Twenty eight year old Paul Cataldo Jr., of Staten Island, will get to do exactly that Friday night, when he serves as opening act for Aerosmith’s show. He’ll be performing his own Guitar Hero take on the band’s classic 1975 song “Sweet Emotion” before 17,000 fellow fans. Cataldo won the local segment of a national contest that has Aerosmith choosing the best Guitar Hero treatment of its songs, uploaded on You Tube. Where Cataldo talks about his strategy behind his video, why he thinks he won, and what Aerosmith and Guitar Hero mean to him.

Why did you choose “Sweet Emotion”?

“Actually, ‘Walk This Way’ is my favorite Aerosmith song. From a historical point of view, it’s the song that relaunched them in the ’80s. But I didn’t want to try anything too difficult, and I wanted a song I could do justice to. It’s “Sweet Emotion” the one that I did the best.”

Instead of just playing the game in your video, you put on a show. How did you come up with your shtick?

“I watched other winning videos from earlier cities on the tour, and they were slamming the game, but they weren’t superentertaining. So I put on an old top hat like Steve Tyler wore and got out a vintage Aerosmith T-shirt from the ’70s.”

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” a follow up to the smash robot hit of 2007, is on course to challenge the seemingly impregnable five day opening record of $203.8 million set last year by Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” The biggest movie of the year so far is “Star Trek,” which has grossed $244 million in seven weeks of release across the United States and Canada. A clearer picture of “Transformers”‘ trajectory will emerge on Sunday, when the Viacom Inc-owned studio issues sales estimates for the weekend. Earlier in the week, Paramount had conservatively forecast a five-day haul in the $130 million to $150 million range. But industry pundits countered that a tally of at least $175 million was more likely. The film reportedly cost about $200 million to make. The $126 million figure covers sales for Wednesday through Friday. The film earned $60.6 million on its first day, breaking the old record for a Wednesday release of $44 million set by “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” in 2007. It fell just short of the all-time single-day record of $67 million, set last year on a Friday by “The Dark Knight.” The “Transformers” sequel earned $36.7 million on Friday. Nine movies have made more than that on a Friday, but that was their first day of release. The film also opened worldwide on Wednesday, but got an early start last weekend with a No. 1 bow in Britain and No. 2 in Japan behind a local release.

Over time, I felt like I was one of millions of people who wanted Michael Jackson to succeed. MTV at first refused to play his videos because black artists, no matter how successful, didn’t fit their idea of their format. Of course Michael Jackson, with the help of Quincy Jones, went on to become the King of Pop and the king of music MTV video. In the intro to Thriller, Michael Jackson says “I’m not like other guys” and “I’m different” and then proceeds to transmogrify into a werewolf. Pop culture literature from “Twilight” to “Harry Potter” has taken feelings of alienation and packaged them for wide consumption. Michael was one of the first masters of our modern era to do that well. But what he could not seem to do is seize control of his own transformation and find his own center as a man, not just a creator. After all, the trope of successful transformation is that the hero becomes something else, but can return to his or her human emotions if not human form. John Landis, the director of “Thriller,” has called Jackson a “tragic figure.” And that brings me, personally, back to race. Race added a very specific prism to the failed transformation of Michael Jackson. His plastic surgery bordered on pathology and racial caricature. His need for the spotlight brought him, arguably, into clashes with both the law and public opinion. I am thinking specifically of the charges of his treatment of children others, and his own. Would he have felt freer to pursue his own alternative identity if we had not also wanted him to be what he could not seem to be an adult black man who provided fodder for the fantasies we cherished when he was a child? In the prelude to the Thriller video, Michael Jackson speaks to the black, bobbysox wearing girl who is his love interest and says, “You know I like you and I hope you like me the way I like you.”  We always loved you, Michael Jackson. I hope you found peace in just being you, whoever you were, and despite what we all wanted you to be.

That’s not all Shia LaBeouf had to say: although he’s keen to talk up Activision’s game based on “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, Shia LaBeouf saves his praise for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. Asked about the Wii version, he sidesteps: “I haven’t been able to play the Wii game because my hand is broken. I would imagine that the Wii experience will be like I don’t mess with the Wii, to be honest with you. It’s kind of an amateur console. I’m not into the Wii thing.” So how about the Lego Indiana Jones game?  “The LEGO Indiana Jones I’m not going to speak on, but my feelings aren’t very different.” Wonder if Activision has picked a spokesperson for the next Transformers game?

Chris Brown entered his plea before a preliminary hearing was scheduled to start in Los Angeles on Monday.
Rihanna had been on standby to testify. After Brown left the courtroom, Rihanna entered and was addressed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg, who explained to the Barbados born singer that she had issued a stay away order. Rihanna had not been seeking a stay away order, but the judge imposed one. The order requires that Brown and Rihanna stay at least 50 yards from each, except at industry events when the distance is reduced to 10 yards. The judge also told Rihanna it’s not a one way order and she will be in violation if she gets closer to Chris Brown than the order allows. Brown’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, said the plea deal includes five years of supervised probation and six months of community labor. Brown will be formally sentenced on Aug. 5. Schnegg accepted Brown’s plea deal, but expressed some concerns because Brown is not a California resident. She said Chris Brown likely will be allowed to do his community service in his home state of Virginia. He’ll have to return to California for updates every three months. He’ll also be required to attend domestic violence classes. Chris Brown spoke softly throughout the hearing as he waived his rights and told the judge he understood the gravity of his plea deal. “I think it’s commendable you took responsibility for your conduct,” Schnegg told Brown. She said she hoped “the terms and conditions of your probation will have some meaning.”

Tony Hawk, 41, skated in the grand foyer and the nearby Old Executive Office Building, with the permission of White House officials. The skateboarding icon, also known for his popular brand of skateboarding video games, posted photos to his Web site and Twitter page. One photo shows Hawk on his skateboard with his hands in the air in what appears to be a hallway. “and here is my exit,” he wrote in a message on Twitter, which linked to a picture of him skating. “Supposed to return at noon for the First Fathers event if they let me back in.” Tony Hawk posted other insights from his Washington visit on his Twitter page, telling fans about eating Frosted Flakes cereal inside the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. In another tweet, he says “back at White House, Tweeting live from the Diplomatic Room. Unbelievable.” Hawk joined other dads, athletes and celebrities at a Father’s Day forum hosted by President Barack Obama. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay helped man the barbecue grills for a White House picnic for the attendees, which included NBA players Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and Etan Thomas of the Washington Wizards. “The Prez addressing all of us fathers before we split up to visit DC charities,” Tony Hawk tweeted. “D Wade & Etan T make me feel short.”

Michael Jackson the singer has apparently told gig promoters AEG that he wants a funfair installed in the grounds of Foxbury Manor in Chistlehurst, Kent. Other demands include a bowling alley, as Michael Jackson the King Of Pop is reportedly a massive fan bowling the game. The bowling alley is set to be installed inside the historic property, which is valued at $30 million

His generation vs. his parents’
“My generation will actually be the first generation that is tamer than the one that came before it, and it will probably be poorer; less fun and less money. It’s ridiculous. In my parents’ generation, rebellion was pop culture. It’s not anymore. You can see it in something as simple as where their music was at and where ours is now. If you look at our Billboard Top 100, a lot of those songs on there are from Christian country artists. A lot of rappers, too, are very Christian. The fact that is even still talked about is kind of wild to me. I think my generation understands it, but they are too selfish to let it matter.” Says Shia LaBeouf

Greed as part of pop culture
“There’s no patriotism. There’s selfishness. It’s the movie Wall Street Pure selfishness, Greed is good, It really happened. People don’t look at that character, Gordon Gekko, and see an enemy. They look at him like they look at Scarface, a kind of role model. ‘Hell, yeah. That’s the guy! That’s the superman!’ Well, that’s our pop culture. That’s its values.” commented Shia LaBeouf Greed is good.

For the tour, which kicked off this week, “Guitar Hero” fanatics can rock out with Aerosmith, and a few lucky ones will be able to open up for the band playing the video on stage in front of thousands. “We’re actually inviting some kids in the audience to come up and be the opening acts for us along with ZZ Top. They get a chance to come up to jam with Joe and Joe’s going to play with them and do what he does so well,” frontman Steven Tyler said. The band is also planning on their 15th studio CD. Steven Tyler’s recent battle with pneumonia and Perry’s knee infection put a halt to recording new music, but they’ll resume once the tour wraps in September. Steven Tyler said they hope to go “where no band has taken it before When we come up with something that we just have this need to say and do, we’ll do it however we can and get the best producers.” But more important than making new music, the band says touring is what’s kept them strong through the years. “We happened to play a lot of live (shows), that’s what got us together and so far, that avenue of pleasure hasn’t been cut off from us and we’ll continue to keep doing it as long as it feels good,” Perry said.

The 30 year old rocker was picked up by officers after the 1 hour, 40 minute British Airways flight landed Friday, and held for two hours, police spokesman Jean Philippe Brandt said Monday. Doherty then paid the fine and was released. Brandt said Doherty was tested for heroin consumption, confirming a report in the Swiss tabloid Le Matin. But police declined to confirm the newspaper’s report that Doherty was discovered by an air hostess collapsed in a toilet, with a used syringe nearby. Air staff then contacted the police, it said. Doherty, lead singer of Babyshambles and former boyfriend of British model Kate Moss, has had well-publicized battles with drug use. He served 29 days in a London prison last year after being caught with crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis during a probation period. British Airways said a passenger on the flight was arrested on arrival, but that the airline was legally barred from disclosing details. Doherty was on his way to Switzerland to present his debut solo album at a festival in the city of Neuchatel. Brandt declined to say how much Doherty was fined.