R.E.M. releases old material for film

“All the Right Friends,” a previously unreleased track from R.E.M.’s first recording session ever, will appear on Cameron Crowe’s upcoming film, “Vanilla Sky.”

The tune was recorded in July 1980, but failed to make the cut for the band’s debut album, “Chronic Town.”

The soundtrack also includes songs by Paul McCartney, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Red House Painters, Peter Gabriel, Chemical Brothers, The Monkees and Bob Dylan.

It is scheduled to be released Dec. 11. Crowe’s last film was “Almost Famous,” which was loosely based on Crowe’s life as a young writer for Rolling Stone magazine.

`Harry Potter’ tickets going fast

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” won’t make its big-screen debut until next week, but tickets for the film are selling quickly.

Major box-office outlets report that advance tickets have sold faster than any other movie so far this year.

Some industry specialists are even predicting that the film’s opening weekend will surpass the previous $72.1 million record set by “Jurassic Park: The Lost World” in 1997.

– News gathered by Bethany Kohoutek from the Associated Press and billboard.com