The Kardashian sisters, Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé are about to become published novelists. That’s right. The reality show divas have written a novel and it’s called “Dollhouse,” according to the publishing industry website, Galleycat.
A fan of the sisters came up with the title and reportedly is featured in the book, which hits store shelves this November first. More here.
A New York congressman is calling for an investigation into what kind of “cooperation” the Obama administration provided for a movie about the take down of 9-11 terrorist mastermind, Osama bin Laden. Director Kathryn Bigelow is partnering with screenwriter Mark Boal on this bin Laden film.
Apparently, the filmmakers are being accused of getting “special access” and classified information – allegedly including data on the Navy Seal Team 6 raid which resulted in the death of bin Laden.
Today Deadline.com posted reaction from Bigelow and Boal, declaring they have received help from officials in three administrations: Clinton and Bush are the other two. Also on the site, a letter from Congressman Peter King detailing the allegations, which started with a recent column in the New York Times.
Last year, Bigelow won best director for “The Hurt Locker.” Boal took home best original screenplay for that Iraq drama. More on the controversy swirling around their latest film here.
“Captain America: The First Avenger” remains at the top of the box office today. Over the weekend, the Marvel comic book-inspired movie debuted with a mighty $65 million. That’s the best superhero film weekend opening so far this summer.
On Monday, “Captain America” held onto its title as the number one flick in the country, by scoring $7.7 million. Yesterday, another top performance by the patriotic crusader with the film earning $7.8 million. It stars Chris Evans as the physical weak, but strong in heart patriot, Steve Rodgers, who gets transformed into the super soldier Captain America during World War II.
Here’s the rest of the weekend’s top five. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ slipped to second after only one week in the number one spot — with $47.4 million. New romantic comedy, “Friends with Benefits” collected $18.6 million — good enough for third place. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis star as a couple of wanta-be friends/business associates who try to keep their relationship light, but end up falling for each other.
The sci-fi actioner, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” lands in fourth with $12 million, and in fifth, the comedy “Horrible Bosses” with $11.8 million.
The long-awaited film featuring the patriotic superhero, Captain America, finally hit movie screens today. “Captain America: The First Avenger” reportedly earned around $4 million at midnight screenings — besting “Green Lantern” and “Thor” for those early shows.
“Captain America,” which stars Chris Evans as the Marvel-comic- book inspired shield -wheeling hero, could be on track to make $60 million this weekend. Question is does the red, white, and blue crusader have enough power to boot the kid wizard, Harry Potter, from the number one spot? Ticket buying movie fans will make the call. More box office results later.
A magical opening weekend for the final installment in the Harry Potter movie series. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2″ has broken all kind of records since opening to huge audiences at midnight screenings last Thursday. Yesterday, its estimated weekend take at the domestic box office was a gigantic $168. 5 million. The actual numbers were released today — and the Harry Potter finale did even better than expected — it pulled in $169.1 million for a new all time weekend record.
Here are the top five grossing weekend movie openings
1. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2″ —– $169.1 million
2. “The Dark Knight” —– $158.4 million
3. “Spider-Man 3″ —– $151 million
4.”The Twilight Saga: New Moon” —– $142.8 million
5. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” —– $135 million
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2″ shattered the record for midnight shows with $43.5 million and for the biggest opening day — with $92.1 million last Friday. Talking about ending on a high note.
Harry Potter easily captured the crown for the number one film in the country from the sci-fi action hit “Transformers 3″ — which was a distant second with $21.3 million. Rounding out the top five at the box office, the adult comedy, “Horrible Bosses” $17.7 million, the family comedy “Zookeeper” $12.3 million, and the animated sequel “Cars 2″ $8.4 million.
Movie audiences are really wild about Harry — as in Harry Potter and the finale of the popular novel-based movie series. Tons of Potter fans stayed up late last night — to catch the first showings of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2.” In fact, the eighth installment of the series reportedly earned $43.5 million at the domestic box office during those midnight screenings. That blows away the previous record of $30 million set by “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” back in June 2010.
Internationally, this Harry Potter flick is cleaning up at theaters as well. Deadline.com has an extensive report on those numbers.
Once again HBO is king of the Emmy nominations. The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were announced today and the pay channel topped the list with 104 — leaving the rest of the networks far behind. The cabler’s miniseries, “Mildred Pierce,” a remake of the 1940s classic, scored the most nominations with 21.
Also, collecting a slew of nominations the following TV series: “Mad Men” with 19, “Modern Family” 17, and “Games of Thrones” 13. For more on the nominations and reactions from some of the nominees, click over to the Los Angeles Times website.
The Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony well be broadcast Sunday, September 18, 2011, on the Fox Network.
The end is near for the zillions of Harry Potter movie fans. The eighth and final installment in the Potter film series opens tomorrow at midnight. All ready, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2″ is breaking records for movie screens and ticket sales. Nikki Finke has the scoop over on deadline.com
The 18-year kidnap ordeal of Jaycee Dugard has really grabbed public interest. Dugard’s interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer last Sunday brought in huge ratings last Sunday. Nearly 15 million viewers reportedly watched the two- hour special. Yesterday, her memior detailing her years held captive in a tent by convicted sex offender, Phillip Craig Garrido and his wife, Nancy, debuted. “A Stolen Life” sold 175,000 copies on Tuesday, according to Galleycat. More here.
Some folks in Hollywood are making plans to avoid what may be a real life disaster. The shutdown of the 405 freeway, between the 10 and 101, this weekend. It has been dubbed Carmageddon. The Wrap has details on what some local entertainment companies are doing.
The sci-fi mega-hit, “Transformers 3,” held on to the title of number one film in the country for a second straight week. Over the weekend, the third installment of the “Transformers” movie series pulled in $47.1 million, according to the final figures released today. That brings the two week total for “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” to around $260 million at the domestic box office.
In second place, a new R-rated comedy, “Horrible Bosses,” with a debut of $28.3 million. The movie revolves around three friends who decide there would be less grief in their lives if they murder their abusive bosses. The cast includes Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Spacey.
Another new flick, “Zookeeper,” captured third place. The family-friendly comedy stars Kevin James and did much better than expected by opening with $20 million. The film is about some very bright animals who help a struggling zookeeper with his love life.
The animated flick, “Cars 2″ drove into fourth place with $15.2 million and rounding out the top five, the comedy “Bad Teacher” with $8.9 million.
It’s going to be a hot, sizzling July 4th holiday weekend — and I’m not talking about just the weather. The box office is fired up. The sci-fi action sequel, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” opened yesterday with around $37 million – which means it’s on track to make some serious bucks over the next few days.
The other major movies opening this weekend are romantic comedies: “Larry Crowne” starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and “Monte Carlo” featuring Selena Gomez.
The final box office numbers for the weekend are out today. The animated sequel, “Cars 2″ leads the pack with a debut of $66 million winning bragging rights as the number one film in the country. In second place, the Cameron Diaz-Justin Timberlake new R-rated comedy, “Bad Teacher,” with $31.6 million, followed by the superhero actioner “Green Lantern” $18 million, the sci-fi flick “Super 8 ” $12 million, and rounding out the top five, the family comedy ”Mr. Popper’s Penguins” with $10 million.
The star of the “Matrix” sci-fi action movie trilogy, Keanu Reeves, is now a published author or should I say poet. The actor ‘s new book of poetry is called, “Ode to Happiness.” The price , 55 bucks. More on Galleycat.
Living on the edge actress, Lindsay Lohan, gets another break in court today. Lohan tested positive for alcohol, but a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled it was not a violation of her probation. Details on Lohan’s latest court drama over on the Los Angeles Times website.
"Jackass 3D" movie poster
Actor Ryan Dunn was reportedly killed in a horrible car accident early this morning. The 34-year-old star of the R-rated “Jackass” movie comedy series apparently died when his Porsche crashed and exploded into flames in Pennsylvania. The Wrap has more on the tragedy.
The Internet is buzzing over the recent blunder by Scott Adams, the creator of the “Dilbert” comic strip. In an attempt to explain the rash of sex scandals by some prominent men, Adams recently published a post on his Dilbert website called, “Society Has Evolved To Keep Males in a State of continuous Unfulfilled Urgers.”
Galleycat reports the post has generated hundreds of negative comments. Also, a thousand readers have signed an online petition calling for Adams to apologize for the controversial post. More here
The actual box office numbers are out today and “Green Lantern” is in the number one spot. “Green Lantern” beat the competition with a $53 million debut over the weekend. There are complaints the picture should have made millions more . Maybe so, but you gotta take into account that the “Green Lantern” isn’t the best known superhero and that could be a factor in its modest opening. More on Box Office Mojo about the “Green Lantern” numbers and the other top movies.
“The Hangover Part II” is off to a fast start at the Memorial Day weekend Box Office. The R-rated comedy opened with a huge $31.6 million yesterday. That’s the highest grossing day ever for a live-action comedy, according to Box Office Mojo. And the long holiday weekend is just beginning.
The sequel to the 2009 hit, “The Hangover,” is written by Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong, and Todd Phillips — who also directs. This time out the guy pals are in Thailand for a wedding when something goes wrong and they lose the bride-to-be’s teenaged brother.
The other big movie opening is “Kung Fu Panda 2,” which was far behind in second place with around $5.8 million on Thursday. “Panda 2″ is expected to pick up steam today and the weekend — when more kids are out of school.
Columbia Pictures Vice-President, DeVon Franklin, leads a double life and he’s proud of it. Franklin is a devote Christian and a minister as well as studio executive. Franklin has incorporated his faith into a business model, which he talks about in his new book “Produced by Faith: Enjoy Real Success without Compromising Your True Self.”
Franklin is the executive who brought the low-budget, but very successful script project, “Jumping the Broom,” to Columbia. Produced for less than $7 million, the romantic comedy has made over $30 million at the box office in about three weeks. Franklin is convinced you don’t have to have great connections or live in Tinseltown to sell your screenplay: “… we need good scripts in Hollywood. So, if you write a good script, even if you’re in Nebraska, Ohio – you could be in the most remote part of the world — if you write a good script, I promise you, somehow we’ll find it.”
Franklin sees his faith and movie career as a perfect match: “My whole big idea for my life is to inspire and encourage, and God has called me to use film as part of a way to do that.” Franklin’s comments are from a post over on the publishing site, Galleycat.
By the way, his book “Produced by Faith, “ written with Tim Vandehey, was released from Simon & Schuster earlier this month on May 3.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides” sailed right to the top of the box office on its opening weekend. The fourth installment in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie series earned an estimated $90.1 million to easily become the number one flick in the country. This bountiful debut clearly shows movie audiences are willing to throw down some money at theaters to see sequels.
“Pirates 4″ stars Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, and Geoffrey Rush in a plot based on the book, “On Strange Tides” (1987) by Tim Powers. In this action adventure, Depp and his crew tangle with the infamous pirate, Blackbeard, during their search for the fountain of youth.
Far behind in second, but still doing boffo box office, the chick flick, “Bridesmaids,” with around $21 million. In two weeks this comedy has earned nearly $60 million. The superhero, “Thor,” landed in third with an estimated $15.5 million, followed by the action film, “Fast Five,” with about $10.6 million, and rounding out the top five the animation, “Rio,” with an estimated $4.6 million.
The big summer movies are rolling into theaters. Tomorrow, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides,” opens in the U.S. The fantasy adventure is the fourth installment in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film series. The movie is based on the book from 1987, “On Strange Tides,” by Tim Powers.
Today over on the publishing site Galleycat, Powers talks about his fantasy book, how it got optioned by Disney, and more here.
Photo: INF/People -- Mildred Patricia Baena the mother of Schwarzenegger's out of wedlock child with their son
The media is all over the Arnold Schwarzenegger love child story. Today photos of the other woman, retired housekeeper Mildred Patricia “Patty” Baena, popped up — many with the child she had with the former California governor and Hollywood movie star. In most photos, the face of their love child is disguised. This photo is from the People website, where there are several stories about this shocking scandal.
UPDATE 11:30 a.m. — Reaction from Maria Shriver here.
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s revival of his movie career is on a roll, but his personal life is in shambles. Last Friday, Annapurna Films won the bidding for the rights to the “Terminator” franchise with Schwarzenegger attached, according to Deadline.com . This is just one of many projects Schwarzenegger has solidified, including a children’s book deal, since leaving office in January 2011.
On the home front, Schwarzenegger has not been as successful. The Los Angeles Times was the first to report that the actor and his wife of 25 years, former journalist and Kennedy clan member, Maria Shriver, had separated. Also, the newspaper disclosed Shriver had moved out of the family Brentwood mansion earlier this year. Well, the other shoe dropped today. The Times is reporting now that Shriver packed up and left after Schwarzenegger revealed he has a child with a housekeeper or household staffer, who retired this past January. A shocker, indeed.
Sandra Bullock is probably no longer the most betrayed woman in Hollywood. That position may now belong to Maria Shriver.
Chick flicks are packing them in at movie theaters. Two in the last couple of weeks have beaten projections and grabbed a lot of attention away from the front runner, “Thor”.
While the superhero actioner held onto first place over the weekend, the debut of the raunchy female comedy, “Bridesmaid” is the talk of Tinseltown. The comedy about a down-on-her luck woman whose experiences as a maid of honor are hilarious, painful, and finally life changing.
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Kristen Wiig, co-wrote the screenplay with Annie Mumolo, and stars in the film along with Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne. In the actual box office numbers released today, “Bridesmaids’ scored an impressive $26.2 million — good enough for second place.
On the previous weekend, the low-budget but audience pleasing wedding comedy, “Jumping the Broom,” out paced expectations as well. This film cost around $7 million and in two weeks it has made around $26 million. Clearly, there is plenty of life left in the wedding comedy genre.
1.”Thor” —– $34.7 million
2. “Bridesmaids” —– $26.2 million
3. “Fast Five” —– $20.4 million
4. ”Priest” —– $14.9 million
5. “Rio” —– $8.2 million
6. “Jumping the Broom” —– $7 million
