Rock great Chuck Berry falls ill at New Year's show

By Eric Johnson

CHICAGO | Sun Jan 2, 2011 2:01pm EST

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Rock 'n' roll great Chuck Berry was feeling fine and headed back to his hometown of St. Louis on Sunday, hours after falling ill during a New Year's performance in Chicago.

An assistant for Berry said in a telephone interview he was feeling fine on Sunday morning and was planning to return to his home outside St. Louis in the afternoon.

Hotel staff at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago, where Berry was staying, told Reuters they saw the performer on Sunday morning and that he looked good.

The 84-year-old entertainer slumped over his electric keyboard on Saturday night while playing for a crowd of about 3,000 at Chicago's Congress Theater, and was helped off the stage by two assistants as fans shouted "We love you, Chuck!"

Berry returned to the stage about 30 minutes later, waved to his fans, thanked them and said he was OK, according to concert-goer Jim O'Malley.

Then, as if to reassure the audience, he did an abbreviated version of his signature duckwalk move before leaving the stage again.

O'Malley said Berry had appeared to be struggling through much of the set, and paused a number of times for difficulties with his guitar, before he finally ceased performing at little over an hour into the show.

"He appeared to be very tired, and seemed disappointed that the set didn't go well. But he also seemed physically drained and not steady on his feet," O'Malley told Reuters.

O'Malley said worries among members of the audience was palpable as the performer, known for such rock 'n' roll standards as "Johnnie B. Goode," "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Sweet Little Sixteen," left the stage.

"There was definitely a strong sense of concern and affection for the man. He's an American institution," O'Malley said.

A local fire department spokesman said Berry had complained of feeling ill before Saturday's concert and was checked out by paramedics before going on stage.

The musician arrived in Chicago for the show, billed as "Chuck Berry's Winter Dance Party," after playing for a New Year's Eve celebration the night before in New York City.

(Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Peter Bohan)

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"Little Fockers" leads depressed new year box office

LOS ANGELES | Sun Jan 2, 2011 1:23pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The commercially underwhelming comedy "Little Fockers" narrowly retained its lead at the North American box office during the holiday weekend, as Hollywood's prolonged slump spilled over into the new year.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Little Fockers" earned $26.3 million during the three days beginning December 31, followed by "True Grit" with $24.5 million, and "Tron: Legacy" with $18.3 million. The movies, all either sequels or remakes, were unchanged in rank from last weekend.

"Little Fockers," the third entry in the dueling in-laws franchise starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, has earned $103.2 million after 12 days. Its predecessor, "Meet the Fockers," released exactly six years earlier, had pulled in almost $163 million after the same period.

The Jeff Bridges Western remake "True Grit," one of the few hits of the holiday season, has earned $86.8 million also after 12 days. But with a $38 million budget, the Coen brothers' drama cost about one-third of "Little Fockers," and is expected to hold up well as awards season plays out.

Overall sales fell for the eighth consecutive weekend compared with the year-ago period, when business was driven by such hits as "Avatar" and "The Blind Side."

The weak performance brought the curtain down on a disappointing year for Hollywood, when higher prices for 3D movies failed to offset a decline in attendance.

The number of movie tickets sold in 2010 slid about 5.4 percent from 2009, according to box office analysts at Hollywood.com. It marked the biggest percentage drop since 2005 when attendance tumbled 8.1 percent.

Overall ticket sales were flat at about $10.6 billion, marking the first time since 2008 that sales failed to improve upon the previous year, Hollywood.com said. The flat picture came as the studios charged moviegoers an extra few dollars each for the privilege of seeing films ranging from the hit "Alice in Wonderland" to the bomb "Piranha" in 3D.

Fans and critics increasingly carped that the picture quality for some 3D movies did not justify the premium pricing, while parents faced an even steeper tab for a family excursion. All three of the 3D movies in the weekend top 10, "Tron: Legacy," "Yogi Bear" and the Rapunzel cartoon "Tangled" were aimed at families, although only "Tangled" is a big hit with sales to date of $168 million.

"Tron: Legacy," a sci-fi reboot also starring Bridges, has earned $130.9 million after three weekends, but the film cost about $170 million to make and has failed to cross break out far beyond its niche of young men.

"Yogi Bear" rose one place to No. 4 with $13 million in its third weekend. The $80 million animated picture has earned just $66 million to date.

Slipping one place to No. 5 was another family-oriented underperformer, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," with $10.5 million its fourth weekend. The third entry in the "Narnia" fantasy franchise has earned $87 million after four weekends. But the $140 million film is doing much better overseas.

"Little Fockers" was released in North America by Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal. Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, released the film internationally. Paramount also released "True Grit" in North America. "Tron: Legacy" and "Tangled" were released by Walt Disney Pictures, a unit of Walt Disney Co. "Yogi Bear" was released by Warner Bros Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc. "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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