Stephen Colbert Wins Top Internet Award
Stephen Colbert won a Webby award yesterday as the Internet’s “Person of the Year.” Other winners in the 12th annual Webby Awards – known as the “Oscars of the Internet” – included Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, who won “Artist of the Year,” and French filmmaker Michel Gordy, who took top honors as “Video Person of the Year.” Colbert won for “the innovative way he has used the Internet to interact with fans of ‘The Colbert Report.’” The NYTimes.com, The Onion, National Geographic, Flickr and ESPN.com were among the other Webby winners announced yesterday.
Stephen King, John Mellencamp Musical Postponed
A musical by John Mellencamp and Stephen King, scheduled to be produced in Atlanta, has been postponed. The Alliance Theatre said in February that “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County” would open in April 2009. But the project has now been put on hold because of “unanticipated scheduling problems which could not be resolved in time for the production.” Mellencamp is providing the music for the King script.
2009 Super Bowl Ads To Cost $3 Million
NBC plans to announce next week that the starting price for a 2009 Super Bowl 30-second ad will be $3 million. According to the Wall Street Journal, the $3 million mark has never been the starting price for a commercial at the Super Bowl, though individual spots have sold for that much before. A 30- second spot for the 2008 Super Bowl averaged $2.7 million.
Heath Ledger’s ‘Joker’ Dolls Sell Out In Minutes
“Batman” fans have scooped up the entire stock of Heath Ledger’s “Joker” action figure, within minutes of them going on sale in New York. Fans started lining up early to buy the $9.99 toy, which shows Ledger in his final completed role before his death in January from an accidental drug overdose. He was 29. The action figures have already started showing up on eBay, some selling for up to $75. Ledger will be seen as the “Joker” in “The Dark Knight,” which hits theaters in July.
Bootsy Collins Spearheading James Brown Tribute
Bootsy Collins is spearheading a star-studded tour dubbed “A Tribute to James Brown,” featuring alumni from Brown’s own legendary J.B.’s. Collins was part of Brown’s J.B.’s in 1970-71. The tour was slated to run through June 4th but is now being rescheduled to start September 25th.
Neil Young To Release Music On Blu-ray
Neil Young plans to release every song he has ever recorded on Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray discs hold much more data than DVDs, are easily updated over the Internet and offer better picture and sound quality. Young revealed his plans yesterday at a Sun Microsystems conference in San Francisco. The first installment of Young’s archive will cover the years 1963 to 1972 and will be released as a 10-disc set this fall.
$1 Million Worth Of Recording Equipment Stolen From Martha Reeves
Former Motown star and current Detroit City Council member Martha Reeves says thieves broke into her childhood home and stole about $1 million worth of uninsured recording equipment. Speakers, mics and karaoke machines were among the items taken Sunday night. Reeves said the backdoor of the house on Detroit’s east side was kicked in. The house where she grew up is now owned by her father.
Melissa Manchester Battling Cancer With Single
Melissa Manchester was inspired to write “Power Of Ribbons” by watching her friend, Nancy Colton, battle breast cancer, raise a family and raise money for breast cancer research. Melissa will debut “Power Of Ribbons” at the opening of this year’s Revlon Run/Walk For Women, in front of a crowd of 50,000 fans on Saturday at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. She will follow up with an encore performance at Dodger Stadium on Mother’s Day to highlight the Dodgers’ ongoing fundraising for a cure. An MP3 of “Power Of Ribbons” can be downloaded from Amazon.com. Melissa will be donating her proceeds to breast cancer research.