Poor Harvey Weinstein just can't catch a break. The Kevin Smith comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" was supposed to catapult both Smith and the Weinstein Co. into the Judd Apatowian stratosphere; instead, the $24 million production earned just $37 million worldwide. Now hopes of a rich and fruitful afterlife are being threatened by one of the nation's largest DVD sales outlets. 

Wal-Mart won't carry the "p" word in its stores and has forced Weinstein to create new DVD covers that say simply, "Zack and Miri." As a result, a raunchy sex comedy about two friends who try to reverse their financial condition by producing a porn movie now sounds like a gentle romance between two retirees, possibly one of Hal Ashby's lesser works only now being released by Criterion.

While the garrulous Smith may be delusional on occasion ("I'm just so shocked that the word 'porno' meant that much to people in terms of, like, they found it insanely offensive and don't want to see it on display," he tells Victoria Ahearn), he nonetheless has a point: "Some Wal-Mart-er could buy it and think: 'Oh, 'Zack and Miri,' looks lovely,' and pop it in and there's ... some pretty graphic stuff."

"Zack and Miri" DVDs, with and without the porno, will go on sale Feb. 2. [Canoe]

RELATED: Zack and Miri Make A Good Old-Fashioned Porno Orgy

If you've had a hankering to commemorate the election of President Barack Obama with a T-shirt, keychain, coaster or similar, act now lest you run afoul of the law. Julianna Goldman reports that White House lawyers are looking to control the use of the President’s image, which has already found its way into selling Ikea furniture (“Embrace Change”), flights on Southwest Airlines (“Yes You Can”) and, of course, Ben & Jerry’s “Yes Pecan” ice cream. (Chirps marketing strategist Al Reis, “Now’s the time to latch on to his coattails, because it isn’t going to last forever.”)

“I can’t remember this ever happening to an active politician before, as a spokesperson or as an image for a brand,” said Brad Adgate, director of research for Horizon Media Inc., a New York-based advertising agency. “He’s in the highest profile of any person in the world right now.”

That said, it's not the first time this has happened; in 1989, a cold medicine tried to invoke President George H.W. Bush with a Cold War-themed TV ad. Wakka-wakka. [Bloomberg]

Occasional Variety film critic Joe Leydon found a 24-year-old gem in his files: A 1985 interview with John Cassavetes, conducted when he was shooting what would be his last film, "Big Trouble." Leydon wrote the piece on spec and, at the time, couldn't find a buyer. (Released by Columbia Pictures in May 1986, "Big Trouble" received fairly awful reviews and bombed at the box office.) However, good things occasionally come to those who wait and the article has found a home in MovieMaker. It's a fine read and provides more evidence -- not that it was needed -- that little ever changes: 

“You know, in this business, it’s all jealousy. I mean, this is the dumbest business I’ve ever seen in my life. If somebody gets married, they say, ‘It’ll never work.’ If somebody gets divorced, they say, ‘Good. I’ll give you my lawyer.’ If somebody loses a job, everyone will call him—to gloat. They’ll discuss it, they’ll be happy, they’ll have parties. I don’t understand how people who see each other all the time, and are friends, can be so happy about each other’s demise. I think people—studio executives and filmmakers—should hate each other openly and save a lot of trouble." [MovieMaker]

Sharon Waxman launched The Wrap this week and God bless her for making the leap from ink-stained wretchedness to online -- for if she hadn't,we might have been deprived of the most surreal turn in the battle for the Screen Actors Guild's soul. Click above to hear (alas, not see -- the photo remains stable, though I don't vouch for the singer) SAG president Alan Rosenberg croon his woes. The lyrics are below for your listening pleasure. [The Wrap]

We don’t care about the future, we only care about us.
and if you don’t earn what I think I can earn,
I will throw you underneath a bus.

I sure do love my Union, it gave me my pension and my health,
but don’t expect me to stand up for nobody
till I’ve had a chance to accumulate some wealth.

I’ll stand up strong so that we might be weak
I insist you take that deal without even a tweak! (You bastards)

Al and Doug and Doug Allen?, they stand up way too hard.
If they keep fighting for my compensation,
I will bury them right in my own backyard.

Just tell my bosses that I’ll take what they’re willing to give,
‘cause I’m just so grateful that they even let me live!

I don’t care about nobody, I only care about me.
Lay down your weapons and stop all that nasty fighting,
don’t you know you should be glad to work for free!

I’ll stand up strong so that we might be weak,
I demand you take that deal without even a tweak.
Tell old CBS that I’ll take what they’re willing to give,
cause I’m just so grateful that they even let us live!

I don’t care about nobody.
No, I only care about me.

Lay down your weapons and stop all that nasty fighting,
don’t you know you should be glad to work,
shouldn’t even be mad to work,
sometimes you should prefer to work for free!

Sometimes as long as it ain’t me!
Meanwhile, come see me on TV!

Coldplay and the Killers will play a joint gig February 18 in London for an elite group of 2,000 fans. Becoming one of them requires entering a lottery; winners will be allowed to buy a ticket for £50 (about $71).

All proceeds go to international charity network War Child, which aids children in war-torn countries. And it's a promotion for the February 16 release of the album "War Child: Heroes," a collection of 15 covers that include Beck doing Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat," TV On The Radio doing David Bowie's "Heroes" and Franz Ferdinand's cover of the Blondie hit "Call Me."

If you feel lucky and will be in London, the lottery registration opens at 9 am January 30 GMT (that's 1 am PST) and runs through February 3, with winners notified by February 6. The performances follow the 2009 BRIT Awards, with each band playing 45-minute sets at London venue Shepherd's Bush Empire. The lottery registration link isn't live yet, but it will be available here; you can also click there to sign up for a War Child newsletter that will alert you when the link goes live (ooh, fatter mailing lists! clever, they are). -- Stuart Oldham
 

When there's Polish movie posters, why would anyone settle for a Hollywood one-sheet? They began out of poverty -- the Polish Film Department wanted to avoid the costs of using officially sanctioned promotional materials -- but they became skewed cultural masterpieces of their own, especially since the artists delighted in inverting traditional advertising mores and often didn't understand what the film was about beyond one or two lines of badly translated text. For "Fatal Attraction," we can only presume the communicated logline was "evil she-serpent turns on adoring hand" -- which, if memory serves, isn't too far from the truth.  To purchase, check out Polish Posters. -- Erin Maxwell [Cracked]

"Fatal Attraction"

"Boogie Nights"

"Star Wars"

Yesterday, we posted a small item about a new production that claims to be the first 3D porn film. A reader writes, to tell us in no uncertain terms, that it's Most Certainly Not So!

And so we have, Mr. Symmes. Thanks for writing.  

If you happen to be in Arizona, please go see "Killshot" and tell us how it is. The Weinstein Co. thriller, which wrapped in October 2005 (not including reshoots), stars newly minted Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke opposite Diane Lane and opened in five Arizona theaters January 23. It has earned $10,741 to date.

The project sounded promising -- John Madden ("Shakespeare in Love") directing Hossein Amini's adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel -- and the review (singular), from the improbably named Arizona Republic film critic Bill Goodykoontz, is fairly positive, calling the plot "implausible" but the performances "uniformly good, if not great." 

Still: It's an ignonimous end. Why Arizona? Every now and then, studios take their movies to the desert to die a la Joe Pesci in "Casino" (minus the bat to the face, although it might feel that way for those involved). [EDITED TO ADD: As a detail-minded commenter has pointed out, Pesci was not bludgeoned in the desert; he was bludgeoned in a cornfield, after which he was buried alive. I point this out for the sake of accuracy while being unwilling to find a more appropriate representative for the otherwise tidy logic of a nifty metaphor.]

However, barely releasing a film in one of the nation's most popular retirement communities is a more dignified (and perhaps, more contractually satisfying) than a straight-to-DVD release.

The film, ironically enough, is about a woman who goes into hiding as part of the FBI's witness protection program. Thomas Jane, Rosario Dawson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt co-star. -- Stuart Oldham

Edited to add: Dissatisfied with its arid desert beatdown, Weinstein Co. adds insult to injury with this note (found on Hollywood Elsewhere): "An email sent to Arizona critics on 1.21.09 by Allied Advertising & Public Relations' Jessica Sotelo (and forwarded to me) stated that "Killshot starring Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke is being distributed under the Third Rail Release and NOT The Weinstein Company. Please make any updates/corrections on this with your reviews/opening mentions." (Thanks, Jeff and Jeff)

For the record, it's Third Rail Releasing. And furthermore: Third Rail is the genre-film arm of... the Weinstein Co.

For a look at what WeinCo/Third Rail would really you rather not see, here's the trailer:

Bummer for wannabe paparazzi: New York state representative Peter T. King is sponsoring the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act. In other words: He wants the law to require that camera phones make a clicky sound.

Viz. to wit:

"any mobile phone containing a digital camera to sound a tone whenever a photograph is taken with the camera's phone. Prohibits such a phone from being equipped with a means of disabling or silencing the tone. Treats the requirement as a consumer product safety standard and requires enforcement by the Consumer Product Safety Commission."

However, it's been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, an outfit that, presumably, will be distracted with more-pressing issues for the forseeable future. [Library of Congress, via Slashdot]

"Slumdog Millionaire" has opened in India and Jeremy Page points out some interesting factoids about its release, including a change in its one-sheet (now featuring supporting actor and Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, who portrays the gameshow host ) and its title ("Slumdog Crorepati." Crorepati is Hindi for 10 million rupees). He also says that "activists" suggest that director Danny Boyle should share his Oscar nomination with co-dorector Loveleen Tandan who "shot many scenes, made key script changes and rewrote the children’s dialogue in Hindi." Ms. Tamdan has also been a casting director on many Indian-culture films, including "Slumdog," "Brick Lane" and "Monsoon Wedding." [Times]

Variety's David Rooney says the new Broadway production of "Hedda Gabler" is "loopy." Not necessarily a bad thing, since it's a word that might also be used to describe musician PJ Harvey and she scored the work. In speaking with Jim Farber (who describes the play as "Henrik Ibsen’s classic ode to the ultimate psycho bitch from hell"), Harvey says, “As an artist, I’ve always been drawn to what human beings are capable of, in how far you can push things. And Hedda pushes things to the limit.”

The score — which takes up the first two minutes of the play, then creepy-crawls around the starts and finishes of all four acts — centers on a hiss, a compressed signal of menace and torment. It’s the sound of seething. “I just kept coming back to that sound,” Harvey says.

Unfortunately, according to our critic, "(Mary-Louise) Parker's seething kook remains remote." [NY Daily News] 

So by now everyone's heard how inexhaustible producer's rep Jeff "The Dude" Dowd annoyed Variety critic John Anderson so thoroughly that Anderson had no choice but to get up from his breakfast and punch him. Or something like that. (Not that hitting is OK!)

Because it's so hard to imagine, because Dowd will milk the second-best publicity opportunity in his life until it is dry and because "Black Dynamite" star Michael Jai White is a helluva guy, here's the re-enactment. [MCN]

Everyone's excited about the imminent (or not!) digital transition, that moment when the phrase "rabbit-ears antenna" will make the leap from quaint to truly arcane. However, Nielsen put out a press release to warn us that some population sectors aren't quite excited enough: A whopping 5.7% of Americans aren't ready!

Among the 56 local markets that Nielsen measures with electronic meters, the one that is least ready is Albuquerque-Santa Fe, with 12.4% of the households completely unready. The most prepared market is Hartford & New Haven, with only 1.8% of homes unready.

"It is imperative that we operate at an accelerated pace to educate those who are at the greatest risk of losing their television service -- low-income households, large numbers of senior, minority and disabled viewers. These viewers rely on traditional television the most and can least afford to lose their television lifelines. We have a responsibility to make sure that these groups whether in our families, churches or communities are equipped and ready for this transition," said Cynthia Perkins-Roberts, Nielsen African American Advisory Council (AAAC).

Of course, the alarmist tone of Nielsen's press release ignores that fact that their most valuable would-be consumers will achieve light speed once they realize a trip to Radio Shack is required if they want to continue watching "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" And it's kind to look out for those who might otherwise be overlooked or underserved. However, Nielsen's stake is to ensure that television-viewing habits can be preserved, and therefore measured, in the brave new world; you can't activate a people meter if the people can't watch television.

But who's watching TV, anyway? As Rick Kissell reported in regards to Pres. Obama's inauguration:

Preliminary Nielsen estimates show that 29.2% of U.S. households were watching the presidential inauguration -- easily the largest in decades but below the 37.4 household rating for Reagan. Obama's figures include viewership on roughly 15 broadcast and cable networks, while the Reagan ceremony was viewed only on ABC, CBS and NBC; also, they do not include the huge online viewing this time around, with CNN.com, FoxNews.com and MSNBC.com all reporting record streaming video traffic.

The Reagan inauguaration in 1981 ended up averaging a whopping 41.8 million viewers to stand as the most-watched on record. The previous low-water mark came in 2005 for the second inauguration of George W. Bush (15.5 million).

Someday, it won't matter how we watch as Nielsen Online or similar will have access to the wi-fi in our cerebral cortex. And someday, the future's Richest Person In the World will figure out how to make online make money. In the meantime, Nielsen's real panic threatens to surface as the value of TV viewers -- and in turn, their measurement -- is increasingly called into question. [BusinessWire]

"CBS Consumer Products has just released images of the eagerly anticipated Star Trek Barbie Dolls from Mattel. The dolls have been created mainly for collectors and are for ages 6+. The three dolls - Kirk, Spock, and Lieutenant Uhura - are modeled after the three actors playing the same roles in this summer's blockbuster film STAR TREK hitting theatres on May 8th!

"The price point for the three dolls is $43.19. They will be on shelves April 20th. Mattel is distributing to Walmart and walmart.com, Barbiecollector.com and Barbie collector dealers. They are selling them as an assortment (but the dolls come individually wrapped, no two or three-packs). Select international markets will have the dolls as well (but no specific dates or info. on that yet)." [press release]

If you've never seen and/or don't love "Withnail & I," please move along; there's nothing for you here.

For everyone else: My friends, do I have a deal for you. Here is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go on holiday by mistake, for Uncle Monty's uninhabitable cottage is up for auction in London Feb. 16 with a "guide price" of about $200,000. Alas, the Savills auction catalog is not available until Jan. 30.  [Guardian]

The day after playing the Obama inaugural event at Lincoln Memorial, U2 has unleashed the first single from their upcoming album, "No Line On The Horizon," which is expected in stores March or whenever it gets leaked. "Get Your Boots On" can be streamed at U2's site here.

Here's Pop and Hiss' snap judgment. It's kind of dance-y. Poppy. Different. It's also a cut from an album that has three monster producers -- Brian Eno, Steve Lillywhite and Daniel Lanois -- so it's anyone's guess as to whether this is a fair representation of what's to come. -- Dave Lewis

Have to say, at this point it's hard to find anything that's not about the Sundance Film Festival and the inauguration of Pres. Barack Obama. (Yeah, I voted for him, too, but the coverage gives new meaning to exhaustive.)

So with that in mind, here's a palate cleanser (or mind eraser, depending on how you look at it): Footage of rapper-nee'-Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix, rapping his way across -- and off -- the stage. You're welcome. [The Daily Swarm]

The editor of Sri Lankan paper the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickramatunge, was shot dead January 8 on his way to work. It was not unanticipated -- Wickramatunge had already faced multiple attempts on his life, including a hail of machine-gun fire on his home, for his outspoken positions against the civil war and government corruption that racks his country. However, he was an editor until the end, writing an editorial to be published after his death.

The full piece, "And Then They Came For Me," is on the Leader website, but I had trouble accessing it this morning; however, the Guardian has an excellent and extensive edit that offers all you'll need to understand why this man's life rights should be acquired immediately. And if there's a bidding war, so much the better; it's the least his family deserves. Excerpt below:

The Sunday Leader has never sought safety by unquestioningly articulating the majority view. Let's face it, that is the way to sell newspapers. On the contrary, as our opinion pieces over the years amply demonstrate, we often voice ideas that many people find distasteful. For instance, we have consistently espoused the view that while separatist terrorism must be eradicated, it is more important to address the root causes of terrorism, and urge government to view Sri Lanka's ethnic strife in the context of history and not through the telescope of terrorism. We have also agitated against state terrorism in the so-called war against terror, and made no secret of our horror that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world routinely to bomb its own citizens. For these views we have been labelled traitors; and if this be treachery, we wear that label proudly.

Many people suspect that the Sunday Leader has a political agenda: it does not. If we appear more critical of the government than of the opposition, it is only because we believe that - excuse cricketing argot - there is no point in bowling to the fielding side. Remember that for the few years of our existence in which the United National party was in office, we proved to be the biggest thorn in its flesh, exposing excess and corruption wherever it occurred.

Indeed, the stream of embarrassing expositions we published may well have served to precipitate the downfall of that government.

Neither should our distaste for the war be interpreted to mean that we support the Tamil Tigers. The LTTE is among the most ruthless and bloodthirsty organisations to have infested the planet. There is no gainsaying that it must be eradicated. But to do so by violating the rights of Tamil citizens, bombing and shooting mercilessly, is not only wrong but shames the Sinhalese, whose claim to be custodians of the dhamma is for ever called into question by this savagery - much of it unknown to the public because of censorship.

What is more, a military occupation of the country's north and east will require the Tamil people of those regions to live eternally as second-class citizens, deprived of all self-respect. Do not imagine you can placate them by showering "development" and "reconstruction" on them in the postwar era. The wounds of war will scar them for ever, and you will have an even more bitter and hateful diaspora to contend with. A problem amenable to a political solution will thus become a festering wound that will yield strife for all eternity. If I seem angry and frustrated, it is only because most of my compatriots - and all the government - cannot see this writing so plainly on the wall.

It is well known that I was on two occasions brutally assaulted, while on another my house was sprayed with machine-gun fire. Despite the government's sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks, and the attackers were never apprehended.

In all these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me. [Guardian]

I don't see much TV. (Neither a boast nor an admission of guilt. When I do watch, I prefer switching aimlessly between movies I've seen before.) However, I may have to start if only for producer Chuck Lorre's ("The Big Bang Theory," "Two and a Half Men") show-closing vanity cards, which are random and brilliant. (Scratch that; he has a whole site devoted to them. Problem solved!)

WARNING: If you like your Oscar fodder unspoiled, stop reading now. Even so, you might want to reconsider, as this is sort of genius.

Ever hear of William Zantzinger? He was the real-life villain in Bob Dylan's "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," a song that describes how, in 1963, the then-24-year-old Maryland farmer killed a 51-year-old black barmaid by striking her with his cane after deciding she was too slow in bringing him a bourbon. In his drunkenness, he also knocked his own wife to the ground and hit her with his shoe; nonetheless, June Zantzinger protested his prosecution thusly: "Nobody treats his niggers as well as Billy does around here."

Zantzinger served six months for the crime; in 1992, he served another 19 months for 50 misdemeanor counts that included serving as a slumloard for substandard housing that the Maryland Real Estate Commission described as "ramshackle, primitive structures reminiscent of slave quarters."

Anyway. As of January 3, 2009, he's dead; a week later, he was buried. And hopefully no one will write about him again. [AP; photo credit, Getty Images/AP]

[This, alas, comes from Variety's own jobs site -- thanks, Phil]

A stroke of genius, this: The sole work of tragic genius and former hotel overseer Jack Torrance, best known for his portrayal by Jack Nicholson in "The Shining," has come to light. It's a slim work -- just 80 pages -- but it reflects a clarity of vision and single-minded concentration that's all but disappeared in today's Twitter-centric world.

The title? "All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy," of course.

"AWANPMJADB" is the brainchild of New York artist Phil Buehler, who tells Alison Flood, "If you're not a (Stanley) Kubrick or (Stephen) King fan, you might not even get it." Apparently, such people do exist and Buehler is engaged to one of them: "I finally showed her the movie, and she realized I wasn't really losing it," he said.

The book is available in both paperback ($8.95) and hardcover ($22.95) through publish-yourself outlet blurb.com, which also offers a free 15-page preview and, best, of all, this author bio on the back flap:

"John Daniel 'Jack' Torrance was formerly a prep school teacher before returning to writing. He died before his debut work, 'All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy,' was published." [Guardian -- thanks, Erin!] 

God bless John Waters, who imparts words of wisdom via BBCNews.com for President-elect Barack Obama in what may be the single best use to date of video on the internet. Click here to watch (sorry, no embed available). [BBC News]

I don't miss Premiere magazine much (its glory days were long gone by the time it folded), but one feature I did appreciate were the photos shot by Jeff Bridges on his film sets. Happily, he's continued that tradition for no apparent reason other than it's what he wants to do, which is the best reason of all. Check out his site, jeffbridges.com; it also features (what I presume are his) charming scribbly drawings that evoke Shel Silverstein with a shakier hand and colored pencils. [jeffbridges.com -- thanks, Liz!]

Have a childhood craving for Casper the Friendly Ghost, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the Lone Ranger or Gumby? Your dreams can come true! They're all owned by U.K.-based Entertainment Rights, a debt-riddled company that seems unlikely to obtain the $44 million it needs to stay solvent. Among the options are selling off its big brands, which also include Rupert Bear, Postman Pat and Basil Brush (no idea -- it's a British thing), but that's not an appealing option since, Dan Sabbagh reports, "it may not generate enough to eliminate the debt." Even so: the 1995 "Casper" movie earned $288 million worldwide. [The Times]

Hollywood is still talking about about just how many millions Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg may or may not have lost through Madoffian investments; now, Lizzie Widdicombe writes, the effect is sweeping even the most elite reaches of Manhattan:

Last week, with family vacations to St. Bart’s and Aspen cancelled, the Upper East Side was swarming with kids. The McDonald’s at Eighty-fifth and Third was packed—and, to most of the younger patrons, if not the sunken-eyed parents, an afternoon there was probably just as good as skiing. 

[snip] 

Back in midtown, business was brisk at the Madison Avenue headquarters of CIRCA, a jewelry-buying firm, where Madoff-related jewels had been incoming all month, like expensive shrapnel. ...An older woman in Beverly Hills had mailed in a nine-carat diamond to sell, so that she could pay her expenses; the company had sent armored cars to retrieve two batches of family jewels from Chicago and Arizona.

Noted: The jettisoned jewels of choice are David Webb animals. Hard to know if that's because they're the most popular or because they're the first to go. (Above: David Webb's "Mythical Unicorn Clip:" Abalone body, 18k gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Price available upon request.) [The New Yorker]

We're a mere nine days way from that celebration of celluloid, that snowy schmoozefest, the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. What's the buzz? I have no idea! I'm not going this year _(yay) and am currently Sundance-gossip free, a condition I'll maintain as long as possible.

While I remain in that blissful state, I'd like to provide a PSA for those less fortunate:

The buzz, she is sexy. But do not trust the buzz, for she is bullshit.

I was reminded of this by an Erik Davis post providing an "exclusive premiere" of the one-sheet for  the March 13 release of the buzz film from Sundance 2008, "Sunshine Cleaning," a film that had everything going for it -- namely, that it could (oh please oh please) be a snappy retread of the hit film from Sundance 2006, "Little Miss Sunshine." It had some of the same producers! It had a kooky premise! It won Alan Arkin an Oscar! It had the word "sunshine" in the title! Emily Blunt was in "The Devil Wears Prada"! Amy Adams is magic!

And then "Sunshine" screened to a full house... of crickets. Not that people hated it, but no one said they loved it. And it was kind of gory and it was too expensive and the whole "Sunshine" thing was kind of confusing. We'd anticipated a bidding war; instead, a few days after its premiere, it was as if "Sunshine Cleaning" never happened at all. A month after the festival, Overture Films bought the movie and said it was considering a title change.

By contrast: At Sundance 2005, Warner Independent Pictures was really excited about winning the bidding war for "Strangers With Candy" for $3 million. It also, with National Geographic Films, bought "a French doc about penguins." (Or, as a rival distrib asked me in disbelief, "They got the boring penguin movie?") One post-purchase narration from Morgan Freeman later, "March of the Penguins" earned $77 million and the Oscar for best documentary; WIP never released "Strangers With Candy," which made about $2 million for ThinkFilm instead. [Cinematical]

Interesting: Bruce Lee's Hong Kong home will be perserved as a tourist attraction that honors his memory. More interesting: It almost became a "a seedy love motel" instead. [Reuters]

Ron Asheton, original guitarist for Iggy and the Stooges, was found dead at his home in Ann Arbor, Mich. He was 60. Anyone who's listened to "Fun House" and "Raw Power" (I know, was only the bassist on that one, but it's a great album) mourns. A note of comfort: Another legendary guitarist from the same era,Tom Verlaine, is scheduled to perform tomorrow night in Los Angeles as an accompanist to a series of experimental short films. It's part of the Avant-Garde Silent Films series at the Silent Movie Theater. (Video is footage from a 1970 Stooges performance in Cincinnatti; the footage is a little blurry, but Asheton comes through loud and clear.) [AP]

Big news! to come from the final day of the Macworld Conference and Expo, maybe. According to Greg Sandoval, iTunes will start offering:

• "flexible" pricing -- in other words, more-popular songs will cost more than 99 cents; less-popular will cost less.

• Music free from copy-protection software (aka the well-intentioned but ultimately toothless "digital rights management"). Apple already sells DRM-free music from EMI; the new deal would extend to  the other three major labels (Sony BMG, Universal and Warner Music).

Let iPods everywhere rejoice. The announcement will likely be part of the Steve Jobs-free keynote, which will be delivered by Apple VP Phil Schiller. [CNET]

UPDATE: Yeah, it's all true. But it didn't keep the whole thing from being a total snooze. [Silicon Alley Insider]