I The Behrend Beacon Xeric - adj. - characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture. The man that I found crawling in the desert was so thankful when I gave him some water, l guess in the life of a loser, one can always make friends with the xeric. Entertainment News in Brief 3/28-4/4 Moviegoers place money on 21 The newly released blockbuster featuring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. 21. rolled its was to the top spot on the box office. It received almost 524 million in its first weekend. Horton Hears a Who slipped to second but still raised its total to over SI 17 mil lion. making it the first triple-digit grossing movie of the year. Superhero Movie debuted at No. d with a disappointing return of just over S l > million. Crazy Kight - Idol cuts another American Idol cut singer Ramiele Malubay this week, narrowing the competition to eight contestants. Malubay's performance elicited various responses from the judges, drawing sharp criti cism from the show's most negative fixture. Simon Cowell. "Overall 1 thought it w as forgettable." Cow ell said, "and 1 think it was v ery reminiscent of something you would see and hear on a cruise ship." McKellan hopes to repeat performance of Gandalf While director Peter King works oil The Hohhit. his newest movie plan. lan McKellan. who played the original Gandalf. is more than willing to take his old role again. "Yes. I would (return 1." i McKellan stated on his website, "if | King| and I have anything to i do with it Source: CNN. Yahoo Beacon Entertainer of the Week Upcoming releases: Movies Prom Night -April 11- Starring Brittany Snow and Idris Elba, a senior prom night goes wrong as a young woman must escape the violent rampage of a killer. Rating: PG-13 Street Kings ~April 11~ An LAPD police officer, played by Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) seeks revenge after the death of his partner. Rating: R y Music Mariah Carey ~ April 15- E=MC 2 JUnterts Everclear -April 15- The Vegas Years W j ~. i : ~i'gm -W 11 CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Comedian Robin Williams. Robin Williams performs improv to save TEDs Comedian saves tech show with impromptu stage performance By Connor Sattely entertainment editor cissof>() (o'psu.edu The attendees of the Technology. Entertainment and Design (TED) conference in Monterey, Calif., certainly weren't expecting a stand-up routine from one of the nation’s most successful comedians. However, when the organiz ers of the show encounted a technical difficulty which brought the entire event to a screeching halt, that’s exactly what they got. “Well, they found the wire, but it’s not plugged in.” -Robin Williams A voice from the crowd, described at first by some as "probably just a heckler," began to shout out an imaginary news “I’m reporting live from the TED," the man said. "But I can't hear a thing.” Audience members began to turn and according to one account, people began to realize it was Williams. "Well, they said they found the wire, but it’s not plugged in." he continued After insistence by the show's organizers, Williams made his way to the stage and performed an impromptu routine. A blog on wired.com notes the major points of the routine, including rips on Steven Hawking, who spoke at the TED conference earlier that day, and several lech-related issues. Williams, well-known for his improvisation talent, is also widely regarded as a “techie.” He frequents technology con ferences across the nation every year. This time, fellow technology buffs were treated to a short, completely improvised routine by one of the masters of stand up. Perhaps the best joke in the improv routine, which is avail able on You Tube, was when Williams ripped on Google. "You walk into Google and all you see is a bunch of com puters and an exercise ball,” Williams said, “but that’s okay, I think that's how they hatch new employees.” The You Tube video only shows about two and a half minutes of the routine, which some guess lasted aound 15 minutes. Williams was encouraged several times by hosts to keep presenting "1 have one question for the [British] royal family,” Williams said, “all that money and no dental plan?” Dozens of audience members captured the performance on cell phone cameras, and pic tures hastily shot from the waist are circulating around the inter net. in in eni Jay-Z drops Def Jam, signs new tour deal CEO and rapper signs with Live Nation, plans new nationwide tour By Connor Sattely entertainment editor cisso6o<!>'psu.edu A giant record deal usually sig nals the pinnacle of a musician's career. However. Jay-Z's new $l5O million deal with Live Nation could represent some thing else entirely: the shift into a new musical era. In a time where CD sales are constantly falling and the shift to online media becomes more apparent, record labels are scrambling to find ways to keep their heads above water. Live Nation, known as a concert organizer for some of the nation’s most popular artists, has also signed deals with artists such as Madonna and U 2. Jay-Z’s package deal with Live Nation will include financing for his own entertainment deals, as well as recording and tours over the next few years, the New York Times reports. Artists, as well, are feeling the crunch of the failing CD market. Jay-Z’s November album sold 400,000 albums, a decidedly average response in a year domi nated by online media. This past year’s highest-selling CD. Josh Groben’s Noel, sold 3.9 million albums, according to Nielsen Soundscan. In 2000. the highest selling album was almost 10 million, the Times reports. Jay-Z's deal will include pro Jay-Z has created a stir in the label industry by signing the deal visions for tours and deals on Jay-Z’s future album releases. It will award the rapper $lO million for each release over the next 10 years, with a minimum of three albums. Jay-Z claims that his choice to switch labels is an effort to keep up with the changing medium of music sales. Live Nation, he says, possess es a drive to "reach the consumer in so many different ways right His current tour, which will be given a forward of $25 million by Live Nation, will feature Jay- Z in a duo with fellow popular artist Mary J. Blige. Jay-Z will finish up his last album with Def Jam later this year, but for now will focus on the duo tour. Most Friday, April 4, 2008 recent shows have been sold out. The question still remains on whether Live Nation will he able to bring the music to Jav-Z's tans in a digital age. "Everyone's trying to figure it out," Jay-Z says. "I want to be on the front lines in that fight." CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Rapper Jay-Z.
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