The GreenRoom

Coming soon . . .

Out this week

- Albums

- Play On by Carrie Underwood: AI4 winner’s third album, led by the single Cowboy Casanova; includes a cover of Alan Jackson’s Look At Me.

- Before I Self Destruct by 50 Cent: The rapper’s long awaited follow-up to 2007’s Curtis; is set to include his latest single Baby By Me which was co-written by Ne-Yo.

- Full Circle by Creed: The band’s first new album since 2001’s Weathered; consists of twelve tracks, including the first two singles Overcome and Rain.

- If On A Winter’s Night by Sting: Sting’s ninth solo album; takes its title from the book If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by ItaloCalvino. The record includes the songs The Snow It Melts the Soonest, Now Winter Comes Slowly, and The Hounds of Winter.

- Movies

- A Christmas Carol (starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman) – adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novella; an encounter with mysterious apparitions leads a bitter old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge (Carrey), to realise the true magic of Christmas.

- Gentlemen Broncos (starring Michael Angarano, Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Jennifer Coolidge) – comedy; a teenage aspiring fantasy writer attends a fantasy convention and discovers that his idea has been ripped off by an acclaimed novelist.

The Big Screen

Which film has Abbas Ali Khan seen recently?

Twilight. I loved it. [Director] Catherine Hardwicke knows the art of creating an aura that sucks you in. I watched it on the big screen, loved every moment; love was in the air. Also I loved it because it’s a very different take on vampires.

Celeb weets

-  John Mayer (@johncmayer): Why are we calling him Balloon Boy if he wasn’t in the balloon at all? Isn’t he just Attic Boy?

-  Simon Pegg (@simonpegg): After seeing footage of Richard Heene on Wife Swap, I advise Falcon build another balloon and get the **** outta there.

-  Rainn Wilson (@rainnwilson): Best punishment for balloon boy family? Everyone just ignore them until the end of time.

Star

Gavin McGregor Rossdale

-   Born on the 30th of October 1965 in London.

-   Formed the alt-rock band Bush in 1992 with guitarist Nigel Pulsford; the band released five albums before disbanding in 2002.

-   Released his first solo album Wanderlust in 2008.

-   Has also appeared in films including Constantine (2005), The Game of Their Lives (2005), and How to Rob a Bank (2007).

-   Married No Doubt vocalist Gwen Stefani in 2002; they have two sons together: Kingston James Rossdale (born 2006) and Zuma Nesta Rossdale (born 2008). He also has a daughter Daisy Lowe (born 1989) with fashion designer Pearl Lowe.

-   Is friends with tennis star Roger Federer.

Also celebrating their birthday today: Vanessa White (The Saturdays), Eva Marcille, Ivanka Trump, Amanda Swafford, Ian D’Sa  (Billy Talent), Nia Long, Kevin Pollak, Henry Winkler, Otis Williams

Spotlight

Whip It!

Cast: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Daniel Stern

- Follows the story of a small-town misfit who joins a roller derby league.

- Stars Ellen Page, who dropped out of Drag Me to Hell (2009) for this film.

- Written by Shauna Cross, a former roller derby athlete who skated with the Los Angeles Derby Dolls under the pseudonym Maggie Mayhem.

- Marks Drew Barrymore’s feature film directorial debut.

- Filmed in Detroit; many of the skaters in the film are on Detroit’s Derby team.