LUCIDMEDIA

Lucid News – October 9th

Written by Nadine Bachan Friday, 09 October 2009 10:15

Guns N’ Roses take to court by German musician; Daft Punk heads to the big screen

We’ve all heard this kind of accusation fly before. From time to time, artists will emerge to point the finger at each other about the rather serious offence of stolen intellectual property. It happened to Coldplay (from Satriani, Cat Stevens, and Creaky Boards), Avril Lavigne (from Rubinoos and a now-retracted allegation from Chantal Kreviazuk), George Harrison (from The Chiffons), and John Fogerty (who was apparently sued by his former record label for plagiarizing himself!).

This time, Guns N’ Roses are getting slapped by the litigious hand of German ambient musician Ulrich Schnauss over unauthorized sampling heard on the band’s most recent album, Chinese Democracy. The song in question is “Riad N’ the Bedouins”, which Schnauss claims to contain borrowed elements from two of his earlier compositions, released in 2001 and 2003. The feuding record labels are currently holding strong to their sides of the argument. Maybe this will blow over, or it might be another “The Rolling Stones vs. The Verve” outcome (Just look up the song “Bittersweet Symphony”).

While it may difficult times ahead for one European artist, things seem to be on the up-and-up for the French electronica band Daft Punk. It has been known for some time now that the darlings of 1990s-house have agreed to score the soundtrack of the much-anticipated Disney sequel, Tron: Legacy. However, a recent interview with Tron star Olivia Wild, that involved a slip of the tongue from the actress, have sparked rumours that the duo will also be making an on-screen appearance in the film as well. Whether or not they will be sporting their trademark, face-concealing robotic garb is not yet known. The movie is still scheduled for release in December 2010.

Canada’s Arts Scene: News from Montreal and the Giller Prize

The Festival du Nouveau Cinema (FNC) commenced in Montreal yesterday and will run until October 18th. The FNC, now in its 38th year, celebrates independent films from Canada and across the globe. This year’s festival will feature 250 films from 48 countries within the next ten days. The opening film, Les Dames en Blue – a documentary about Michel Louvain (considered the Wayne Newton of Quebec in the 1950s and 1960s) and the women who adored him, has already received considerable praise. Many films are in high competition for the prestigious Louvre D’Or – a $15,000 award for the feature considered the most outstanding in this year’s line-up. All details about the selections and festival events can be found at www.nouveaucinema.ca.



The finalists for this year’s Giller Prize were announced on Tuesday. Here’s the shortlist:

Kim Echlin’s The Disappeared
Annabel Lyon’s The Golden Mean
Linden MacIntyre’s The Bishop’s Man
Colin McAdam’s Fall
Anne Michaels’s The Winter Vault

While Margaret Atwood and her novel The Year of the Flood made the longlist, many were shocked when she didn’t make the cut. The winner of the $50,000 award will be declared at the gala ceremony on November 10th.

And on a final note …
A new storybook adventure and a new friend awaits Winnie the Pooh after over 80 years since The House at Pooh Corner was penned by A.A. Milne in 1928. Return to Hundred Acre Wood, the authorized sequel as written by David Benedictus, was released earlier this week and features Pooh and his old chums, and introduces readers to a new character – Lottie the Otter. Will we see little stuffed-animal versions of Lottie in stores soon? Maybe even a full-length animated feature? Probably.