A few Dweeb Odds-n-Ends

THIS WOULD ALL COME UNDER THE HEADING 'MISCELLANY":

FIRST CONTACT DVD Features Goldsmith Tribute
Paramount Home Entertainment has announced that the upcoming 2-disc edition of the eighth STAR TREK feature film, FIRST CONTACT, will be released on March 15th, 2005, and will contain among its plethora of features a special tribute to long-time TREK composer Jerry Goldsmith. EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS ALMOST....BUT MAYBE NOT QUITE...MAKES IT WORTH OWNING THE DVD. (ALTHOUGH, NOW THAT I'M THINKING ABOUT IT, THIS MOVIE DIDN'T REALLY STINK LIKE THE LAST FEW ONES DID). The DVD set will contain a new audio commentary from actor/director Jonathan Frakes and screenwriters Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore and a textual commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda.

The bonus disk for the DVD set will include a number of featurettes, including "The STAR TREK Universe" (a collection of programs which includes the Goldsmith tribute as well as “The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane" and "First Contact: The Possibilities"), "The Borg Collective" (featuring "Unimatrix One", "The Queen" and "Design Matrix"), "FIRST CONTACT Production" (featuring "The Story", "The Missile Silo", "The Deflector Dish", "From "A" to "E", "Making FIRST CONTACT" and "The Art of FIRST CONTACT"), "Scene Deconstruction" (featuring "Borg Queen Assembly", "Escape Pod Launch" and "Borg Queen's Demise"), extensive storyboards, a production gallery, and the film's theatrical teaser and trailer.

No deleted scenes will be include this time EDITOR'S NOTE: WELL POO.

Elfman Debuts Symphonic Concert
On February 23rd, Danny Elfman will make his debut as a symphonic concert work composer.

The 30 minute piece is entitled Serenada Schizophrana and is described by the American Composers Orchestra (who will perform the premiere performance at Carnegie Hall) as a "symphonic tour-de-force bringing audiences into the composer's radical and highly anticipated compositional shift to a new musical realm." EDITOR'S NOTE: YES, BUT CAN YOU HUM IT LEAVING THE THEATER?

In a comment, the orchestra's music director Steven Sloane said that "America's greatest musical influence around the globe has been through the work of Hollywood composers. That was true during Hollywood's golden age and it remains so today. In the early 21st century, with the great breakdown of the walls that divide the musical landscape, it makes sense for us to do what we can to encourage film composers to stretch themselves musically, just as we do for all the composers we commission. I can think of nobody with a fresher musical imagination than Danny Elfman. I don't know what to expect, and I can't wait!"

Elfman's Serenada Schizophrana is scored for large orchestra, electronics, two pianos, and female voices. EDITOR'S NOTE: SOUNDS FUN!

'Hairspray' heading to Las Vegas
Another Broadway show is heading west.

This time, it's the musical "Hairspray," the eight-time Tony Award winner that will move into its own theater at the Luxor hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

"This is a big one," show producer Myron Martin told The Associated Press on Thursday. "This is such a beautiful fit for Vegas."

"Hairspray" is slated to open in late November at the pyramid-shaped Luxor, Martin said. The original will remain in New York City. The production will cost about $12 million, Martin said. A spot opened up at the Luxor after the Blue Man Group decided to move up the street to The Venetian megaresort. The deal had been in the works for about a year, Martin said. The Las Vegas version of "Hairspray" will be a 90-minute, intermission-less version of the show. The Broadway production runs more than two hours EDITOR'S NOTE: KINDA SAD/SCARY WHEN THEY HAVE TO DUMB-DOWN A SHOW THAT WASN'T TERRIBLY BRIGHT TO BEGIN WITH. MAYBE IF THEY PUT FLUORIDE IN THE WATER, THEY COULD UP THE IQ A TAD?

AND SPEAKING OF IQ LAPSES.....

Survey: Users confuse search results, ads
Only 1 in 6 users of Internet search engines can tell the difference between unbiased search results and paid advertisements, a new survey finds. EDITOR'S NOTE: WOW. AS IT TURNS OUT, THERE REALLY IS A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE. (NOT THE MINUTES WE WERE BORN, OF COURSE.....BUT ALL THE OTHER MINUTES).

The Pew Internet and American Life Project reported Sunday that adults online in the United States are generally naive when it comes to how search engines work. The major search engines all return a mix of regular results, based solely on relevance to the search terms entered, and sponsored links, for which a Web site had paid money to get displayed more prominently.

Caan & Duvall Pulled Back in by "Godfather
THR is reporting that James Caan and Robert Duvall will join the late Marlon Brando in providing voice acting and likenesses for Electronic Arts' "The Godfather" video game.
They will reprise their respective roles as Sonny Corleone and Tom Hagen from the film. There will be a premiere unveiling of the game in New York's Little Italy on Feb. 10, 2005. EA also secured the rights to Nino Rota'a score. EDITOR'S NOTE: I GUESS WE SHOULD ASSUME THAT BRANDO ALREADY LAID DOWN HIS TRACKS? CAUSE OTHERWISE, I'M THINKING THAT IS GOING TO BE ONE HECK OF A PHONE PATCH TO RECORD HIS STUFF.....