Great AMAZON MP3 Download Center

'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters'

WINNERS OF THE WEEK: Good titles. Whatever you may think of the film itself, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a terrific title. It tells you everything you need to know about the movie, including whether or not it's your kind of movie. If it is, you probably were among those who helped it debut at Number One this weekend with an estimated $19.0 million. Indeed, the title may have been the biggest selling point of the movie; not its horror/action premise, not its stars (despite The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy, Jeremy Renner is not a proven box office draw, and neither is erstwhile Bond girl Gemma Arterton), and not the 3D retrofitting that helped keep the movie on the shelf for a year. The film opened in line with pundits' modest expectations; imagine how much more poorly it would have done without such a vivid and apt title.

Last week's champ, evocatively titled horror movie Mama, dropped to second place with an estimated $12.9 million, down 55 percent from its premiere a week ago, which is not unusual for a horror movie. Silver Linings Playbook is not an evocative title, but at least it's a unique and memorable one; the Oscar-hopeful dramedy came in third and earned a strong $10.0 million according to estimates, down just a hair (seven percent) from last week. Fellow Oscar contender Zero Dark Thirty (fantastic title for a spy thriller) was close behind with an estimated $9.8 million, down 38 percent from last week. Both films have earned about $69 million to date; if they cross $100 million, that will be seven out of nine Best Picture nominees that are nine-figure hits, making this year's crop the most popular slate of Academy Award nominees in memory.

Peter Travers Picks Five Great Films From Sundance 2013

LOSERS OF THE WEEK: Bad Titles. Can you tell from the title what Parker is about? Is it about Sarah Jessica? About the guy who stows your car while you dine at a fancy restaurant? No, it's about the hero of several Donald E. Westlake novels, as played by Jason Statham. Despite a pedigreed director (Taylor Hackford, of Ray and An Officer and a Gentleman fame) and a high-powered supporting cast (Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte), Parker mustered only a fifth-place opening with just an estimated $7.0 million.

At least it outperformed Movie 43. Again, a confusing title (Was there any clue that the film is a collection of raunchy comic sketches? Did moviegoers fear they wouldn't be able to follow the plot if they hadn't seen Movies 1 through 42?) didn't help. Despite an all-star cast, the film, which had been expected to open around $9 million, came in seventh with an estimated $5.0 million. Guess this means there won't be a Movie 44.

HEAD OF STATHAM: Jason Statham occupies a curious niche in Hollywood. He's a dependable lead in action movies; in fact, he's a one-man genre. You always know what you're getting with a Statham movie, including a battle-scarred action hero who can out-think, out-mutter, and out-headbutt a parade of bad guys. And yet it's not at all clear that he's a star. The actor works steadily (he's made about 18 movies over the last decade), but primarily in independent films (his last studio feature was Death Race five years ago). His movies routinely open below $10 million and top out around $25 or $30 million in North America. Even a movie like Parker, with a literary source, an arty director, and a top-notch supporting cast, isn't doing any better than the standard Statham film.

So how does he keep getting lead roles? Well, his movies are inexpensive to make – cheap enough for indie distributors, at least. And they do very well overseas (where his laconic style translates easily), typically earning half or more of their total gross outside North America. And there's something to be said for a guy who reliably delivers exactly what he's called upon to deliver, with no muss, no fuss. Careers have been built on less.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Frank Ocean Cited for Marijuana Possession, Speeding: Report

12:14 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Frank Ocean was cited for possession of marijuana, driving on a suspended license and having tinted windows after police pulled the musician over for speeding in Mono County, California, TMZ reports.

50 Best Songs of 2012: Frank Ocean, 'Thinkin Bout You'

Ocean was pulled over in his black BMW on New Year's Eve for going 90 mph in a 65 mph zone. When police approached his car they reportedly smelled pot, and a search allegedly turned up a small bag of it on his person.

Police confiscated Ocean's license but released him on the spot; the other passenger in the vehicle drove him home.

Neither Ocean nor anyone in his camp has commented on the incident.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Friday, January 4, 2013

Box Office Report: 'Breaking Dawn Part 2' Falls Shy of 'Twilight' Record

11:21 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. Okay, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln didn't exactly take an ax to the massive grosses of Twiilght: Breaking Dawn Part 2, but it still took a bigger-than-expected bite out of the weekend box office. After last weekend's impressive limited-release debut, the biopic expanded wide and raked in an estimated $21.0 million, good for third place. Not too shabby, considering that the Daniel Day-Lewis movie had pundits predicting a gross as low as $11 million. But his much-buzzed-about performance drew grown-up audiences who might otherwise have poked their heads into Breaking Dawn Part 2 or Skyfall.

Skyfall, by the way, did lose 53 percent of last week's business, but falling to an estimated $41.5 million in its second weekend was still good enough for second place. The latest James Bond film has grossed $161.3 million in 10 days. Wreck-It Ralph continued to have the kiddie audience to itself, coming in fourth with an estimated $18.3 million, for a three weekend-total of $121.5 million. In fifth place, Flight lost altitude, dropping 42 percent from last week to an estimated $8.6 million, for a total to date of $61.3 million that will stall well shy of $100 million by the end of its run.

LOSERS OF THE WEEK: Team Edward and Team Jacob. Granted, it's hard to call a movie a loser that opened with an estimated $141.3 million. Still the fifth and final Twilight had been expected to be the biggest, when actually, it sucked up just a bit less in ticket sales than the second installment, New Moon (which opened with $142.8 million in 2009). Experts had expected it to bite off at least $150 million, so the actual take is a mild disappointment. Still, word-of-mouth is strong, and the movie does have some adult appeal, so it's not entirely dependent on the teen girl audience that made up the bulk of the opening-weekend crowd. So despite an opening that didn't soar over the fence, there's no reason to think Breaking Dawn Part 2 won't end up in the same ballpark as the rest of the vampire franchise.

WATCH YOUR BACK, BELLA: Like The Twilight Saga's Kristen Stewart, who'll be astonishing audiences next month by playing a very un-Bella-like sexual libertine in On the Road, rising starlets Jennifer Lawrence and Keira Knightley seem to feel just as comfortable stretching in indie and art-house films as they do working in mainstream blockbusters. This weekend, both unveiled Oscar-baiting performances in The Silver Linings Playbook and Anna Karenina, respectively. Lawrence may be as big a draw in Playbook as co-stars Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, and not because anyone expects her to remind them of The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen. Frequent Pirates of the Caribbean heroine Knightley always manages to breathe passionate, fiery life into highbrow literature when she works with director Joe Wright, who also directed her in Pride and Prejudice and Atonement. Both Playbook and Anna Karenina showed signs of living up to their art-house hype with this weekend's strong openings on just 16 screens each. Playbook earned an estimated $458,000, or about $29,000 per screen, while Anna Karenina scored an estimated $315,000, or about $20,000 per screen. (Those numbers are nearly two or three times what the impressive Lincoln made per screen this weekend.) Such figures suggest that both Lawrence and Knightley will do very well when their movies open wide – and that the two actresses will continue to be able to balance their careers between art and commerce.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Friday, August 24, 2012

Report: Nicki Minaj Confirmed as 'American Idol' Judge

7:43 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Debra L Rothenberg/Getty Images

Nicki Minaj will join American Idol next season as a judge, reports Us Weekly. Sources say the rapper has "a few more slight things to sign off on" but is "100 percent confirmed to judge" the show. Fox, which airs American Idol, declined to comment when contacted by Us.

Minaj joins Mariah Carey on the judges' panel after Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler stepped down after last season. There's been talk that Randy Jackson will move into a "mentoring" role, leaving one more judge spot open for next season. Nick Jonas has confirmed he is under consideration for the gig, and sources say Pharrell Williams is also up for the spot. Charlie Sheen has also expressed interest in being a judge on the show.

Minaj canceled a planned performance at the V Festival in England last weekend, citing strained vocal cords.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Report: Second Man Found Dead Near V Festival in England

6:31 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

The V Festival in Chelmsford, England.

A second man has reportedly been found dead near the site of the V Festival in Chelmsford, England, according to NME. A 39 year-old was found yesterday in the backyard of a house after a private party near the festival. Early examinations show the man died of head injuries. The police have arrested 10 men between the ages of 23 and 35 on suspicion of murder.

Police have also identified the 22-year old who was found dead earlier at the V Festival. Timothy Brockhurst was discovered unresponsive and not breathing inside a tent at 1 a.m. yesterday morning. Foul play is not suspected in his death.

LMFAO, the Killers, David Guetta, Snow Patrol and the Stone Roses were among the performers at the V Festival. Nicki Minaj withdrew due to strained vocal chords. Frank Ocean was also set to perform, but the singer has canceled many European dates, including his tour with Coldplay.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Report: Nicki Minaj Confirmed as 'American Idol' Judge

12:09 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Debra L Rothenberg/Getty Images

Minaj canceled a planned performance at the V Festival in England last weekend, citing strained vocal cords.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Box Office Report: 'Expendables 2' Not So Expendable; 'Sparkle' Not So Sparkly

7:15 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Dolph Lundgren attend a photocall for The Expendables 2 in London on August 13th, 2012.

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Old age. The Expendables 2, now with even more AARP-eligible action stars than the first installment, beat a slew of young whippersnappers to grab the box office crown with a weekend take of $28.8 million, according to studio estimates. That's less than the $34.8 million debut of the original two Augusts ago but still pretty spry for the dog days of summer. Last week's champ, The Bourne Legacy, also proved to have strong legs for an action franchise on its fourth go-round. Jeremy Renner, finally an action hero at 41, saw his spy tale gross an estimated $17.0 million, good for second place, with a loss in business of 55 percent from last week. That's typical for the genre, though the movie that held up the best, week-to-week, was Hope Springs, with just a 38 percent drop its second week. The romantic dramedy, whose youngest star is 50-year-old Steve Carell, pulled in an estimated $9.1 million to finish at Number Eight.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Youth. 3D animated kiddie horror comedy ParaNorman had to settle for a third place premiere with an estimated $14.0 million. You'd think a movie like that would do better in October, but it picked a week with intense competition for the family audience. Sparkle, sold on the basis of movie newbie and American Idol fave Jordin Sparks' youth appeal (since Whitney Houston wasn't around to sell it to her peers), had been expected to do as well as $18 million, but it opened in fifth place with an estimated $12.0 million. Disney's fable The Odd Life of Timothy Green debuted all the way down at Number Seven with an estimated $10.9 million. Given that Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Ice Age: Continental Drift, and even Brave are still attracting kids, it seemed the wrong week to introduce a new movie in the family marketplace, let alone three of them.

CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC: Sure, it sucks to be humiliated in front of the whole world by your girlfriend's affair with a married man, but Robert Pattinson couldn't have picked a better time to have Kristen Stewart cheat on him. His week-long ice-cream-and-sympathy tour of the nation's media outlets yielded a publicity windfall for Cosmopolis, an art-house movie about a tycoon in a limo riding a few blocks across Manhattan to get a haircut, a film based on a highbrow Don DeLillo novel and adapted by a director (David Cronenberg) with a notoriously chilly outlook – in other words, a picture that ought to scare off most of Pattinson's teen Twi-hard fanbase. Instead, the movie opened with a per-screen average estimated at $24,100, far and away the best among films currently in theaters. (Expendables 2, for instance, opened with an $8,700 per-screen average.) Granted, Cosmopolis premiered on just three screens, but an average that big suggests a strong want-to-see factor as Cosmopolis gradually opens across North America in the weeks to come. So Pattinson's public moping seems to have paid off.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Friday, July 20, 2012

Report: Coachella Promoters to Announce New Cruise

12:11 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

The Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, CaliforniaKarl Walter/Getty Images for Coachella

Goldenvoice, the promotions company behind Coachella, are expected to announce later today that they will be expanding the brand of their hit music festival to include a cruise, the Los Angeles Times reports.

While those asked about the cruise did not give specific details regarding cost, dates or who might play, it is expected the ship would sail out of Florida perhaps as early as December. "The ship looks amazing," siad one artist representative who works with Goldenvoice.

The expansion comes as no surprise for the ever-growing Goldenvoice: Just this year they presented Coachella on two consecutive weekends, a move that grossed $47.3 million. The company has already set aside two weekends for Coachella next year.

Concert cruises have also become more common over the past few years, with artists ranging from Weezer to R. Kelly to the biggest names in EDM setting sail.

The Coachella cruise also comes on the heels of a recent flare-up between Goldenvoice and Indio, California, the desert town that hosts Coachella and Goldenvoice's country festival, Stagecoach. Recently a city councilman proposed a 5-10 percent admission tax for events of more than 2,500 people, which would have raised Coachella ticket prices by $18 to $36, an increase Goldenvoice was not willing to absorb or pass along to ticket buyers.

More recently, however, the councilman backed away from his proposal after Goldenvoice considered finding a new location for Coachella and even canceling the 2014 fest.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Report: Aretha Franklin Wants to be a Judge on 'American Idol'

2:27 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Aretha Franklin performs in New Orleans.

American Idol has had a tough week, with star hosts Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez both announcing that they're leaving the show within days of each other. But the enterprise could now finally see a change in its fortunes, thanks to the Queen of Soul.

CNN reports that in response to an e-mailed query, Aretha Franklin said that she is interested in joining the show as a judge. She said that she has been a longtime fan of the show as a viewer, and would like to take an more active role. She also added that she would bring Patti LaBelle to join her as sidekick.

Fox has not yet commented on the possibility of adding the 18-time Grammy Award winner to the American Idol judges' table.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Monday, July 16, 2012

Report: Aretha Franklin Wants to be a Judge on 'American Idol'

3:29 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Aretha Franklin performs in New Orleans.

Fox has not yet commented on the possibility of adding the 18-time Grammy Award winner to the American Idol judges' table.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Report: Axl Rose Is Dating Lana Del Rey

10:02 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Axl Rose and Lana Del Rey are seen leaving Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.Josephine Santos, PacificCoastNews.com

Axl Rose is rumored to be dating Lana Del Rey, the Daily News reports. The Guns N' Roses frontman was spotted leaving the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood with Del Rey on Friday, and the singer attended two consecutive Guns N' Roses shows in Los Angeles last month,

Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba previously told TMZ that he doesn't think the two are a couple. "I don't think they're dating," he says. "Axl is a really cool dude and he likes to hang out with cool people."

Del Rey, 25, has been a fan of the 50-year-old Rose for some time. Prior to her success with the viral pop hit "Video Games," the singer recorded a song called "Axl Rose Husband," in which she sings "You're my one king daddy, I'm your little queen." You can hear the song – which was sort of creepy to begin with, but is even more so now that the two know each other and may be hooking up – below.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Report: Axl Rose Is Dating Lana Del Rey

7:37 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Axl Rose and Lana Del Rey are seen leaving Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.Josephine Santos, PacificCoastNews.com

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Friday, April 6, 2012

Whitney Houston's Final Autopsy Report: Cocaine Found in Singer's Room

5:20 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Whitney Houston performs at the American Music Awards.Kevin Winter/AMA2009/Getty Images for DCP

Cocaine and related paraphernalia were discovered in the Beverly Hills Hotel room where Whitney Houston died, the singer's final autopsy report has revealed.

According to the 42-page report, detectives found a "small spoon with a white crystal-like substance in it and a rolled up piece of white paper" on the bathroom counter. They also found cocaine on a portable mirror that was stashed in a drawer in the hotel room.

An initial coroner's report released two weeks ago concluded that Houston's official cause of death was accidental drowning, although cocaine use and a heart condition were listed as contributing causes. Measurable amounts of marijuana, Benadryl, Xanex and Flexeril were found in the singer's system, but they were not considered contributing factors in her death.

Houston, who had a long history of drug use, died on February 11th just one day prior to the Grammy Awards. An assistant left her alone in her hotel room for less than an hour while she shopped for items for Houston's scheduled appearance at a pre-Grammy party later that night. When she returned, she found Houston's limp body in the bathtub with her face down in the water.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Whitney Houston's Final Autopsy Report: Cocaine Found in Singer's Room

12:01 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Whitney Houston performs at the American Music Awards.Kevin Winter/AMA2009/Getty Images for DCP

Cocaine and related paraphernalia were discovered in the Beverly Hills Hotel room where Whitney Houston died, the singer's final autopsy report has revealed.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Sunday, April 1, 2012

98 Degrees Reunite for Summer Tour: Report

6:16 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

98 Degrees perform in New York in 2001.

Boy band 98 Degrees will reunite for a summer tour, RumorFix reports. The original lineup of the group, which features Nick Lachey, Drew Lachey, Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre, will hit the road for a 15-city tour in July and August, a source close to the band told the site. Rumors of the quartet's return started spreading yesterday when their website was updated for the first time in a decade.

98 Degrees, who are best known for their hits "If She Only Knew" and "Because of You," are returning at a good time for boy bands. Veteran groups Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block have enjoyed major success on the road, both together as NKOTBSB and on their own, and young groups One Direction and the Wanted are currently blowing up on the pop charts.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

98 Degrees Reunite for Summer Tour: Report

1:35 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

98 Degrees perform in New York in 2001.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Bobby Brown Arrested for DUI: Report

10:47 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Bobby Brown performs in Newark, New Jersey.

Bobby Brown has been arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence in Los Angeles, TMZ reports. The singer was reportedly busted by cops in Reseda, California just after noon for driving while talking on a cell phone.

According to TMZ, the singer is in custody at a jail in Van Nuys. So far it has not been revealed what substance – or substances – police believe he was using before driving his car. Brown was previously convicted for a DUI from an arrest in Georgia in 1996. He plead guilty to that charge and served eight days in prison.

Brown's ex-wife, Whitney Houston, drowned to death with cocaine in her system on February 11th. Brown was turned away from the hotel in Los Angeles where she died, and was asked to leave her funeral service after a confrontation with her family.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Bobby Brown Arrested for DUI: Report

10:11 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Bobby Brown performs in Newark, New Jersey.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Thursday, February 23, 2012

'Colbert Report' to Return Tonight

8:36 AM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Production is back on for the Colbert Report, which will return to the air tonight.

As Rolling Stone reported last week, the show had abruptly suspended taping after canceling the February 15th episode at the last minute due to "unforeseen reasons."

While neither Comedy Central nor Stephen Colbert himself released an official statement explaining the hiatus, reports emerged that Colbert was taking the time off to care for his 91-year-old mother.

On February 17, Colbert tweeted a note of thanks to those who had expressed concern:

"My family and I would like to thank everyone who has offered their thoughts and prayers. We are grateful and touched by your concern."

Tonight’s episode will feature the novelist Ann Patchett discussing independent bookstores.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

'Colbert Report' Abruptly Suspends Production

3:46 PM

greatmp3downloadcenter

Stephen Colbert hosts 'The Colbert Report.'

The Colbert Report has gone on a sudden, unexplained hiatus. Last night's episode was canceled at the last minute, with ticketholders for the taping being informed by email that both last night and today's shows were being scrapped due to "unforeseen reasons."

Comedy Central and the Colbert Nation website have not released an official statement on the matter, but the show has been suspended for the week and is not expected to return until Monday at the earliest. The show has never gone off schedule in the past, though its sister program The Daily Show has taken similar last-minute breaks when host Jon Stewart's child was born and after a former intern committed suicide.

Stephen Colbert's normally active Twitter feed has gone silent since Tuesday, suggesting that the host is attending to some sort of personal matter.

Update: The Wall Street Journal has reported that the hiatus is due to an emergency in Colbert's family.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here