Cafe Del Mar & other: July 2008

Mark Wahlberg - Wahlberg Sued By Ex-bodyguard

Movie star MARK WAHLBERG has been accused of failing to pay a former bodyguard for four years of work.

Leonard Taylor filed a $20,000 (GBP10,000) lawsuit in New York's Manhattan Civil Court this month (Jun08), alleging his former employer still owes him payment for work dating back to 2001.

The lawsuit is the second Taylor has lodged against the star.

In 2001, Wahlberg paid Taylor $5,000 (GBP2,500) in a court settlement after the star was accused of assault.

A spokesperson for Wahlberg refused to comment.

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Malibu's Most Wanted

We've been doing some digging, and turns out, the Malibu brawl last weekend was the tip of the iceberg.
Surfers

Back in the day of "Celebrity Justice" (Memba Them?), we found a Malibu-based gang known as Malibu Locals Only (MLO). The gang had allegedly been assaulting college students and tourists that hung out on parts of the beach MLO considered its turf. One altercation led to a lawsuit against a famous celeb's son.

And there's more...

In 2004, Brawley Nolte, Nick's boy, was sued for allegedly being part of a Malibu group that beat a teenager from the San Fernando Valley so badly, he was left with permanent brain damage. That case was dismissed.

Cops tell us that MLO isn't officially considered a gang because they don't meet gang criteria. Yes, we thought that too. If this happened in Compton, we're thinkin' it might be another story.

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Warsaw

Artist: Warsaw

   Genre(s):
Rock: Punk-Rock

Discography:

Warska

Year: 1994
Tracks: 10

Music and Social Networking Get Redefined in New Interactive Site from BETA Records

Artists and music fans immerse themselves in downloads, ringtones,
streaming, internet radio, virtual commerce, communication, video, and more

LOS ANGELES, June 26 -- Giving musicians and music lovers
more power and flexibility than ever before, BETA Records
(http://www.betarecords.com) has launched a newly expanded site combining
search-and-match music selection, virtual commerce, and social interaction.

*(PHOTO Link: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/08-0626-BETArecs_72dpi.jpg)

*(Photo Caption: Georg van Handel, Chris Honetschlaeger of BETA
Records.)

Technology partners took part in a global 2-year effort to transform
BETA Records into a music ecosystem to accommodate the way fans like to
interact with music and artists.

"BETA Records is taking the ideas, philosophy and functionality of the
record labels of yesteryear and adding modern technology," states Chris
Honetschlaeger, President. "Now, fans and bands are going to be able to
interact in exciting ways, leading to more people sharing and recommending
more new music than ever."

The newly launched site offers quick-and-easy tools for artists and
fans to communicate with each other while sharing, buying or selling music,
ringtones, and merchandise. "We created a whole new world involving virtual
branding, communication, music, and commerce," says Georg van Handel, CEO.

Visitors to the online BETA world will find downloads, streaming,
video, email, widgets, ringtone makers, dynamic song pricing, and intuitive
search-and-match technology to help find new music.

"Other sites have made music accessible, but it's not about how many
'friends' listen to you because friends don't pay the bills," notes
Honetschlaeger. "What we've launched will take a song to 20 different
markets, giving 85% of the revenue back to the artists. The more exposure a
song has, the more likely it is that someone will buy it." Even fans can
earn revenue via recommendations and their own profile's traffic.

The new music and social networking technology is now available in the
USA. Next to launch will be England, http://www.betarecords.co.uk; Germany,
http://www.betarecords.de; and Mexico, http://www.betarecords.com.mx, with
China coming soon.

About BETA Records

BETA Records is a hybrid community that actively finds, produces, and
showcases unsigned artists to the music industry and distributes content to
fans via digital channels. BETA offers each artist a dedicated page to
utilize the full range of the site's technology.

Media contact:
Scott G
ScottG@betarecords.com
Phone: 1-818-223-8486
This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by
Send2Press(R), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com

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Concord Dawn and Optiv

Artist: Concord Dawn and Optiv

   Genre(s):
Drum & Bass

Discography:

Zulu / Quattro

Year: 2003
Tracks: 2

2raumwohnung

Ajattara

Artist: Ajattara

   Genre(s):
Metal
   Metal: Death,Black

Discography:

Apare

Year: 2006
Tracks: 10

Tyhjyys

Year: 2004
Tracks: 11

Ilon Juhla (CDS)

Year: 2004
Tracks: 2

Kuolema

Year: 2003
Tracks: 10

Itse

Year: 2001
Tracks: 10

Ajattara is an ambient black alloy side project for Amorphis isaac Merrit Singer Pasi Koskinen, world Health Organization hither goes by the murky nom de guerre of Ruoja and handles vocals, guitars, and keyboards. Begun in 1996 to occupy his trim time (of which, on the face of it, thither wasn't much), Ajattara only got around to recording their debut record album, Itse, in 2001, at which time the trio was rounded out by bassist Atoni and drummer Malakias. Like its predecessor, 2003's sophomore Kuolema was released by the Spinefarm label, and erst again boasted aggressive merely atmospheric calamitous metal sung dynasty solely in Finnish.

Heath Ledger frightening in final role

He hired actor Heath Ledger to portray a frightening villain whose chaotic life threatens audiences, and Chris Nolan - director of new Batman movie The Dark Knight - says he got exactly what he wanted.

The film marks one of the final big-screen appearances for Oscar nominee Ledger, who died in January of an accidental drug overdose at 28, and his portrayal of the villainous Joker has wowed audiences in early screenings.

"We both saw it (the part) exactly the same way," Nolan said.

"It had to be very frightening, very much a force of anarchy, someone completely devoted to chaos and the idea of ripping down the world around him for his own amusement."

At a Saturday showing in Los Angeles for reporters, cast and crew, there was an audible gasp of shock from some audience members when Ledger's evil Joker first appears on screen during a tense bank heist in the opening sequence.

With his scraggly matted hair, chalky-white scarred face, smudged raccoon eyes and drunkenly-applied blood-red lipstick - all the more disturbing when worn with a neat shirt, tie and vest - Ledger seemed to have tapped into his darkest, deepest demons, only to channel them back into a malevolent anti-hero.

In the movie based on the Batman comics, the Joker orchestrates a series of murders, kidnappings and bombings in an attempt to bring Gotham City to its knees, and it's up to Batman (Christian Bale) to stop him.

Ledger's villain is a far cry from the campy Joker that Jack Nicholson portrayed back in 1989's movie, Batman.

LEDGER'S LEGACY

Nolan said he had wanted to work with Ledger "for some time," and that his portrayal of a taciturn gay cowboy in 2005's Brokeback Mountain, which earned Ledger a best actor Oscar nomination, made Nolan believe he could tackle any role.

"There's nothing done (in Brokeback) for vanity or the audience. He plays a lonely introvert, and plays it sincerely, which is kind of heartbreaking and so bold," Nolan said.

Ultimately, Ledger may be best remembered as a sensitive, gifted actor who in a few brief years exhibited an impressively broad range of talent from the tanned hunk of A Knight's Tale to the murderous nihilist of The Dark Knight.

He seemed equally at home in roles as a charming uber-lover in Casanova, an eager-to-fight 18th century teenager in The Patriot, and a California surfer in Lords of Dogtown.

Other films included Ned Kelly and Monster's Ball.

Nolan said he met with Ledger to discuss The Joker before a script was even ready, and the actor and director began crafting a villain directly inspired by "punk influences and films like A Clockwork Orange".

"Then, Heath went off and did a lot of work to create this iconic character that's still human enough to be frightening, because if he's not human, you won't believe in him," Nolan said.

"He did it in a complex way and is terrifying in it."

But as strong as Ledger's performance appears to be for now - critical reviews await the movie's debut on July 18 - Nolan called it "bitter-sweet" that this is the actor's last role.

"Inevitably there'll be this sense of, 'What could he have achieved if he'd lived?' And that's the heartbreaking thing about it, to see somebody achieve such greatness and have all that potential tragically cut short."

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Albert and Allen Hughes revisit 'Pimp'

HBO drama 'Gentlemen' reexamines 'American Pimp'

Albert and Allen Hughes are revisiting the settings and themes of their 1999 documentary "American Pimp" with "Gentlemen of Leisure," a drama series project for HBO.

Set in Oakland, Calif., "Leisure," which will be written by "Rescue Me" co-executive producer Evan Reilly, explores the world of prostitution through the eyes of a legendary pimp contemplating retirement.

"It's about a guy who wants to get out but keeps getting sucked back in by the allure of the game and by extraneous circumstances that have to do with his family," Reilly said.

"Leisure" will explore the generational conflict of old-school pimps living by honor codes and creeds who are being pushed aside by violent upstarts who are coming "with their guns blazing," mixing prostitution with drugs and thievery, Allen Hughes said.

"These are some of the themes from 'The Godfather' but in the world of pimping," he said.

The brothers are set to direct the potential pilot as well as exec produce with Reilly and Interscope's Jimmy Iovine and Polly Anthony.

Allen Hughes said the idea for the show came after several of their friends suggested they should make "American Pimp" into a drama series for HBO. The two were resistant at first until they realized that there haven't been shows about that subculture.

"This is the last island that has not been reached in television or film," Allen Hughes said.

He approached Iovine, who had been looking to an urban mob drama set in the world of hip-hop, and he and Anthony came on board.

"I was captivated by it," Anthony said.

Like other Interscope-produced projects, "Leisure" will have a strong music component, she said.

The Hughes, who most recently shepherded the USA Network series "Touching Evil," are looking to push the envelope with "Leisure."

"We haven't done a movie in eight years, and we're really interested in trying do something new," Allen Hughes said. "You're not going to see a bunch of colorful, goofy '70's pimps. This is a film noir-style urban drama based in rich characters that will explore the human conditions across the board."

The Hughes brothers and Reilly are repped by WMA.

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