Madonna ... Cat!
13-05-2008

Madonna Earns Double Hot Shot Debut Honors

Cannes braces for A-listers, arthouse, fans, fun

CANNES, France (Reuters) - The world's biggest film festival kicks off in Cannes on Wednesday, bringing Hollywood A-listers, obscure arthouse directors, international media and fans together for 12 party-packed days on the French Riviera.

Posters are up around the resort town in southern France, marquees line the seafront, yachts are gleaming despite unseasonal drizzle and hotels await their famous guests. It only remains for the red carpet to be rolled out.

The main competition of 22 films begins with a star-studded premiere of Brazilian entry "Blindness," appropriate for a festival that is showcasing South American cinema.

The movie directed by Fernando Meirelles of "City of God" renown stars Julianne Moore and Gael Garcia Bernal in a story of a civilization crumbling as it is hit by a blindness epidemic.

At the same time as the morning press screening, a few hundred yards (meters) along the palm-lined Croisette beachfront, the studio behind animation comedy "Kung Fu Panda" has organized a stunt to publicize the picture.

The combination of hard-hitting cinema and brazen blockbuster promotion, which some critics argue is a sellout to Hollywood, is typical of the festival, which ends on May 25 when the coveted Palme d'Or for best film is awarded.

Critics were wary of making early predictions.

"I don't anticipate because it doesn't do any good," said Hollywood Reporter critic Kirk Honeycutt.

"The guy whose film you really want to see is the one who disappoints you most and someone you've never heard of is the one that just leaps off the screen at you."

Joining Meirelles in competition is another Brazilian entry "Line of Passage," by Walter Salles, and two Argentinian productions -- Pablo Trapero's prison drama "Leonera" and thriller "The Headless Woman" by Lucrecia Martel.

They are up against Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," starring Angelina Jolie, and Steven Soderbergh's "Che," a two-part, four-and-a-half hour epic on Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, with Benicio del Toro in the title role.

The other two U.S. entries are James Gray's "Two Lovers," featuring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix, and Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York" with Philip Seymour Hoffman.

INDIANA AND ITALY

The biggest show in town this year is likely to be the latest installment of the Indiana Jones series, again starring Harrison Ford as the whip-wielding archaeologist in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" by Steven Spielberg.

Also out of competition, Woody Allen presents "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" starring Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem.

Italy has an unusually strong presence in Cannes, with two competition films reflecting the darker side of its recent past.

"Gamorra" is directed by Matteo Garrone and based on Roberto Saviano's book about how the Neapolitan mafia works and makes its money, while "Il Divo," by Paolo Sorrentino, tells the story of controversial former prime minister Giulio Andreotti.

Outside the main lineup comes "Sangue Pazzo" based on the story of two actors who fall foul of partisan rebels fighting fascism at the end of World War Two.

Previous winners of the Palme d'Or vying for the prize again in 2008 are Belgium's Dardenne brothers, Soderbergh and German director Wim Wenders.

Israeli director Ari Folman is contesting the main award with "Waltz With Bashir," an eagerly anticipated animated documentary about the 1982 Sabra and Shatila camp massacres by members of the Christian Israeli-backed Lebanese Forces militia.

Pop star Madonna, Argentinian soccer hero Diego Maradona and U.S. boxer Mike Tyson are also expected at the festival.

HARD CANDY 

No. 1  36 pays / country

*E U R O P E A N ALBUM   No. 1

*U S A  No. 1!
*JAPAN  No. 1!
*CANADA  No. 1!
*FRANCE  No. 1!
*UK  No. 1!
*GERMANY  No. 1!
*ITALY  No. 1!
*GREECE  No. 1!
*TAIWAN  No. 1!
*PHILIPPINES  No. 1!
*AUSTRALIA  No. 1!
*HOLLAND  No. 1!
*SOUTH AFRICA  No. 1!
*SPAIN  No. 1!
*SWEDEN  No. 1!
*DENMARK  No. 1!
*IRELAND  No. 1!
*CZECH REP.  No. 1!
*FINLAND  No. 1!
*CHILE  No. 1!
*MEXICO  No. 1!
*HONG KONG  No. 1!
*SINGAPORE  No. 1!
*SLOVENIA  No. 1!
*SWITZERLAND  No. 1!
*PORTUGAL  No. 1!
*BRAZIL  No. 1!
*ISRAEL  No. 1!
*BELGIUM  No. 1!
*AUSTRIA  No. 1!
*U.A.E . No. 1!
*ARGENTINA  No. 1!
*THAILAND  No. 1!
*SLOVAKIA  No. 1!
*CROATIA  No. 1!
*POLAND  No. 1!

Source Warner

Madonna has been knocked off the top of the album charts with new entry Jumping All Over The World by Scooter, according to The Official UK Charts Company.

The techno artists, whose last album came out in 2002, went to number one in the album charts less than a week after it was released on May 7.

Scooter's success brought an end Madonna's chart double but she has managed to stay at the top of the singles chart with the track 4 Minutes featuring Justin Timberlake.

afp

Tom Munro Shoot 2008

Madonna, 'Hard Candy Promo Show'
London
10-05-2008

Audio :

Candy shop
http://www.zshare.net/audio/118310992568c1e6/
Miles Away
http://www.zshare.net/audio/1183120184be16a3/
 4 Minutes
http://www.zshare.net/audio/118312154ee1da1e/
Hung Up
http://www.zshare.net/audio/118321507219b550/
Give It 2 Me
http://www.zshare.net/audio/11831895eae93c73/
Music
http://www.zshare.net/audio/1183235136967ef4/

Madonna has played her first UK show of the year, closing the opening night of Radio 1's Big Weekend.

Dressed all in black, the Queen of Pop performed a 40 minute set at Mote Park in Maidstone, pleasing fans with number one single 4 Minutes.

She also played a number of songs from her recent studio album Hard Candy, including Candy Shop and Miles Away.

The show came as part of a trio of live performances to launch the album, the other two being in New York and Paris.

Later in the set, Madonna reworked Hung Up for electric guitar, ending the song with a wall of noise. The show ended with another single, Music.

Madonna played Hung Up on guitar and ended the show with Music

However, the singer didn't play any of her well known hits from the 80s and 90s.

Speaking to Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley before her performance, Madonna explained why she wanted to play the songs she picked.

She said: “Obviously, I want to do new stuff because I’m very excited about it.

"I feel that’s what people come to hear but I also want to do a few of my oldies but goodies.

"I chose Hung Up because that was the biggest hit from my last record and I chose Music because it’s a crowd pleaser, it’s anthemic and it brings people together.”

bbc

Thousands of music fans are to flock to see Madonna and a host of other stars perform at Radio 1's Big Weekend.

Around 30,000 revellers are due to attend the free event in Maidstone, Kent, where they can expect to see a range of pop, indie and dance acts including Usher, Duffy, Fatboy Slim and Adele across four main stages.

This year for the first time, Radio 1 has added the BBC Introducing Stage to the bill, where new and upcoming bands can be showcased.

Demand for tickets this year was the greatest in the history of the event, which has been taking place in its present format at venues across the country for the past three years.

More than 500,000 people applied for the 30,000 tickets on offer, with tickets being allocated through a lottery system, although a large proportion were given to residents of Maidstone and the wider area.

Those who were not lucky enough to get a ticket will not miss out completely as they will be able to catch live coverage of the event on TV and radio throughout the weekend.

Preparations for the event have been going on for months.

Extra train services have been laid on by Southeastern trains between Maidstone and London, while a park and ride service has been put in place in the town.

Kent Police have warned that anyone involved in anti-social behaviour or without a ticket will be made to leave the area under a dispersal order they have obtained specially for the event.

The Press Association

Madonna Endorses Secondary Ticket Market Ahead Of World Tour
She sets another first...

Madonna has become the first artist to officially endorse the secondary ticket market.

The singer has signed a deal with ticket reseller viagogo, who will control the sale of VIP packages and all premium tickets on the European leg of Madonna’s upcoming world tour.

It’s the first time that an artist has signed a partnership with a secondary ticketing company.

Eric Baker, CEO of viagogo, said the company were “delighted” to have partnered with the pop star.

The secondary ticket market has come under the spotlight over recent months following a report by The Culture, Media and Sport select committee.

MPs called for a code of conduct to be introduced against resellers.

Responding to the report last month, the Government said concert promoters and ticket resellers should instead work together on a voluntary code.

Although the Government refused to ban the secondary market, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said it “doesn’t add anything to the cultural life of the country”.

Tickets for Madonna’s world tour are due to go on sale next week.

The singer will play two shows in the United Kingdom – in London and Cardiff.

Source : gigwise

Promo Video: Amsterdam

Ticket from Live Nation's Madonna section, Stunning Imagery!

http://www.livenationinternational.com/madonna/

xxd

Here is another promotional photo

Madonna Sticky & Sweet Paris Poster

 More promotional items coming soon.

Icon Pre-sale, Citi Card Pre-sale

Tickets go on Pre-Sale Tuesday May 13, 10PM Local Venue Time for North America.

TicketMaster starts sales on Monday, May 12, 2008.

Madonna to embark on first tour under Live Nation deal

The North American leg of the "Sticky & Sweet Tour" begins October 3rd at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with stops at New York's Madison Square Garden on October 6th and 7th, followed by performances in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and more before stopping at Miami's Dolphin Stadium on November 26th.
Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet Tour" tour will also visit Mexico and South America later this year. (Show dates, and on sale information in these markets will follow at a later date.)

Confirmed today by Guy Oseary, Madonna's manager and Arthur Fogel, Live Nation's CEO Global Touring and Chairman Global Music, who is producing the tour, "Sticky & Sweet Tour" will play arenas and stadiums throughout Europe and North America including a number of cities where Madonna has not performed in the past fifteen years.
"Sticky & Sweet Tour" will be directed by Madonna's long time creative collaborator Jamie King. The musical director will be Kevin Antunes. The complete tour itinerary is listed below with additional cities and dates to be announced. For complete tour and ticket information, fans can visit: www.livenation.com and www.madonna.com.

"HARD CANDY," Madonna's 11th studio album for Warner Bros. Records debuted at number one in 27 countries around the world thus far, including the USA, JAPAN, FRANCE, UK, GERMANY, CANADA, ITALY, AUSTRALIA, THE NETHERLANDS, SOUTH AFRICA, SWEDEN, DENMARK, IRELAND, FINLAND, AUSTRIA, CHILE, SPAIN, MEXICO, HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, SLOVENIA, PORTUGAL, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, SWITZERLAND, ISRAEL and U.A.E. The album has received Four Stars in Rolling Stone, Blender and People Magazine with The NY Daily News hailing "HARD CANDY" as Madonna's greatest album ever. Madonna's current smash single "4 Minutes" was co-written and co-produced by Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. "HARD CANDY" is the Number One most downloaded digital album in the U.S. and many other countries. Madonna's previous studio album "CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR" sold over 8.5 million copies

Madonna and Live Nation entered into a revolutionary partnership last fall and her last three worldwide tours were produced by Live Nation.

A multi-Grammy award winner and recent inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Madonna has long been known for groundbreaking multi-dimensional tours that consist of visual and audio extravaganzas with non-stop singing and breathtaking dancing. Madonna's last outing, 2006's acclaimed Confessions Tour played in 25 countries including Russia, reached a collective audience of over 1.3 million fans, and was the highest grossing concert tour of all time by a female artist.

Tickets for "Sticky & Sweet" will go on sale beginning Friday, May 16th in London, Paris, Cardiff and Nice followed by on sales Saturday, May 17th in Amsterdam, Boston and Chicago with E. Rutherford and New York City on sale Monday, May 19th. Tickets will range from .00 through 0 (5.00 in Las Vegas) offering a variety of excellent seats at all price levels. Additional on-sales vary and are listed below or available at www.livenation.com and www.madonna.com . There will be a 4 ticket limit per person at the arena performances and a 6 ticket per person limit for stadium events.

Show date & Onsale date

23-Aug Cardiff Millennium Stadium Fri. May 16
26-Aug Nice Stade Charles Ehrmann Fri. May 16
28-Aug Berlin Olympic Stadium Wed. May 21
02-Sept Amsterdam Arena Sat. May 17
04-Sept Dusseldorf LTU Arena Wed. May 21
06-Sept Rome Olympic Stadium Fri. May 23
09-Sept Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena Wed. May 21
11-Sept London Wembley Stadium Fri. May 16
20-Sept Paris Stade de France Fri. May 16
03-Oct E. Rutherford Izod Center Mon. May 19
06-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
07-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
15-Oct Boston TD BankNorth Garden Sat. May 17
18-Oct Toronto Air Canada Centre Sat. May 24
22-Oct Montreal Bell Centre Sat. May 24
26-Oct Chicago United Center Sat. May 17
30-Oct Vancouver BC Place Stadium Sat. May 24
01-Nov Oakland Oracle Arena Sun. June 1
04-Nov San Diego Petco Park Sun. June 1
06-Nov Los Angeles Dodger Stadium Sun. June 1
08-Nov Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena Sat. May 31
11-Nov Denver Pepsi Center Sat. May 31
16-Nov Houston Minute Maid Park Sat. May 31
19-Nov Philadelphia Wachovia Center Mon. June 2
22-Nov Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Mon. June 2
24-Nov Atlanta Philips Arena Sat. May 31
26-Nov Miami Dolphin Stadium Sat. May 31