Pop Culture Checklist

If you’re a TV and history buff, you may not mind a short drive to Indiana.

At the Northern Indiana Center for History in South Bend, Ind., they have a multi-media presentation called “Chaning Channels.” The exhibit explores how TV interprets history; the past, present and future of TV technology; TV’s place in reporting memorable events; a review of famous/favorite commercials, and highlights from shows like I Love Lucy, Star Trek, and MASH.

It also features some other cool things, like the postal uniform worn by Cliff Clavin from Cheers and the microphone from the very first American Bandstand used by Dick Clark in 1956.

The exhibit is open through Feb. 29 at Northern Indiana Center for History, 808 W. Washington St., South Bend. It’s in the downtown area, only 10 minutes south of I-80/90.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.

For directions or more information, visit www.centerforhistory.org.

This came as a total shock: Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan, a heavy favorite to at least make the finals in ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ was voted off last night. If you missed it, the crowd groaned and booed, and the host even said it was wrong. The judges were left scratching their heads, too.

So much for a Helio vs. Sabrina matchup in the finals.

If you were a big fan of hers, will you still watch the show? Are you too devasted by this turn of events?

Elvis Presley has been named the top earning dead celebrity of 2007.

From October 2006 to October 2007, the King of Rock’n'Roll earned $49 million in royalties. He reclaimed the top spot on the Forbes.com list after being knocked off last year by Kurt Cobain.

Forbes.com recently listed its list of top 13 celebrities who earned the most in death. The top 13 grossed a combined $232 million in the past 12 months.

Here are the top-earning dead celebrities of 2007:

1. Elvis, $49 million

2. John Lennon, $44 million

3. Charles Schulz, $35 million

4. George Harrison, $22 million

5. Albert Einstein, $18 million

6. Andy Warhol, $15 million

7. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), $13 million

8. Tupac Shakur, $9 million

9. Marilyn Monroe, $7 million

10. Steve McQueen, $6 million

11. James Brown, $5 million

12. Bob Marley, $4 million

13. James Dean, $3.5 million      

If you don’t get too creeped out watching spooky shows, then don’t miss the remaining horror shows on the rest of the month — in honor of Halloween, of course.

Here’s the frightening lineup:

Every day

–AMC’s annual “Monsterfest” continues through Halloween

–ABC Family’s “13 Nights of Halloween” continues to air scary movies through Halloween.

Oct. 29

–The legendary Flying Dutchman returns to spook SpongeBob SquarePants at the annual Halloween party. It airs at 4 p.m. on NickToons.

Oct. 30

–”It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” airs at 8 p.m. on ABC.  The animated 1966 classic runs every Halloween.

–A rerun of “Will & Grace” features a Halloween episode. It’s on at 11 p.m. on Lifetime.

Oct. 31

–”Ghost Hunters Live” will air at 9 p.m. on the Sci Fi channel. It’s a live, 6-hour investigative event. The hunters will revisit the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Ky., which is one of the most haunted places in America.

–The Discovery Channel is airing a marathon of the show “A Haunting” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (This is the best show EVER!)

–From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Bravo is airing “100 Scariest Movie Moments” and “Even Scarier Movie Moments.”

–The Travel Channel is running spooky shows all day long. At 9 p.m., it’s the ”World’s Creepiest Destinations,” followed by “Mysterious Journeys” at 10 p.m.  

They also will re-run a shortened version of “Most Haunted Live” when the investigative team spent the night (in June) at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The 2-hour episode begins at 11 p.m. A second “Most Haunted Live” will run at 1 a.m. It will be a 2-hour rerun version of last week’s live show when the team stayed the night at the Winchester Mystery House.

–”Poltergeist” will air at 7:30 p.m. on ABC Family.

–All the “Halloween” movies will be seen all day and night long on AMC as the finale of “Monsterfest.” The first Halloween movie begins at 6 a.m. and the final one begins at 10 p.m. The original Halloween movie airs at 10 a.m. and again at 8 p.m.

–”Halloween: Resurrection” is on at 7 p.m. on FX, followed by “Halloween: H20″ at 9 p.m.

–The Oxygn channel is airing “Ghost” at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

–”The Haunting” will be on at 6 p.m., followed by “Bedlam” at 8 p.m. on TCM.

–The History Channel is running a marathon of shows. In the evening, “Haunted History of Halloween” airs at 6 p.m.; “Lost Worlds” about Jekyll & Hyde at 9 p.m., and “Monster Quest” about America’s Loch Ness Monster is on at 10 p.m.

Horror remains the popular genre among movie goers.

“Saw IV” reigned at the box office with $32.1 million, while “Dan in Real Life” was the runner-up with $12.1 million.  

Last week’s number one flick, “30 Days of Night” settled for third place with $6.7 million. Tim Burton’s re-release of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” rounded out the top 10 with $3.35 million.

Top 10 box office movies over weekend:

1. Saw IV, $32.1 million

2. Dan in Real Life, $12.1 million

3. 30 Days of Night, $6.7 million

4. The Game Plan, $6.3 million

5.  Why Did I Get Married?, $5.7 million

6. Michael Clayton, $5 million

7. Gone Baby Gone, $3.9 million

8. The Comebacks, $3.45 million

9. We Own the Night, $3.4 million

10. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, $3.35 million        

I just read an article by John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute. Since its Halloween time, he talked about vampires.

He discussed the myth and the legend of vampires, and how the world has been fascinated by them for hundreds of years. He then goes on to discuss his favorite vampire movies, with Nosferatu (1922) being first on his list. Others include Dracula (1931), Fright Night (1985), and the Lost Boys (1987).

To read the entire article, go to www.rutherford.org and click on “We are the children of the night” on the top of the page.

Along the same lines, I also came across the “50 best-reviewed horror movies” list at www.rottentomatoes.com. Reviews about your favorite movies are on the list, along with some you probably didn’t expect.

If you get a chance, check out both of these stories and let me know what you think. What would be your number one vampire flick? What is your top horror movie of all-time?

(Mine is the original Halloween movie. The suspense and music creep me out. I still can’t watch it alone!)

Welcome once again to the Weekly buzz, a segment that offers the latest news in the pop culture world. It also offers up some local and regional events going on in the next week.

TV NEWS

–Private Practice, the spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy, has been picked up for a full season. ABC also picked up Pushing Daisies for a full season. Both shows join CWs’ Gossip Girl and CBS’ Big Bang Theory as the only rookie shows to earn full-season orders.

 –ABC has ordered more episodes of “Samantha Who?” and Fox has ordered more of “Back to You.”

–Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will be producing an HBO series with Scott Burns, co-writer for The Bourne Ultimatum. It will explore behind-the-scenes politics of an international aid organization and chronicle the lives of humanitarian workers assigned to dangerous zones and the people in need they assist.

–Dancing with the Stars is becoming a video game. Versions for the Nintendo Wii and Playstation 2 come out Tuesday, and speical edition for Playstation with the dance pad will be released on Nov. 13.

–After two shows, CBS axed “Viva Laughlin” from its lineup. The second episode drew 6.8 million viewers, with a major falloff in the second half-hour, according to Nielsen ratings. On Nov. 4, it will be replaced by the 12th season of “The Amazing Race.”

–Donald Trump will soon have his own syndicated show. Calling it “Dr. Phil meets Judge Judy,” the show will feature Trump serving as a mediator and counselor for real people with financial disputes. The half-hour show is targeted for fall, 2008.

–The Amazing Race returns Nov. 4 on CBS.

–Nip/Tuck and Scrubs are premiering this week. Nip/Tuck returns on FX on Oct. 30, while Scrubs returns tonight on NBC. Due to Scrubs’ return to NBC’s Thursday lineup, that means The Office will no longer be an hour long (bummer!). So here is the new NBC lineup on Thursdays:

8 p.m. — My Name is Earl

8:30 p.m. — 30 Rock

9 p.m. — The Office

9:30 p.m. — Scrubs

10 p.m. — ER

–Speaking of The Office, Rolling Stone lists the top 25 moments form the show. Check it out at http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16955952/the_25_greatest_moments_from_the_office.

 Also, tripadvisor.com  has a page devoted to Dwight Schrute’s bed and breakfast. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g52842-d730099-Reviews-Schrute_Farms-Honesdale_Pennsylvania.html.

DVD

There are a lot of cool DVDs coming out on Tuesday. A digitally restored version of the Beatles film Help! will be released. It’s a 2-disc set that includes a newly created 5.1 soundtrack and an hour of extra features.

Also, the release of “My So-Called Life: The Complete Series” goes on sale Tuesday.

Here are some other DVD’s coming out on Tuesday, Oct. 30:

-Spider Man 3

-Captivity

-License to Wed

-Talk to Me

-The Wendell Baker Story

-I Love Lucy: The Complete Series

-Family Guy: Freakin’ Party Pack

MUSIC

–Royal Oak Music Theatre has a ful lineup of shows in the next week. Here’s a list of some shows coming up:

Friday, Oct. 26 — Stay and Play Social Club Boo Bash with special guest Killer Flamingos

Saturday, Oct. 27 — Pat Monahan, The Voice That Drives Train with special guest I Nine

Sunday, Oct. 28 — Gov’t Mule with special guest Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Wednesday, Oct. 31 — Wednesday Night Live! featuring Detroit talent. Music from Jarrod Champion Sleeps Til Dusk, Quixotic, Grommet, The Second Guess, and Busted Puppets.

The Theatre is located at 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak. For details, call (248) 399-2980 or visit www.royaloakmusictheatre.com.

–The Emerald Theatre presents the piano-pounding comedic mad man John Valby (aka Dr. Dirty) on Nov. 1. Cost is $25 for reserved seating and $30 for general admission. Tickets are on sale at all ticketmaster outlets.

The theatre is located at 31 N. Walnut St. in downtown Mt. Clemens. For details, call (586) 913-1920 or visit www.emeraldtheatre.com.

–If anyone cares, Britney Spears’ new CD, “Blackout,” hits stores on Tuesday. The following is a list of some other albums coming out on Tuesday, Oct. 30:

-Eagles, “The Long Road Out of Eden”

-Mario, “Go”

-Backstreet Boys, “Unbreakable”

-Will Downing, “After Tonight”

-Josh Turner, “Everything is Fine”

-Baby Bash, “Cyclone”

-Avenged Sevenfold, “Avenged Sevenfold”

MOVIE NEWS

–A day before shoottinb began on “The Lovely Bones,” Ryan Gosling backed out of his role. Mark Wahlberg stepped in to replace him. Gosling left the film after gaining 20 pounds and growing a beard for the part. He left the movie because of creative differences.

The movie is being directed by Peter Jackson, and is an adaptation of the Alice Sebold novel. Wahlberg will play Jack Salmon, a grieving father of a young girl. He joins Rachel Weisz as a couple whose world is shattered after their daughter is murdered. The girl watches over her family and killer from heaven.

Wahlberg is a busy man these days. He just finished shooting “The Happening” by M. Night Shyamalan, and recently committed to star with Brad Pitt in “The Fighter.”

–Eva Longoria will star in a comedy set in an elementary school. Jason Biggs and Rob Cordry also will star. The film will be released next year.

–Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris have chosen not to come back and write a sequel to last year’s Superman. The sequel is in limbo, and probably won’t come out until 2010.

–Anthony Hopkins is going to play Alfred Hitchcock in a film. No other details about the movie are available. (I think he’s a great choice - can’t wait to see it).

–Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are teaming up for another movie. They will make “Shutter Island” next year. It’s an adaptation from a Dennis Lahane novel.

 Here is a list of movies coming out on Friday:

-Saw IV

-Dan in Real Life

-Bella (limited)

-Jimmy Carter Man From Plains (limited)

-Mr. Untouchable (limited)

-Music Within (limited)

LOCAL EVENTS

–The 4th annual River Raisin Halloween Festival is Friday and Saturday in downtown Monroe. Trick-or-treating, costume contests, pumpkin carving, music, scary movies, and more.

–Arthur Lesow Community Center is hosting its annual Children’s Halloween Spooktakular from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday. It’s located at 120 Eastchester St.

–An Anime Convention will be held from 4 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bedford Branch Library, 8575 Jackman Rd., Temperance. Movies, video game tournaments, raffles, and other activities are planned.

–A Halloween party will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Old Mill Museum, 242 Toledo St., Dundee.

–Ida Cub Scouts Pack 538 will host a Haunted House from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Ida Volunteer Fire Department pavilion, 3008 Lewis Ave., Ida. It’s for all ages.

REGIONAL EVENTS

–The 2nd annual Halloween at the Erie Street Market will be from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday. The market is located at 237 S. Erie St., Toledo. Johnny Rocker and the Hitmen will perform. Cost is $5 for admission, and costumes are optional.

–Little Boo & Pumpkin Path 2007 is happening at the Toledo Zoo. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, they will have Little Boo at the Zoo, which is a Halloween party for preschool-aged kids. On Saturday and  Sunday, a Pumpkin Path is being held. It’s a family-friendly event with trick-or-treat stations, games, and lots of candy.

–Feel like heading North? If so, got to Petoskey for the annual Northern Michigan C.S. Lewis Festival. It goes from Friday to Nov. 26 - a month of celebrating the man who created the Chronicles of Narnia. For details, call (231) 347-5550.

–The Ohio Theatre is showing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at midnight on Friday and Saturday. All tickets will be sold at the stage door entrance. Cost of the live show is $10. Doors open at 11 p.m., with the show at midnight. It’s located at 3114 Lagrange St., Toledo. Questions, call (419) 241-6785.

–A downtown Halloween Fall Festival will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, and from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday on Michigan Ave., between Huron and Hamilton Sts., in Ypsilanti.

–A Family Halloween Party will be from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Exhibit Museum of Natural History, 1109 Geddes Ave., Ann Arbor. Activities, displays, and live animals will be there, and costumes are encouraged.

–The Town Center at Levis Commons is having a fall festival. It will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at the mall, located at 3201 Levis Commons Blvd., Perrysburg, Ohio.

 –The Emerald Ballroom is hosting the 7th annual “Halloween Scream” on Saturday. Doors open at 8 p.m. Ladies 18 and older and guys 21 and older are welcome. The Ballroom is located at 31 N. Walnut St., Mt. Clemens. For details, call (586) 913-1920 or visit www.emeraldtheatre.com.

Vanity Fair magazine chose “Purple Rain” as the greatest soundtrack ever.

They ranked the top 50 greatest soundtracks. The entire list will be revealed next month.

“A Hard Day’s Night” was the runner-up, followed by “The Harder They Come,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Graduate” and “Superfly.” Also, “Trainspotting” finished in 7th place, and “Saturday Night Fever” in 8th.

Vanity Fair editors, who compiled the list, said “Purple Rain” was a flawless combination of “funk, R&B, pop, metal, and even psychedelia into a sound that defined the ’80s.”

What do you think? What would be your number one?

Mark Cuban got the boot on “Dancing with the Stars” last night.

Jane Seymour joined Cuban in the bottom two.

Mel B., Sabrina, Helio, Jennie, Cameron, Marie, and Jane all remain in the competition.

“Transformers” first found success on the big screen over the summer, now it’s ruling DVD sales. Arriving on store shelves on Oct. 16, the robot film sold the most DVD’s in its first week in North America of any title this year. It sold 8.3 million units in a week.

It also broke first-day DVD sales this year with more than 4.5 million units sold last Tuesday. The movie, directed by Michael Bay, earned over $700 million at the globabl box office.

In other DVD news,

–The “Ghost Rider” Gift Set goes on sale Nov. 13. The DVD set features a 2-disc extended cut of the movie with 15 mintues of extra footage and over 2 hours of special features. It also includes an exclusive limited edition figure of the flaming Ghost Rider.

The gift set costs $59.95. The movie is based on the Marvel Comic’s series, and stars Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes.

–”The Simpsons Movie” will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on Dec. 18. The movie, released over the summer, has generated more than $500 million globally.

–Get ready Potter fans. Dec. 11 is the relesae of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD.

The following is a list of DVDs on sale TODAY:

-Saw III: Director’s Cut

-Saw Trilogy

-Mr. Brooks

-Hostel: Part II

-Hostel: Special Edition

-Meet the Robinsons

-The Sopranos: Season Six, Part 2

-A Clockwork Orange (Special Edition)

-The Shining (Speical Edition)

-Full Metal Jacket (Deluxe Edition)

-Tales from the Crypt: The Complete Seventh Season

-Veronica Mars: The Complete Third Season

-2001: A Space Odyssey (Special Edition)

-Eyes Wide Shut (Special Edition)

-Fido

-Home of the Brave

-Kaw

-The L Word: The Complete Fourth Season

-The Adventures of Aquaman: The Complete Collection

-The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume One

-NCIS — The Fourth Season

-Burt Lancaster: The Signature Collection

-Warner Home Video Director’s Series: Stanley Kubrick

-O Lucky Man: Special Edition

-The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians

-Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 2, Volume 3