Entertaining Posts

Friday, March 18, 2011

A trio of new entries enter crowded box office field

By Pamela McClintock

Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:58pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The weekend box office could see a close battle between three new titles -- Relativity Media's Bradley Cooper starrer "Limitless," Lionsgate's Matthew McConaughey legal thriller "The Lincoln Lawyer" and Universal's raunchy alien comedy "Paul."

All are expected to open in the low to mid teens, give or take.

If that holds true, Sony's holdover "Battle: Los Angeles" has a fighting chance of staying at the top of the chart. "Battle: L.A.," opening to $35.6 million last weekend, had earned $44 million through Wednesday.

Paramount's "Rango," coming in No. 2 last weekend, also is expected to remain a popular choice. The quirky toon's total gross through Wednesday was $75.2 million.

Disney's ill-fated toon "Mars Needs Moms" enters its second frame after opening to just $6.9 million.

"Limitless" could have an edge over the competition, since tracking shows it appealing to the broadest audience. Directed by Neil Burger, the film also stars Abbie Cornish and Robert De Niro.

In the movie, Cooper stars as a down-and-out man whose life is transformed when he takes a drug that optimizes untapped parts of his brain.

"Limitless," costing $27 million to make, was co-produced by Relativity and Virgin Produced. (It's the debut title from Richard Branson's company.)

Relativity said it is already in good shape with "Limitless," since much of the film's budget was financed by foreign presales along with an upfront payment from Netflix for home entertainment rights.

If "Limitless" does well, it will mark a key moment for Relativity's new distribution and marketing division. The company's first few releases have struggled at the box office.

"Limitless" has an advantage in being rated PG-13. Both "Lincoln Lawyer" and "Paul" are rated R.

Lionsgate made "Lincoln Lawyer" in partnership with Lakeshore Entertainment. The mini-major took an equity stake in the film, while Lakeshore paid for marketing and helped coordinate foreign presales.

"Lincoln Lawyer" -- based on Michael Connelly's novel -- is showing the most interest among women over the age of 25, followed by older males. The film has a strong cast, including Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy and Josh Lucas.

Lionsgate said a big opening for "Lincoln Lawyer" isn't important, since adult-skewing titles tend to build over time.

To promote the film as it opens, Lionsgate teamed with Groupon to offer discounted tickets for this weekend. It's the first time a Hollywood studio has teamed with Groupon, although there have been several movie promotions offered by LivingSocial.

Former Shadows guitarist Jet Harris dies: media

LONDON | Fri Mar 18, 2011 2:23pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British musician Jet Harris, who played bass guitar in Cliff Richard's band The Shadows, has died aged 71, British media reported on Friday.

Terence Harris, nicknamed "Jet" because he was one of the fastest runners in his school, was introduced to Richard in 1958, and his website credits him with coming up with the name The Shadows.

"Jet was exactly what the Shadows and I needed -- a backbone holding our sound together," Richard said in a statement.

"Jet, the bass player, will always be an integral part of British rock'n'roll history. Losing him is sad -- but the great memories will stay with me. Rock on, Jet."

With The Shadows, Harris enjoyed a string of hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s including "High Class Baby," the chart-topping "Apache" and "Guitar Tango." His last recording with the band was "Wonderful Land" in 1962, which also made it to number one in the British charts.

After leaving the group, Harris teamed up with former Shadows bandmate Tony Meehan and again reached number one with "Diamonds" in 1963.

After a serious car crash nearly ended his career he faded from the limelight, although he did tour in Europe and release several albums. As his success as a musician faded, Harris became a professional photographer.

He was made an MBE for his services to music, and died after a two-year battle with cancer. Earlier this month he was forced to cancel all appearances due to ill health.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editng by Jill Serjeant)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bullock joins Hollywood pack in aid to Japan

LOS ANGELES | Thu Mar 17, 2011 7:23pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood has made plenty of disaster movies, but the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan is no fiction and the entertainment industry has responded to the dire situation there with generosity.

Oscar winner Sandra Bullock became the latest to join the cause when the American Red Cross said on Thursday that she had given $1 million to help victims of the disaster in Japan.

Several other celebrities and Hollywood studios have also pledged support to the nation.

Charlie Sheen, the embattled Hollywood bad boy, is donating $1 per ticket for all his upcoming live stage shows to the Red Cross.

Pop star Lady Gaga designed a bracelet for Japan relief and within 48 hours it raised $250,000, with sales ongoing.

Singer Katy Perry is donating sales of glow sticks on her concert tour to Red Cross relief in Japan.

Earlier this week, the Walt Disney Co donated $2.5 million to the American Red Cross for humanitarian efforts in Japan, and it also said it would match employee donations up to a total of $1 million.

The Warner Bros studio has pledged DVD and Blu-ray sales of its movie "Hereafter" to Red Cross efforts in Japan.

The donation by Bullock stands out as one of the biggest donations by a single Hollywood star.

The American Red Cross, which earlier this week announced an initial contribution of $10 million to the Japanese Red Cross Society, said it was "extremely grateful" to Bullock and her family for the gift.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Mel Gibson booked by police on battery plea

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Pink Floyd founder Barrett put painting before pop

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON | Thu Mar 17, 2011 10:35am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - He helped create one of rock's greatest bands, but the late Syd Barrett always considered himself a painter before a Pink Floyd founder. Speaking at an exhibition of the troubled musician's canvases and letters, his sister Rosemary Breen said Barrett could never understand why people put his brief success with Pink Floyd ahead of his lifelong passion for art.

"His art was the real him," Breen told Reuters in an interview, surrounded by dozens of works left behind by Barrett, who died of cancer in 2006 aged 60.

"He was firstly an artist and secondly a musician. If ever he was asked what he did, the reaction would always be 'I'm an artist', never 'I'm a musician.'"

Barrett, she added, did not understand why he was so famous, despite being an original Pink Floyd member and its creative force before the English group hit the big time.

The band was formed in 1965, but Barrett left three years later due to his erratic behavior brought on by drug abuse.

After his exit, Pink Floyd produced a series of seminal records including "The Dark Side of the Moon," "Wish You Were Here" and "The Wall," and sold more than 200 million albums.

Their composition "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is believed to be a tribute to Barrett.

"He never ever understood celebrity," Breen said of her brother. "He never sought it and he didn't want it. It was just a complete mystery to him why people wanted to see him.

"He was an artist who had got sidetracked half way through his life into playing music which he'd always enjoyed as a hobby and then came back to art. He thought he was the same as everybody else: he didn't see anything special about himself."

Breen said she hoped the show, "Syd Barrett: Art and Letters" at Idea Generation Gallery in east London from March 18 to April 10, would help dispel the myth that Barrett was an aggressive, deranged loner, just another rock'n'roll burnout.

DRUG ABUSE

While she believed that Barrett was brain damaged due to heavy LSD use in the 1960s and 1970s, and that he lived in virtual seclusion in his final years, Breen said he was "kind" and "loveable" and found fulfillment through his art.

"I would like people to come and see it and laugh at it and enjoy it and see the fun that he was," she said.

"In the last years of his life he was very reclusive and he could be quite sharp with people wanting to talk to him -- it's only because he couldn't cope with talking and he couldn't cope with society really.

"He wasn't unhappy. He just wanted to be very quiet and paint and live a contented life, which I think he did."