Big Country Notes

"HAPPY FEET" STILL DANCING ATOP BOX OFFICE

Happy days are here again for "Happy Feet." The hit animated feature maintained its top standing at the weekend box office for a second straight week, bringing in an estimated 37-point-nine-million-dollars to bring its total to date to just over 100-million-dollars. The latest James Bond adventure "Casino Royale" also held on to its runner-up standing, collecting another 31-million-dollars in box office receipts. The new Denzel Washington thriller "Deja Vu" checked in at number three with 20-point-eight million. It was followed by the new Danny DeVito -Matthew Broderick holiday comedy "Deck The Halls" at number four with 12-million. Rounding out the top five at number five is the Sacha Baron Cohen mockumentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." The hit comedy took in another ten-point-four-million this weekend, bringing its total box office gross to date to more than 109-million dollars. Among the new releases, "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny," starring Jack Black and musical partner Kyle Gass, opened at number eleven with three-point-three-million dollars over the weekend.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. (final figures will be released today):
1. "Happy Feet," $37.9 million.
2. "Casino Royale," $31 million.
3. "Deja Vu," $20.8 million.
4. "Deck the Halls," $12 million.
5. "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," $10.4 million.
6. "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," $10 million.
7. "Stranger Than Fiction," $6 million.
8. "Flushed Away," $5.8 million.
9. "Bobby," $4.9 million.
10. "The Fountain," $3.7 million.

NICOLE KIDMAN SAYS SHE FEELS AT HOME IN NASHVILLE

Nicole Kidman is feeling right at home in Nashville. The Oscar-winning actress chose to move to Nashville when she married singer Keith Urban. In the December issue of “Vogue” she says, quote, “This is my home now. This is the most time I've spent anywhere in years.” Kidman says she has cut back on the number of projects she will do so that she is working only around three months a year. She says, quote, "I think Keith and I are at a time in our lives where our priorities are pretty aligned with what we want and where we want to end up. We want to keep a very quiet, simple life down here in Tennessee.” Kidman acknowledges that she and Urban have commitments to their careers but, quote, “We go and do our thing, which is, thank God, in different fields, and come back together. We spend an enormous amount of time together, and we're determined to do that." “Vogue” did the interview prior to Urban’s October check-in to a rehabilitation facility for help with his addiction to alcohol.

RASCAL FLATTS RECORDS DUET WITH BRIAN MCNIGHT

Rascal Flatts recorded a duet with R&B singer Brian McKnight on his new album “Ten.” The song, “Red, White & Blue,” is a tribute to the soldiers fighting in the war in Iraq. McKnight told Starpulse,com, quote, “My best friend and co-writer Brandon Barnes called me up on the Fourth of July and told me to watch this special about soldiers calling home – five minutes later had had written he song together over the phone.” He adds, quote, “It’s a down-home story that Americans can identify with.” The collaboration with Rascal Flatts came about because McKnight became friends with the guys after singing at group member Joe Don Rooney’s wedding. Rascal Flatts describes it as a patriotic song and says Brian asked them to sing with him on it. The group itself will have a new album in 2007. They will begin recording soon and plans now call for its release in October of next year.

JOSH TURNER SAYS RALPH STANLEY AN EARLY MUSICAL MEMORY

Not every artist gets to sing with his musical hero, but on his new single, “Me and God,” Josh Turner duets with Bluegrass great Ralph Stanley, who Turner says is one of his first musical memories. Josh says Ralph has been a buddy of his for awhile now and quote, “I’ve gone up and done his festival in Virginia … he’s just a great man all the way round. He’s been there and done that.” Turner adds, quote, “He’s paved the way for so many different artists, not only bluegrass but country artists like myself. It makes me feel great that he’s gonna be on the radio for the majority of stations across the country.” Turner says he spent some time with Stanley recently while they were both on the Grand Ole Opry and Ralph was telling about being on Alabama’s new gospel album. Josh says, quote, “He’s still out there making an impact and contributing … I’m flattered he’s on my record.” <>

HEARTLAND SAYS THEY DIDN’T PUSH THEIR OWN TUNES ON ALBUM

When an artist is a songwriter too, he or she always wants their songs to make the new album. Craig Anderson of Heartland explains that all of the guys in the group are songwriters but, quote, “We didn’t just want to have our songs on the album just for the sake of the vanity of having our songs on there.” He adds, quote, “That wasn’t gonna do us any good and it’s not gonna do the people who buy the CD any good.” Anderson explains that that they wanted the best songs they could find for their debut disc. He says that producer Walt Aldridge brought in about 100 songs for them to listen to and they put their songs in the mix. When it came to choosing the final songs, however, group members admitted there were better songs to cut than what they had written. Anderson says, quote, “But we are writing now and when the next CD comes along we’ll pitch some more songs we wrote. And if they are as good as the songs we’re pitched, we’ll cut them. If not we’ll keep on writing, just like we did after this CD is out.”

VINCE GILL GOES GOLD WITH “THESE DAYS”

These days it seems Vince Gill is on top of the world. His four-CD set, “These Days,” has just been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. This means the disc has sold more than half a million units since it was released in October. Gill says, quote, “The album allowed me to encompass all the things I like and all the things I know and have learned. It gave me the opportunity to share the gifts I’ve been given with a lot of equally gifted people. I’m very proud of the project because it became so many different things.” The singer is on tour with a 20-piece band, performing songs from and working in support of the disc. He winds down his 2006 tour in Las Vegas December 7th – 9th.

TAYLOR SWIFT, TIM McGRAW DISCUSS HER SINGLE

Taylor Swift now has the definitive answer when someone asks her “So what does Tim McGraw the singer think of ‘Tim McGraw’ the song?” Up until last week, Taylor had not heard from Tim what he thought. She happened to be on hand for the taping of a radio show when McGraw said of the tune, quote, "It was awesome. I didn't know if I should take it as a compliment, or if I should feel old." Swift was quick to assure him that it was meant as a compliment. The teenager is one of the youngest country singers to have written or co-written everything on her debut album – she was signed to a publishing deal two years ago, when she was only 14. She’s also one of the youngest people to sign on to open for George Strait. Taylor will be the warm-up act for the first leg of Strait’s 2007 tour, which opens in Lafayette, LA on January 11th.

QUICK BITES

Sara Evans’ song, “You’ll Always Be My Baby,” is morphing into a book. Co-written by Evans, the inspirational gift book will be available next week. Sara says, quote, “I just wanted to write a song about unconditional love because I think it¹s so important for us as human beings to know and feel that we¹re loved.”

The “Tennessean” reports that Wynonna and Dolly Parton are among the six nominees for the final ballot of Tennessean of the Year 2006.

Brad Paisley will be on ABC's "Good Morning America" tomorrow. He’ll sing his current hit, "She's Everything,” plus songs from his new “Christmas” album.

Taylor Swift, Jimmy Wayne and Danielle Peck will be performing in Santa Ynez, CA at the Chumash Casino to benefit the Toys For Tots charity on December 8th.

Jack Ingram has been awarded a BDS Spin Award for his Top Ten hit “Love You.” The track has exceeded 50-thousand spins since its release in June

According to the “Tennessean,” Michelle Branch, half of The Wreckers, is selling her West Coast home in order to move to Nashville. The Los Angeles home is 53-hundred square feet and lists for a little over three million dollars.

Danielle Peck is scheduled to appear on the Grand Ole Opry on December 1st while Jimmy Wayne will visit the Opry on December 16th. Both performances take place at the Ryman.

Marty Stuart, Dallas Frazier, Ferlin Husky, Leona Williams and Freddy Weller will perform at a December 5th fundraiser at the Nashville Palace for Danita Marsh, a Nashville police officer shot in the line of duty last month. Vince Gill, Kenny Chesney and Alabama have donated autographed guitars for the silent auction. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted at the door.

Buddy Jewell broke his wrist in several places when he fell from a ladder while hanging Christmas lights. The injury required surgery and Jewel has been ordered to rest, resulting in the cancellation of several dates. On his website, his wife Tene says, quote, “He is home and resting and watching me put up the Christmas lights (LOL).”

Lorrie Morgan will be the Grand Marshall of Nashville’s Christmas parade on Friday. It is the 54th annual parade for the city.

Boe Tucker, father of Tanya Tucker, passed away last Thursday of lung cancer. Mr. Tucker, who was 79, was instrumental in his daughter becoming a star in country music when she was only 13. Tanya says he instilled his "Tucker Tough" demeanor in her. She says, quote, “He always said, 'If you feel bad, don't tell them. Do your job and go on.' So I just put a wall up. There are times when I feel fearful and afraid, but you've just got to plow on through it."