'Twilight' sequel shines brightest at MTV awards

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES | Sun Jun 5, 2011 11:32pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The MTV Movie Awards are turning into a free infomercial for the "Twilight" movie franchise.

For the third year in a row, the vampire romance was named best movie at the light-hearted -- and frequently X-rated -- salute to Hollywood's biggest crowd-pleasers.

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," which led the field with eight nominations, ended up with five awards. In a replay from last year Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart won for best male and female performance, respectively

The real-life couple won the award for best kiss, which Pattinson celebrated by running into the audience to smooch his co-star Taylor Lautner. Pattinson won an additional prize for best fight -- sharing the tub of gold popcorn with Bryce Dallas Howard and Xavier Samuel.

With categories such as those, nobody would ever confuse the MTV event with the self-congratulatory Academy Awards. The real point of the show is to promote upcoming buzzworthy movies targeted at MTV's youthful demographic.

Indeed a sneak preview screened of the fourth "Twilight film, "Breaking Dawn, Part 1," which opens November 18. Other exclusive clips were shown of the supernatural thriller "Super 8," which opens Friday, and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," which opens July 15.

The awards are determined by fans' online votes, which probably accounts for Justin Bieber's win in the best jaw dropping moment category for his 3D concert film "Never Say Never." The Canadian teen idol beat seemingly edgier scenes from such films as "Black Swan" and "127 Hours."

The producers of "The Social Network" probably will not lose too much sleep wondering why Aaron Sorkin's Oscar-winning script lost the best line from a movie category to the critical bomb "Grown Ups." The winning quote, "I want to get chocolate wasted," was uttered by child actress Alexys Nycole Sanchez.

Ribald humor was the order of the night, thanks largely to host Jason Sudeikis. The "Saturday Night Live" comic directed a joke about oral sex to a mortified Selena Gomez, Bieber's 18-year-old girlfriend.

He also referenced the alleged nude photos circulating online of presenter Blake Lively when he introduced "what I believe is the real Blake Lively, but she won't confirm it."

The "Gossip Girls" actress, who has denied the self-portraits are of her, came backstage to pose for photos, but refused to answer any questions.

Other nonfamily-friendly moments saw Justin Timberlake grabbing Mila Kunis' breasts. She reciprocated by grabbing his crotch. The daredevil stars of "Jackass" made homoerotic references to Donald Trump, and footage screened of dogs engaging in sex.

(Editing by Vicki Allen)

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New "X-Men" tops class at North America box office

LOS ANGELES | Sun Jun 5, 2011 11:07am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The fifth movie in the "X-Men" series took the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office in North America after selling about $56 million worth of tickets, distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday.

The opening for "X-Men: First Class" was in line with the studio's relatively modest expectations but paled against most of the other films in the Marvel comic book franchise. The previous one opened to $85 million two years ago.

Sales data was not immediately available from the film's foreign showings in 75 countries.

"X-Men: First Class," which reportedly cost about $160 million to make before tax credits, is a prequel dealing with the formative years of the characters who go on form the "X-Men" stable of mutant superheroes.

Instead of hiring A-list talent, Fox went with critically acclaimed British director Matthew Vaughn ("Kick-Ass") and actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.

McAvoy and Fassbender play the lead roles originated by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in 2000's "X-Men" and two sequels. A 2009 spinoff, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," starred Hugh Jackman in the title role. Jackman has a cameo in the new film.

Critics and fans gave the new film the thumbs up and the solid start at the box office virtually guarantees more "X-Men" movies down the road.

"X-Men: First Class" also stars recent Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence, "Mad Men" actress January Jones and Kevin Bacon. Fox is a unit of News Corp. Marvel is a unit of Walt Disney Co.

Last weekend's champion, "The Hangover: Part II," slipped to No. 2 with $32.4 million, taking its 10-day total to $186.9 million. The raunchy comedy is well ahead of the pace of its 2009 predecessor, which earned $105 million at the same time and ended up with $277 million.

The films were released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

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"Gunsmoke" star James Arness dead at age 88

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES | Sun Jun 5, 2011 7:24am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor James Arness, who personified the tall, rugged lawman of the American frontier as Marshal Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke," U.S. television's longest-running prime-time drama, died on Friday at age 88.

Arness died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home, said his business manager, Ginny Fazer.

The actor was in relatively good health but had "just been fading" in recent years, Fazer told Reuters. "No disease, nothing untoward, he just got tired, I guess," she said.

Arness was best known for his 20 years on TV playing Matt Dillon, the U.S. marshal in the dusty wild-west town of Dodge City, Kansas, a role for which he was recommended by his showbiz mentor and friend, the film star John Wayne.

When "Gunsmoke" left the CBS airwaves in 1975, Arness had set the record for the longest-running role played by a single actor in prime time. The feat that went unmatched until Kelsey Grammer tied the record after 20 years of playing psychiatrist Frasier Crane on two NBC comedies -- "Cheers" and "Frasier."

"James Arness will always be remembered as one of the biggest stars in the history of television, playing an iconic role on the medium's longest-running prime-time drama ever," CBS said in a statement.

"Gunsmoke," which originated on CBS radio in 1952 with William Conrad as the voice of Matt Dillon, debuted on TV as one of the first in a wave of "adult westerns" that sought to portray gunslingers and cowboys in a way that appealed to grown-up viewers, rather than youngsters.

Although not an immediate hit, "Gunsmoke" climbed up the ratings chart to No. 8 in its second season and went on to become the top-rated show on U.S. television from 1957 to 1961.

The show's success helped generate a lot of competition, with network television's prime-time lineup including more than 30 westerns at one point, but "Gunsmoke" outlasted them all.

MEMORABLE ENSEMBLE CAST

The cast comprised one of television's most memorable ensembles of supporting characters -- the good-natured but gullible deputy with a limp, Chester Goode, played by Dennis Weaver; the red-haired, whiskey-voiced saloon keeper Miss Kitty Russell; crusty old "Doc" Adams, and Louie, the town drunk.

Chester, who spoke with a pronounced twang -- "Meester Deellon!" -- left the series in 1964 and was replaced by scruffy deputy Festus Haggen. Miss Hannah took over the Long Branch Saloon after Kitty's exit.

Arness, who stood 6-feet-7-inches tall, earned three Emmy nominations for the program over the years.

Born James Aurness in Minneapolis to a family of Norwegian heritage, Arness dropped the "u" at the outset of his film career. He attributed his acting success to luck.

He was severely wounded in the leg in World War Two, which left him with a life-long limp.

While recuperating, his younger brother Peter -- who gained fame as the actor Peter Graves in TV's "Mission: Impossible" -- encouraged him to take a radio course. Arness got an announcing job, but then headed to Hollywood in hopes of a movie career.

He made his film debut in "The Farmer's Daughter" in 1947 as Loretta Young's brother, and appeared four years later in the title part as a space alien in "The Thing from Another World."

An agent who represented John Wayne later introduced him to Arness, and Wayne took the actor under his wing, giving him roles in several of his movies. Wayne ultimately suggested Arness for the lead part in "Gunsmoke," and even introduced the first episode for CBS.

Arness returned as Matt Dillon in five "Gunsmoke" reunion specials, the last of which aired in 1994 when he was 71. He also starred in the 1977 TV mini-series "How the West Was Won," the modern police drama "McClain's Law" in 1981, and reprised John Wayne's role in a TV remake of "Red River" in 1988.

Arness is survived by his second wife, Janet, two sons and six grandchildren.

(Additional reporting by Vicki Allen; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

(Corrects last name from Wayne to Arness in last paragraph)

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