Music Box Series Brings Top Rock Docs Back To The Big Screen

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Four acclaimed music documentaries will get big screen revivals thanks to the Music in Motion Film Series starting this Wednesday night, with subsequent screenings in July, September and November. Two of these films (Stop Making Sense and The Last Waltz) are widely considered among the best concert films ever made. All showings will be at the Music Box Theatre and the series is co-sponsored by WXRT, with one of their DJs introducing each film.

Stop Making Sense, June 8Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Something Wild) assembled footage from three Talking Heads" concerts for this 1984 film, which is still the standard for capturing a live act at their very best. The movie is especially valuable as a document of the band in action, as it appears lead singer and chief songwriter David Byrne is dead set against any Talking Heads reunion.

Shut Up and Play the Hits, July 6Unlike the Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem has already reunited and is back on the road, so this 2012 film"s taglineabout it capturing "the very loud ending" of James Murphy"s rock/dance music ensembleis prematurely dated. Still, this mix of concert footage and a behind-the-scenes profile of Murphy was very well received by critics and fans.

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, September 29Breaking from the concert focus of the other three films in the series, this 2002 film about Chicago"s own Wilco puts the emphasis on the creative and commercial struggles of the recording process. The making of the album Yankee Foxtrot Hotel marked a hard-fought independence for the band, as well as the breaking point between leader Jeff Tweedy and multi-instrumentalist and key collaborator Jay Bennett (who died in 2009). The conflict between Tweedy and Bennett is captured with brutal honesty in this compelling film.

The Last Waltz, November 16Martin Scorsese"s film about The Band"s 1976 farewell concert will play just over a week before the 40th anniversary of that landmark performance. Though the group would later reunite without leader Robbie Robertson, there is a true sense of finality as members discuss finishing before the road finished them. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton are just some of the music legends who made guest appearances at the show, while Scorsese also filmed some performances after the concert on a soundstage, including the rousing collaboration with The Staple Singers seen above.

Stop Making Sense plays Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. with veteran XRT personality Terri Hemmert introducing the film. Show times and D.J. hosts for future shows will be announced later, with details available here.

Source: http://chicagoist.com/2016/06/06/music_in_motion_brings_top_rock_doc.php

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Drug makers pay $67m for misleading docs about cancer drug survival data

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Two drug makers Roches Genentech and OSI Pharmaceuticals announced a deal on Monday to pay $67 million to resolve charges they made misleading statements about the effectiveness of the Tarceva drug to treat non-small cell lung cancer.

Specifically, the feds contend that between 2006 and 2011, the companies gave promotional materials to oncologists that included misleading and overstated survival data to influence prescribing. The drug was originally approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a second-line or back-up treatment, but the inflated data prompted some doctors to use Tarceva as a first choice, which boosted usage.

In fact, there was little evidence to show Tarceva was effective in treating patients unless they had never been smokers or had a mutation in a protein involved in the growth and spread of cancer cells, according to a US Department of Justice statement. As a result, the feds contend the companies violated the False Claims Act, because federal health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, overpaid for the medicine.

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The case appears to be the first in which a drug maker was found to have violated that law by making misleading statements about survival data. Typically, many drug makers have been accused of violating the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks in the form of free meals and trips, for instance in hopes of persuading physician prescribing habits.

Tarceva was developed by Genentech, but was jointly marketed at the time by OSI Pharmaceuticals. However, OSI was purchased by Astellas in 2011, about the same time that the improper marketing appears to have ended, according to the Justice Department. We asked Genentech for comment and will update you accordingly.

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Genentech accused again of cheating health care providers

The infractions came to light thanks to a whistleblower lawsuit that was filed by Brian Shields, a former Tarceva senior product manager. His 2011 lawsuit described an elaborate scheme that was used to bolster Tarceva prescriptions, including kickbacks purportedly paid to physicians, although that allegation was not stipulated in the settlement with the government.

For his trouble, Shields will receive about $10 million, before subtracting attorney fees. His lawyer, Jeb White, a partner at Nolan Auerbach and White, said a wrongful termination lawsuit that Shields filed against Genentech is still under way.

A Genentech spokeswoman sent us a note that we believe our Tarceva promotional communications and practices were and are entirely proper and in compliance with the law.This settlement, however, allows the company to avoid the burden, disruption, cost, and distraction of protracted civil litigation and to focus instead on our business of developing medicines that extend and improve human lives.

The spokeswoman added that the drug maker did not admit to any wrongdoing.

The spokeswoman did note that the company did not have to sign a corporate integrity agreement, which is often required of drug makers that are found to have violated the False Claims Act. These agreements usually mandate that companies expand their regulatory compliance departments and that senior executives must personally approve steps taken to improve oversight.

Originally, Shields also named Novartis in his lawsuit since Genentech and Novartis jointly marketed the Xolair asthma treatment. Shields alleged the companies promoted the medicine for unapproved uses, but White said that the federal government, which joined the lawsuits against Genentech and OSI, eventually chose not to pursue those allegations.

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNGlzL7iwIGh68tklR-jVOqKGbwFsQ&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779128451290&ei=Zz5WV9DhOITE3QHV347QBw&url=https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2016/06/06/drug-makers-pay-67m-misleading-docs-cancer-drug-survival-data/

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