Playing in select theaters on February 16th and February 23rd only is the new music documentary Re:Generation Music Project. The movie is directed by Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) and follows five DJs including DJ Premier, Mark Ronson, Skrillex, Pretty Lights, and The Crystal Method, as they remix, recreate and re-imagine five traditional styles of music. The film also features appearances by musical artists such as NAS, Erykah Badu, Ziggaboo Modeliste, Mos Def, Trombone Shorty, Members of The Dap-Kings, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore of The Doors, LeAnn Rimes, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Martha Reeves, and The Funk Brothers. 

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Erykah Badu, LeAnn Rimes and Pretty Lights, and The Crystal Method to discuss their work on both the film and soundtrack for Re:Generation Music Project. The artists discussed how they became involved with the project, what it says about musicians, Badu's unlikely songwriting inspiration, and The Crystal Method's bittersweet tour of Detroit with Motown legend Martha Reeves. 

I recently had the immense pleasure of speaking with one of my all time favorite actors, Titus Welliver, about his prolific and impressive television work. But as accomplished as his TV resume is, the actor has just as distinguished of a film and stage career. Welliver first gained attention in the groundbreaking off-Broadway play “Riff Raff,” which was written, directed and co-starred actor Laurence Fishburne. He would eventually reprise the critically acclaimed role that he originated on stage as the sympathetic drug addict and part-time thief Billy “The Torch’ Murphy in the film adaptation of the play entitled Once in the Life, which also starred Fishburne and marked his feature film directorial debut. In fact, while the actor and I were chatting about the making of Once in the Life and his work in "Riff Raff," which also happens to be my all time favorite stage play, the actor happened to mention that he and Fishburne are discussing doing a revival of the show. “I have to say Laurence and I have been sort of toying with the idea of doing the play again even though it's been about twelve years since we made the film,” Welliver admitted.

While the actor is probably best known for his extensive television work that includes playing Silas Adams on HBO’s Western-based series Deadwood, the pivotal role of Kyle Hollis on the brilliant but short-lived NBC series Life, season three villain Jimmy O’Phelan on FX’s motorcycle gang series Sons of Anarchy, a recurring role on the current Fox series Touch with Kiefer Sutherland, and of course, as the Man in Black (A.K.A. the Smoke Monster) on ABC’s cultural phenomenon Lost. But he’s also appeared in many popular feature films including The Doors, Mobsters, Twisted, Assault on Precinct 13, and most recently Man on a Ledge, which opened on January 27^th and is in theaters now. But his most famous film roles have come from his collaborations with fellow actor and now critically acclaimed writer/director Ben Affleck. Welliver first appeared in Affleck’s Boston-based directorial debut Gone Baby Gone as Lionel McCready, and also appeared as FBI agent Dino Ciampa in The Town (also set in the Boston area) opposite Jon Hamm (TV’s Mad Men). Now, Welliver will achieve the hat trick by also appearing in Affleck’s upcoming third directorial effort Argo, which will be the first of his films, as a director, not set in Massachusetts.

On October 19, Apocalypse Now is finally getting released on Blu-ray. To celebrate, ARTISTdirect.com offers up a look at the music behind the movie.

One of the most famous scenes ever put on film has to be the helicopter attack in Apocalypse Now. The much admired (and parodied) sequence is a monumental moment in cinema, with the incredibly clever use of Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries”. It is a wonder to behold.

ARTISTdirect.com sheds a little light on who is to credit for that particular scene with this exclusive clip featuring director Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter John Millius. They also talk about another famous musical moment from the film and how they used The Doors to bring out the madness and beauty in this classic film.

Millius says he wrote most of the script while listening to The Doors while Coppola talks about going to school with the legendary Jim Morrison at UCLA.

If you are a fan of Apocalypse Now, you need to watch this clip pronto!

Source: ARTISTdirect.com