USA TODAY - L awrence J ournal -W orld TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015
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HOW WAS YOUR DAY? GOOD DAY JENNA BUSH HAGER The twin daughter of former president George W. Bush is pregnant with her second child, due in August. Hager, 33, who is married to Henry Hager, made the announcement Monday on NBC’s ‘Today’ show, where she is a contributing correspondent.
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BAD DAY DANIEL CRAIG The James Bond star is recovering after having arthroscopic surgery on one of his knees. Producers say EPA Craig, 47, had the procedure during the Easter production break, according to the BBC and AP. He is believed to have suffered the injury while filming action scenes for the next Bond film, ‘Spectre,’ in Mexico. Filming began last December and has since gone on to Rome and Mexico. Eon Productions said Monday that Craig will rejoin the production when it resumes filming April 22 at Pinewood Studios in England. MAKING WAVES ABC has confirmed that Diane Sawyer will interview Bruce Jenner for a special edition of ‘20/20’ April 24. The two-hour special, ‘Bruce GETTY IMAGES Jenner — The Interview’ airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Jenner has been in the news for his divorce from Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner and a car crash CLINT BREWER, in Malibu, Calif., SPLASH NEWS that resulted in a woman being killed, but most of all for his changing appearance. CAUGHT IN THE ACT Prince Harry places a poppy at the Roll of Honour during a visit to the Australian War Memorial Monday in Canberra.
The songs on Brian Wilson’s No Pier Pressure recall the Beach Boys’ hits of the ’60s, says collaborator Joe Thomas.
BRIAN BOWEN SMITH
Peerless Brian Wilson plumbs past in new songs Younger artists offer Beach Boys vibe on his solo album ‘No Pier Pressure’ Elysa Gardner @ElysaGardner USA TODAY
Brian Wilson’s solo album, No Pier Pressure, was conceived as a Beach Boys album. Instead, it teams one of the greatest creative minds and most distinctive voices of the ’60s with some younger artists — plus a few old friends. Alt-pop duo She & Him (featuring Zooey Deschanel) and singer/songwriters Kacey Musgraves, Nate Ruess and Sebu Simonian are among the voices that appear on Pressure, out today. Asked how he selected them, Wilson, 72, says simply: “I just knew they were right. Because we wanted to have a lot of harmonies on the album.” In a separate conversation, Wilson’s wife of 20 years, Melinda, says: “Brian loved their voices, and they didn’t have to do a million takes to get what he wanted.” Wilson’s longtime collaborator
Joe Thomas, who co-produced Pressure and co-wrote most of the songs, says, “I think Brian always works best in a group.” Tensions toward the end of the Beach Boys’ 50th-anniversary tour made it clear that recording with Wilson’s old group wasn’t an option. Thomas says the breezy, melodic tunes on Pier “remind me of Beach Boys singles back in the day.” The songs often took shape as Wilson and Thomas, who stayed at the Wilsons’ Beverly Hills home while recording, were driving to the studio in Hollywood, checking out Top 40 radio. “We wanted our kids to think we were cool,” quips Thomas, noting that Wilson discovered Ruess that way, via his hits with the band fun. “When you take the time to listen, there’s a lot of talent out there. Then we’d cross-check everything with
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Paul Dano plays Wilson in the 1960s in Love & Mercy, due in theaters June 5.
our kids.” Melinda Wilson, who has five children with Wilson, ages 5 to 18, says the couple are more likely listen to “oldies” at home. “Brian generally has the ’60s stations on, and he loves Frank Sinatra.” Before he enjoyed such happy domesticity, Wilson endured rougher times — documented in the biopic Love & Mercy, due June 5. The film follows Wilson during two eras: We first see him as a brilliant but troubled young man (played by Paul Dano) in the ’60s. John Cusack portrays Wilson in the ’80s, now under the dubious care and control of therapist/guru Eugene Landy, who famously exploited Wilson’s psychological struggles. Wilson says “it was a little scary” to see the film, “because it brought back a lot of memories.” Now, though, he is focused on the future: “We might make a rock ’n’ roll album sometime this year.”
MOVIES
‘Star Wars’ enters the mobile universe LUKAS COCH, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Compiled by Cindy Clark
USA SNAPSHOTS©
Home projects build strong relationships Agree or disagree: DIY projects strengthen your relationship with your significant other. Disgree somewhat
14%
Disgree strongly
6%
44%
Agree somewhat
36%
Agree strongly
Source Motrin DIY online survey of 1,000 women ages 25-49 JOAN MURPHY AND JANET LOEHRKE, USA TODAY
‘Digital Collection’ blasts its way onto HD platforms Friday Brian Truitt @briantruitt USA TODAY
The power of the Force is about to become much more portable. On Friday, The Star Wars Digital Movie Collection arrives on digital HD platforms (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, PlayStation Store and Verizon FiOS), the first time the six films in George Lucas’ two space trilogies have been released for download. “We’re thrilled that fans will be able to enjoy the Star Wars saga ... wherever they go,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement. Not only will Jedi lovers be able to finally watch the epic cosmic battles on their tablets and smartphones in preparation for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (out Dec. 18), but the collection
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It’s a new world for Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Luke (Mark Hamill), Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) and Han (Harrison Ford). ‘CREATING THE UNIVERSE’ LIFE.USATODAY.COM
Watch the bonus feature about the Millennium Falcon.
also includes deleted scenes, plus new bonus features about costumes, effects and weapons used since the first Star Wars premiered in 1977.
A digital release is a huge deal for fans and Lucasfilm alike, says Eric Geller, who writes for fan site TheForce.net. It’s the only remaining way to re-monetize the original films, he says, and portability is enough of a draw for many who already own the homevideo releases to invest in another version (suggested retail: $20
per movie, $100 for the bundle). The Star Wars movies have a history of being late to embrace the format of the moment: The original trilogy didn’t debut on DVD until 2004, and it hit Blu-ray just four years ago. Downloads are the next step in finding a new generation of viewers. “If you want to reach new fans where they live, it has to be with digital media,” Geller says. “So much of what we’re seeing right now, from (the animated TV series) Rebels to comics, is about both preparing people for The Force Awakens and building a universe that can fill their newfound Star Wars needs.” For Roger Christian, the Oscarwinning Star Wars set decorator who discusses the making of the Millennium Falcon in a Creating the Universe feature, the digital collection is a way to keep Lucas’ legacy going for years to come. “Storytellers of old would tell campfire stories, but underneath were these keys to us as human beings,” he says. “George is the one true modern mythmaker.”