Chatterbox: Getting here in a round about way

A Perfect Circle are coming to New Zealand after all. In October the band, fronted by Tool singer Maynard James Keenan, cancelled their Big Day Out appearance. Perhaps they felt they deserved their own gig after their second album, Thirteenth Step went to No 1 here in September. They'll be in Auckland at the North Shore Events Centre on February 17.

Meanwhile, Keenan and his Nine Inch Nails mate Danny Lohner have been busy contributing to the soundtrack of vampire flick Underworld. And just to make things even more complicated for the blokes in the band formerly known as Shihad, they've called their new goth-tinged side project "Puscifier".

ROBBIE DEPT: Looks like Robbie Williams behaved himself this time in Auckland. But we did hear about one woman who made her way to his hotel door, only to be told by security there were already four girls inside keeping him company. Her reply? "Perfect."

THE ART OF TELLY: Sky TV is launching another new channel next year and this time it's with the finer things in mind. The Arts Channel, which starts screening primarily international programming in March, will be devoted to the visual arts, music, dance, opera, theatre, documentaries, design and literature and will feature profiles of writers and composers. Its first month is free, then digital subscribers will have to pay $2.95 a week for it.

WAKE ME FOR YOUR BIT: Liv Tyler says her rock star dad fell asleep while watching her in the final part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Aerosmith singer Steve Tyler nodded off during a private screening of The Return Of The King. Liv, who plays elf Arwen, told the Sun: "He fell asleep halfway through, just took a nap. But he was really tired." She said she earlier had to tell him off because he was making too much noise.

LIST OF THE WEEK: Yes, Return of the King is enough to make a grown man cry. And, apparently, so too is rival Oscar contender Cold Mountain. An Associated Press writer got to thinking, what are the great man weepies, the ones which get male viewers in touch with their feelings?

The list included ...



Captains Courageous (1937): Lovable lug Spencer Tracy's death teaches valuable life lessons to pampered rich kid Freddie Bartholomew.

Dead Poets Society (1989): No, Robin Williams doesn't kick the bucket, but in early drafts of the script, he reportedly had an incurable ailment.

Casablanca (1943): Even if he'd never made another movie, Humphrey Bogart's noble relinquishing of Ingrid Bergman would assure his movie immortality.

From Here to Eternity (1953): When Montgomery Clift plays taps for Frank Sinatra, even toughie sergeant Burt Lancaster sheds tears.

Pride of the Yankees (1942): As Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper's "Today I consider myself the luckiest man alive" farewell speech is worth the rest of the movie.



The Shootist (1976): John Wayne rode off into the sunset with dignity as a dying gunfighter.



Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969): This comic classic persuaded viewers that Paul Newman and Robert Redford were the best of buds, ready to die together.

The Man Who Would Be King (1975): Could Sean Connery have ever found a more faithful friend than Michael Caine? But both paid a grisly price.

Saving Private Ryan (1998): Manly men don't mind shedding tears when Tom Hanks suddenly stops breathing and when Ma Ryan falls to her knees in dread of the inevitable message.

The Deer Hunter (1978): In other films, Robert De Niro was a raging bull, but here he's a gentle giant trying to save Christopher Walken from Russian Roulette.

Sniff.