaneously surprised and skeptical. After all, mainstream award shows had messed up metal before — who can forget the decidedly un-heavy British prog-folk outfit Jethro Tull claiming the '89 Grammy for hard rock/metal performance? — and there was nothing to immediately indicate that the Junos would get it right.

"You know, this is the thing. We're a metal band, and (have) a cult following — that's not something you win Junos for," said Steve (Lips) Kudlow, frontman for veteran Toronto metal outfit Anvil, also up for the Juno.

"It's kind of odd because to be metal is to be anti-commercial. To be anti-commercial is not to be winning a Juno Award."

Matthewson, meanwhile, just assumed the Junos would drop the ball.

"I thought, well, that's kind of cool, but I didn't really take it that seriously because I just assumed it'd be treated more like the Grammys where it's only the very, very big bands that could ever have a hope in hell of getting nominated.

"And then when I saw the list and it's like ... what is going on here?"

In addition to Anvil and KEN Mode, other nominees include Toronto's Cauldron, the Devin Townsend Project out of New Westminster, B.C., and an Ottawa grindcore outfit whose name contains an obscenity.

It's tough to question the bona fides of any of the nominated acts, metal groups as credible as they are bludgeoning.

"In the past, what is generally expected is they add something but they don't know very much about what they're adding," said Kudlow, referring to award shows in general and not just the Junos.

"In this particular case ... I think (the nominees) are pretty accurate."

But even within that group, Matthewson sees KEN Mode as outsiders, particularly compared with Anvil, Cauldron and Townsend. His band's fusion of noise and hardcore is further to the margin of metal than that trio of more traditional acts — Matthewson's self-proclaimed "stupid" term for his group's custom blend is "metallic noise-rock-core."

The Matthewsons have been making music with what Jesse calls a "revolving door" of bassists for 12 years, their early era characterized by stuttering bursts of progress as they tried to make a name for themselves while pursuing degrees at the University of Manitoba's Asper School of Business. After graduating, Shane went on to acquire his chartered accountant designation.

"That's kind of an intense degree to have when you're a band scumbag like us," Jesse summarized proudly.

Even with the frequent interruptions, KEN Mode built a strong international following and garnered glowing notices from metal press, culminating in their critically acclaimed fourth album "Venerable."

Not that such buzz necessarily reverberated far outside the metal community. For certain uninitiated members of the band's extended circle — family friends and co-workers, that is — the Juno nod was the first indication that KEN Mode was actually, you know, good.

"With a lot of quote unquote 'normal' people, that sort of thing really excites them — it's almost like we're a legitimate band now," said Jesse Matthewson, 30.

"(My parents') friends are like: 'Wow, they're like, really talented, aren't they?'"

Still, Matthewson is more interested in the validation that the Junos' newest category could provide others in the genre.

He says Canada's lively metal scene is revered around the world but earns less notice here. He rhymes off a series of bands he wished would get more recognition — with special emphasis on Quebec metal innovators Voivod, Cryptopsy and Gorguts — and believes this Juno could be a meaningful first step.

"It's nice that Canada's finally waking up to appreciate some of the darker arts," he said. "It's cool that hopefully we'll start getting more recognition on a grander scale."

He's less concerned with actually winning the award. While he acknowledges that it would lead to more grant money and give the band a boost within the industry, he also says his first instinct was that the band had "no chance."

Either way, he and his bandmates are headed to Ottawa to toast a nomination they were certain would never come.

"We're intending to come down and cause some trouble," he joked. "Well, in the way that accountants can cause trouble."

The Juno Awards air Sunday on CTV.

Deadmau5-peat? DJ can win 5th straight Juno

Nick Patch, The Canadian Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:15:00 -0400

TORONTO - This could be the year of the Deadmau5-peat.

Yes, the Niagara Falls, Ont., electronic producer otherwise known as Joel Zimmerman has a shot at winning his fifth straight Juno Award for dance recording of the year, a category he's dominated since claiming his first trophy back in 2008.

For his part, Zimmerman doesn't think the nearly half-decade run is all that strange.

"It's not really weird when you're only one of like five Canadians making dance music these days," he said when Juno nominations were announced last month.

"I'm sure a lot more (actually) are, and that just kind of paves the way for a lot more to be recognized."

In fact, this year's dance recording of the year category could be the most competitive it's been in ages.

Among Deadmau5's competition? There's DJ duo Duck Sauce — composed of Armand Van Helden and Montrealer A-Trak — whose house jam "Barbra Streisand" was a Top 10 hit around the world and already earned a Grammy nomination.

Then there's "Hello," the collaboration between Toronto's Dragonette and French DJ Martin Solveig, a ubiquitous earworm that has managed platinum certification in Australia, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand and the U.S.

Mia Martina's nominated album, "Devotion," also featured a Top 10 single in Canada, while pop songstress Anjulie's in-the-running tune "Brand New Chick" (a sanitized version of an originally naughty title) provided a long-awaited breakthrough for the Oakville, Ont., artist, racking up platinum sales in Canada.

Still, some nominees figure they'll be overshadowed by the man in the mouse helmet.

"I'm not expecting to win against Deadmau5," Anjulie said down the line from Los Angeles, where she's based.

"I'm just excited to be in a situation where we're both equals, and I'll take that for (a few) more days, and then he takes over."

Martina is similarly enthused to just be in the same category as the four-time Grammy nominee, and the New Brunswick native says she wouldn't mind at all if he were to claim his fifth straight Juno.

When it comes to the Canadian dance scene, this mouse looms large.

"You know what, it's Deadmau5 — he's the king of dance," Martina said in a recent telephone interview.

"I think every artist looks up to him in that category because he really does pave the way. And I know for me, he just inspires me."

Oh baby! Great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth II

The Associated Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:35:00 -0400

LONDON - Buckingham Palace says Peter Phillips and his wife, Autumn, have had a baby girl — giving Queen Elizabeth II her second great-grandchild.

Isla Elizabeth Phillips, born Thursday, weighed in at 7 pounds and 4 ounces (3.29 kilograms).

She will be 13th in line to the British throne, after her older sister Savannah.

The palace said Friday that the 85-year-old queen, her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and Autumn's family are delighted by the news.

Peter Phillips is the son of Princess Anne. He married Montreal-born Autumn in May 2008.

Jerry Lee Lewis weds for 7th time in Mississippi

The Associated Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:03:00 -0400

NATCHEZ, Miss. - Jerry Lee Lewis has wed for the seventh time in a ceremony this month in Mississippi, according to a newspaper report.

The Natchez Democrat (http://bit.ly/HxLYLa ) reports that Lewis, nicknamed "The Killer," married Judith Brown on March 9. She has been the 76-year-old country and early rock music legend's caregiver. She also formerly was married to Lewis' cousin, Rusty. Rusty's older sister, Myra Gale Brown, married Lewis in 1957 when she was 13 and was his third wife. The marriage caused shockwaves for Lewis' career.

Lewis' last marriage ended in 2004 when he divorced Kerrie McCarver after 20 years together.

The newspaper reports the 62-year-old Brown and Lewis married at a private home in Natchez, Miss., and have spent the past three weeks touring Mississippi and Louisiana.

Brown told the Democrat she became Lewis' caregiver about two years ago.

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Information from: The Natchez Democrat, http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/

Singer Robbie Williams to become a father

The Associated Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:24:00 -0400

LONDON - British pop singer Robbie Williams says he and his U.S. actress wife Ayda Field are expecting their first child this year.

Williams — the voice behind hits such as "Kids" and "Angels" — took to his blog on Friday to tell fans that he has "been keeping a secret."

The 38-year-old star's blog post says he and his wife "had seen scans and cried" in happiness at the news.

He says the nursery is already planned and he "can't wait to be a daddy."

Williams rose to stardom first as a member of the boy band Take That in the 1990s, and later when he pursued a solo singing career with tracks such as the popular "Millennium."

He and his wife tied the knot in August 2010.

Trump's new Success takes a more subtle approach

Samantha Critchell, The Associated Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:05:00 -0400

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Could Donald Trump's sweet smell of Success come without a lot of bells and whistles? That's the approach he's taking with his newest fragrance, showing off a subtler side.

Success by Trump is a clean and spicy mix of juniper and red currant with a heart of ginger, bamboo leaves and geranium, and a base that includes vetiver, birch wood and musk. It comes in an architectural, squared-off clear glass bottle with a brushed silver top.

"It is different from my normal packaging. I felt it was very elegant, modern and a very successful look," the 65-year-old real estate mogul and TV personality said in a recent telephone interview.

Success is made by the Five Star Fragrance Co., which also makes Kim Kardashian's perfume.

Trump says he wears his new scent to formal events. It pairs nicely with the shirts, ties, suits and cuff links, all sold at Macy's, that have his name stamped on them, he said, not missing an opportunity for a pitch, although a softer sell than what audiences might see on his TV show, NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice."

The fashion world is particularly finicky and, Trump said, while he's done well, he wouldn't want it to be his primary source of income.

"I think fashion is a great thing, it can be a beautiful thing, but it's always very complicated. No one can define it, and it can be scary. It's like tech companies that can be hot as a pistol and then be out."

Trump says he is feeling a public preference right now for things that are more streamlined, simple and no-nonsense. All the gold adornment that he loves — on a fragrance bottle, logo, fabric and even in a bathroom — isn't with the zeitgeist at the moment, he explained.

"Look at bathrooms, now they (the public) likes the nickel brush fixtures. Do I like it? No, but I'll do it because it's what the public wants," he said. Taste can change on a dime, and it'll happen quickly, too. A business isn't going to last if it cannot evolve, he said.

This is Trump's second fragrance. The first scent, launched in 2004, was sold mostly at his properties.

What's next?

"I think I've got some of the great buildings of the world, in major cities, so I can't think of anything else, but I will after this conversation," he said.

___

Online:

http://www.trump.com/Donald_J_Trump/Donald_J_Trump.asp

Magic! Harry Potter studio tour opens near London

The Associated Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:25:00 -0400

WATFORD, England - Hogwarts Castle is ready to welcome the Muggle multitudes.

A monumental model of the school for young witches and wizards is part of "The Making of Harry Potter," a studio tour based at the Warner Bros. facility near London where the eight movies were shot between 2000 and 2010.

The studio expects 5,000 people a day to visit the attraction, which opens Saturday.

It features real props, models, costumes and sets from the films, including the Great Hall of Hogwarts school, the dormitory where the young wizard slept and the office of headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

The attraction is part of Warner Bros.' redevelopment of Leavesden Studios, 20 miles (30 kilometres) northwest of London, into Europe's largest filmmaking complex.

US museum puts prolific forger's works on display

Lisa Cornwell, The Associated Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:38:00 -0400

CINCINNATI - Fool me once, the saying goes. But 50 times? That's what a convincing art forger did for nearly three decades when he donated his copies of Picassos and other works of art to unsuspecting U.S. museums in 20 states.

Mark A. Landis, who has dressed as a Jesuit priest or posed as a wealthy donor driving up in a red Cadillac, apparently never took money for his forgeries and has never been arrested.

Now his "works" have been collected into their own tongue-in-cheek exhibit, called Faux Real and opening on April Fools' Day at the University of Cincinnati.

Educating people about forgery and letting people know about Landis "is the only way to stop him," said Mark Tullos, director of the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana, which was duped in 2010 with a donation of a painting supposedly by American Charles Courtney Curran.

Landis creates works in oil, watercolour, pastels, chalk, ink and pencil, making most of his copies from museum or auction catalogues that provide dimensions and information on the originals.

He sometimes bestows gifts under different names, such as the Father Arthur Scott alias used at Hilliard. In that case, he told officials that his dead mother had left works including Curran's oil-on-wood painting "Three Women" and that he was donating it in her memory.

Tullos said museum employees became suspicious when Landis kept changing the subject under questioning. After he drove off, the museum quickly concluded it was a forgery.

To convince museums he is a philanthropist, he also concocts elaborate stories about health concerns, said Cincinnati exhibit co-curator Matthew Leininger.

"He has been having heart surgery for almost 30 years," Leininger said with a frustrated laugh. "This is the strangest case the museum realm has known in years."

Landis, 57, acknowledges what he's up to. He told The Associated Press in a phone interview from his home in Laurel, Mississippi, that he made his first forgery donation to a California museum in 1985.

"They were so nice. I just got used to that, and one thing led to another," he said. "It never occurred to me that anyone would think it was wrong."

The Cincinnati exhibit of about 40 works given to 15 museums grew to around 100 when Landis donated 60 pieces he possesses, along with his priest's outfit.

The Faux Real show will run through May 20 at the Dorothy W. and C. Lawson Reed Jr. Gallery. It depicts famous art forgers, details of how Landis made some donations and ways of detecting fakes. Visitors can view some works under ultraviolet light that causes sections to glow if they contain contemporary ingredients.

Art experts say not accepting payment for his forgeries has helped keep Landis from being charged with a crime. Museum officials say forgeries can hurt their reputation and cost time and money researching suspected fraud.

Landis typically targets smaller museums without resources to thoroughly check donations. While museums don't pay Landis, some treat him to meals, receptions and gifts like catalogues and souvenirs before realizing they were duped, Leininger said.

The exhibit doesn't judge Landis but is using his story to show how forgeries occur and demonstrate that institutions and the public "shouldn't take things at face value," exhibit co-curator Aaron Cowan.

The exhibit won't increase the value of Landis' works — considered worthless except as educational tools on forgery — and the curators have heard no objections to spotlighting his works.

Landis won't profit from the show but says it is "nice of them to do this." And though Leininger says he doesn't think Landis can stop, the forger acknowledges that it's harder to fool people now "than the '80s and '90s, when you could just walk in and donate."

"Now they want all types of documentation."

Smithsonian opens Civil War art from North, South

The Associated Press — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:54:00 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery is opening two new exhibits that retrace the history of the Civil War, including a display of lesser known portraits by photographer Mathew Brady.

One exhibit opening Friday, "Mathew Brady's Photographs of Union Generals," will feature Brady's portraits of the ever-changing roster of Union army generals. It includes images of many of the North's military leaders, including George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses Grant.

Another exhibit will feature the Confederate cause. "The Confederate Sketches of Adalbert Volck" will include the pictorial propaganda created by a Baltimore dentist who sided with the South. His work focused on vilifying President Abraham Lincoln, Union soldiers and northern abolitionists.

The Brady photographs are on view through May 2015. The Volck sketches are on view through January.