Disney football movie claims hard-tackles Foxx, so “Kingdom” comes in No. 2
By Jeffrey Jolson
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/30/07 — The Rock rolled over the “The Kingdom” over the weekend, as “The Game Plan” sacked Jamie Foxx’s Arabian thriller for a loss, $22.7 million to $17.7 million. Credit the kids’ turnout on Saturday for Duane “Rock” Johnson’s quarterbacking the football movie to a win, as the two films were close to tied after Friday night. But with Disney calling the plays, the daytime theater tallies soared.
“Resident Evil: Extinction” dropped from No. 1 but still scared up another $8 million, bringing it box office total to $36.8 million. “Good Luck Chuck” saw its fortunes raise another $6.3 million to $23.6.
It was a generally sleepy weekend, common in the fall between the summer and holiday blockbusters. It is a good time for serious films and award hopefuls to make a dent. For instance the acclaimed “3:10 to Yuma” is in its fourth week in the top ten, with $4.2 million added for a $44 million total. Great for the fall, as well as an Oscar run, but the $4.2 million would not have even made Top 10 during heated summer box office battles. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Hollywood Today chats with co-stars Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner
By Juontel White
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/29/07 – A strange thing happened on the way to the war. Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Gardner found a little humanity amidst the action in their new “The Kingdom,” which grossed an estimated $5.6 million on it Friday opening.
It was edged slightly by The Rock’s football comedy “The Game Plan,” which scored $5.7 million, though it won’t have the draw that Disney film will have on Saturday and Sunday with kids, so ‘Kingdom’ will come in No. 2 for the weekend.
Set in the Middle East, the Foxx-Gardner movie is about an elite FBI team sent to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to seek out the Arabian terrorists before they attack American workers in the city. Foxx plays the lead FBI agent overseeing the operation, while Gardner is a member of this elite team.
“Over there we got a chance to see the beauty of the culture,” said Foxx. “I think we should all take trips and go see how everybody lives,” as he focused on relating his visit to Saudi Arabia off the set to the deeper meaning of the movie rather than stressing about the tough job he had to do. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
The director will shoot a posthumous documentary about Harrison’s life.
By Jonathan Zipper
HOLLYWOOD,CA (Hollywood Today) 9/28/07 – Academy Award winning director Martin Scorsese will direct a documentary about the life of former Beatle George Harrison, according to Daily Variety.
Harrison’s widow, Olivia, is on-board as a producer and will offer archival information for the project. “It would have given George great joy to know that Martin Scorsese has agreed to tell his story,” she told the publication.
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the only two surviving Beatles, agreed to take part in the film. It will focus on Harrison’s life with the group, his solo career, his stint as a movie producer, and his connection to Eastern mysticism. No word on whether Harrison’s first wife, Pattie Boyd, will participate.
Harrison, who wrote the hit songs “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something,” also produced over 20 film projects, including “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” and the poorly received “Shanghai Surprise.”
Scorsese has previously worked on the Bob Dylan documentary “No Direction Home” and is set to release “Shine a Light,” a concert documentary featuring The Rolling Stones, in April 2008.
“George Harrison’s music and his search for spiritual meaning is a story that still resonates today and I’m looking forward to delving deeper,” he said.
Phil Spector mistrial call sends DA and others scrambling for retrial — plus jurors speak out
By Stacey Silberman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/27/07 – “Phil Spector will be re-arrested within a week,” predicted former Lana Clarkson publicist Edward Lozzi. “There will be a new trial.”
District Attorney Pat Dixon is just as adamant and asked the court for an immediate re-trial. Defense attorney Roger Rosen requested a date “60 days out.” Judge Larry Paul Fidler also wanted it on the fast track. “That’s way too long, I was thinking of something in the next two weeks,” he said. A hearing that could set it all in motion is set for Oct. 3.
Spector might not actually be re-arrested, unless charges change. He is technically still out on bail for murder, and the prosecutors continue to believe they have a winning case. And since all players now know the evidence, a retrial should move much faster than the original.
The bravado regarding a retrial could not mask Lozzi’s anger after hearing Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler declare a mistrial in the Spector case yesterday. After 44 hours over 12 days deliberating murder versus suicide, the jury gave-up, with a deadlock of 10 to 2.
“Nine men on that downtown jury and maybe two of them didn’t think it was a big deal to hold a gun on a lady when they wanted sex,” he said. “Like many people, I’m upset but not surprised by the verdict,” Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
British SAS special ops team comes in hot with guns blazing in BBC America drama
By Robin Rowe
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/27/07 — If you play the first person shooter game “Half-Life: Counter-Strike”, then you’ll feel right at home with this BBC America gung-ho anti-terrorist drama. It’s guns and glory…without much story.
Season premiere episode “The Killing House”, written by Rob Heyland, introduces two fresh recruits, played by Jamie Draven and Sendhil Ramamurthy. Draven plays the role of the rookie soldier who the audience is supposed to identify with. However, he exhibits such creepy detachment you wonder if he’s one of the bad guys. A bright spot is Ross Kemp, who plays the enthusiastic squad leader whose simple joy in life is to come to grips with the bad guys and kill them. Kemp reminds me of Michael Chiklis from “The Shield.”
According to “Ultimate Force”, the British SAS have a policy of, “You don’t stop for a man down”. Unlike the U.S. Marines, the unit Red Troop is trained to leave their men behind. The rationale is stopping for casualties results in more casualties. That may be true in the field, but it’s not very heroic for drama. At least in “Pirates of the Caribbean” there were “guidelines” about not leaving a man behind. The opening sequence of the show is of Red Troop walking away. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
The latest Billboard charts show feuding rappers what country can still do
By Juontel White
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/27/07— This week’s Billboard 200 reigning champ is Reba McEntire with “Reba Duets.” With 301,000 copies sold in the U.S., the MCA country album beat out rap heavyweights like Kayne West and 50 Cent.
“Reba Duets” includes tracks with artists like Faith Hill, Kenney Chesney and Rascal Flats. Even some collaborations with pop genre artists like Kelly Clarkson, the American Idol pop-rock queen and Justin Timberlake, who’s slowly becoming a huge hit in the R&B community.
The duet between McEntire and Clarkson on “Because of You” recently peaked at No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs charts.
Meanwhile, “Graduation,” Kayne’s album which debut last week, fell to the No. 2 spot with 226,000 copies sold.
amfAR’s Celebrity Auction takes a Roman Holiday after raising $260 mil since 1985
By Michele A. Matthews
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) Known for boasting a very long, star-studded guest list and raising millions of dollars for AIDS research, amfAR’s Cinema Against AIDS makes its debut in Rome on Oct. 26.
Cinema Against AIDShas also been held on various occasions during the Venice and Sundance Film Festivals, and have attracted a serious list of top celebrities, entertainment industry elite, and international society. Traditionally, celebrities in the room assist with the live auction. Participants have included Ben Affleck, Prince Albert of Monaco, Lance Armstrong, Adrien Brody, Cher, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Catherine Deneuve, Johnny Depp, Leonardo di Caprio, Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
PBS hits the mark with a new documentary from Ken Burns
By Jonathan Zipper
NEW YORK (Hollywood Today) 9/27/07 – Sunday night proved to be a big one for PBS. At the start of the Fall television season, the publicly funded network drew outstanding numbers for its original documentary, “The War.”
“The War,” a seven part series from director-producer Ken Burns about World War II, opened with 15.5 million viewers tuning in during the 8 p.m. premiere. A subsequent repeat at 10:30 p.m. added to that, bringing in an estimated audience of 18.7 million for the first chapter of “The War.”
The early numbers gave Burns, an Emmy award winning documentarian, his fourth largest audience. His previous projects, 1990’s “The Civil War” and 1994’s “Baseball” were seen by 38.9 million and 43.1 million viewers throughout their respective runs. “The War” is currently on track to match PBS’ ratings for “Baseball.”
The Neilsen ratings for the entire “War” series will be released in November, according to PBS.
New episodes of “The War” will air through Wednesday. The series will then resume on Sunday and continue through October 2.
Actress Mira Sorvino wants marketing pros to get the Darfur message out
By Chantal Walholz
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/26/07 — Oscar-winner and Darfur activist, Mira Sorvino, hopes there will be more involvement from advertising campaigns in representing the problem genocide-stricken Darfur.
Taking a different tack than other Hollywood Darfur activists Steven Spielberg, George Clooney and Mia Farrow, Sorvino hoped to get the word out by going right to the message experts, the ad community.
She wants them to look upon the long-suffering populace there as a client, and design powerful campaigns to help them.
During Advertising Week, held in New York from Sept. 24-28, Sorvino called upon marketing professionals to reach out through the media to help end the ethnic killing in Sudan’s Darfur region. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Court agrees trash picking bad form for Tiggers, Roos and Plaintiffs
By Chantal Waldholz
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/26/07 —There’s no dumpster diving for documents allowed in 100 Acre Wood, a court ruled, making the smile on Winnie the Pooh’s face will shine a bit brighter. A billion-dollar lawsuit brought by Stephen Slesinger Inc. has failed, leaving Disney with all rights to the adorable bear.
After a three-year process, an appeals court ruled Tuesday that Disney would be acquitted of all charges.
The final verdict from the jurors came after the Slesinger family allegedly stole confidential Disney documents from the trash. With proof presented that they had done so, they apparently were evasive about how they obtained the documents. Now that the appeals court dismissing the lawsuit, Disney may have saved billions.Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/26/07 – One hung juror is the next best thing to an acquittal, runs the old legal chestnut. Jurors deliberating the fate of 67-year old Phil Spector had two jurors who could not reach agreement as to guilt or innocence, resulting in a hung jury.
And a hung jury is a mistrial. A re-trial is expected. Further proceedings will occur on Thursday morning at 10 am.
The last time jurors gave the judge notice of an impasse the split was 7 to 5, which spurned the judge’s withdrawal of instruction number three and the addition of a newly written instruction by the judge. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
The Stones cash-in on their latest tour, Girl Aloud breaks Beyonce’s singles records
By Jonathan Zipper
LONDON (Hollywood Today) 9/26/07 – With age comes experience, and The Rolling Stones continue to prove that. In the latest edition of the “Guinness World Records,” the rockers topped the charts with their “A Bigger Bang Tour” raking in $437 million dollars.
The most successful female solo artist went to Madonna following her 60-date confessions” tour, which brought in $200 million.
A new edition of “Guinness” means new records, including a few strange and unexpected ones. Lucky contest winners got the chance to see British groove band Jamiroquai’s concert 35,000 feet in the air aboard a Boeing 737. Staying closer to the Earth’s surface, Songstress Katie Melua performed on a Norwegian oil rig located 994 feet below sea level.
UK pop group Girls Aloud replaced Beyonce in the record book after scoring 16 consecutive top 10 singles on the British charts. Bing Crosby continues his dream Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
