More Top Stories: Rihanna, Arcade Fire, Gorillaz
Rihanna will make the jump to the big screen in the upcoming sci-fi action film Battleship, based very loosely on the board game of the same name. Rihanna, who was once rumored to fill the lead female role in a remake of the ’80s kung fu classic The Last Dragon, has one other film appearance to her credit, appearing as herself in Bring It On: All or Nothing. The singer will star alongside Alexander Skarsgard and Taylor Kitsch in the Peter Berg-directed film, due out May 18th, 2012. [ Variety ]
Arcade Fire have recruited Terry Gilliam, the imaginative director behind Brazil, 12 Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, to shoot behind-the-scenes footage when the band webasts their August 5th Madison Square Garden concert live on YouTube. Gilliam is the latest film legend to try his hand at a YouTube webcast: As Rolling Stone previously reported, the National enlisted Don’t Look Back documentarian D.A. Pennebaker to direct their recent YouTube webcast of their Brooklyn Academy of Music show in May. [AP]
Soundgarden have announced a show at Chicago’s Vic on August 5th, the night before their headlining gig at Lollapalooza. Only members of the new Soundgarden World fan club will be given an opportunity to purchase tickets for the club show. Fans need to sign up by midnight on Thursday, July 29th for a shot at tix. The Vic show will be Soundgarden’s first since their hometown reunion show at Seattle’s Showbox in April. [Soundgarden World]
Gorillaz have unveiled the dates and venues for their upcoming North American tour. Damon Albarn and Co. will kick off the trek October 3rd in Montreal, Quebec, and perform a total of 19 dates, concluding with a gig in Vancouver, British Columbia. [Gorillaz]
After sound problems and flash downpours put an abrupt end to her headlining performance at New York’s HARD fest, M.I.A. promised fans to make up for the concert. No details on the free show as yet, but M.I.A. advises fans who went to the HARD fest July 24th to hold on to their tickets. [M.I.A. Twitter]
The Jayhawks’ Mark Olson releases his solo album Many Colored Kite today. The album features contributions from folk legend Vashti Bunyan and multi-instrumentalist Ingunn Ringvold, who will join Olson on tour this August. Head over to Rykodisc’s site to download first single “Bluebell Song.”
[Rkyodisc]
Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow is again testing out her singing skills with a new country-tinged track called “Country Strong,” the title track from the film with the same name. Paltrow will star alongside Tim McGraw in the film, in which she plays a fallen country singer. Paltrow previously shared the mike with Huey Lewis in the film Duets. [The Boot]
Fresh off a four-month prison stint in Arizona, rapper DMX is back behind bars on a 90-day sentence after violating parole following a 2002 reckless driving conviction in Los Angeles. [TMZ]
Megan Fox and actor Dominic Monaghan (Charlie from Lost) are starring in the new music video for Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie.” The two actors were spotted kissing on a Los Angeles rooftop as part of the shoot. The video, which will also feature Slim Shady and RiRi, is expected to debut this week. [Idolator]
Nick Cave, The Proposition screenwriter and Bad Seeds frontman, has been selected to write a screenplay for an upcoming reboot of The Crow. [The Wrap]
As a treat for the little monsters who couldn’t score tickets to the Monster Ball, Lady Gaga has posted her stage show’s grotesque and avant-garde interlude “Puke Vomit Exorcism” for your viewing pleasure. [YouTube]
Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ December 2009 performance at the O2 Academy in Brixton has been released via iTunes as an 80-minute concert film called Live in London. Nick Wood directed the film. [iTunes]