Hollywood – News Stories About Hollywood - Page 49

Worries Rising Over
Looming Actors' Strike

Mar 13, 2008 7:48 PM CDT

Worries Rising Over Looming Actors' Strike

Chances of a walkout are about 50-50, one analyst says

(Newser) - The chances of Hollywood actors going on strike when their contract expires in June are about 50-50, an industry analyst said today. If they walk, it could hurt television networks more than writers' recent 100-day walkout, the Hollywood Reporter says. Studios are still reeling from the WGA strike and can't...

10,000 BC Clobbers Competition

Mar 9, 2008 3:43 PM CDT

10,000 BC Clobbers Competition

College Road Trip pulls into second place

(Newser) - Action epic 10,000 BC fought its way to the top of the box office this weekend, grabbing Warner Bros. $35.7 million, Bloomberg reports. The chronicle of a hunter facing massive beasts clambered over another new release, College Road Trip, a family film which took $14 million, as well...

Private Eye's Assistant
Spills on Stand

Mar 8, 2008 10:16 AM CST

Private Eye's Assistant Spills on Stand

Arranged wiretaps, transcribed tapes for Hollywood's Pellicano

(Newser) - A former assistant to Anthony Pellicano, improbably named Tarita Virtue, told a packed courtoom yesterday that she transcribed many wiretapped conversations for the Hollywood private eye, Variety reports. She explained Pellicano's wiretapping process step by step, and described the detective's security system, including punch-code locks on every room and files...

Hollywood Private-Eye
Trial Begins

Mar 7, 2008 4:35 AM CST

Hollywood Private-Eye Trial Begins

Celebs expected to be called in Pellicano racketeering case

(Newser) - The illegal wiretapping and racketeering trial of Hollywood private detective Anthony Pellicano kicked off yesterday with a celebrity-studded witness list that sounds more like a casting call than a legal action, the Guardian reports. Sylvester Stallone, Farrah Fawcett and Chris Rock are among 127 possible prosecution witnesses. Studio heads and...

Movie Industry on a Roll

Mar 6, 2008 8:10 AM CST

Movie Industry on a Roll

Despite writers' strike, Hollywood sets $26.7B box office record in 2007

(Newser) - Nearly 30 films took in more than $100 million each last year as the movie industry recorded its best box office year ever, reports the Wall Street Journal. The writers' strike, rising costs, and a spate of so-so releases at the end of the year put a damper on an...

Making a Marriage of Convergence

Mar 3, 2008 12:13 PM CST

Making a Marriage of Convergence

A Hollywood agency, Silicon Valley VCs and AT&T partner to invest in digital media

(Newser) - In an unusual partnership, a Hollywood talent agency is teaming up with two Silicon Valley venture capital firms and AT&T to invest in Southern California digital media startups. The William Morris Agency announced the fund on Monday, in which AT&T is a limited partner. The focus is online...

Semi-Pro Bags Box Office Win

Mar 2, 2008 5:18 PM CST

Semi-Pro Bags Box Office Win

The Other Boleyn Girl debuts in fourth with Portman and Johansson

(Newser) - Semi-Pro shot to number one at the weekend box office but played worse than expected for New Line, banking just $15.3 million, Bloomberg reports. "It's just Will Ferrell in another funny costume," one analyst said. "The act appeared a bit rote this time." An R-rating...

Pop Culture Gems to Hit
Vegas Auction Block

Mar 2, 2008 4:45 AM CST

Pop Culture Gems to Hit Vegas Auction Block

Gun that killed JFK assassin, Superman suit among items slated for Vegas auction

(Newser) - Indiana Jones' whip. The gun that killed JFK's assassin. Madonna's Like a Virgin wedding dress. All are up for grabs at a massive memorabilia auction scheduled for March 15-16 in Las Vegas, Reuters reports. Billed as the best pop-culture collection ever assembled, the 850-lot treasure trove could fetch more than...

Writers Endorse 3-Year Deal

Feb 27, 2008 10:33 AM CST

Writers Endorse 3-Year Deal

93.6% of writers approve contract

(Newser) - Writers Guild members have ratified the 3-year deal that ended their strike earlier this month, union leaders reported yesterday. “This contract is a new beginning for writers in the digital age,” said WGA chief Patric Verrone. The deal gives the WGA jurisdiction over writing for new-media products,...

Writers Strike Hobbled Oscars

OPINION

Feb 25, 2008 2:00 PM CST

Writers Strike Hobbled Oscars

No prep time meant too many clips, not enough Stewart

(Newser) - The Oscars were mediocre, to say the least, and USA Today TV critic Robert Bianco chalks the "padded bore" up to the writers strike. With the standoff settled just 2 weeks before the big night, the staff putting clever lines in Jon Stewart's mouth was on a tight schedule....

Non-Mainstream Seduced Oscar

Feb 25, 2008 7:35 AM CST

Non-Mainstream Seduced Oscar

Non-Americans are dominating as increasing revenue comes from overseas

(Newser) - For a Hollywood award, Oscar wasn't too fond of Tinseltown last night. The Academy Awards were dominated by a crew of crack European actors—and a pair of maverick brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen, operating far from the Hollywood mainstream. It was a record year for the number of Oscars...

No Country Wins Best Picture

UPDATED

Feb 24, 2008 7:54 PM CST

No Country Wins Best Picture

Coen brothers flick is top Oscar winner with 4 prizes

(Newser) - Hollywood crowned the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men with four Oscars tonight, including best picture, best direction, and best adapted screenplay, the Los Angeles Times reports. Javier Bardem won best supporting actor for his role as the film's ice-cold assassin. Daniel Day-Lewis scored best actor prize for There ...

Movie Lovers Get the Point
at Box Office

Feb 24, 2008 7:45 PM CST

Movie Lovers Get the Point at Box Office

Political thriller opens in first on slow Oscar weekend

(Newser) - Vantage Point took top spot at this weekend's box office by nearly doubling the yield of number-two pic Jumper, Variety reports. The Dennis Quaid political thriller banked $24 million to Jumper''s $12.7 million and number-three The Spiderwick Chronicles' $12.6 million, both in their second week. Disney’s Step ...

Oscar Smiles on Women Writers

Feb 23, 2008 10:40 AM CST

Oscar Smiles on Women Writers

A record four are up for screenwriting awards

(Newser) - When the Oscars for screenplays are awarded tomorrow, chances are pretty good that women's names will be on the envelopes. Three are up for best screenplay and one for adapted screenplay, an Oscar record. Women still make up only 19% of film writers, the AP reports, but the tide may...

LAPD Chief Wants Britney to 'Stay Home'

Feb 22, 2008 5:01 PM CST

LAPD Chief Wants Britney to 'Stay Home'

Top cop slams push for new anti-paparazzi laws

(Newser) - The LA police chief says proposed legislation regulating paparazzi would be unnecessary if celebrities stayed away from photographers rather than the other way around, the Huffington Post reports. “What we need is Britney Spears to stay home instead of traipsing all over town,” William Bratton said on KPCC...

Hollywood's Variety Goes Up for Sale

Feb 22, 2008 12:39 PM CST

Hollywood's Variety Goes Up for Sale

Owners put trade paper on block to focus on alternative media

(Newser) - Hollywood trade paper Variety is on the auction block, the Los Angeles Times reports. Anglo-Dutch owner Reed Elsevier is selling a publishing operation that produces the 103-year-old Variety and hundreds of other titles, including Publisher's Weekly. The sale is part of Reed Elsevier's strategy to ditch advertising-dependent publications to focus...

Jumper Soars at Box Office

Feb 17, 2008 4:55 PM CST

Jumper Soars at Box Office

Step Up 2 the Streets and Spiderwick Chronicles take 2nd and 3rd

(Newser) - Jumper has vaulted to top spot at the box office and may bank the fourth-highest President's Day weekend score ever, Variety reports. Step Up 2 the Streets surprised in second thanks to young females, earning $26.3 million to Jumper's $33.8 million. The Spiderwick Chronicles took third with $21....

For-Sale Sign, Hollywood Style

Feb 13, 2008 1:10 PM CST

For-Sale Sign, Hollywood Style

After LA can't find funds, developer puts oft-photographed ridge on market at $22M

(Newser) - Tourists could soon be snapping luxury homes when they photograph the iconic Hollywood sign towering over the City of Angels, the Los Angeles Times reports, after investors put Cahuenga Peak, the land around the landmark, on the market for $22 million. “Everybody thought the city already owned it,”...

Writers Vote to End Strike

Feb 12, 2008 11:14 PM CST

Writers Vote to End Strike

Strike ends after three months of negotiations

(Newser) - Members of the Writers Guild of America voted today to end a three-month strike that shut down more than 60 TV shows and cost networks tens of millions of dollars, the Los Angeles Times reports. The new contract gives writers residual payments for shows streamed online and rights for online...

Jaws Actor Scheider Dead at 75

Feb 11, 2008 7:39 AM CST

Jaws Actor Scheider Dead at 75

Oscar nominee appeared in more than 60 films

(Newser) - Actor Roy Scheider, famous for his roles in Jaws, All That Jazz, and The French Connection, died yesterday while being treated for multiple myeloma. He was believed to be 75, though he sometimes gave a different age in interviews, reports the Los Angeles Times. He once predicted that the Jaws ...