“Marvel’s The Avengers” has reached another milestone. Last Sunday, the superhero ensemble flick hit the $1 billion mark worldwide. It did so in only 19 days, according to Box Office Mojo. Meanwhile, “The Avengers” clobbered the competition in the domestic box office over the weekend, by holding onto the number one spot with a haul of $103 million.

Far behind in second place, “Dark Shadows” with a debut of $29.6 million. This is a  take-off on the Gothic TV soap opera, “Dark Shadows,” but despite having Tim Burton as the director and Johnny Depp as its star, the film stumbled. The word is this horror comedy has some funny moments yet fails  because of a disjointed script.

Meanwhile,  the romantic comedy, “Think Like a Man,” is continuing to pack them in at theaters. The movie earned $5.8 million, good enough for third. In a month, “Think Like a Man” has collected $81.4 million. “The  Hunger Games” took fourth with $4.5 million, and rounding out the top five in the weekend box office derby, “The Lucky One” with $4.1 million.

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.

The nation’s largest cable company, Comcast, announced  a sweeping deal today with four new minority-owned network with some famous names like Earvin “Magic “Johnson, Sean “Diddy”Combs, and filmmaker, Robert Rodriguez. Comcast did not suddenly decide to reach out to minorities. The deal was part of the conditions of last month’s controversial approval by the government of that mega-merger of Comcast/NBC Universal.

The Comcast press release, states the four proposals were selected from a field of over 100. Comcast agrees to distribute the selected networks on its cable systems between April 2012 and January 2014. Two of the networks have major African American owners and the other two,  have Hispanics as the majority owners.

Here are brief descriptions of the four networks:

Aspire: Headed by entrepreneur and NBA Hall of Famer, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, in partnership with GMC TV. “Aspire will be a network that encourages and challenges African-Americans to reach for their dreams and will appeal to all generations. Aspire will celebrate our heritage, our groundbreaking achievements and the fearless talent that has shaped American culture. I’m most excited about Aspire creating opportunities for the new voices, new visions and the next generation of storytellers,” according to “Magic” Johnson.

REVOLT: Project from superstar and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs and MTV veteran Andy Schuon. Combs says, “… REVOLT will be live, like all great moments in television history.  REVOLT will also be immediate, like today’s social networks…”

El Rey by Hollywood movie director Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures executives John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa. ”We are passionate about creating a wildly entertaining destination that we can be proud of by appealing to both Latino and mass market audiences,” said Robert Rodriguez and CEO of FactoryMade Ventures John Fogelman.

BabyFirst Americas proposed by Spanish language television veteran Constantino “Said” Schwarz. Constantino “Said” Schwarz, CEO and Chairman BabyFirst Americas explains, “BabyFirst Americas aims to bring the essential academic building blocks for kindergarten readiness into the home, making it accessible for families all across the U.S.”

David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation,“Comcast is committed to delivering programming that reflects the interests of our customers, and we look forward to integrating these great networks into our rich programming line-up.”

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.

The entertainment industry’s awards season is in full bloom. This past week, the Directors Guild of America released a slew of its nominations for television, feature films, and documentaries.

Here are the nominees for the prestigious outstanding directorial achievement in feature films for 2011.

Woody Allen  “Midnight in Paris”
Fifth nomination. He won in 1977 for “Annie Hall”
David Fincher “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Third nomination.
David Hazanavicius “The Artist”
First nomination.
Alexander Payne  “The Descendants”
Second nomination.
Martin Scorsese  “Hugo”
Ninth nomination. He won this award in 2006 for “The Departed”

The DGA Award for feature film directing is a pretty good barometer for who is going to walk away with the Academy Award for Best Director. The DGA Awards began in 1948 and since then, only six times has the DGA Award winner not picked up the Best Director Oscar as well.

The winner will be announced at the 64th Annual DGA Awards gala later this month on Saturday, January 28 at The Grand Ballroom in Hollywood.

For the DGA Award nominees in television go here and for documentaries here.  Also, the winners in these categories will be announced at the DGA Awards dinner and ceremony on January 28.

“Jadoo”  by writer/director, Amit Gupta, has a deal and is now on the really fast track.  That’s a great start to the new year for one filmmaker.  Done Deal Pro reports Gupta is repped by Abram Nalibotsky over at Gersh.

Based on Gupta’s family experience, the story revolves around  two feuding twin brother chefs who set up rival restaurants across from each other, leaving it up to a daughter, 20 years later, to try to bring them back together to cook her wedding feast.

AIR productions greenlighted the comedy feature and Nikki Parrot of Tigerlily Films is co-producing. The cameras are set to roll on “Jadoo” in March, according to Variety.

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.

“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.

Photo: Warner Bros./Los Angeles Times -- Al Pacino and Penny Allen starred in "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975) directed by Sidney Lumet

One of the most respected and prolific film directors, Sidney Lumet, died today at the age of 86. Lumet lost a battle with lymphoma. He passed away in New York where he made many of his 40 films.

Lumet’s credits include the classic ”12 Angry Men” (1957), “The Pawnbroker” (1964), “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Network” (1976), and “Verdict” (1986). The Los Angeles Times website has more on Lumet’s career and films here.

Photo: Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times -- Actress Halle Berry posed on the Oscar red carpet at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood February 27, 2011

As expected, “The King’s Speech” captured the best picture Oscar at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood tonight. The surprise, the historic British drama was nominated for a record 12 awards, but only won four. Along with best picture, Colin Firth grabbed best actor, Tom Hooper best director, and David Seidler walked off with the best original screenplay trophy.

 Aaron Sorkin took home the best adapted screenplay statuette for the Facebook movie, ”The Social Network.” Best actress went to Natalie Portman for the dance thriller, “Black Swan,” best supporting actress to Melissa Leo for her role in the sports drama, “The Fighter,” and Christian Bale got the best supporting actor for “The Fighter” as well.  A full list of the winners is on the Academy of  Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Oscars website.

The Los Angeles Times has more on the winners, the awards, and photos — including some nice snapshots of the fashions on the red carpet. I admit it: I checked out   the celebrity fashions at the glittery affair. The temperature in Hollywood during the red carpet parade of stars was in the 50s — still springtime colors and skin-baring designs were the norm. My favorite: Actress Halle Berry’s stunning champagne-colored sparkly gown with ruffled train by Marchesa.  Hollywood glamour definitely on display at the Oscars.

 WGA 2011 awards

Some of Hollywood’s top writing awards were given out last night by the Writers Guild of America. The best original screenplay went to Christopher Nolan for the smart sci-fi actioner, “Inception.”  The ceremony was held simultaneously at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in the Southland and at the AXA Equitable Center in New York City.

Aaron Sorkin took home the best adapted screenplay trophy for the Facebook script, “The Social Network,” which is based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires” (2009) by Ben Mezrich. In accepting his award, Sorkin said: “I wrote a good screenplay, but David Fincher made a great movie.” More on the WGA awards ceremony on the Los Angeles Times website.  Also, the complete list of the 2011 WGA Awards winners here on the Writers Guild of America, West, website.

Catching up on some other recent awards events:

Major DGA Award goes to “The King’s Speech” director

Photo: DGA website -- Tom Hooper received the DGA film directing award for 2011 from last year's winner, Kathryn Bigelow on January 30, 2011

 Tom Hooper won the DGA Award for outstanding directorial achievement in feature film on his first feature film nomination, last Sunday, January 30, at the Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles. Hooper won for his work on ”The King’s Speech.” The list of all the 63rd DGA Awards winners here.

SAG Awards 2011  winners revealed

Also, last Sunday, the Screen Actors Guild Awards for outstanding performances in 2010 were presented during a ceremony at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center in L.A. The Actor for best performance by a cast in a motion picture went to the Oscar front-runner, “The King’s Speech.”  The full list of winners for the 17th Annual SAG Awards here.

In this Oscar race, “The King’s Speech” has proven to be the tortoise and “The Social Network” the hare. When the award season kicked off late last year,  the story of Facebook, the most popular social network on the planet, was fast out of the gate — collecting a number of major awards. However, “The King’s Speech” picked up momentum last weekend by winning the top honor at the Producer’s Guild Awards bash. 

Already, there is a lot of web chatter about who got snubbed by the Academy voters. “Inception” director Christopher Nolan did not get a nomination. “Inception” was left out of the best editing category as well.  Also, “Black Swan” was passed over for best original screenplay.   

Here are the nominees in some of the top categories:  

Best Picture

“Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
“The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
“Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
“The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
“The King’s Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
“127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
“The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
“True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“Winter’s Bone” Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers  

Actor in a leading role 

Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
James Franco in “127 Hours”  

Actress in a leading role  

Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”   

Actor in a supporting role  

Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”   

Actress in a supporting role  

Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”   

Best Director  

“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” David O. Russell
“The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper
“The Social Network” David Fincher
“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen 

The complete list of nominees here on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website. 

The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony will be Sunday, February 27, 2011. The affair will have double significance for James Franco. He’s nominated for best actor in a leading role for his performance in “127 Hours” and Franco is co-hosting the ceremony with actress, Anne Hathaway.

Opening in theaters today

A new romantic comedy is challenging “The Green Hornet” at the Box Office this weekend. “No Strings Attached” hits movie theaters today and it stars Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. The script revolves around a couple of friends who make a deal to have a “no strings attached” fling without the complication of falling in love. Yeah, right.

NBC Universal honcho Jeff Zucker’s final memo to staffers

Now that the Comcast NBC Universal merger is nearly complete, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker has to move on. Today Zucker sent out a gracious farewell note to staffers. No rancor in it about being kicked to the curb by the Comcast team.  Check it out on The Wrap site.

Beyoncé to star in remake of “A Star Is Born” –Clint Eastwood will direct

A lot of folks in showbiz are chattering about the new remake of “A Star Is Born” — greenlighted with singer Beyoncé  Knowles in the lead role. This will be the fourth big screen version of the story of a talented young woman who falls in love with a self-destructive male star. Her career rises — while his tanks. Heavyweight Clint Eastwood has signed on to direct.

While there is some grumbling about another re-do of this story — most of the debate is about the acting chops of Beyoncé. The singer has appeared in several movies. She’s not quite at the level of Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand — but you never know what could happen.  Remember first timer, Jennifer Hudson, won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her powerful performance in the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical ”Dreamgirls” (2006). Beyoncé was in that musical as well. Maybe “A Star Is Born” will be her big chance to really shine.

More on the “A Star Is Born” remake and debate on deadline.com – including more than 200 comments.

Comcast NBC Universal merger almost a done deal 

It took more than a year, but the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice today gave the thumbs up to that huge Comcast NBC Universal  merger today. The mega deal is said to be worth $30 billion. It is expected to be finalized by the end of the month. The Wrap has more on this development here.

“The Green Hornet” wins Box Office crown

The superhero action comedy, “The Green Hornet,” is the new king of the Box Office. Over the weekend, the new 3D flick scooped up $33.5 million and a tally of $40 million over the long MLK four day holiday weekend.

Coming in a distant second, the new adult comedy, “The Dilemma,” with $17.8 million for the weekend. Perhaps, the bland title and dull movie poster  were a turn off for movie fans. The movie, directed by Ron Howard, has an interesting premise — A guy has to figure out how to tell his best friend that his wife is cheating on him — without jeopardizing their friendship and working relationship. Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Queen Latifah are in the cast.

The western remake, “True Grit,” wrangled up $11 million, which was good enough for third place. Rounding out the top five the dramas, “The King’s Speech” with $9. 1 million and “Black Swan” with $8.3 million.

“The Social Network” collects more awards

“The Social Network” is packing a lot of Oscar heat after winning a slew of awards — including best drama, director, screenplay, and film score at the  much-maligned-but-attention-grabbing Golden Globes last Sunday.

The Golden Globe for best film actor in a drama went to Colin Firth for his role in “The King’s Speech.”  Natalie Portman took home best actress in a drama for her turn in “Black Swan.” The full list of Golden Globe winners here.

Some of the Oscar mystery will be solved when the nominations are announced later this month on Tuesday, January 25. The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony is set for Sunday, February 27, 2011 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

“The Green Hornet” opens in theaters today

The new film version of “The Green Hornet” is going to try to make a killing over the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. “The Green Hornet” has appeared in a number of different media including, a radio program, a television series, and comic books.

The 3D film hits domestic theaters today and stars, Seth Rogen as the wealthy playboy, Britt Reid, turned superhero/crime fighter who teams up with trusty sidekick/martial arts expert, Kato, played by Jay Chou. Cameron Diaz stars as Lenore “Casey” Case, Reid’s secretary and love interest.

 ”The Green Hornet” will be trying to topple the number one film, “True Grit.”

The western remake won last weekend’s domestic Box Office race with a tally of $14.6 million. Throughout the week, “True Grit” continue to out pace the competition and to hold on to the title of number one movie in the country.

The comedy “Little Fockers,” got bumped from the top spot to second place with earnings of $13.4 million, last weekend. The new horror flick, “Season of the Witch,” landed in third with $10.6 million. It stars Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman. The plot revolves around a woman accused of being a witch and causing the Black Plague.

The fantasy, “Tron Legacy,” took four with $10 million and rounding out the top five, the psychological thriller  flick, “Black Swan” with $8.1 million. It’s about to dancers fighting for the top role in a ballet. Natalie Portman, Winona Ryder, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis are in the cast.

Catching up on other entertainment news…

Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Conrad Murray, has been ordered to stand trial in connection with the pop superstar’s death in June of 2009. Last Wednesday, after a six-day hearing, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled there was sufficient enough evidence to try Dr. Murray for manslaughter. An arraignment has been set for January 25.

Also, the judge revoked Dr. Murray’s license to practice in California. Murray could lose his medical licenses in two other states as well. Details here.

DGA feature film nominations for 2010

Earlier this week, the Directors Guild of America released the names of the five nominees for outstanding directorial achievement in feature films for 2010. No real surprises on the list. All of the directors and their films have been getting a lot of awards buzz lately.  

Here are the nominees:

• Darren Aronofsky  “Black Swan”
• David Fincher “The Social Network”
• Tom Hooper “The King’s Speech”
• Christopher Nolan “Inception”
• David O. Russell “The Fighter”

The winner will be announced on Saturday, January 29 at a ceremony and dinner in Hollywood. For more on the nominees, the DGA Awards, and the ceremony go here.

The 2011 WGA screen award nominees

The Writers Guild of America today announced its nominees for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen in 2010. Here are some of the big screen nominees:

Original Screenplay

• Black Swan, Screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin; Story by Andres Heinz; Fox Searchlight
• The Fighter, Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Paramount Pictures
• Inception, Written by Christopher Nolan; Warner Bros.
• The Kids Are All Right, Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg; Focus Features
• Please Give, Written by Nicole Holofcener; Sony Pictures Classics

Adapted Screenplay

• 127 Hours, Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy; Based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston; Fox Searchlight
• I Love You Phillip Morris, Written by John Requa & Glenn Ficarra; Based on the book by Steven McVicker; Roadside Attractions
• The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich; Sony Pictures
• The Town, Screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard; Based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan; Warner Bros.
• True Grit, Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Based on the novel by Charles Portis; Paramount Pictures

The full list is here. The WGA screen awards will be handed out on Saturday, February 5, 2011, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

Producers Guild of America 2011 award nominations

The Producers Guild of America announced the nominations for its 2011 PGA awards in television and motion pictures today. The film list includes some familiar award nominees: “Inception,” “Black Swan,” “The Social Network,” “The Town,” and  “True Grit.” Go here for the complete list.  The 22nd Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony is set for Saturday, January 22, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.  

Oprah Winfrey’s new TV network goes live

That talk- show- diva- now- network-mogul, Oprah Winfrey, launched her own cable television network on New Year’s Day. One million viewers turned in, according to deadline.com

You can get an idea of the kind of programming Oprah is offering by visiting her OWN website. This is a terrific looking site, packed with all sorts of stuff — including hundreds of comments from viewers and Oprah fans about the new network. Check it out here.

New Year’s weekend Box Office

New Year’s weekend Box Office turned out to be very much like Christmas weekend –  slow and very unexciting. Attendance was done at movie theaters during those two weekends not because of the bad weather, but most liekly due to the weak slate of films — not one in the top five is a real “gotta see” type film or blockbuster.

The comedy sequel, “Little Fockers,” held onto the number spot with a weekend tally of $25.7 million. The western-remake with awards buzz, “True Grit,” held remained in second place with $24.4 million.

The fantasy,”Tron:Legacy,” landed in third again with $18.7 million, followed by the animation, “Yogi Bear,” in fourth with $12.3 million, and fifth earning $10.2 million, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”

 25 films added to the National Film Registry

The disco-boogie classic, “Saturday Night Fever,” (1977) is one of 25 films selected for the National Film registry of the Library of Congress. The announcement was made today. More than two thousand films were nominated by the public for the inclusion in this year’s group.

The films are selected not because they’re the best cinema, but “… as works of enduring significance to American culture,” according to a Library of Congress press release. This year’s selection brings the total number of films in the National Film Registry to 550.

Some of the other films on the 2010 list: “Airplane” (1980), “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), “The Exorcist” (1973), “Malcolm X” (1992), “The Pink Panther” (1964), and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (1945).  For the complete list and some details on each film, go here.

Oscar Nomination ballots in the mail

Photo: Greg Harbaugh/A.M.P.A.S. — Nomination ballots for the 83rd Academy Awards were given a final check before being mailed out in Beverly Hills December 27, 2010

 Those Oscar nomination ballots for the 83rd Academy Awards should be arriving at the homes of the voting members of the academy very soon. The ballots were mailed out yesterday, after being sorted, counted, and numbered under the close scrutiny of reps from the accounting firm, Pricewaterhousecoopers.  

The 5, 755 ballots must be returned to Pricewaterhousecoopers by 5 p.m. January 14, 2011. The Oscar ceremony is Sunday, February 27, 2011 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. The  prestigious affair is always huge here and around the world. The awards extravaganza reportedly will be televised live in more than 200 countries.

A comedy sequel wins the Christmas weekend Box Office  

Two new films top the weekend Box Office. Taking the number one spot, “Little Fockers,” with a respectable $30.8 million. This is the sequel to the family comedies “Meet the Parents” (2000) and “Meet the Fockers” (2004). Many of the players from the earlier films appear in “Little Fockers,” including Ben Stiller, Rober De Niro, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, and Owen Wilson.

In “Little Fockers”  Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) has a heart scare, appoints his son-in-law Greg Focker (Ben Stilles) as  the new head of the family — and then has second thoughts about the decision.

Another new film with a familiar ring bagged second place. The new version of the western, “True Grit,” earned $24.8 million.  The first “True Grit”  in (1969) starred John Wayne who won an Academy Award for his performance as U.S. Marshal, Reuben “Rooster” J.Cogburn.

In the new version, directed by the Coen brothers, Jeff Bridges portrays the U.S. Marshal and Hailee Steinfeld is the 14-year-old girl who hires him to track down the hired hand (Josh Brolin) who killed her father. Both film adaptations are based on the book, “True Grit” (1968), by Charles Portis.

Last week’s top film, the sci-fi sequel, “Tron Legacy” slipped to third with a take of $19.1 million. Rounding out the top five,  the fantasy flick, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,”  with $9.4 million and the animated film, “Yogi Bear” with $7.8 million.

Director Blake Edwards dies at 88

The director of such notable films as “Operation Petticoat” (1959), “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), ”The Pink Panther” films (1963, 1964, 1975, 1978),  and “10″ (1979), has died. The Los Angeles Times is reporting today that Blake Edwards passed away yesterday in Santa Monica, with his wife, actress Julie Andrews, and close family at his bedside.  More on the  director’s death and career highlights on the Times’ website.

Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees

The nominees for the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced in West Hollywood today. The awards ceremony will be at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center next month, on January 30.

 Here are some of the actors and actresses lucky enough to get nominated by their peers for outstanding performances in 2010. The full list of movie and television nominations is on the  SAG website.

• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
  JEFF BRIDGES / Rooster Cogburn – “TRUE GRIT” (Paramount Pictures)
  ROBERT DUVALL / Felix Bush – “GET LOW” (Sony Pictures Classics)
  JESSE EISENBERG / Mark Zuckerberg – “THE SOCIAL NETWORK” (Columbia Pictures)
  COLIN FIRTH / King George VI – “THE KING’S SPEECH” (The Weinstein Company)
  JAMES FRANCO / Aron Ralston – “127 HOURS” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
  ANNETTE BENING / Nic – “THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT” (Focus Features)
  NICOLE KIDMAN / Becca – “RABBIT HOLE” (Lionsgate)
  JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Ree Dolly – “WINTER’S BONE” (Roadside Attractions)
  NATALIE PORTMAN / Nina Sayers – “BLACK SWAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
  HILARY SWANK / Betty Anne Waters – “CONVICTION” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
  CHRISTIAN BALE / Dicky Eklund – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
  JOHN HAWKES / Teardrop – “WINTER’S BONE” (Roadside Attractions)
  JEREMY RENNER / James Coughlin – “THE TOWN” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
  MARK RUFFALO / Paul – “THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT” (Focus Features)
  GEOFFREY RUSH / Lionel Logue – “THE KING’S SPEECH” (The Weinstein Company)

• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
  AMY ADAMS / Charlene Fleming – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
  HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Queen Elizabeth – “THE KING’S SPEECH” (The Weinstein Company)
  MILA KUNIS / Lily – “BLACK SWAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
  MELISSA LEO / Alice Ward – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
  HAILEE STEINFELD / Mattie Ross – “TRUE GRIT” (Paramount Pictures)

The DreamWorks animation,”Megamind 3D,” debuted at the top of the weekend Box Office, with $46 million — but that was below expectation. The film had been expected to exceed the $50 million mark.  Nevertheless, the debut was good enough to earn “Megamind 3D” the title of the number one film in the country.

The family-friendly feature  is about supervillians and superheroes battling for supremacy on Earth. Will Ferrell stars along with Brad Pitt and Tiny Fey. Another flick, the buddy-comedy, “Due Date ,” came in second with $32.6 million. Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, and Jamie Foxx star in the story of a wild cross country road trip involving an expectant father and a wanna-be actor.

In third, the drama, “For Colored Girls,” which raked in a surprising $19.4 million. The film, directed by Tyler Perry, is based on the acclaimed 1975 play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rain bow Is Enuf” by Ntozake Shange. Like the play, the movie is about a group of women who share their deeply personal and sometimes heartbreaking experiences of what it is like being of color and female. The cast includes Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton, and Macy Gray. The film was produced on a budget of around $21 million.

The comedy, “Reds” pulled in $8.6 million for fourth and rounding out the top five, the horror sequel, “Saw 3D,” with $7.7 million.

“Paranormal Activity 2″ really cleaned up at the weekend Box Office. The fright sequel debuted with an estimated $41.5 million–a huge opening for a horror flick. “Paranormal Activity 2″ is now the new number one film in the country.

The plot of “Paranormal Activity 2″ is very similar to the first.  Instead of a couple, this time, a sinister force terrorizes a family. The R-rated film reportedly was produced on a meager budget of $3 million. Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat star.

Last week’s top film, “Jackass 3D,” landed in second with around $21.6 million. In third place, the action/comedy “Red”  with about $15 million. The new Clint Eastwood movie, “Hereafter” debuted in fourth with $12 million. Matt Damon and Cecile de France star in the story about life and the afterlife.

Rounding out the top five, “The Social Network,”  with an estimated $7.3 million to bring its four week total to at least $72 million.