Nanaimo Daily News from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada • 24

SfLl DAILY NEWS SATURDAY. JUNE 20, 2009 ENTERTAINMENT Ctate mh fee i 16 A 1 Re-doing old movie favourites is the latest theatre trend MISTY HARMS CANWEST NEWS SERVICE Whoever said you can't live in the feast clearly hasn't been to the movies lately. From a Transformers sequel opening Wednesday to forthcoming retreads of Footloose, Fame, Wall Street, The Three Stooge's, Teen Wo and Girls Just Want to Have Fun, the generation gap is being handily bridged at the box office. Experts say we have the economy to thank for this crowded retro reunion, as marketers increasingly trade on the past In hopes of boosting spirits and profits. "Anxiety and nostalgia go hand In hand," says Ann Mack, director of trend-spotting for advertising giant JWT.

"They're making a connection based on consumers' emotional need preserve the past, and that need is especially strong in times of bewilderment and fear." Much of this summer's familiar fare, which includes a live-action GI Joe movie, was in production before the downturn. But Mack notes that recent months have seen an especially pronounced return to the well, with remakes of everything from 1935's Bride of Frankenstein to 1984's Red Dawn being fast-tracked by studios. Edmonton. "How many times are we going to hear about why Hannibal became a cannibal?" This pop psychologizing In remakes is almost old hat, with an Entertain' ment Weekly reporter writing last year of the then-unreleased Star-Trek reboot: "1 don't really want to: learn that Kirk became a womanizer: because of, say, abandonment issues; after his father skipped out on hls; mom." That so many filmmakers try to rewrite a character's history is largely what's behind an emotional. dichotomy that sees fans bristling; at the announcement of these but lining up in drove to see them in' theatres.

"Fans aren't offended, because they don't like the remakes," explains Long. "It's that they don't like hearing the idea of the remakes, since they envision (them) as a means of strip- ping away the innocence and simple joy of their original experience." The fans may be conflicted, but they're buying tickets. So far this year, time-machine tactics have seen such familiar names as Star Trek, '-Witch Mountain and Friday the 13th keep the box office relatively market-resilient, according to industry expert Howard Lichtman. "The industry is doing incredible in the recession," says Lichtman, president of the Lighting Group in Toronto. "It's up about 15 on a box-office basis, and about 13 on attendance." 7 Thi Autobot Optimui Primt onct again the (CANWESTfiui "If you haven't watched Teen Wolf in a while, your memories of it are trapped in some 1980s time warp linked to how you felt at that time," says Mack.

"Everybody likes to see the present-day iteration of things that captured their hearts when they were younger and we need these guilty pleasures now more than ever." As a boy, Andrew Baboneau aspired to be "just like (Transformer) Opti-mus Prime" when he grew up. Now 30, the Edmonton accountant has mixed feelings about the pillaging of pop culture's past "I do love the fact that the spotlight Inn ktp nil iq alimnnv? i "1 allies with earthling Sam Witwicky (Shia is being put on so many wonderful shows from my childhood," says Baboneau, who now has a child of his own. "But it does make (me) wonder what today's young generation will be able to look back on when they're my age." Darren Dahl, a professor of marketing at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School, says part of the remake's popularity with studios right now is purely economic as it's "much easier to leverage something that people already know than try to start from scratch." But given the moil." Throughout the ad there are a series of shots: Kate alone looking off into the distance. Jon alone looking solemn. Kate in front while Jon lingers several feet behind now Jon is in front and Kate is several steps back; both are looking off into the distance, actually, they're wearing sunglasses throughout so we can only assume they're looking off into the distance.

"Decisions that will affect every member of our family," continues Kate. "A relationship at a crossroads" continue the words on the and so on. But there appears to be a general consensus that this "life-changing decision" is an over-hyped attempt for a ratings grab. The first episode of the new season attracted over 9 million viewers in the U.S., but that number has dropped significantly to almost 3 million viewers. The immense success of the season premiere is no doubt due to the I I I Vr I LaBeouf) in Transformers: Revenge of recession, it's about leveraging emotion, as well.

"People like to feel good when uncertainty and anxiety are prevalent," says Dahl. "Nostalgia gives comfort and happiness." The caveat, according to one pop-culture analyst, is that our venerable entertainment icons may not look or act the way we remember. "Iron Man and Batman are cool now, but their lives suck in a way that the original ones never did, because we never really knew who they were," says David Long, a professor of sociology at King's University College in rumours of infidelity on the parts of both Jon and Kate. Long before the new season aired, gossip of Jon's affair with 23-year-old school teacher Deanna Hummell, along with late-nights at the bar, dirty dancing and partying with college coeds fuelled the tabloid media. Kate herself has been accused of having an affair with her bodyguard, but both Gosselin's have denied ever cheating on one another.

The couple's repeated denials of extra-marital affairs has done little to end speculation that they're headed for the divorce court speculation fuelled by the couple's pending announcement. The Internet is buzzing as bloggers and tweeters weigh in on what the icy couple is going to say come Monday night. The gossip site Gawker.com had this to say: "We'd like to avoid this story as much as possible, because mostly it's just gross, but this is TOO BIG to pass up!" NIGHT AT THS MUSEUM 2 (PG) DAILY 1:15, 3:45, 7:15, 9:45 UP (G) DAILY 1:20. 3:40. 7:20 a a-a UP (3D) (G) DAILY 12:45, 3:15, 6:45, 9:15 DRAQ MS TO HELL (14A) DAILY 9:40 THE HANGOVER (18A) DAILY 12:55, 3:30, 6:55, 9:30 STAR TREK (PG) 12:50.

3:25, 6:50, 9:25 MOVIES FOR MOMMIES June 22nd. 10 am "STAR TREK" TAKING OF PELHAM 123 no passes (14A) DAILY 12:40, 1:10, 3:203:50, 6:40, 7:10, 9:20, 9:50 IMAGINE THAT (G) DAILY 1:05, 3:35, 7:05, 9:35 YEAR ONI (PG) 1:40, 4:10, 7:20, 10:00 THI PROPOSAL (PG) 1:00,3:40,6:45,9:30 LAND OF THI LOST (PG) 2:00,4:30,7:30, 10:10 MY LIFI IN RUINS (PG) 1:30, 3:50, 6:30, ft15 TERMINATOR SALVATION (14 A) 1 :20, 7:00, 9:40 DIGITAL CINEMA ANOILS A DIMONS (14A) 1:10, 4:15, 7:40 X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINI (14A) 1:50, 4:20, 7:1 0,9:50 TRANSFORMERS! REVENGE OF THI FALLEN WED-THURS 7:00, 6:00, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THI FALLEN DIGITAL CINEMA -WED-THURS 6:30, 10:00 PHXDRI-MT10IUI TMUTM THURS 7:00 3 Si Love Heritt tells about when she shot Cupid CANWEST NEWS SERVICE Jennifer Love Hewitt is writing a relationship-advice book. Hey, with that middle name, how could she 'not? It'll be called The Day I Shot 'Cupid. In a press release from the publisher, Voice, she says "I thought was time to share the real story of what I've learned navigating the dating waters." f- Her bedpost notches include John Mayer, Carson Daly, and actor Ross McCall, to mention a few. The book due next March.

She's 30. 'f Nobody doubts that there will be third Transformers movie. And director Michael Bay and every-Ipne else involved know by heart, lithe wisdom of the legendary film I critic Joe Bob Briggs: the best way make a sequel is to make exactly the same movie over again. So "obviously Transformers 3, probably due in 2012, will have lots of magical OMG! Vampire boy Robert Pat-' tinson, trying to escape a gaggle of teenage fans in lower Manhattan, dodged out into traffic and was hit by a taxi! So says Radar Online, anyway. Just grazed, though.

Nothing ser-. bus. But one of his five bodyguards shouted at the fans all the same. Pattinson, star of that movie Twilight, is in New York shooting a new Remember Me. Life in TV: The N.

Y. Post has a great story about what happened when NBC chose for some reason to move anchorman Brian Williams from his desk into the middle of the newsroom one day last week: "NBC newsroom staffers don't look like Vogue staffers, so they asked less attractive, heavier staff-. ers to move seats and allow younger, thinner members of the staff to act as extras." (NBC issued a weasel-worded non-denial denial.) I was going to make a joke about our newsroom, but it seems more prudent not to. Celebrating 1 0 Spike from 'Degrassi' to DJ booth HANS ONGSANSOY CANWEST NEWS SERVICE Amanda Stepto is best-known as Spike, the unwed teenage mother on the classic Canadian 1980s drama Degrassi Junior High. And while the birth of a new career as a touring DJ might not result in a popularity, um, spike to rival that of her teen years, it's obvious that Stepto is nevertheless having a ball with this new gig.

"I just found 100 hits of the '80s for $11.99," exclaims Stepto, on the phone from her home base of Toronto, where's she's surfing the iTunes store as we do this interview. "Excited as sh-t!" The comment elicits another round of laughter from Stepto's good friend and Jing partner, Stacie Mistysyn, who is also on the conference call and who is best-known as Caitlin from, that's right, Degrassi Junior High. No need to tune into TVtropolis's Whatever Happened these ladies are happening right now. And bringing their 1980s dance party, In Between Days (a reference to the Cure song), to a dance floor near you. The idea came courtesy of the third member of their crew, Toron-: to Shawn MacD, who tours with the pair and backs them up on the decks, which frees them to "be -more interactive with the crowd." We let it be known that we're i available for pictures, that we're available for (the crowd) to just come say hi and hang out between our sets.

We just want to be accessible," says Mistysyn. No doubt during these times the duo gets asked about what they've been doing since Degrassi. The recently engaged Mistysyn spent 11 years living in L.A., took up writing, moved back, and got involved with the new Degrassi series. Stepto, meanwhile, who's single, auditioned for roles post-TJeorasst' but felt she didn't get them because she was pigeonholed. She lived in Japan for a bit, moved back, and also worked on the new Degrassi series.

She reveals that she and Mistysyn are now also working on their own series. 3 SHEW IEV1NE CANWEST NEWS SERVICE Jon and Kate have set a date to announce their divorce. That's the latest rumour going around the Gosselin mill. Monday, the dysfunctional couple are making an announcement expected "to shock viewers" during a one-hour special of their popular reality show, Jon Kate Plus Eight There are two endings people are expecting: Jon and Kate will announce their divorce or remove their family from the world of reality TV to try and put their lives back together without interference from cameras. TLC is making the most of its cash-cow with a very dramatic 30-second commercial about Jon and Kate's "big announcement." "Recently we've made some life-changing decisions," says Kate in a voice over while a guitar strums sadly inthe background.

Then words pop up on the screen "A family in tur I f(i nH jj An i h. r- 46: years of LIVE Theatre CITYOFNANAIMp; Dancers. JACK CLACX CERA Jun. 21, 2009 Who can resist tapping a toe to a rollicking reel, or fighting back a tear on hearing a haunting lament on the pipes? This Father's Day, bring Dad to the Port Theatre for an unforgettable show! We asked Amanda Stepto and Stacie Mistysyn what comes to mind when they fhinlfof the 1980s. Here's what they said: Stepto: 1) Morrissey 2) Matt Dillon 3) Sid vicious 4) Mike Ness of Social Distortion 5) Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys Stacie Mistyyn: 1) Tears frr 2) 3) 4) cc 5) pinned, r.ti.

The show will feature piperdrummer, Jamie Troy, Highland Dancers Ross Lewis Armour, Irish Dancer Mairead Supple as well as over 100 of our own Brigadoon .1) I TICKETS ON SALE NOW! VI BODYBUILDING COMPETITION Jun 27, CELTFEST GALA July 9, NATIONAL BAlin OF CANADA Sep 28, 0ERRY DEE Oct 2 PORT Pt THEATRE since i..