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Metro staff reviews the latest CDs, DVDs and books for your reading pleasure.
 
Movies
The gangster of Hollywood
FEATURE. Johnny Depp doesn’t know what time it is. Though he technically calls an adorable village in France home and owns an island in the Caribbean, the mercurial actor spends so much time working that his internal clock is all out of whack.
 
 
Movies
Directorial debut is a shot at the ‘Moon’
INTERVIEW. When directors are limited to a $5 million budget and a 33-day shooting schedule, they usually won’t do anything too arduous — especially for their first films. But director Duncan Jones, 37, tells us that he “wanted to do something with ambition” for his debut flick. So instead, Jones, who is the son of David Bowie, decided to make the sci-fi adventure “Moon,” which opens Friday. The affable Brit explains how.
 
The Word
The Beckhams’ island getaway
GOSSIP. According to the Sun, David Beckham is planning a trip to Necker Island, Richard Branson’s private island hideaway, to celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary with Victoria Beckham. And the best part? It only costs $51,000 a night to have the whole island to themselves.
 
Movies
Bale does light-lifting
 MOVIES. Christian Bale is more relaxed than usual, and with good reason. The heavy lifting in promoting his latest film, “Public Enemies,” falls to Johnny Depp. For once, the success or failure of the movie doesn’t rest on Bale’s shoulders. There’s no talk of on-set outbursts or franchise potential. And for that, he’s grateful — and cheerful.
 
Published 21:30, November the 19th, 2008
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‘A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All’ airs Sunday at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.‘A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All’ airs Sunday at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
 

Spend the holidays with Santa Colbert

Christmas comes early with fake news pundit and his pals

INTERVIEW. The phone rings. Adam Schlesinger picks up: It’s a producer for Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.” “Excuse me, I have a little crisis I have to deal with,” he says. Schlesinger is best known as co-front man for power pop outfit Fountains of Wayne. Oh, and two Tony nominations for the Broadway adaptation of John Water’s movie, “Cry-Baby.” Schlesinger reunited with his “Cry-Baby” collaborator, “Daily Show” executive  producer David Javerbaum, for the star-studded “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All,” which, besides host Stephen Colbert,  features Jon Stewart,  Elvis Costello, Feist, John Legend, Toby Keith and Willie Nelson. Hence, the phone call. Ten minutes later  Schlesinger announces, “It wasn’t a grand crisis after all.”

Q When did you start working on these songs?

A David wrote most of the lyrics last year. I didn’t start on the music until this summer, and then we went into full production mode in July and August.

Q How did you get in the mood? Wear a Santa hat and whistle “Jingle Bells”?

A I didn’t wear a Santa Claus hat, but we drank lots of eggnog while we were working. I found the more rum we put in, the more in the mood we got.

Q When composing, did you think of classic Christmas songs?

A To some degree, but part of the fun of this project is that each song is a completely different genre. It’s super diverse; no two songs sound alike. John Legend sings an Al Green inspired ode to nutmeg; Toby Keith’s song is a country anthem about the separation of church and state at Christmas time. Colbert and Jon Stewart do a duet: “Can I Interest You in Hanukkah?”