andPOP » Kurt Cobain

Miley Cyrus Wins Worst Cover Prize

andPOP Staff — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:09:04 +0000

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Not the most flattering award, but her cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has been voted the “Worst Cover Song of All Time”.

The poll was conducted by Rolling Stone which asked readers to vote.

On her last tour, Miley said about Nirvana ”I want to play a song by one of the artists that inspired me. Without them I wouldn’t be here.

“They are the ones who gave me the strength and courage to do this. I hope I can be that person for you guys.”

Do you think Kurt Cobain would be a Miley fan?

Pictures of ’27 Club’: Famous Musicians Who Died at 27 Years Old

andPOP Staff — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:12:13 +0000

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Amy Winehouse has joined the “27 Club,” which are notable/influential musicians who passed away at 27 years old. Below lists the most notable members of that club:

Amy Winehouse

Jimi Hendrix

Kurt Cobain

Jim Morrison

Janis Joplin

Brian Jones

The One to Play Kurt Cobain Is…

Sam Rashid — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:46:43 +0000

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Last month, an announcement was made that a Kurt Cobain biopic was to be filmed, and according to CHARTattack, this has resulted in a flood of suggestions as to who should play the late front man of the legendary grunge group, Nirvana.

Cobain committed suicide in April of 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko) is the most recent actor to be added to the list of possible “Cobains.” Jokingly, it was pointed out that since he’s got long hair now, for his new role in Prince of Persia, he could fit the role.

“I don’t know if I’d be the right choice – but the hair from Prince Of Persia could translate somehow,” Gyllenhaal told NME. “We could just bleach it!”

The rumours last month were that Robert Pattinson (Twilight) would play Cobain, but Courtney Love, Cobain’s widow, squashed those hopes. Love said that she would rather see Ryan Gosling (The Believer) or James McAvoy (Atonement) play the role.

Gosling has got great acting skills and has proven himself to be able to pull off a wide variety of roles.

Although McAvoy is only just beginning to gain recognition on this side of the pond, he is also great. He’s won BAFTA (British Academy Of Film And Television Arts) Awards … meaning he is good.

There is also Heath Ledger. But seeing as he is dead, this is not going to happen. But he would have been fantastic as Cobain. He was deep, dark, and a little troubled in his own right. He also displayed top quality acting chops, and while he was alive, Ledger could pretty much take on any role thrown at him.

And why not Emma Watson? Cate Blanchett played Bob Dylan and got nominated for an Academy Award. There is no reason why Hermione Grainger can’t turn into the grunge rocker. And she could also bring a whole new audience to appreciate Cobain.

From here, the list goes on and on. But it’s all in the hands of Courtney Love now, more or less. Hopefully this turns out OK.

Robert Pattinson Is Playing Kurt Cobain in Biopic?

andPOP Staff — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:06:14 +0000

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Nirvana fans are either going to love this or hate this (there is no in between). The Sun is reporting that Robert Pattinson has landed the role of the Kurt Cobain biopic.

Kurt Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, will have a large role in the production and casting of Pattinson is a key condition of her deal.

A source also tells the newspaper that Love wants Scarlett Johansson to play herself. “She is adamant Scarlett will play her,” the source tells The Sun.

Love is also reportedly speaking with director David Fincher (‘Fight Club’) to direct the biopic, which has the working title ‘All Apologies.’

Kurt Cobain Biopic in the Works

Sara Harowitz — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:35:01 +0000

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It seems that biopic is the new black, as yet another film about an iconic musician is in the works.

Universal Pictures is moving forward with their long-time-running Kurt Cobain biography film, reports rollingstone.com. The film is based partly on the 2001 book Heavier than Heaven by music journalist Charles R. Cross. The studio is reportedly in negotiations with Oscar-nominated director Oren Moverman (The Messenger) to direct the film and work on its screenplay. Moverman would replace original screenwriter David Benioff, whose previous films include X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Kite Runner.

Cross, who is part of the movie production as a “factual consultant,” is looking forward to Moverman’s involvement.

“It’s not like he wrote The Hangover,” he told Rolling Stone. “He’s worked on some serious projects, like the Dylan biopic I’m Not There, so that’s probably a good thing when it comes to doing a movie on Cobain’s life.”

Cross said that despite the fact that Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl have argued over the band’s publishing rights with Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, Universal Pictures has secured the rights to use Nirvana music in the movie.

“Everything I know is that the people at Universal have everything tied up, so whoever gets cast as Cobain will be able to sing these songs in the movie,” he said.

No Nirvana songs were featured in the film About a Son, which told Cobain’s story in his own words.

This news of the film’s progression comes just days before what would have been Cobain’s 43rd birthday; he was born Feb. 20, 1967.

Courtney Love Loses Custody of Daughter

Emma Renda — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:04:50 +0000

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It seems like a long time coming, but Courtney Love has lost legal control of her daughter, Francis Bean Cobain, following a court decision on Friday. Now assuming guardianship of 17-year-old Francis Bean is Kurt Cobain’s mother Wendy O’Connor and his sister Kimberly Dawn Cobain.

Guardianships such as this are often asserted when the parent in control is proven to no longer be capable to care for their child, according to TMZ.

Apparently the court decision was based on a “long period of unstable conduct” – Love, 45, did not appear in court on Friday when the decision was made, although the rest of the proceedings are sealed.

The decision was made on behalf of both Francis Bean’s well-being and her financial stability, however her new guardians will not have control over her trust fund, established after her father, Kurt Cobain’s death.

This is not the first time Love’s parenting has been questioned. In 2003, O’Connor was granted control of Francis Bean after Love was arrested for attempting to break in to an ex-boyfriend’s home, then overdosed on painkillers and threatened suicide. Following this incident, it took Love two years to win back custody of her daughter.

“Life is about choices,” Love said in a statement in 2005, according to the New York Daily News. “And I’ve chosen to move forward with my life in a healthy and positive way.”

Courtney Love Comes To Virtual Kurt Cobain’s Rescue

Emma Renda — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:02:39 +0000

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Ah, Twitter, where would we be without you.

In the first of today’s Twitter-leaked news stories, Courtney Love spilled the virtual beans last week about her outrage over the new Kurt Cobain Guitar Hero avatar.

“FOR THE RECORD, I DID NOT APPROVE KURTS AVATAR FOR GUYITARHERO5. i think Kurt would despise this game alone let alone this avatar,” she wrote.

Then came the more telling post: “We are going to sue the shit out of Activision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises.”

Activision has since responded in a less-mouthy fashion.

“Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero® 5,” according to Pitchfork.

Certainly the idea of iconic Nirvana frontman and unofficial leader of grunge, not to mention the figurehead for a generation of disenchanted teengers in the early 90s, is upsetting. Imagine the shaggy, plaid-wearing singer known for his gravelly, disenchanted moan belting ”Total Eclipse of the Heart” at the mercy of some audacious gamers or drunken frat-boys.

It’s enough to make you sick, or at least that’s what happened to Love. (Though it’s probably not that difficult.)

“I saw a piece of [Kurt's] avatar on the nightly news. I actually had to vomit,” she said via Twitter.

Former bandmates Dave Grohl and Kris Novoselic were less violently opposed to the avatar, and actually articulated their stance in an official statement.

Though they claim to have been aware of Cobain’s likeness appearing on Guitar Hero, they didn’t anticipate the control players would have over the avatar.

“This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. We urge Activision to do the right thing in “re-locking” Kurt’s character so that this won’t continue in the future,” they wrote in the statement found on Pitchfork. “It’s hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomiming other artists’ music alongside cartoon characters. Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world. We feel he deserves better.”

It remains to be seen if Love’s claims of legal actions will become a reality, but stay tuned to her Twitter where you will probably find all that information and what she f*****g had for dinner.

Grunge Rock Pioneer and Icon Kurt Cobain to make his Video Game debut in Guitar Hero 5 this September!

Elliott Rudner — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:33:58 +0000

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In a move sure to delight and anger plastic instrument enthusiasts everywhere Kurt Cobain has been included in Guitar Hero 5 alongside living rockers Santana, Matt Bellamy, Shirley Manson and deceased Johnny Cash.

The addition of Kurt Cobain gives us two never before used Nirvana tracks in a Guitar Hero or Rock Band video game, “Lithium (live)” and the holy grail *drum roll* “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

One has to wonder how much money Courtney Love made off this little foray but in any event I’m excited to take my flannel jacket out of the closet and rock out come September 1st.

Courtney Love Sued for Not Paying Up

andPOP Staff — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:53:27 +0000

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London & Co., a business management and accounting firm is suing Courtney Love for failing to give them profits from the sale of a portion of Nirvana’s publishing catalogue.

According to CTV.ca, the company claims that Love agreed orally to split five per cent of her earnings or those from her company when she sold a portion of Nirvana’s catalogue.

The company alleges that Love sold a portion of Nirvana’s publishing catalogue for $19.5 million but did not give them their share of the sale.

The company alleges that they should have received $975,000 from the sale.

Love became a widow in 1994 when her husband and Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain committed suicide. She owns most of the rights to both Cobain’s and Nirvana’s work.

Kurt Cobain’s Ashes Stolen?

andPOP Staff — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:22:35 +0000

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According to Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s ashes have been stolen from her Hollywood home, leaving her suicidal.

The remains were stored in a pink bear-shaped handbag and hidden in a wardrobe, leaving Love to suspect a former friend of the theft.

“I can’t believe anyone would take Kurt’s ashes from me,” Love told News of the World. “I find it disgusting and right now I’m suicidal. If I don’t get them back I don’t know what I’ll do. They were all I had left of him.”

Much of Cobain’s ashes were scattered in a New York Buddhist temple and in the Wishkah river in Washington state.

James McAvoy to Star in Cobain Biopic?

andPOP Staff — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:14:12 +0000

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If you don’t know who James McAvoy is, you probably will soon.

The Scottish actor is the frontrunner for the role of Kurt Cobain in an upcoming biopic.

Cobain’s widow Courtney Love and her attorney Howard Weitzman will produce the film, based on Charles Cross’ 2001 biography Heavier Than Heaven.

Troy screenwriter David Benioff has signed up to pen the script chronicling the life of the troubled musician until his suicide at the age of 27 in 1994.

James McAvoy First In Line To Play Cobain

andPOP Staff — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:12:31 +0000

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Scottish actor James McAvoy is reportedly the first choice to play Kurt Cobain in a new biopic that will be produced by Courtney Love.

According to a source, “James is making a big impact in Hollywood at the moment. Hollywood bosses are convinced he is the perfect choice to play Kurt Cobain.”

The film, written by David Benioff (“The Kite Runner”) will be based on both Cobain’s personal unpublished journals and the biography “Heavier Than Heaven.”

McAvoy will next be seen in the Ian McEwan adaptation “Atonement” with Keira Knightley. He broke out as Mr. Tumnus in “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and garnered critical acclaim in the Oscar nominated “Last King of Scotland.”

Kurt Cobain Diaries To Hit The Big Screen

Eva Lam — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 12:52:21 +0000

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A new Kurt Cobain biopic is in the works, with “Wolverine” screenwriter David Benioff tapped to bring the Nirvana frontman’s story to the big screen.

Benioff, whose credits also include “Troy” and “25th Hour,” will adapt journalist Charles Cross’ biography of the Nirvana frontman, “Heavier Than Heaven.” The biography is partly based on Cobain’s unpublished diaries as well as interviews with friends and family members.

Cobain’s widow Courtney Love will act as executive producer along with her lawyer Howard Weitzman.

No casting details are currently available, though the blogosphere has been buzzing that Ryan Gosling should play the part of Cobain.

It is not yet known whether original music rights have been secured.

Cobain committed suicide in 1994, leaving behind his wife and a daughter.

The new biopic won’t be the first film inspired by the musician’s life and untimely death. AJ Schnack’s documentary “Kurt Cobain: About A Son” premiered at Sundance earlier this year. And the 2005 film “Last Days,” directed and written by Gus Van Sant, stars Michael Pitt as a Seattle musician whose life and career closely parallels Cobain’s own.

Nirvana Singer Bumps Presley Off as Top Post-Mortem Earner

andPOP Staff — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:09:27 +0000

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Nirvana’s lead singer, Kurt Cobain, has taken the King, Elvis Presley’s place atop Forbes.com’s list of top-earning dead celebrities.

Reuter’s reports that the grunge rocker took in $50 million between October 2005 and October 2006. Presley, who has dominated this chart since its inception six years ago, went down a notch in the most recent tally, raking in only $42 million, as opposed to last year’s $45 million.

Forbes.com bases these findings on revenues from licensing deals and for using the late celebrities’ image and work in outside advertising.

This was Cobain’s first time on the list, thanks mostly to his widow, Courtney Love, selling 25 per cent of her stake in Nirvana’s song catalogue to a New York publishing company PrimeWave.

Other deceased celebrities on the list include “Peanuts” cartoon creator Charles Schulz at $35 million, Beatles legend John Lennon at $24 million and genius Albert Einstein at $20 million.