Seriously? OMG! WTF?

Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to make a film about Milli Vanilli, the duo that rose to the top of the pop charts and fell just as quickly when they were exposed as frauds. Jeff Nathanson will write the script and direct the film. Kathleen Kennedy will produce. Nathanson, who presented a sympathetic look at a check forger in “Catch Me if You Can,” became intrigued with the notion of taking a similar tack on the music industry tale. He has secured the cooperation of Fabrice Morvan, as well as the estate
of Rob Pilatus, who died in 1998 as the pair were attempting a comeback. Their Grammy Award was rescinded, class action lawsuits were filed, and Milli Vanilli was dropped from the Arista roster. Morvan took it hardest, falling into drug abuse and serving time for robbery before dying from a drug overdose right before a reunion album could be released. “I’ve always been fascinated by the notion of fakes and frauds, and in this case, you had guys who pulled off the ultimate con, selling 30 million singles and 11
million albums and then becoming the biggest laughing-stocks of pop entertainment,” Nathanson said. “Fabrice had always refused to sell their rights; he was very cautious of Hollywood after all he’d been through. But my intention is to tell this story from their point of view.” Nathanson will begin writing as soon as production is completed on “Rush Hour 3,” which he scripted.

Variety

This would be better on VH1 than the big screen.

Rick Schroder has ditched his adult name for the one that made him famous as a child star. For his upcoming stint on hit drama 24, the actor will be credited as Ricky Shroder – the name he grew out of in his late teens. He says, "My agents said, ‘You know, you should change your name to Rick. It’ll help grow up from a kid to an adult.’ I’ve learned in the last 20 years it takes more than dropping a letter from your name to help you grow up. And so I’m more comfortable being called Ricky. My wife, my mom, everybody calls me Ricky… Rick never felt right. I felt like I was trying to be something I wasn’t."

Starpulse

He was always Ricky to me, same way Joseph Lawrence will always be Joey to me!

Depeche Mode have announced the release of a massive download-only "box set". The career-spanning retrospective, appropriately titled ‘The Complete Depeche Mode’, is available now for download on US iTunes. Following on the heels of a more modest ‘Best Of’ collection released last November, the mega-retrospective contains 644 tracks. The set features all 11 of their studio albums, all of their singles and B-sides, and two live albums, as well as rare and previously unreleased material. In addition to album tracks it features rare and deleted recordings, 19 digital-only remixes, and previously unreleased rehearsal recordings. It comes packaged with a 62-page downloadable booklet featuring images by renowned photographer Anton Corbijn. Depeche Mode released their first single in 1981, and have spent more than 400 combined weeks on the UK charts.

NME 

I bet you several other bands are going to follow suit! Hopefully The Police, Duran Duran and Go West will not be far behind!!!

In their first year of eligibility, the alternative rock prototype R.E.M. and ’80s hard rock progenitors Van Halen have been elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The two bands will be joined by the long overlooked Patti Smith, girl group the Ronettes and the first rapper in hall, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. R.E.M. was considered an easy first ballot inductee as the band ushered in the American indie rock scene in the 1980s, influenced multitudes of guitar-oriented bands and became a symbol of artistic independence even after signing with Warner Bros. Band — Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and the retired Bill Berry — scored critically and commercially over the course of two decades, beginning with "Radio Free Europe" and the album "Murmur." R.E.M. is starting work on their new studio album, the follow-up to 2004’s "Around the Sun," in London. Just as last year’s class had its controversial inductee, Miles Davis, the pot will be stirred again as Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five becomes the first rap act voted into the hall. Grandmaster Flash was the first to develop many DJ techniques; the Furious Five’s influential MCs included Melle Mel and Cowboy. Group was the first to bring social commentary to rap and elevate the music beyond novelty with songs such as "The Message" and "White Lines." Smith is considered the Godmother of Punk, a poet who made visceral and cerebral rock ‘n’ roll records and was among the leaders of the original wave of New York punk rockers. The Ronettes were the ultimate girl group between 1963 and 1966. Led by Ronnie Spector, trio was responsible for the prototypical hits "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You." Van Halen was the 1980s’ biggest hard-rock success story. With a guitar hero in Eddie Van Halen and a cartoonish frontman in David Lee Roth, Van Halen played hard-edge rock and roll with a unique swagger. Roth was replaced by Sammy Hagar in the late 1980s and Hagar told the Cleveland Plain Dealer last month that, should Van Halen be inducted, the ceremony "could be a real comedy, man. I don’t think it’s gonna be a real friendly, beautiful scene. "You throw Dave in that mix, and I just don’t see it working. Dave’s gonna want it to be all about him. "Ed’s gonna want it to be all about him. And that’s a tough one right there. I’ll probably just be sitting over in the corner, cracking up." The induction ceremony for the five artists will be held on March 12 in New York. To be eligible for nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an act must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. This year’s nominees had to release their first single no later than 1981.

Variety 

I wonder which singer is going to be there for Van Halen?

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