the early-evening news

Coldplay Saves Music Business

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Coldplay Sells: Chris Martin has one less thing to be self-deprecating about now that Coldplay’s new Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends has sold an impressive 721,000 in its first week of release. The music business should be totally fine now, just so long as it can avoid spending any money at all between today and when the next Coldplay and Lil Wayne CDs are released in June 2011. [Billboard]

Spielberg Gets a Clue: DreamWorks has acquired the film rights to 39 Clues, an upcoming “multi-platform adventure series” being launched in the fall by Scholastic Media, with Steven Spielberg attached as a possible director. Clues is a ten-book series with an accompanying two-year online alternate-reality game in which players will compete for a grand prize of $10,000. Spielberg’s movie will likely follow friendly aliens who arrive from Mars to laugh at people that spent two years competing for a measly $10,000. [Variety]

Lane to Grow Mustache, Snap Fingers: Michael Riedel reports that Tony winners Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth will likely sign on to play Gomez and Morticia Adams (respectively) in 2009’s planned Addams Family musical on Broadway. Perfect casting so far — but who will play Thing? [NYP]

Kanye Angry About Something: Upset over criticism of his recent set at Bonnaroo, World’s Greatest Blogger Kanye West has responded with an impressive configuration of capital letters and exclamation points. [Kanye’s Blog]

Dark Knight Reviewed: In a surprisingly lucid review, an Ain’t It Cool News reader who’s seen the film compares The Dark Knight to Heat and The Godfather 2 and says it feels more like a crime drama than a superhero movie. Sounds good to us! [Ain’t It Cool News]

Coldplay Saves Music Business