Grey's Anatomy star joins Aniston in comedy & other: August 2008

Sunday, 31 August 2008

Sukiyaki Western Django

Two connoisseurs of violence--prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike and American icon Quention Tarantino--team up for this genre mash-up. SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO follows two clashing clans in Japan as they both try to lure a talented shooter to their side. Tarantino makes a brief appearance in this film that pays homage to both the spaghetti western and classic Japanese cinema.

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Friday, 22 August 2008

Commonwealth Government Settlement With Pan Pharmaceuticals And Its Former Chief Executive, Australia

�The Commonwealth Government in agreement to settle a civil claim which had been lodged in the Federal Court in Sydney by Pan Pharmaceuticals and its former Chief Executive.

The claim which was part heard in the Federal Court during the past month, related to to the Therapeutic Goods Administration's conclusion in 2003 to suspend Pan's fabrication licence and recall the medicines it manufactured.

The agreed settlement amount of $50 billion plus legal costs is considerably less than the $234 meg claimed. The settlement involves a judgement for the claimant, only does not involve the Commonwealth yielding any of the specific allegations in the minutes.

Background

The TGA took regulatory action against Pan in 2003 later on investigating a series of adverse dose reaction reports related to the Pan manufactured "Travacalm" medicine. Deficiencies in Pan's manufacturing of Travacalm were associated with 19 people being hospitalised for serious side effects and more than 100 reports of additional contrary reactions.

Pan Pharmaceuticals later pleaded guilty to a number of criminal charges including inflicting grievous bodily harm and manufacturing counterfeit medicines, and was fined $3 million.

http://www.tga.gov.au

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Tuesday, 12 August 2008

Soul icon Isaac Hayes dies (+photos)

Oscar-winning soul singer and South Park star Isaac Hayes wHO, along with Al Green, James Brown and Stevie Wonder, was one of the prevalent black artists in the early seventies, has died in Memphis. He was 65.

His champion and former manager, Onzie Horne, told Reuters he spoke to Hayes' wife, Adjowa, world Health Organization confirmed that Hayes had died.

Hayes, world Health Organization said�he was a "health fanatic," was reportedly base unconscious penny-pinching a running treadmill at his home.

He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The causa of death was non known. In early 2007, Hayes suffered a stroke.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee enjoyed two decided musical careers, first as a session musician, songwriter and manufacturer at the Memphis soulfulness label Stax Records, where he worked primarily with Sam and Dave; so as a solo artist whose lushly orchestrated albums were some of the first concept works by a black artist.

"He was a real powerhouse in music," Don Cornelius, the founder of the Soul Train TV series, said.

"He took black music to another level, made it more classic."

The deep-voiced performer was the first dark composer to win the Oscar for best strain, with 1971's Theme from Shaft, an irresistibly pressing mix of wah-wah guitars and hi-hat cymbals spiced by the famous line, "They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother-/Shut your mouth!"

STAX STAR

Hayes, born August 20, 1942, in Covington, Tennessee, was raised by his grandparents after organism orphaned. He joined Stax in 1963, and often subbed for the label's primary keyboardist, Booker T Jones.

He eventually teamed with lyricist David Porter to write and produce songs for the soul span Sam and Dave, including Soul Man and Hold On! I'm A Comin'.

Hayes told Reuters in 2005 that he came up with the introductory horn line for the latter tune spell Porter was in the bathroom.

He yelled at his collaborator to hurry up, and so Porter barrelled out with pants around his ankles, yelling the words that would become the song's title.

With his shaved head, dark shades, extravagant wear and plenteous jewelry, Hayes was groomed as a star by Stax executives.

He released his debut album, the poor-selling Presenting Isaac Hayes, in 1968. He broke through and through the following year with Hot Buttered Soul, which contained only four songs but sold more than a million copies.

Chastened by his stillborn debut, Hayes took artistic control of the followup. Even though he was a successful songwriter, trey of the four tunes were covers that he reinvented, including an 18-minute version of Jimmy Webb's By the Time I Get To Phoenix.

Hayes' do work on conductor Gordon Parks' urban crime drama Shaft, a project he had hoped to star in, was the first of many forays into flick soundtracks.

He got in front of the camera for the 1974 cult classic Truck Turner and unbroken busy with film make. He had a cameo role in an instalment of The Bernie Mac Show, whose star died on Saturday.

Hayes left Stax in a dispute over royalties in 1975, the year the faltering label went insolvent. He filed for bankruptcy shortly thenceforth and lost all his songwriting royalties.

In his later years, Hayes reached a new audience by provision the voice for Chef, the libidinous sage on the sketch series South Park.

But he left the show a few years ago because he disagreed with its attacks on Scientology, the religious movement to which he belonged.

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