Jennifer Hudson file photo

Today a Chicago jury came back with a verdict in the murder trial involving the shooting deaths of three members of entertainer Jennifer Hudson’s family: her mother 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, brother 29-year-old Jason Hudson, and 7-year-old nephew, Julian King. The jury convicted the brother-in-law of the Oscar-winning actress on all counts. Thirty-one-year-old William Balfour faces a mandatory life in prison term.

The prosecution argued the motive for the killings, back in October of 2008, was jealousy after Jennifer’s sister Julia dumped Balfour and was seeking a divorce. The actress/singer attended every day of the two week trial. More on the verdict here on the Chicago Tribune website.

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- Ticket holders for "Marvel's The Avengers" had to wait in specially designated lines at the AMC Burbank 16 May 04, 2012

“Marvel’s The Avengers” had an incredible weekend debut according to the final figures released yesterday. The superhero team-up of  Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and the Hulk earned a record breaking $207.4 million last weekend — easily becoming the number one film in the country. The mega-hit centers on what happens when the Avengers assemble to fight Thor’s evil brother Loki who is trying to take over Earth. The stars include Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson.

“Marvel’s The Avengers” captured the crown for the top grossing opening weekend. It smashed previous records for fastest film to reach $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million. More on the superhero flick’s monumental achievements since opening last Friday on Box Office Mojo.Oh, the film has quickly scooped up $447 million in foreign markets. The big question now is how quickly will “The Avengers” hit the one billion dollar mark worldwide?

As for the rest of the top five, the romantic comedy “Think Like a Man,” slipped from first to second place with $8.1 million — for a total of $73 million in three weeks at the domestic box office. “The Hunger Games” came in third with $5.58 million, followed closely by “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” $5.5 million and “The Lucky One” with $5.3 million.

The hot romantic comedy, “Think Like a Man” managed another slam dunk at the box office over the weekend. Based on comedian/entertainer Steve Harvey’s self-help relationship best seller, “Act Like  a Lady, Think Like a Man,” the film earned $17.6 million — holding on to the title of number one movie the country for the second straight week.

“Think Like a Man” has quickly snatched up an amazing $60 million at the domestic box office in less than two weeks. The budget for the movie was a mere $12 million. So “Think Like a Man” is on the way to becoming a major film success.

“Think Like a Man” will be forced to relinquish its crown this weekend, when the blockbuster, “Marvel’s The Avengers,” explodes on movie screens this Friday. After debuting in foreign markets, “The Avengers,” featuring a group of comic book heroes, has generated around $178 million. It’s expected to have a huge opening here this weekend.

Meanwhile, the new stop-action clay animation,  ”The Pirates! Bank of Misfits,” landed  in second place at the domestic box office over the weekend. “The Pirates” made $11 million.

“The Hunger Games” took third with $10.814 million, edging out “The Lucky One,” which had to settle for fourth with $10.808 million. And rounding out the top five, the new rom com, “Five-Year Engagement,” pulling in a disappointing $10.6 million. The film about  a couple’s engagement, which gets delayed by the unexpected events of life, was supposed to be this weekend’s box office champ. It stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt.  A lot of chatter today about what went wrong. Well, I think the “The Five-Year Engagement” trailer was only so-so funny and most likely that had something to do with the lackluster interest from moviegoers.

Actress and TV talk show host, Ricki Lake, has had plenty of life drama. In her new memoir, “Never say never: Finding a life that fits,” Lake shares the lessons learned from a painful childhood, weight issues, divorce, and the struggle to find a comfort level in her own skin. “Never say never” hit stores last week. Lake is out and about promoting her new book with TV appearances as well as stops in stores. Tonight at 7 p.m., she’ll be at the Barnes & Noble at The Grove in Los Angeles. More on Lake, her new book, and appearances here.

A surprise at the domestic box office. The big sci-fi hit, “The Hunger Games” got kicked to the curb this weekend by romantic comedy, “Think Like a Man.” After four consecutive weeks in the number one spot, “The Hunger Games” got dethroned by “Think Like a Man, ” which pulled in $33.6 million on its debut weekend, according to the final figures released today. “Think Like a Man” was produced on a small budget of $12 million.

“Think like a Man” is based on the runaway bestseller “Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man,” by comedian Steve Harvey. The self-help relationship book, written for women about how to deal with men, was a  New York Times bestseller and a publishing phenomenon. It had broad appeal and apparently so does the movie it inspired. Opening last Friday on only 2, 015 screens, there were reports of sold out theaters for “Think Like a Man.” Also, this romantic comedy about the battle of the sexes had a very funny trailer, which is not always the case with the rom coms.

“Think Like a Man” centers on several women who shake up their relationships with men when they begin following the advice in Harvey’s book, “Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man.”  The cast includes Michael Ealy, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Terrence J, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, and Romany Malco.

In second place, the new romantic drama, “The Lucky One,” starring Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, and Blythe Danner. It opened with $22.5 million. “The Lucky One” is the adaptation of  the best seller of  the same name by popular romance author, Nicholas Sparks. In the movie, a U.S. Marine returns home from Iraq to search for a woman in a photo he found in the war rubble — a photo that became his good luck charm.

“The Hunger Games” landed in third with $14.6 million. In a month, the blockbuster based on the young adult novel by Suzanne Collins, has collected around $573 million worldwide.  In fourth, the new nature documentary narrated by Tim Allen, “Chimpanzee” with $10.6 million. The doc is about the adventures of a young chimpanzee named Oscar.

Rounding out the top five, “The Three Stooges” with $9.7 million.

Photo: Courtesy www.oscars.com -- Octavia Davis accepted the Oscar for best supporting actress and gave a heartfelt emotional speech at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood February 26, 2012

As expected “The Artist” collected the major prize of best picture last night at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. However, one of the best moments of the night occurred when Octavia Spencer won the best supporting actress Oscar for her work as a feisty maid in “The Help.”

Octavia Spencer received her golden statuette from last year’s best supporting actor, Christian Bale, and she joked about it.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, Academy, for putting me with the hottest guy in the room.

“I have to thank my families. My family in Alabama, the state of Alabama… um… my L.A. family, watching at Steven’s or at Gada, my ‘Help’ family,Tate, Brunson, Kathryn, Allison Janney, thank you for being in my life. I share this with everybody. Thank you Steven Spielberg for changing my life, thank you Stacey Snider for changing my life.”

“Please wrap up, I’m wrapping up. I’m sorry, I’m freakin’ out. Thank you world! Oh God, and thank you to WME, and Viewpoint L.A. I’m sorry guys, thank you, I love you.”

Davis did wrap-up with tears in her eyes and golden boy in her hand. Also, she got a well deserved standing ovation from the audience.

Meryl Streep picked up her third Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” and Jean Dujardin bagged best actor for “The Artist” and 82-year-old Christopher Plummer took home best supporting Oscar for the “Beginners.” For more winners,photos, speeches, glittery fashions, and highlights from the show and the red carpet click over to the official Oscar website.

The Best Picture Oscar is the most-coveted prize at this Sunday’s 84th Academy Awards ceremony. The odds-on favorite to win best picture is “The Artist,”  the homage to Hollywood ’s silent film era. However,  most Americans believe “The Help,” the story of two African-American maids living in Mississippi during the civil rights movement,  should walk away with that honor, according to a survey by The Harris Poll.

Last week, 2,239 adults were surveyed online by Harris and 21 per cent said “The Help” should win best picture. “War horse” got 9 per cent of the vote, “Moneyball 7 per cent, “The Artist” 6 per cent, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” 5 per cent, “The Descendants” 5 per cent, “Hugo” 3 per cent, and “The Tree of Life” 2 per cent.  Oh, 34 per cent were not sure who should win and 6 per cent said none of the nominated films should be the victor. Here are poll results for two more major categories.

Best Actor

George Clooney “The Descendants” 23%
Brad Pitt “Moneyball” 16%
Gary Oldman “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” 10%
Jean Dujardin “The Artist” 7%
Dimian Bichr “A Better Life”  1%

The rest did not know who should win or felt none of the nominated should get the award

Best Actress

Viola Davis “The Help” 23%
Meryl Streep “The Iron Lady” 22%
Rooney Mara “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” 11%
Michelle Williams “My Week with Marilyn” 7%
Glenn Close “Albert Nobbs” 4%

The rest did not know who should win or felt none of the nominated should get the award

Some good news for veteran host Billy Crystal and the Academy. Fifty per cent of those who participated in this poll feel Crystal will be better compared to host from the previous years.

Last Sunday, February 19, the Writers Guild of America West and East announced the winners of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing. Simultaneous ceremonies were held at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.

SCREEN WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Fox Searchlight

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films

For more 2012 WGA winners go here .

NAACP Image Awards

The 43rd NAACP Image Awards ceremony was broadcast  Friday, February 17, 2012 from The Shrine Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles.

Outstanding Motion Picture
The Help
DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Laz Alonso
Jumping the Broom
TriStar Pictures

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Viola Davis
The Help
DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures

A full list of the winners as well as highlights from the Image Awards event here .

SAG Winners

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards took place last month, Sunday, January 29 at The Shrine Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles. The top honor of the night, outstanding performance by a cast went to “The Help.”  The other two major awards, outstanding performance by an actor to  Jean Dujardin for “The Artist” and outstanding performance by a leading actress to Viola Davis for “The Help.” The complete list of winners on the SAG Awards website.

2012 DGA winner

Michel Hazanavicius won the 2012 DGA Award for feature film achievement for “The Artist” at the 64th Annual DGA Dinner in Hollywood on Saturday, January 28, 2012,  making him the leading contender to pick up the Best Director Oscar this Sunday at the 84th Annual AcademyAwards glamfest.

Wanted extras for TV crime drama  

Extras needed for upcoming filming in Los Angeles. The posting on craigslist says the film shoot involves bank, museum, and jewelry/mall scenes. They reportedly need around 40 males 18-60, and 40 females 18-60 background work.  All ethnicities, character types , and  non-union are encouraged to apply. This is a paid gig.  Call 323-468-7365 for an appointment – pre-auditions/interviews: Tues. 2/21 & Wednesday 2/22.

For more details check out the craigslist posting here.

The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens has job openings

A head gardener, curator, and development associate are just some of the positions listed on the organization’s website.  Job responsibilities, qualifications, and details on how to apply here.

Another opening with the Dodgers

 The baseball organization is looking for candidates interested in the position of ticket seller. Deadline to apply is a week from today, February 27, 2012. More details on the Dodgers website .

Photo from http://www.whitneyhouston.com

Today the entertainment world and music fans around the globe are mourning Whitney Houston — a phenomenal talent with a voice like no other.  The pop superstar was found dead in her Beverly Hilton hotel room yesterday afternoon.  She was 48. Details of her death are still sketchy. The Los Angeles Times has extensive coverage on its website. Also, photos, videos, and more on the official Whitney Houston website.  

Houston was once a powerhouse in the music industry as well as a succesful movie producer and actress, then personal struggles with addiction and erratic behavior derailed her career. Recently, there were indicators  the singer was attempting to clean up her act and was on the road to a comeback. Houston was in the Southland this week taking part in the events,  leading up to today’s 54th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Photo:Greg Harbaugh /©A.M.P.A.S. -- Academy Award nominees at the traditional Oscar luncheon, (center) Glenn Close, Jean Dujardin, George Clooney, February 6, 2011 Beverly Hills

A lot of smiles at the Oscar luncheon in Beverly Hills on Monday, February 6.  The traditional get together for Academy Award nominees includes a photo shoot. A series of pictures from that event  as well as video highlights  are on the official Oscar website.

The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will be broadcast live around the world later this month on Sunday, February 26, from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

The nominees for the 84th Academy Awards are getting a lot of attention — the day after the big announcement. Yesterday, “Hugo” picked up 11 nominations — the most of any film — including best picture and best director. The movie is a 3D drama adventure about a 12-year-old boy who lives in a Paris train station tending to the clocks and his quest to fix a mysterious machine left by his father.  The film is based on the book, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” by American author and children’s book illustrator, Brian Selznick.

Here are some of the major nominations for the 2012 Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

Best Picture

The Artist
Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor,
Producers
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help
Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and
Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo
Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris
Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball
Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt,
Producers
The Tree of Life
Nominees to be determined
War Horse
Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir
A Better Life
George Clooney
The Descendants
Jean Dujardin
The Artist
Gary Oldman
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt
Moneyball

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close
Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis
The Help
Rooney Mara
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep
The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams
My Week with Marilyn

Best Director

The Artist
Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants
Alexander Payne
Hugo
Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen
The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick

For a complete list of the nominees as well as a chance to pick your favorites go  to the official Oscars website . The winners will be announced at the lavished Academy Awards ceremony set to be broadcast live, around the world,  on Sunday, February 26 beginning at 4 p.m. Pacific Time.

“Jumping the Broom, “The Help, “Pariah,” and Tower Heist” among the films receiving multiple nominations for the 43rd NAACP Image Awards. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization. The Image Awards celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, film, and literature as well as honoring individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.  The nominees were announced yesterday.

Here are the major film nominations for the 43rd Image Awards:

Outstanding Motion Picture

“Jumping the Broom”

“Pariah”

”The First Grader”

“The Help”

“Tower Heist”

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

Eddie Murphy “Tower Heist”

Laurence Fishburne “Contagion”

Laz Alonso “Jumping the Broom”

Oliver Litondo “The First Grader”

Vin Diesel  “Fast Five”

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture

Adepero Oduye “”Pariah”

Emma Stone “The Help”

Paula Patton “Jumping the Broom”

Viola Davis “The Help”

Zoë Saldana  “Colombiana”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Anthony Mackie “The Adjustment Bureau”

Charles Parnell “Pariah”

Don Cheadle “The Guard”

Jeffrey Wright “The Ides of March”

Mike Epps  “Jumping the Broom”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Bryce Dallas Howard “The Help”

Cicely Tyson “The Help”

Kim Wayans “Pariah”

Maya Rudolph “Bridesmaids”

Octavia Spencer “The Help”

For the complete list of nominees go to the NAACP Image Awards website. The winners will be announced during a live broadcast on NBC, February 17 . The show begins at 8 p.m.

Still  a lot of talk about last Sunday’s 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills. For the third year, British comic, Ricky Gervais, was the host of the TV broadcast, however, he reportedly doesn’t intend to do it again. Deadline.com has a post on what Gervais is saying about his latest stint as the emcee of the Golden Globes. Warning: graphic language in that post.

Here’s a recap of some of the top winners at the 2012 Golden Globe Awards.

Best motion picture drama
“The Descendants”

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama
Meryl Streep “Iron Lady”

Best performance by an actor in a drama
George Clooney “The Descendants”

Best motion picture comedy or musical
“The Artist”

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture comedy or musical
Michelle Williams “My week with Marilyn”

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture comedy or musical
Jean Dujardin “The Artist”

For all of the winners and nominees click here. For more on the 2012 Golden Globe Awards including interviews, photos, videos, and the fashion on the red carpet go to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes website.

“Little White Corvette”  — Action/comedy screenplay by Michael Diliberti reportedly sold in a deal worth a cool million bucks to GK Films. It’s about money-strapped siblings who set out to peddle a load of cocaine discovered in the trunk of their late father’s white corvette. Diliberti wrote the story with David Branson Smith. Script is on the Black List 2011, a collection of unproduced screenplays favored by Hollywood executives. Emma Stone is attached to star and will executive produce along with Diliberti. Both Stone and Diliberti are repped by WME. Stone is managed by Anonymous. Diliberti managed by New School Media.

“Cult”   — A mystery crime drama from sci-fi writer/producer, Rockne S. O’Bannon, has been greenlighted by the CW Network. TV series revolves around an inquisitive female production assistant on a popular TV show called “Cult,” who teams up with a journalist blogger to investigate copycat crimes which appear to be perpetrated by zealous fans of the show. In a strange twist in the deal, the CW ordered the pilot after rejecting it six years ago. O’Bannon is the creator and executive producer of the sci-fi series “Farscape.”

The Hollywood award season is in full swing.  Today the Hollywood Foreign Press Association released its list of nominees for the 69th annual Golden Globes. “The Artist,” “The Descendants”,  and “The Help” got the most film nominations. All three films have Oscar buzz.

Check out the Golden Globes website for a complete list of the nominations. The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony is next month, January 15,  5 p.m. on NBC.

Some lucky thespians are celebrating nominations for the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards . The nominees were announced yesterday in West Hollywood and leading the film field “The Help” and “The Artist.” Toping the  TV list, “Broadwalk Empire,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Modern Family.”

The Los Angeles Times has extensive coverage here. The winners will be announced during the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which  will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS Sunday, January 29  5 p.m. from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

Movie fans turned out in a big way for the latest in the “Twlight” film series this weekend, which debuted with an estimated $139 million. ”The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,” the first part of the final and fourth installment of the romantic fantasy, captured the number one spot at the box office and is now the top movie in the country.

In “Breaking Dawn” young lovers, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) marry, but things get complicate really quick when Bella becomes pregnant and the vampire baby she’s carrying threatens her life. The film is based on the final book of the blockbuster series by Stephenie Meyers. Melissa Rosenberg, who wrote the screenplay for the previous films, is the writer of this script as well.

Another new flick the animated sequel, “Happy Feet Two,” danced into second with an okay $22 million debut. In third the fantasy drama, “Immortals,” with around $12.2 million, followed closely by the Adam Sandler comedy, “Jack and Jill,” with $12 million. Rounding out the top five, the animated feature, “Puss in Boots,” earned about $10  million.

Actress Jenny McCarthy isn’t above showing off her body or book smarts. The former Playboy model is the author of a number of bestsellers including, “Life Laughs”, “Baby Laughs,” Belly Laughs,” and ”Love, Lust & Faking It.” Also, McCarthy has written serious books about autism including,  ”Louder than Words: A mother’s journey in healing autism. ”

Now McCarthy, is going back to her comedic roots with a new book, “Sinner: Confessions of a Recovering Catholic.” The book industry site, Galleycat, has a post today about the new deal Hyperion has to publish McCarthy’s latest book next fall.

In the post, McCarthy is quoted as saying she grew up intending to be “a nun”, but all sorts of things happened during her childhood, which had her changing course and taking a road that led to her becoming Playmate of the Year (1994) and eventually an entertainer. McCarthy has been a regular on television with appearances on popular series like “Baywatch”, ”Home Improvement,”  ”Just Shoot Me,” and “Two and a Half Men.”

“The Help” got a boost to number one at the domestic box office with a weekend estimate of $20 million. The comedy-drama is about a young southern white woman and her relationship with the black “help” during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer star.

“The Help” is based on the 2009 bestselling novel of the same title by Kathryn Stockett. The film’s budget, $25 million. In two weeks, it has made around $71 million and is getting some Oscar buzz as well.

After two weeks at number one, “Rise of the Apes,” fell to number two with around $16.3 million. Followed in third place, by the fourth installment of the “Spy Kids” movie series, which generated about $12 million. “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World” stars Jessica Alba and Joel McHale.

The attempted reboot of  “Conan the Barbarian” fell flat, coming in fourth with an estimate $10 million. This new telling of the mythical warrior Conan’s revenge story features Jason Momoa in the starring role. In two earlier film versions, “Conan the Barbarian” (1982) and “Conan the Destroyer” (1984) a rising action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, played the lead character.

Rounding out the top five, the aninmated family film, “The Smurfs” with somewhere around $8 million. Final box office numbers out tomorrow.