Got a really funny, original, high-concept movie script you’re anxious to get produced? Top independent film producer, Lionsgate, has teamed up with the Massify website to find a hilarious comedy feature. Massify is an online network where filmmakers, actors, directors, and writers can connect.  

They’re some specific requirements like the comedy has to be male driven. That surprised me, when films geared toward the female audience are exploding at the Box Office and making a ton of money these days. Deadline to pitch your script concept is March 8, 2010. If you don’t have a script ready to go, there are opportunities to direct or be a part of the cast or crew on this project as well.

For details click here.

Academy Award winning director set to make a film about adultery

Director Ron Howard is reportedly lining up a comedy, written by Allan Loeb, about infidelity as his next project. The Hollywood Reporter says Vince Vaughn has committed to play a guy who learns his best friend’s wife is a cheater. Kevin James is in negotiations to take on the role of the best friend.

Imagine Producer Brian Grazer came up with the idea. Grazer did not have far to look for inspiration with all the cheating celebrities and politicians in the news these days. And have you checked out the everyday lying cheats, women and men, on TV’s “The Maury Povich Show” lately? Plenty of material there, too.

The cheating comedy could go before the cameras as early as this spring. Oh, you might remember, Howard won the Oscar for directing “A Beautiful Mind” (2001). He shared the best picture Academy Award for the same film with Producers Grazer and Eric Fellner.

Rapper “50 Cent” is now a screenwriter

Big time rapper-turned-actor-turned-screenwriter, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson or “Ffity,” is firing up a new project through his production company, Cheetah Vision. ”Ffity” has co-written a sports drama, “Things Fall Apart,” with writer Brian Miller. The Donedealpro website says the script is about a star college football player who faces personal tragedy and his own mortality in his senior year.

“Ffity” will star. Mario Van Pebbles has reportedly come aboard to direct.

A “Killer” spec screenplay sold

The spec script market continues to show signs of life. Hyde Park Entertainment and Parkes-MacDonald Productions have teamed up to purchase and develop the spec script, “Killer.”  Kenny Golde’s screenplay is a cat-and-mouse thriller about a rogue police investigator who discovers a video left by a killer and sets out to capture the culprit. The script sold for six figures, according to Donedealpro.

A first spec script sale for two TV writers

Successful TV scribes, Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh, have made the move to writing for the big screen. Lee and Walsh have written for the FX comedy series, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Nikki Finke is reporting that the writers have sold their first spec screenplay called,”21 Shots” about a guy who loses his I.D. on his 21st birthday and has only one day to find it. Some folks who have read it, say this script is very funny.  It was bought by Montecito over at Paramount. No word on the selling price, however, since the writers are repped by CAA it was probably a nice deal with plenty of dollar signs.

A super opening for the latest teaming of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. The suspense thriller, “Shutter Island” debuted with an estimated $40.2 million this weekend at the domestic Box Office, to become the number one film in the country.

“Shutter Island,” set in the 1950s, is about the investigation of a murder and some bizarre medical practices at a hospital for the criminally insane. This is the film version of Dennis Lehane’s novel of the same title. Lehane’s novels,”Gone, Baby, Gone (1998),” and “Mystic River (2001)” were both turned into successful movies.  ”Shutter Island” is the fourth movie hook-up for Scorsese and DiCaprio. They also worked together on “Gangs of New York” (2002), “The Aviator” (2004),  and “The Departed” (2006).

As for the rest of the weekend contenders, the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” came in a distant second with about $17 million. Last weekend, “Valentine’s Day” was sitting pretty in the top spot. No matter, in two weeks the star-studded comedy has raked in around $87.4 million at the domestic Box Office.

The blockbuster hit, “Avatar” landed in third, earning $16 million. The 10 week domestic total — $687 million! The adventure fantasy, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” scored $15.3 million. And rounding out the top five,  the horror drama “The Wolfman” with $9.8 million. 

Director Steven Soderbergh’s action thriller sells to Warner Bros.

The sluggish Hollywood film script market is picking up. After some bidding, Director Steven Soderbergh’s movie project, “Contagion,” sold to Double Feature Films at Warner Bros. The budget $60 million. The script, written by Scott Z. Burns, revolves around a viral outbreak. Several top notch stars are attached to the project including, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, and Jude Law. More on the project and the bidding at Deadline.com/Hollywood.  

 Actress Tori Spellings has two books coming out in 2010

Tori Spelling is having quite a bit of success as an author. The book publishing website Galleycat claims Spelling’s two previous books, the adventures in celebrity parenthood “Mommywood,” and the tell-all memoir, “sTORI Telling” have sold nearly a million copies. Another Spelling adult book is due out in June and it’s tentatively titled, “Uncharted terriTORI.”

Later in September, Simon & Schuster is publishing the actress’ first children’s book, “Presenting… Tallulah.” It’s about a spunky little girl who discovers who she really is with the help of some special friends. More on Spelling and her books here.

Kathryn Bigelow’s star is rising — not the case for most Hollywood female directors and writers! 

“The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow is the favorite to win the Oscar for best feature film director at the Academy Awards next month. Lately, Bigelow has been showered with awards, accolades, and deal offers. All well deserved. Despite Bigelow’s success, 2009 was a “terrible year” for the majority of female film directors and writers, according to a report on The Wrap website. The stats are grim. Read it here.  

“Valentine’s Day” scores on a record breaking Presidents Day weekend

The new romantic ensemble comedy, “Valentine’s Day” is on a nice roll at the domestic Box Office. “Valentine’s Day” helped produce the biggest February weekend and biggest Presidents Day weekend ever. In four days, Friday-Monday, the celebrity-packed chick flick earned $63.1 million, according to Box Office Mojo. “Valentine’s Day” now ranks up there with “Sex and the City” and “He’s Not That Into You.” Two other very different films debuted well last weekend, too. Details and analysis here.

Music Superstar Madonna is set to direct her second motion picture, a romantic drama based on the real-life love affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Edward’s love for the twice-divorced Simpson prompted him to abdicate the throne and marry her in June of 1937. As you can probably imagine, the love affair created an international scandal. The pop diva is writing the screenplay for “W.E.” with her “Truth or Dare” (1991) documentary director, Alex Keshishian, according to several sources, including the website donedealpro.

The singer’s first effort as a feature film director, “Filth and Wisdom,” did not make a lot of waves nor money at the Box Office. The romantic drama about three roommates living desperate lives in a London flat opened back in October of 2008 and quickly disappeared. Madonna’s directorial debut scraped up only $22,406 at theaters, according to boxofficemojo.com

Actress Vera Farmiga is reportedly eyeing the lead role of Wallis Simpson in “W.E.” Farmiga is nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award this year for her performance in, “Up in the Air.” No word yet, on who might play King Edward.

“The Blind Side” nominated for best picture

Some surprises when the nominees for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards were announced in Beverly Hills today. It was pretty much a given that sci-fi epic “Avatar” and the gritty Iraq drama “The Hurt Locker” would be in the best picture category. However, eight other films made the cut as well including the provocative sci-fi thriller, “District 9,” and that heartwarming football drama, “The Blind Side.”  Both surprises and good examples of the kind of variety in the best picture category we like to see.  

The other best picture nominees are the animated comedy, “Up,” the Nazi drama “Inglourious Basterds,” the British coming of age drama, “An Education,” the dark comedy, “A Serious Man,”  the teenage mother drama “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” and the comedy/drama, “Up in the Air.”

Already there is controversy and competition underway for the best director and best picture Oscars. Kathryn Bigelow scooped up the best feature film director award from the DGA a few days ago and a number of other accolades, while James Cameron’s “Avatar” has been breaking all kinds of records at the Box Office and making a ton of money. Cameron and Bigelow were once married to each other. That adds an interesting twist to the Oscar race.

Also, Nikki Finke is reporting over on her Deadline.com Hollywood site about the behind-the-scenes drama over producer credits on some of the nominated films. In the past, the jockeying for  the chance to be on stage to pick up a best picture Oscar has turned ugly and in at least one case, ended up in court.

Here are the nominees in the other top categories: 

For best director: James Cameron “Avatar,” Kathryn Bigelow “The Hurt Locker,” Quentin Tarantino “Inglourious Basterds,” Lee Daniels “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” and Jason Reitman for “Up in the Air.”

For best actresses the Academy voters selected Sandra Bullock for “The Blind Side,” Helen Mirren “The Last Station,” Carey Mulligan for “An Education” Gabourey Sidibe for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” and Meryl Streep for “Julie & Julia.”

Best actor nominees:  Jeff Bridges “Crazy Heart,” Colin Firth “A Single Man,”  George Clooney “Up in the Air,” Jeremy Renner “The Hurt Locker,” and Morgan Freeman for “Invictus.”

Best supporting actor: Matt Damon “Invictus,” Woody Harrelson “The Messenger,” Christopher Plummer “The Last Station,” Stanley Tucci “The Lovely Bones,” and Christoph Waltz “Inglourious Basterds.” 

Best supporting actress: Penélope Cruz “Nine,” Vera Farmiga “Up in the Air,” Maggie Gyllenhaal “Crazy Heart,” Anna Kendrick “Up in the Air,” and Mo’Nique “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

Best adapted screenplay: “District 9″ Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, “An Education” Nick Hornby, “In the Loop” Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, “Precious: Based on The Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Geoffrey Fletcher, “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner.

Best original screenplay: “The Hurt Locker” Mark Boal, “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino, “The Messenger” Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, “A Serious Man” Joel and Ethan Coen, “Up” Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, and Tom McCarthy.

For a complete list of the nominees click here.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony will be Sunday, March 7, 2010 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. 

The sci-fi epic “Avatar” has rolled right over that other James Cameron mega-hit, “Titanic” to become the highest grossing movie of all time. ”Titanic” held that record with $1.843 billion. No more. That record has been shattered by the alien adventure film. After 45 days, the worldwide gross for ”Avatar” stands at an incredible $2.039 billion, according to Box Office Mojo. 

 Amazingly, “Avatar” is still going strong in theaters. This weekend, “Avatar” nabbed around $30 million at the domestic Box Office, holding onto the number one spot for the seventh straight week. Mel Gibson’s new drama, “Edge of Darkness,” grabbed second place with an estimated $17 million. After an eight year hiatus from acting which included some, uh, personal drama, Gibson stars on the big screen as a homicide detective who uncovers secrets while searching for the killer of his activist daughter.

A new romantic comedy, “When In Rome” came in third with about $12 million.  Kristen Bell stars in this light-hearted story of a single art curator who scoops up some coins from a “love fountain” in Italy and soon finds herself pursued by the aggressive suitors who tossed in those coins. Josh Duhamel stars as well.

The family comedy, “Tooth Fairy” scored $9.5 million in its second week to land in fourth. Rounding out the top five, “The Book of Eli” with $8 million, bringing the three week domestic total for that action sci-fi drama to $74.3 million.   

Photo from http://www.dga.org

Director James Cameron is king of the Box Office right now, but the Directors Guild of America picked filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow as the best feature film director of 2009. The winner was announced last night at the 62nd Annual DGA Awards dinner in Los Angeles.   

The 58-year-old Bigelow won for the highly acclaimed Iraq-war drama, “The Hurt Locker.” She is the first woman to ever win the prestigious award, considered a reliable predictor of who will walk away with the best director Oscar. Bigelow is quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying: “This is amazing. I’m so deeply stunned, honored and awed.”

Bigelow and the film have won numerous awards, including the Darryl F. Zanuck producer of the year award from the Producers Guild of America, last Sunday in Hollywood. The Academy Award nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, and the big money is on Bigelow’s name being mentioned for best director.

For a list full list of the 2009 DGA award winners click here.

Chris Rock to write and produce new comedy flick

Entertainer Chris Rock has caught the remake fever. Many in Hollywood have been afflicted with the desire to redo films and TV series. Today there’s a report on the Done Deal site (paid membership required) that says actor/comic/writer has optioned the French movie,  “La Première étoile” ( “The First Star”) for a remake. The comedy centers on the culture shock and adventures of a working class black family at a winter ski resort.

Rock’s company, CR Enterprises, is producing the film. Rock is writing the script.

 Tobey Maguire to hang-up his Spider-Man threads

I think it’s a real bummer that actor Tobey Maguire is not going to be flying across the big screen as the web-slinger, Spider-Man, in a fourth installment of the blockbuster movie franchise. For weeks there have been reports that the script for “Spider-Man 4″ was in turmoil. On Monday came the death blow for the film project.

Unable to come to an agreement on the script with director Sam Raimi, Columbia has scrapped “Spider-Man 4.” In doing so, the production company cut loose Raimi and major stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Columbia plans to reboot the franchise with a teenaged Peter Parker in high school. I’m not feeling that. Let Spider-Man/Peter Parker stay a man dealing with adult problems and not go back to the worn-out teenaged drama stuff. Columbia’s move sounds like one of those bad “James Bond” fixes.

Yeah, I’m a “Spider-Man” fan. Loved the first two “Spidey” movies; thought the third was just so-so. No matter, I was still up for the fourth installment. This comic book based-franchise has generated $2.5 billion at the Box Office, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Verve, that new Hollywood talent and literary agency, is wasting no time in getting down to business. On Monday the agency, headed by former WME motion picture agents Bryan Besser, Adam Levine, and Bill Weinstein, announced it was up and running. Today Nikki Finke reports, the agency has signed 24 working writers and/or directors.

Joining Verve’s new client list are David Elliot & Paul Lovett, scripters on last year’s blockbuster  ”GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” and Darren Lynn Bousman, director of “Saw II,”  Saw III,” and “Saw IV.” Finke has the scoop on the other new clients on her Deadline.com/ Hollywood site. Also, Verve is apparently actively on the hunt for even more talent to add to its roster.

DGA picks top five film directors of 2009

Today the Directors Guild of America announced a solid list of contenders for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2009. The nominees for the award are: Kathryn Bigelow “The Hurt Locker,” James Cameron “Avatar,” Lee Daniels “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” James Reitman “Up In The Air,” and Quentin Tarantino “Inglourious Basterds.”

If they weren’t already, these films and directors shot to the head of the Oscar contenders list with today’s announcement. The DGA Award is considered an accurate barometer for who will win the Oscar for Best Feature Film Director. Since 1948, only six times has the winner of the DGA Award not gone on to win the Academy Award, according to the guild’s website.

The winner will be announced at the 62nd Annual DGA Awards Dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 30, 2010. More details on the nominees and the DGA Awards here.

2010 People’s Choice Awards

This year’s People’s Choice Awards were handed out earlier in the week. The winners include Sandra Bullock, Johnny Depp, Ellen Degeneres, Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Lautner. The Wrap has a nice recap of the winners and a tidbit about the controversy surrounding the newly designed People’s Choice trophy.  

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It” in the running for NAACP Image Award

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” a behind the scenes look at the King of Pop rehearsing and prepping for a series of concerts, is up against four other films for the NAACP ‘s Outstanding Motion Picture Image Award. The other contenders are: ”The Blind Side,” “Invictus,”  “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” and “The Princess and the Frog.” These are just some of the 41st NAACP Image Award nominees announced today at a news conference in Beverly Hills.

The drama “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” led the pack with eight nominations. In the Recording Category, Jay-Z and Maxwell both received five nominations each, followed by Alicia Keys with three, and Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, and Rihanna each got two.

Nominees in all the categories: television, motion picture, writing/directing, recording and literature are up on the Image Awards website.  The Image Awards celebrate outstanding achievement and performances by people of color in the arts as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors, according to the website. For 2009, over 12-hundred entries were submitted. The winners will be announced during a live broadcast Friday, February 26, 2010.  

Will Smith & Denzel Washington the next dynamic duo?

 Hollywood loves to remake hit films. So it comes as no surprise that the 1974 comedy, “Uptown Saturday Night” is getting a re-do. Will Smith’s company, Overbrook Entertainment, and Warner Bros. are involved in the development of the remake. Apparently the deal has been in the works since 2002.

The plot revolves around two friends who go out clubbing, they get robbed, and next day they discover that one of the stolen wallets had a winning lottery ticket in it. According to the website Done Deal, there’s a chance Will Smith and Denzel Washington will team up to play the two pals. A new script is being written.

The 1974 version was directed by Sidney Poitier who starred in the film along with Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte. 

Innovative filmmaker James Cameron is king of the Box Office right now. Cameron’s 3D epic, “Avatar”  claimed the number one spot at the domestic Box Office for the third straight week. “Avatar” scooped up an estimated $68.3 million over the New Year’s weekend.

“Avatar” has made so much money, it’s mind-boggling. The domestic take for the sci-fi/ action adventure is around $352 million, globally it has blown past the $1 billion mark with an estimate of somewhere in the area of $1.018-$1.022 billion. “Avatar” is now number four on the list of films to reach that milestone.  At the top, Cameron’s “Titanic” with a worldwide  total of $1.84 billion. Gee, could “Avatar” unseat “Titanic?”  It’s possible.

Hanging in at number two again the detective crime drama, “Sherlock Holmes” with $38.3 million.  The animated family flick, ”Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” holds onto to third with $36.6 million. In fourth, the romantic comedy, “It’s Complicated” with $18.7 million and rounding out the top five,  the football drama “The Blind Side” with $12.6 million. The Hollywood Reporter has more on the Box Office and the big money winners.  

UPDATED: Monday 12/28/09

Over the Christmas holiday weekend, folks bought movie tickets like they were the best bargains in town. Despite the blizzard type weather in some parts of the country and those enticing markdown deals at the malls and stores, Americans went to the movies in huge numbers. And that produced one of the best Box Office weekends ever.

James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi epic “Avatar” managed to keep a firm hold onto the number one spot for the second week in the row with an estimated $75.6 million. The blockbuster has packed screenings all week long, especially on Christmas Day. Its domestic total is now around $212 million.

Newcomer “Sherlock Holmes” came on strong and, at one point, was battling neck-and-neck with “Avatar” for the top spot. In the end, “Avatar” pulled ahead, but the Guy Ritchie directed action/crime /drama made an impressive showing in second place by raking in around $62.3 million. Based on the fictional 19th Century detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle, “Sherlock Holmes” stars Robert Downey Jr. as the brilliant sleuth and Jude Law as his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson.

In third, the debut of ”Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” directed by Betty Thomas.The family-friendly animated flick had a buffo opening with an estimated $49 million.This is the sequel to the popular 2007 film, “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” Apparently audiences can’t get enough of the famous singing trio.

The new romantic comedy, “It’s Complicated”  scored around $22 million to land in fourth. The film is  written and directed by Nancy Meyers and stars Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin. Streep plays a divorced woman who gets tangled up in a love triangle with her ex and a new man.

And it was a tough fight for fifth place, between the comedy/ drama “Up in the Air”  and the football drama, “The Blind Side.”  Today later numbers showed, “The Blind Side” took fifth with $11.4 million, followed by “Up in the Air” in sixth with $11.2 million.

Alec Baldwin bankrolls scholarship fund

Actor Alec Baldwin is in the news for a couple of reasons. Baldwin is starring in a new romantic comedy film called “It’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin: due to open this week, on Christmas Day. Also, Baldwin is sharing his good fortune with some drama students at New York University.

Last week the university announced Baldwin had shelled out a million bucks for a scholarship fund, which will “…provide tuition assistance to students who demonstrate an unwavering work ethic, development of leadership skills, willingness to collaborate, the ability to tolerate risk, and the capacity to work with constructive criticism. Special consideration will be given to students from economically disadvantaged families or who are the first in their families to attend a college or university.”

According to Philanthropy News Digest, starting next year, tuition from the Baldwin scholarship fund will be handed out to students enrolled in the Tish School of Arts, the actor’s alma mater.

Avatar scores at the Box Office

Writer/Director James Cameron’s very expensive 3D epic film “Avatar” grabbed an estimated $73 million on its debut weekend at the domestic Box Office.The sci-fi adventure set on a distant planet was supposed to do even better. Some are blaming that major snowstorm back east for “Avatar” not raking in even more ticket sales in the U.S.  “Avatar” now holds bragging rights to the title of the number one movie in the country.

In second place, last week’s top flick the Disney animation, “The Princess and the Frog” with around $12.2 million.The still popular football drama, “The Blind Side” came in third with about $10 million.  For more on the best performing movies this weekend, check out this story on The Hollywood Reporter website.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association revealed its nominees for the 2010 Golden Globes this morning in Beverly Hills.  At the top of the list with six nominations, the movie comedy/drama “Up In The Air,” about corporate downsizing and a guy who gets paid to travel from place to place firing people.  The musical “Nine” received five nods, the new sci-fi flick “Avatar” got four, and so did the war drama “Inglourious Basterds.”

Here are the nominees in some of the top categories:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

AVATAR

THE HURT LOCKER

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

UP IN THE AIR

BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER

THE HANGOVER

IT’S COMPLICATED

JULIE & JULIA

NINE

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

KATHRYN BIGELOW
THE HURT LOCKER

JAMES CAMERON
AVATAR

CLINT EASTWOOD
INVICTUS

JASON REITMAN
UP IN THE AIR

QUENTIN TARANTINO
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

NEILL BLOMKAMP, TERRI TATCHELL
DISTRICT 9

MARK BOAL
THE HURT LOCKER

NANCY MEYERS
IT’S COMPLICATED

JASON REITMAN, SHELDON TURNER
UP IN THE AIR

QUENTIN TARANTINO
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

 Nice to see some females in these top categories. On the TV side, the new comedy series “Glee” led the pack with four nominations.  A complete list of the nominees here.  The 67th Annual Golden Globe  Awards ceremony is set for Sunday, January 17, 2010. Helping hand out the awards on stage, Miss Golden Globe Mavis Spencer, daughter of Golden Globe winner /actress Alfre Woodard and writer/producer Roderick Spencer.

Disney’s animated film, “The Princess and The Frog,”  is the number one movie in the U.S., after chalking up an estimated $25 million over the weekend. The stars of the film include Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Oprah Winfrey, and Terrence Howard.

 This film is considered controversial for a number of reasons, but mainly because this is the first time the princess is African American and, by the way, the prince frog is not. So what, I say. The more diversity in the movies the better– gives a nice flavor of reality to the make believe world of filmmaking. Disney set this love story in 1930′s New Orleans and reportedly based it on the 2002 E.D. Baker novel “The Frog Princess.”

The sports drama, “The Blind Side” dropped from first to second with around $15.5 million. A new drama, “Invictus” scored third place with $9 million. It’s directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Morgan Freeman as South African Leader Nelson Mandela. In the film, Mandela uses the 1995 Rugby World Cup as a way to bring his country together after the fall of apartheid.

“The Twilight Saga” New Moon” captured fourth with $8 million. In four weeks, the romantic fantasy has raked in $267 million at the domestic Box Office.  And wrapping up the top five, another Disney film, “A Christmas Carol” with around $6.9 million.

Successful female films part of a growing trend

The long lines at the theaters tell the story. Female driven films are hot and making mega-bucks. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “The Blind Side” are just the latest movies to demonstrate the power of female moviegoers.  So is Hollywood going to make more of these films?  CNN has more on the trend and the dilemma.

Oscar Winning Director Roman Polanski in lockdown at his Swiss Chalet

Famous film director and fugitive Roman Polanski was moved from prison to house arrest at his swanky Swiss chalet today. Polanski was released on $4.5 million bail bond. Polanski, a convicted child molester, jumped bail before sentencing in the U.S. back in 1978.  Polanski lived the good life in Europe, until  September 26 when he got arrested on a warrant in Switzerland.

The 76-year-old Polanski has been at the center of heated debate in the Hollywood community since his arrest. Some feel the director’s achievements should win him a pardon for his past sins. Others believe he should be treated like any other fugitive who did the crime, went on the run, got arrested, and now faces a prison term in the U.S.

Polanski has been nominated several times for the Best Director Oscar; he won it in 2003 for “The Pianist.” 

 A write-up on Polanski and his problems with the law on The Hollywood Reporter website.

The disaster thriller “2012″  totally wiped out the competition at the Box Office this weekend. The film about a worldwide catastrophe in the year 2012 earned an estimated $65 million!  ”2012″ is now the number one film in the country. That incredible movie poster probably sold a few million tickets for the doomsday flick. “2012″ stars John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, and Danny Glover. The epic adventure is directed by Roland Emmerich.

Disney’s “A Christmas Carol,” last week’s top movie, dropped to second with around $22 million.  In two weeks, this version of the Charles Dickens classic has scooped up more than $63 million at the domestic Box Office and Christmas is still more than a month away. A lot of movie fans don’t start thinking about going to a holiday film until after they’ve had their Thanksgiving turkey and started serious Christmas shopping.

In third, “The Men Who Stared at Goats” with $6.2 million, followed close behind by “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” with $6 million. This independent film has been in wide release only for a couple of weeks. It tells the heartbreaking story of an illiterate New York teenager who lives in horrible conditions where she’s been raped and impregnated by her father twice, but in the end, she manages to triumph. The movie stars Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe and entertainers Mariah Carey and Mo’Nique.

Rounding out the top five, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” documentary with $5 million for a three week domestic total of around $68 million.

Movie audiences were doing the”wild thing” at domestic theaters this past weekend. The new Spike Jonze directed, “Where the Wild Things Are,” exceeded expectations and earned an estimated $32 million to debut as the number one movie in the country.

“Where the Wild Things Are” is a live-action adaptation of the 1963 children’s book by Maurice Sendak. It’s the fantasy story of a young boy who runs away from home to an island where strange giant creatures roam. In second place, another new film, but with a very different tone.  “Law Abiding Citizen,” is a drama/thriller, and it racked up around $21 million dollars in theaters. Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler star in a movie about an ordinary guy who seeks justice after a plea bargain frees the killer of his family. It’s directed by F. Gary Gray.

“Paranormal Activity” continued to scare up plenty of business with a weekend take of $20 million for third place. Following in fourth, last week’s number one film the relationship/comedy, “Couples Retreat”  with nearly $18 million. Rounding out the top five, another new film, the remake of the 1987 horror/thriller “The Stepfather” with around $12 million. The movie is about a stepfather who appears to be nearly perfect, but is far from it. The cast includes Sela Ward, Dylan Walsh, and Penn Badgley.