U2 to Play Full ‘Joshua Tree’ Album on Tour

U2 will play the entirety of its classic 1987 album, “The Joshua Tree,” at each stop during a summer stadium tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its release.

Powered by singles “With or Without You,” ”Where The Streets Have No Name” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” ”The Joshua Tree” became the band’s first chart-topping album in the U.S. and has sold 25 million copies worldwide.

The North American leg of the tour kicks off May 12 in Vancouver and wraps up on July 1 in Cleveland, before heading to Europe. The tour includes a June stop at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee.

Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers and OneRepublic will alternate opening for U2 on the North American leg.  (AP)

Bono Says he Wears Sunglasses Due to Glaucoma

U2 singer Bono says his ever-present sunglasses aren’t a rock-star affectation — he has suffered from glaucoma for 20 years.

The condition — a buildup of pressure that can damage the optic nerve — can make the eyes sensitive to light.

Bono told the BBC’s “Graham Norton Show” that he had the condition, but “I have good treatments and I am going to be fine.”

He said people would now think of him as “poor old blind Bono.”

He also acknowledged that some people had been annoyed when U2’s new album, “Songs of Innocence,” was sent unsolicited to millions of people with iTunes accounts.

In comments released Friday by the BBC, Bono said, “We wanted to do something fresh, but it seems some people don’t believe in Father Christmas.” (AP)

Kellene’s 2014 Oscar Winner Predictions

I think winners will be very scattered this year. As I mention later, I think awards sweeps are a thing of the past, and you can really see that with my choices below. Gravity will be a big winner for visual-related awards, while 12 Years will win things like acting and directing and writing.

I had a real hard time with this list – I don’t know if my game is off, or it’s really that hard this time!

Best picture
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
“Captain Phillips”
“Her”
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“Nebraska”
“Philomena”

Every year I seem to harp on this, but the academy voters are still made up of old-school members. And more often than not, they chose more historic/authentic/theatrical movies to win. Sometimes a ‘The Departed’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ slip by, but for the most part, they remain very predictable in their choices. The Academy wants to make a bold statement – and for the ages. But The Wolf of Wall Street could take it, we’re still reeling from the housing market crisis, and lingering bad economy.

Best director
Steve McQueen — “12 Years a Slave”
David O. Russell — “American Hustle”
Alfonso Cuaron — “Gravity”
Alexander Payne — “Nebraska”
Martin Scorsese — “The Wolf of Wall Street”

There seems to be a tie between Alfonso Cuaron and Steve McQueen. While the Golden Globes chose Cuaron, I don’t think the same courtesy will be extended here. I think McQueen will be crowned(!) winner. Remember what I said – old school? On the other hand, amazement and new shiny things do occasionally attract members like space! Going with McQueen.

Best actor
Bruce Dern — “Nebraska”
Chiwetel Ejiofor — “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Leonardo DiCaprio — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Christian Bale — “American Hustle”

I think it will come down to McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio. I want McConaughey to win since he’s taken a lot of risks lately with other projects like Mud. But then DiCaprio has Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko on his side. And I think Cate Blanchett will win for her portrayal of a doomed socialite. I think this year’s crop of films are filled with contradictions. Shouldn’t Blanchett, DiCaprio and ‘Wolf’ all win since they all deal with money? Nope. I think for acting categories, it really does depend on the performance of the individual. Lincoln didn’t win best picture, but Day-Lewis did. I think the days of the award sweeps are gone.

Best actress
Amy Adams — “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett — “Blue Jasmine”
Judi Dench — “Philomena”
Sandra Bullock — “Gravity”
Meryl Streep — “August: Osage County”

There really seems to be a momentum growing for Cate Blanchett’s so-called comeback. Also, no other names are really mentioned in the same thought for the four other nominees. It’s almost a sure-lock she will win; she’s already won the Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA. Good indicators she will win her second one this time around. Bet on her.

Best supporting actor
Barkhad Abdi — “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper — “American Hustle”
Jonah Hill — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Michael Fassbender — “12 Years a Slave”

If you can watch just a 30-second clip, and say to yourself ‘that man is going to win an Oscar’ I’ve learned I’m pretty much right on target. I wasn’t a huge Leto fan growing up, but now I’m a believer. Like Blanchett, he left movie acting for a few years to pursue other interests. And look what he came back with. Amazing.

Best supporting actress
Jennifer Lawrence — “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o — “12 Years a Slave”
June Squibb — “Nebraska”
Julia Roberts — “August: Osage County”
Sally Hawkins — “Blue Jasmine”

Out of the four acting categories, this one may be the hardest to predict this year. But I gotta go with Lupita Nyong’o. History will reign supreme on this one. And I know Jennifer Lawrence is the actress of the moment, but I don’t think she can extend her win to this year.

Best original screenplay
“American Hustle” — David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
“Blue Jasmine” — Woody Allen
“Her” — Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” — Bob Nelson
“Dallas Buyers Club” — Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

It’s pretty obvious to me it’ll be Her. Why? As I told my co-workers, it’s creepy now, but in about 10 years from now, the academy will be happy to know they were ahead of the curve and voted this one to win. Yes, it’s contradicts what I said above, but that rule only seems to really apply to best picture, not other categories. Hence, Eminem and Three 6 Mafia. It’s like Prince, he may not be appreciated at the time, but as time wears on, he is. Yes I know Woody Allen is in this category, but I think Her will win.

Best adapted screenplay
“12 Years a Slave” — John Ridley
“Before Midnight” — Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
“The Wolf of Wall Street” — Terence Winter
“Captain Phillips” — Billy Ray
“Philomena” — Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

‘12 Years a Slave.’ ‘Nuff said. What a great find for McQueen’s wife, and how great is it that a movie was made from it – bringing history to life for us, to remind us about our painful past.

Best animated feature
“The Wind Rises”
“Frozen”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Ernest & Celestine”
“The Croods”

I really don’t think anything can stop the Frozen train. No other film has really stepped during awards season, so I suspect this is a lock for Disney.

Best foreign feature
“The Hunt” (Denmark)
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” (Belgium)
“The Great Beauty” (Italy)
“Omar” (Palestinian territories)
“The Missing Picture” (Cambodia)

‘The Great Beauty’ won the Golden Globe and a slew of other European awards. So I won’t go against that. I really haven’t heard anything else about the others. GB seems to be ‘the one’ to beat.

Best music (original song)
“Frozen”: “Let it Go” — Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”: “Ordinary Love” — U2, Paul Hewson
“Her”: “The Moon Song” — Karen O, Spike Jonze
“Despicable Me 2”: “Happy” — Pharrell Williams
“Alone Yet Not Alone”: “Alone Yet Not Alone” — Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel

I’m torn between Pharrell Williams and U2, but I think U2 will come out ahead. Pharrell is on a winning streak right now after winning several Grammys earlier this year, but U2 won the Golden Globe, and appears more ‘mature’ than a Smokey-the-Bear toting musician. It would be awesome if he could keep this streak going, but U2 also has Nelson Mandela in their corner and their devotion to the late South African leader.

Best music (original score)
“Gravity” — Steven Price
“Philomena” — Alexandre Desplat
“The Book Thief” — John Williams
“Saving Mr. Banks” — Thomas Newman
“Her” — William Butler and Owen Pallett

This one may actually come as a surprise. All is Lost won at the Golden Globes, so that doesn’t help. For some reason, something is telling me Gravity.

Best cinematography
“Gravity” — Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” — Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” — Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” — Roger Deakins
“The Grandmaster” — Phillippe Le Sourd

Nothing stands out more than Gravity.

Best costume design
“The Great Gatsby” — Catherine Martin
“12 Years a Slave” — Patricia Norris
“The Grandmaster” — William Chang Suk Ping
“American Hustle” — Michael Wilkinson
“The Invisible Woman” — Michael O’Connor

Tie between 12 Years and American Hustle. But I think AH will win. It’s too damn important to the film. The clothes are their own character.

Best documentary feature

“The Act of Killing”
“20 Feet From Stardom”
“The Square”
“Cutie and the Boxer”
“Dirty Wars”

The Act of Killing. It won the BAFTA.

Best film editing
“Gravity” — Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave”– Joe Walker
“Captain Phillips” — Christopher Rouse
“American Hustle” — Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Dallas Buyers Club” — John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa

I think this category may be wide open this year. All of them are good. But I think Gravity will win. Like guessing C on your school tests, choose Gravity when in doubt this year for technical awards.

Best makeup and hairstyling
“The Lone Ranger” — Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” — Stephen Prouty
“Dallas Buyers Club” — Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews

It pains me to say it, but yes, I think Bad Grandpa will get this one. Sometimes artistry rises above the genre of film, or what it’s about.

Best production design
“12 Years a Slave” — Adam Stockhausen and Alice Baker
“The Great Gatsby” — Catherine Martin and Beverley Dunn
“American Hustle” — Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler
“Gravity” — Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
“Her” — K.K. Barrett and Gene Serdena

Either American Hustle or Gravity. Oh, maybe it is turning into a Gravity year huh?! Gravity

Best visual effects
“Gravity”
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
“Star Trek Into Darkness”
“Iron Man 3”
“The Lone Ranger”

Gravity. Duh.

Best sound mixing
“Gravity”
“Captain Phillips”
“Lone Survivor”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”

See above.

Best sound editing
“Gravity”
“All Is Lost”
“Captain Phillips”
“Lone Survivor”
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”

Again, see above.

Best short film, live action
“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)”
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)”
“Helium”
“Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)”
“The Voorman Problem”

Holy crap! Could this be any harder? I know it’s bad to say, but I think I want ‘Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa’ to win just so I can hear that poor presenter say it out loud. Sorry. But Helium’s nice too. Easier to say. No, I’m going to be mean this year!

Best short film, animated
“Feral”
“Get a Horse!”
“Mr. Hublot”
“Possessions”
“Room on the Broom”

I don’t have a strong feeling either way on these this year, sorry to say. Let’s go for Room on a Broom.

Best documentary short
“CaveDigger”
“Facing Fear”
“Karama Has No Walls”
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”

I’m stuck on this one, sorry. CaveDigger sounds good to me. Some years I can predict winners, and some years I can’t. This is a can’t year.

This year’s Academy Awards will air March 2 on ABC, and will be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. It was pushed back this year due to the Winter Olympics.

Fallon’s ‘Tonight’ Debut Gets 11.3 Million Viewers

Jimmy Fallon’s start as host of “The Tonight Show” is a ratings winner for NBC.

Nielsen company figures released Tuesday show 11.3 million people tuned in to watch Fallon’s New York debut on Monday night.

It was the second-biggest audience for “Tonight” since May 2009, when Jay Leno stepped down for Conan O’Brien’s brief run as host.

Fallon’s “Tonight” debut also fell short of the 14.6 million who tuned in Feb. 6 to see Leno sign off, again, after 22 years as host in Burbank.

Enjoying a post-Winter Olympics time slot, Fallon drew 2 million-plus viewers more than O’Brien’s June 2009 “Tonight” opening audience of nearly 9.2 million.

NBC says Fallon’s “Tonight” debut, with guests Will Smith and U2, was up 71% over his Feb. 6 “Late Night” farewell’s audience of 6.6 million, (AP)

First Night for ‘Tonight Show’ Host Jimmy Fallon

Former “Late Night” host Jimmy Fallon makes his much-anticipated debut Monday as star of NBC’s “Tonight Show.”

Scheduled guests are U2 and Will Smith, as the TV institution returns to New York after four decades on the West Coast. It airs at a special time, midnight Eastern time.

Fallon, who had hosted “Late Night” since 2009, moves up to the job Jay Leno held for much of the past 22 years until his recent departure from the “Tonight” host chair.

The 39-year-old Fallon first found stardom as a cast member and “Weekend Update” co-anchor on “Saturday Night Live.” He left “SNL” in 2004 to pursue a movie career, but was met with less success in that arena. (AP)

Leno’s Last ‘Tonight’ Draws 14.6 Million Viewers

NBC says Jay Leno’s farewell “Tonight Show” drew the late-night program’s biggest audience in more than 15 years.

A total of 14.6 million viewers tuned in Thursday to see Leno wrap up his 22 years as host of “Tonight,” according to Nielsen company figures released by NBC. The audience was the biggest since May 14, 1998, when Jerry Seinfeld appeared on “Tonight” to mark the end of his sitcom. That drew nearly 15 million viewers.

Leno’s first goodbye to “Tonight,” in 2009, had 11.9 million viewers.

“Tonight” had been averaging less than 4 million nightly viewers in the past year.

Leno shared that he’d lost his mother the first year he became host, his dad the second and then his brother. Leno said the staff and crew became his family. He added that he’s the “luckiest guy in the world.”
The show began with Leno taking a poke at the network. He says he doesn’t like goodbyes, but NBC does.”
Leno is being replaced by Jimmy Fallon. Leno gave a final shoutout to his wife of more than 30 years, Mavis. He said, “I’m coming home, honey!”

Plenty of stars wanted to say goodbye to Jay Leno last night, as he hosted his final “Tonight Show.”
Billy Crystal was the guest, as he was on Leno’s first show. Crystal also arranged a “Sound of Music” parody, with Jim Parsons, Sheryl Crow, Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Chris Paul and Carol Burnett. Jack Black sang,”So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye. If Fallon tanks, you’ll be back here next year.”
There were taped messages from Matt Damon, Bill Maher and President Barack Obama. Obama notes he was the butt of many of Leno’s jokes. Obama says he’s making Leno the U.S. ambassador to Antarctica. The president adds, “Hope you have a warm coat, funnyman.”

Jimmy Fallon takes over the “Tonight” show on February 17, which is a dream for a guy who’s incorporated many of Johnny Carson’s mannerisms into his act. Fallon says his Tonight show will be just like Late Night, which means he’ll still be doing impressions and song parodies and buddies like Bruce Springsteen and Justin Timberlake will pop in every once in a while. Andy Samberg and the Muppets saw him off. His first guests in his new job will be Will Smith and U2. Fallon jokes he’s going to miss being on at 12:37 a.m. Fallon did his last “Late Night” show Friday. He notes his “fierce rivals” in his old time-slot have been Craig Ferguson “and a Veggie-Chopper infomercial.” He got a little emotional during his last “Late Night.” Fallon said he wasn’t going to cry, but was “gonna get really close.”

The first four episodes of Fallon’s new show will air at midnight following the Sochi Winter Olympics. Its regular time slot is 11:35 p.m. Eastern.

Leno’s last message to the audience:
“I want to thank you the audience, you folks have been incredibly loyal. This is tricky. We wouldn’t be on the air without you people. This has been the greatest 22 years of my life (applause). I am the luckiest guy in the world. I got to meet presidents, astronauts, movie stars. It’s just been incredible. I got to work with lighting people who made me look better than I really am. I got to work with audio people that made me sound better than I really do. I got to work with producers and writings and a just all kinds of talented people who make me look a lot smarter than I really am. I’ll tell you something, the first year of this show, I lost my mom. The second year, I lost my dad. Then, my brother died and after that, I was pretty much out of family. And the folks here became my family. Consequently, when they went through rough times, I tried to be there for them. And I’m really excited for Jimmy Fallon. You know, it’s fun to be the old guy and sit back here and see where the next generation takes this great institution. And it really is. It’s been a great institution for 60 years. I’m so glad I got to be a part of it. But it really is time to go, hand it off to the next guy. It really is. In closing, I want to quote Johnny Carson who was the greatest guy to do this job, and he said, ‘I bid you all a heartfelt (chokes up) goodnight.’ Now that I’ve brought the room down, hey, Garth, you got anything to liven this party up?”….

Fallon, Crystal Among Leno’s Final Guests

Jay Leno will close out his 22-year run as host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with a nod to the future and to the past.

His heir apparent, Jimmy Fallon, will kick off Leno’s final week with a guest appearance on Feb. 3. Fallon is taking over the gig after hosting NBC’s “Late Night” since 2009.

Leno’s final night, on Feb. 6, will feature Billy Crystal, who was Leno’s first guest in May 1992 when he succeeded Johnny Carson. Country superstar Garth Brooks will also appear.

Leno’s last week will also include Betty White, Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, country singer Blake Shelton, musician Lyle Lovett and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.

Leno briefly left the show in 2009. After a few months hosting his own show, Leno returned to “Tonight” in 2010.

Jimmy Fallon will open his run as the host of NBC’s “Tonight” show with actor Will Smith and the rock band U2 as guests.

NBC is debuting the Fallon regime on Feb. 17 at midnight following the Winter Olympics. It will slip into its regular slot following the local news a week later, with Seth Meyers inheriting “Late Night.”

Fallon says he has talked to “Tonight” show incumbent Jay Leno regularly during the transition. One piece of advice that Fallon has already taken is to increase the length of his monologue.

Although Fallon is moving “Tonight” to New York from the West Coast, he said he will take the show on the road — including to Los Angeles for a couple of weeks a year. (AP)

Dublin Showcases Earliest Photos of Baby-Faced U2

In the beginning there was Bono. And what a baby face he had.

Photographs documenting the gritty beginnings of U2 in the smoky pubs and clubs of 1970s Dublin are being unveiled Thursday at an exhibition in the band’s home city. Much of the exhibition by photographer Patrick Brocklebank has never been seen before.

Brocklebank’s black-and-white images capture the teenage Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen at 1978 and 1979 gigs, their vibrant hairdos and fashion missteps, and their clowning around in impromptu shoots and scruffy nighttime hangouts.

U2 manager Paul McGuinness is launching the exhibition Thursday night at The Little Museum of Dublin. The 32-photo show will be on display through Sept. 2. (AP)

Madonna to Perform at Halftime of Super Bowl

Madonna will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl in Indianapolis in February.

NBC, which broadcasts football’s biggest game, announced during the Detroit-New Orleans game Sunday night that the Grammy Award-winning singer will take the stage at Lucas Oil Stadium on Feb. 5.

The Super Bowl halftime show is the most-watched musical event of the year, with more than 162 million in the U.S. watching The Black Eyed Peas’ performance in Dallas last February.

Madonna, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, joins such acts as Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Prince, U2, Paul McCartney, The Who and the Rolling Stones to perform during recent Super Bowls. She will collaborate with a team from Cirque du Soleil, choreographer Jamie King, and artists from Moment Factory.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

According to U2 – ‘From the Sky Down’

The documentary “From the Sky Down” brings back bad memories for U2. It shows them recording “Achtung Baby” 20 years ago at a time when the band nearly broke up.

On a scale of one to ten, Bono says it was “very — very is Irish for 9.” He says they were either great or terrible, and not much in the middle.

Bono says if they’re to survive, they need to get back to the basics of playing “small music, for radio or clubs.”

They did have some fun though, at least some of them did. The group dressed in drag for the video of the song “One.” Bono says Larry Mullen “really didn’t like the idea.” He says The Edge took to it “with a perfectionist’s eye.” The Edge says he thinks he looked like his sister. Bono says Adam Clayton ended up looking like the queen and he resembled Barbara Bush.

The documentary is directed by Davis Guggenheim, who won the Oscar for “An Inconvenient Truth” and also directed “Waiting for Superman.”

“From The Sky Down” premieres Saturday on Showtime.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)