Hallelujah, it’s War!
Burke Battles Buckley for Christmas Number One
Somewhere, Leonard Cohen will be celebrating a very happy Hanukkah. For at this festive time, Cohen’s 1984 song ‘Hallelujah’ is battling for both the Number 1 and Number 2 position in the UK Christmas Singles Chart.
Battle lines are drawn between those that prefer the stirring voice of tragically lost Jeff Buckley, and those that favour the belting tones of tragically misguided Alexandra Burke, winner of television show The X-Factor.
Certainly, media marketing power will likely ensure Burke’s version succeeds, but the real winner is Cohen. With either version of the song destined to reach the top spot, one thing’s for sure; Cohen’s Christmas might not be white but it will be golden.
Scarlett sees Red
Johansson furious over Interview
Scarlett Johansson values her privacy. So much so that she never grants interviews to magazines that wish to discuss her private life. Nonetheless, many were shocked to discover that in January’s UK edition of Cosmopolitan, the actress had given a full and frank interview on her recent marriage to Ryan Reynolds.
But it turns out that Miss Johansson was equally astonished because the interview in question never happened. The entire interview had been fabricated. So far Cosmo have issued an apology and bleated that an ‘agency journalist’ had supplied the copy for that interview. Johansson is now considering legal action against the magazine for its work of fiction.
Branagh and Co. Battles the Brigands
Directors Demand an End to Movie Piracy
Two British Film Directors have written to the Government demanding that they find ways to ban people from illegally downloading movies from the Internet.
Kenneth Branagh and Richard Curtis insist that illegal downloads across the world are undermining the film industry and costing jobs, opportunities and revenue estimated at £500 million a year.
In their letter, the directors insist that Internet Service Providers should be compelled by law to act responsibly. Ironically Branagh recently starred in Curtis’ film celebrating the illegal pirate radio stations of the 70s.
Real Rock Stars Join the Game
Rockers swap their Guitars for Consoles
Apparently the news that there’s a recession hasn’t reached the millionaire rock stars complaining that album sales are down. In order to make up their losses, a number of bands are releasing their own version of console games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
Aerosmith were the first to cash in on the music gaming phenomena when their Guitar Hero game made $23 million dollars more than their latest album.
But the really smart bands like Metallica and Motley Crue are using the console game tie-in to provide a sales channel for new albums. Metallica’s fans were able to exclusively listen to the first single from their ‘Death Magnetic’ album when they bought the game. Of course, this encourages their fans to buy the new album too.
Console tie-ins may not be a long-term way of propping up slumping album sales, but it certainly means they will remain recession-proof for the near future.
Models in Nude Protest
Life Models Strike in the French Capital
Nude Life Models have taken to the streets of Paris on strike, refusing to get their kit off professionally until they receive wage increases and a bit more respect from their employers.
In Paris, life modelling is still considered a valid career choice, although the job pays minimum wage, and has no holiday or sick pay. Still, the models showed real conviction protesting naked through Paris in December.
This is not the first instance of life models striking in Europe. Earlier this year, life models in Italy also went on strike, but more sensibly, they chose to keep their clothes on.
Mark Westbrook
Dec 19, 2008
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