Zombie Rock Stars
David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osbourne and Gwen Stefani are allbeing considered for roles in George A. Romero’s latest zombiefilm, “Diamond Dead,” in which a rock band returns from the dead tobecome highly successful, thanks in part to a contract with thedevil. Does that sound like a great movie or what?
It gets even better. By visiting the official sitediamonddead.com, you can read the script and put in feedback aboutwhich rocker you want to see as a rotting shell of rock ‘n’ rollglory.
The Axl of Evil
Notorious jerk and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose has been slappedwith a hefty million dollar lawsuit, according to a report onNME.com. Axl’s ex-bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan took exceptionto the jersey-wearing singer’s refusal to use Guns N’ Roses tracksin movies without obtaining the other members’ consent first.
The suit also places blame on Rose for a fiasco that occurredafter the producer of “Black Hawk Down” requested that “Welcome tothe Jungle” be used in the film. Axl demanded that the song bere-recorded without Duff and Slash to prevent them from receivingany licensing royalties. Naturally, the other members had someissues with this, and are now taking up their grievances againsttheir former bandmate in court.
Belligerent Brit Loves Beatles
According to English rag The Sun, Oasis’ frontman Liam Gallagherand Dhani Harrison, son of George, have revealed plans to form asupergroup that will also feature ex-Stone Roses guitarist JohnSquire.
The band plans to release an album by Christmas, but is stillsearching for members to bolster its ranks in time for recording.Hopefully, working with Beatles blood won’t push Liam over the edgeinto a fantasy world where he actually believes he is one of theBeatles.
Lennon to Two-Step
In other Beatles-related news, Yoko Ono has given her blessing to aBroadway musical based on the life of her late husband John Lennon.Variety magazine reports that the play will chronicle John’s lifefrom his youth in working-class Liverpool to his death at the handsof a crazed gunman in 1980, except with a significantly largeramount of dancing than actually occurred.
Lennon’s post-Beatles work will feature prominently in themusical, which is scheduled to open in San Francisco nextFebruary.
Sonic Youth Straight to Video
Sonic Youth have been keeping busy. Not only is their newest LP,Sonic Nurse, coming out this summer, but there’s also a completeDVD videography arriving on June 8, according to the official siteSonicyouth.com.
“Corporate Ghost,” the band’s first DVD ever, will contain aplethora of videos, including the entirety of their Geffen debutGoo. Live performances, interviews and miscellaneous SY goodies areincluded.
Also on the disk will be commentary not only from Sonic Youththemselves but a whole host of collaborators including Spike Jonze,Kathleen Hanna, Vincent Gallo and Jason Lee, just to name afew.
Mickey Mouse Hates Michael Moore
Bloated corporate entity Disney has taken offense to MichaelMoore’s newest film, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” and has blocked its Miramaxstudio from releasing the documentary, according to The New YorkTimes.
Moore posits that Disney’s desire to maintain its hefty taxbreaks in Jeb Bush’s Florida factor into its unwillingness to allowits subsidiary to release his film, which is highly critical of theBush administration’s handling of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks andexplores connections between the Bush and Bin Laden families.However, Moore does not plan on letting Disney’s actions preventhis film’s release, as it is already completed and scheduled forthe Cannes Film Festival this month.
“Some people may be afraid of this movie because of what it willshow,” Moore wrote in a statement on his Web site. “But there’snothing they can do about it now because it’s done, it’s awesomeand if I have anything to say about it, you’ll see it this summer -because, after all, it is a free country.”