What you missed on June 30th 2009
Investigators from the Los Angeles Coroners Office were back at Michael Jackson's L-A-area residence yesterday, and reportedly removed two large bags of medication as evidence. There's no report of what medications were hauled off by investigators or what type of toxic cocktail could have been in the King of Pop's system at the time of his death. There have been an increasing number of reports that Jackson received a daily shot of the pain medicine Demerol.
Also yesterday, the L-A Coroner called the autopsy report that appeared in the British tabloid The Sun as a fraud. In a statement to T-M-Z, the coroner's office said, "The report that is being published did not come from this office. I don't know where the information came from, or who that information came from. It is not accurate. Some of it is totally false."
A second autopsy being performed at the request of the family was under way yesterday afternoon.
Photos of Jackson rehearsing in Los Angeles for his London shows surfaced yesterday, showing him dancing onstage with a number of backup dancers. Jackson didn't look frail and near death but, to the contrary, a seemingly health, robust version of himself.
On the topic of those London shows, promoter A-E-G Live announced yesterday that it's offering full refunds -- including service charges -- to fans who purchased tickets through authorized agents. Beginning tomorrow, fans can head to MichaelJacksonLive-dot-com for information about receiving full refunds. But fans will have the option of receiving the physical tickets as souvenirs in lieu of a full refund. The tickets were printed using a special process and were designed by Jackson. More than 85-million dollars worth of tickets for those shows had already been sold.
So it looks like it wasn't a bump on the head that killed pitchman Billy Mays after all. The coroner in Hillsborough County, Florida, blamed a pulmonary embolism for the 50-year-old's death, saying that Mays "had an enlarged heart, a thickening of the wall of the ventricle which takes blood to the heart."
Breaking Benjamin announced last week that "We Are Finally In The Studio." The band is working on the follow up to their 2006's hit album Phobia.
Here is what they had to say, "It is with much joy, we announce we are finally in the studio working again with the love guru David Bendeth.
"The first song in the works is called "I Will Not Bow" and it is coming along nicely. Stay tuned for more updates and announcements coming soon!"
Velvet Revolver /Ex-Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan's current project, Duff Mckagan's Loaded, has reportedly been confirmed as one of the second-stage performers at Crue Fest White Trash tour, which stars Motley Crue and features additional support from Godsmack, Theory Of A Deadman, Drowning Pool and Charm City Devils.
Metallica's July 7, 2009 concert in Nimes, France at Arènes de Nîmes will be professionally filmed for a forthcoming DVD release. The disc will be made available on October 19 through French music stores and online shops only, as well as via the band's official web site, Metallica.com.
Metallica's French record company and WorMee are giving fans tickets and a chance to participate in the making of the DVD.
Winners will film the show and record a report from there, two minutes of which will appear as an extra in the final release.
U2 starts their 360 Degrees world tour tonight in Barcelona, Spain, in support of their latest album, No Line on the Horizon. The band has been holed up in Barcelona for the past few weeks rehearsing, including a complete dress rehearsal the other night. A post on the band's website won't offer up any details, only saying, "Seems like the band are intent on really mixing things up on this tour... They've rehearsed 30-plus tracks ... as well as a cracking selection from No Line -- we counted songs from eight different albums ..."
The European tour runs through August 22nd in Wales followed by the North American leg, which gets under way on September 12th in Chicago.
Gene Simmons said in an interview with Inside TV that American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert killed his career by focusing on his sexuality, when the interview accused Simmons of "talking smack" about Lambert.
"I don't think I've been talking smack at all. In fact, if anything, I've been soft-peddling," Simmons told Inside TV. "He's enormously talented, best talent 'American Idol' has had, but I think he killed his career because now the conversation is not about his talent but about his sexual preference. He's done. You're forcing people to deal with issues they may not be interested in. Life is unfair, and the masses don't all live in L.A. They live in Wisconsin and Nebraska, and you're on crack if you think the same rules apply there. My advice is still the same, shut the "f" up, just sing and let people say whatever they want."
CDs in stores today
Killswitch Engage - S/T
Wilco - "The Album" (Vinyl & CD together - cool)
Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
DVDs
Street Fighter - The Legend of Chung Li
12 Rounds
Entourage season 5
Movies Which Open Tomorrow (July 1st)
ALL REVIEWS ARE FROM DAILY VARIETY UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
• ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS-- (Animated) "FALLS SHORT ON JOKEY POP CULTURE REFERENCES AIMED AT GROWN-UPS. THIS EDITION OF THE FRANCHISE EMPHASIZES ACTION SEQUENCES AND CLEVER 3-D TRICKERY. FOX STUDIOS LOOKS TO EXPAND AN ALREADY SIZABLE AUDIENCE. THAT BEING SAID, IT IS ALSO TAKING A BOX OFFICE RISK WITH A MID-SUMMER RELEASE." Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott and Josh Peck. 1 Hour and 33 Minutes. Rated PG.
• PUBLIC ENEMIES-- "UNIVERSAL STUDIOS WILL ADVERTISE THE FILM AS GANGBUSTER ENTERTAINMENT. INSTEAD, THE MOVIE IS REALLY A PERIOD PIECE DRAMA (WITH A DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCE BY JOHNNY DEPP) AND, FOR A FOURTH OF JULY RELEASE, LIKELY MEDIOCRE BOX OFFICE RETURNS." Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Stephen Lang, Rory Cochrane and Stephen Dorff. 2 Hours and 20 Minutes. Rated R.
• WHATEVER WORKS-- (Expands Nationwide) YET ANOTHER WOODY ALLEN FILM. IT OUGHT TO ATTRACT HIS EVER-DWINDLING NUMBER OF FANS. THE REMAINDER OF THE COUNTRY IS LIKELY TO IGNORE IT. Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Junior and Michael McKean. 1 Hour and 32 Minutes. Rated PG-13.
