Celeb News Aggregate
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The prosecutor in Michael Jackson's child molestation case opposes reducing the pop star's $3 million bail out of concern he might flee the country. Also: Victoria Beckham Sean P. Diddy Combs Helen Hunt Matthew Carnahan Kirk Douglas 24 Marion "Suge" Knight Erik Estrada
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Just four months after ending his hit MTV prankster series Punk'd, Ashton Kutcher has apparently had a change of heart. Also: Michael Jackson 11th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Howard Stern Britney Spears Carlene Carter John Belushi Maya Rudolph Dax Shepard Luke Wilson Mike Judge 3001
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Noah makes 20 BOLD PREDICTIONS for 2002, some of which may even come true! Tom Cruise & Penelope Cruz Disney & Pixar Freddie Prinze Jr. Sarah Michelle Gellar Steven Spielberg Tom Hanks Angelina Jolie Renee Zellweger Kevin Spacey The Shipping News Halle Berry Monster's Ball Bandits Collateral Damage The Fast and the Furious Deuces Wild Vin Diesel Stephen Dorff Gwyneth Paltrow Colin Hanks Dan Aykroyd George Clooney ER Dr. Susan Lewis/Sherry Stringfield Friends The Sopranos Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Snoop Dogg Eminem We Were Soldiers
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Box Office Analysis: Aug. 26
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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 16, 2000 -- Tired of Oscar-worthy dramas? In the mood for (hey!) a teen flick? Your time is here (again).
"Down to You," a Generation Y romance starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles, leads the pack of new releases this week, presumably to the delight of the nation's mall rats.
Elsewhere, a host of critically acclaimed (or in teenspeak: boring and long) films previously in limited engagements will add screens. That list includes: "Angela's Ashes," "A Map of the World" and "Titus".
Here's a complete list of films opening this week:
FRIDAY:
"Angela's Ashes" (Paramount) -- Adapted from Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, this film documents the author's childhood in Ireland during the 1930s and '40s. Emily Watson ("Hilary & Jackie") and Robert Carlyle ("Trainspotting") co-star as Frank's working-class parent
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CANNES, May 18, 2000 -- How much drama, how much champagne, how much fois gras (that's duck liver) can be indulged in before the big crash? Even the clouds here are too tired to roll in (there had been reports of possible rain). It is yet another sunny, beautiful day with beach bunnies sprawled across the sand. Even though there are three more days of films, fetes and fun, things are slowing down at Cannes Film Festival and some pavilions are even starting to pack up. Not that that's stopping stars from floating in.
Unfortunately, Dan Aykroyd is on location and unable to get here for the festival's closer, "Stardom," which explores the dark side of idolizing the super-beautiful and super-ficial. But Aykroyd co-star Frank Langella is expected. (Whoopi!)
In other Cannes bits:
Buzz is surging for Ang Lee's already very popular "Matrix"-like martial arts frenzy call
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SANTA MONICA, CALIF., Feb. 13, 2000 -- A week after Leo's second coming, other big Hollywood names -- in the form of Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis, Meg Ryan and Diane Keaton -- are also coming out to play.
Making their nationwide debuts in the coming week are the Wall Street flick "Boiler Room," the mobster-gone-straight comedy "The Whole Nine Yards" and the sibling-rivalry antics of "Hanging Up."
Here's a rundown of what's up:
FRIDAY
"Boiler Room" (New Line) -- Giovanni Ribisi plays an upstart stockbroker freshly recruited for a job in a firm nicknamed the "boiler room." Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel and Nia Long co-star. (Wide release)
"Hanging Up" (Sony) -- Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton and Lisa Kudrow co-star as sisters who come together to care for their dying father played by Walter Matthau. (Wide)
"Pitch Black" (USA) -- In the sci-
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LEOFEST TO LAUNCH: It's not just Santa who will be arriving any day soon. Leonardo DiCaprio will be delivering the official version of his LeoFest International Online Short Film Festival to the Web right after the New Year/new millennium celebration (a work-in-progress site is up now).
LeoFest is calling for anyone, anywhere (Tonga! Iceland! Wichita! You name it!) to submit for consideration a film of up to 15 minutes in any of the following categories: narrative, documentary, animation and alternative. Filmmakers will have to make transfers before they submit since LeoFest says that no film stock of any gauge will be accepted (Take that, Eastman Kodak!).
While prizes haven't yet been announced, we've heard that Leo himself will be awarding grand prizes of $20,000 to all finalists, and it's money right out of his own pocket. And we bet that the talent scouts at Leo's all
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Dan Aykroyd says that he is planning to retire. He told the Toronto Globe & Mail that he has already moved out of Hollywood and is now planning his exit from filmmaking.
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Moviegoers will "Cast" most of their box office votes for Tom Hanks this weekend.
"Cast Away," 20th Century Fox's PG-13-rated drama reteaming Hanks and "Forrest Gump" director Robert Zemeckis, opens at nearly 2,800 theaters.
"Sunday is going to be off because its Christmas Eve, but with Christmas on a Monday this year it's going to be a four-day weekend," an insider explains. "Based on what 'What Women Want' did last week (opening to $33.6 million), 'Cast Away' could open to $30 million-plus for four days. They'll be number one."
"A lot of business is going to happen over the four days," predicts another studio source. "I assume 'Cast Away' is going to be number one. I think it's going to do around $35 million."
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, "Cast Away" stars Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt.
Second place could see competition between Paramount's PG-13-rate
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HOLLYWOOD, Oct 26, 2000 - Look for "Blair Witch 2" to do killer business this Halloween weekend.
Artisan Entertainment's R-rated sequel "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2," opening at about 3,000 theaters, should scare up enough ticket sales to end "Meet the Parents'" three week reign in first place.
"'Blair Witch' is going to play very young," explains an insider. "They ought to be able to open to $20 million." The original "Blair Witch Project," last summer's sleeper blockbuster, was made independently for about $35,000 and picked up by Artisan. It grossed about $140.5 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Joe Berlinger, "Blair Witch 2" stars Kim Director, Jeffrey Donovan, Erica Leerhsen, Tristen Skylar and Stephen Barker-Turner.
Universal's PG-13-rated comedy "Meet the Parents" should slide one slot to second place in its fourth
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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 23, 2000 -- Hollywood was suffering from the box office blahs over the weekend, just as Hollywood insiders anticipated. For the first time since Oct. 22, no films cracked double-digits.
Miramax's PG-13-rated teen-appeal romantic comedy "Down To You" managed to top the chart with only an estimated $8.30 million at 1,971 theaters ($4,211 per theater).
Written and directed by Kris Isacsson, it stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles.
"I think it's great," Miramax Senior Vice President, Marketing, David Kaminow said Sunday morning. "Freddie Prinze Jr. cannot deny the fact that he has a following. He really can do a great job of opening a picture.
"I think our (marketing) materials were good, and it just looked like a fun movie for its core audience of young girls. There hasn't been anything for them for a while.
"The PG-13
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LOS ANGELES -- Nothing shimmered at the Dec. 5 premiere for "Diamonds" in Westwood more than the grace of star Kirk Douglas, who returns to the screen for the first time since his stroke in 1996.
The actor, who turns 83 today, plays a former boxer who takes his son (Dan Aykroyd) and grandson (Corbin Allred) on a road trip to recover 13 diamonds he stole and hid in Reno. The road trip includes an encounter at a house of ill repute overseen by Lauren Bacall, but ultimately becomes a bonding experience for the three generations.
For Douglas, who arrived with wife Anne, it was a perfect fit.
"It's a powerful role, but it's not a difficult role," Douglas said, his speech still affected by the stroke. "Because I play a man recovering from a stroke, and that's something I know something about. But I love the picture because it has so much humor and so much humanity, so I
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Hollywood is expecting Warner Bros. and Castle Rock Entertainment's opening of "The Green Mile" to walk off with the most box office green this weekend.
The R-rated drama, written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tom Hanks, kicks off at more than 2,850 theaters.
"'Toy Story [2],' if it's down in the neighborhood of 35-40%, is $16-18 million. And I think 'Green Mile' beats that based on the tracking. They're sitting there with an 18% first choice right now," one studio executive said earlier this week."
"It is high," he said of the tracking results. "Although I understand the reviews are not very good, with Tom Hanks (starring), that's $20 million-plus."
While a $20 million-plus opening is certainly very attractive, it's not spectacular. One of the factors working against a bigger first weekend for the adult appeal "Green" is that adults are bu
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Oscar buzz continues at the box office this weekend as a few of the year's most highly touted films open in both wide and limited release.
Tom Hanks and company lead the way in the prison drama "The Green Mile," based on the popular series by Stephen King and directed by Frank Darabont. Five years ago, Darabont came to prominence with another prison-bound tale by King called "The Shawshank Redemption." That movie, which frequently tops lists of the most popular films of all time, garnered seven Academy Award nominations.
Other Oscar hopefuls include the limited releases "Cradle Will Rock" and "The Cider House Rules." "Cradle," directed by Tim Robbins and featuring an all-star cast, details the events of New York City's art scene in the 1930s. "Cider," directed by "What's Eating Gilbert Grape's" Lasse Hallstrom, is a quirky, coming-of-age love story adapted from John Irvin