'Dark Knight Rises' Still Tops Box Office on Slow Weekend

"The Dark Knight Rises" is still unshaken on the top of North American box office. The third Batman film from Christopher Nolan adds an estimated $64.1 million on its second weekend to secure the champion title, though it suffers a big drop of 60% compared to its opening weekend's gross. 

After its ten-day run, the superhero action film has collected a total of $289.1 million domestically. The number is slightly below its predecessor "The Dark Knight", which had earned $313.8 million at the same point in its run. Overseas, the Christian Bale-starring movie has grossed $248.2 million, making its total worldwide haul to $537.3 million.

Also staying on its last week's position is "Ice Age: Continental Drift", which still bows on No. 2. The fourth installment of the 20th Century Fox animated film franchise grosses approximately $13.3 million on its third weekend. 

Meanwhile, newcomers "The Watch" and "Step Up Revolution" fail to attract many moviegoers as they have so-so debuts. The former enters the chart on the third place with around $13 million, while the latter trails on the fourth place with an estimated $11.8 million. 

Rounding up the top five is "Ted". The R-rated comedy from director/writerSeth MacFarlane is forced to step down one place from No. 4 to No. 5 with an addition of around $7.4 million to its domestic cume. 

Overall, it's a slow weekend on box office, which was likely an impact of the mass shooting in Colorado as well as Friday's opening of the London Olympics. Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com, explains, "It's been a double dose of things. The Olympics has been dominating media coverage lately and probably kept a lot of people home Friday night, and then there's the Aurora shooting." 

Top Ten Movies at Box Office for July 27 - 29: 

1. "The Dark Knight Rises" - $64.1 million
2. "Ice Age: Continental Drift" - $13.3 million
3. "The Watch" - $13 million
4. "Step Up Revolution" - $11.8 million
5. "Ted" - $7.3 million
6. "The Amazing Spider-Man" - $6.8 million
7. "Brave" - $4.2 million
8. "Magic Mike" - $2.6 million
9. "Savages" - $1.8 million
10. "Moonrise Kingdom" - $1.4 million

Read More

Olympics Opening Ceremony Soundtrack Tops iTunes Charts

"Isles of Wonder: Music for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games" has topped the charts in several countries. The double-disc release was made available for download some time shortly after the ceremony took place. 


The soundtrack to introductory event of one of the most anticipated sporting events has topped the iTunes album chart in Britain, Belgium, France, and Spain. The album has gone to No. 5. in the United States, and it hit No. 5 on the overall British album charts in less than two days after release. 


The soundtrack features British talents such as David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Arctic Monkeys and The Chemical Brothers. Music from electronic duo Underworld, who served as the music directors of the ceremony, is also featured on the album. 


The opening ceremony of the games is the brainchild of "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle. "Our Isles of Wonder salutes and celebrates the exuberant creativity of the British genius in an Opening Ceremony that we hope will be as unpredictable and inventive as the British people," he said about the spectacular program. 


The queen of England also made an appearance at the momentous occasion. She made an exception to her own rule of speaking only in formal settings by performing a scene with Daniel Craig who was acting as James Bond. Their bit ended with stunt doubles made to look like they jumped from a helicopter that flew above the Olympic Stadium. 


It is said that the appearance of the queen was due to her love for Boyle's Academy Award-winning film, "Slumdog Millionaire". Other members of the royal family are also reportedly fans of the movie. 

Read More

Jism 2 will be my Arth: Pooja Bhatt

Actress-turned-director Pooja Bhatt hopes Jism 2would be lucky for her the way Arth was for her father Mahesh Bhatt.

"I think and hope that Jism 2 will be my Arth. It is a coincidence that I am at the same stage like my father. Even he had four films like Naya Daur,Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain and others before Arth, but none of them did well," Pooja told reporters here last night, at the promotional event of Jism 2.

"I think somewhere what is special about Arth is that finally the lady makes a choice of not to be with the husband and not be with the lover. In Jism 2, Izna (Sunny Leone) is a porn star and by the end she makes a choice that redeems her character. So we are talking about choices and that is the similarity between the two movies," she said.

This time, the 40-year-old director is hopeful thatJism 2 will do well, thanks to the trailers and music. "I think I am at a stage where as a director I have got nothing to lose as I have had four flops behind me. I have a brand Jism about which there is excitement and interest among the public. The film is looking good, music is liked by all," Pooja said.

The Bhatt camp has offered Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone her first break in Bollywood with erotic thriller Jism 2.

"As the film is about porn star, we did not need to establish the film and the character since it is already there in the people's eye. I think it is the combination of her (Sunny Leone) persona and the brand Jism that the second part looks interesting. If we would have taken Sunny in other film I don`t think the excitement level would have been same," Pooja said.

While the promos seem to convey Jism 2 as an adult film, Pooja feels being bold does not necessarily mean showing off the skin.

"Bold is not just taking your clothes off; bold also means your actions, your thought process. I was known as bold actress as I lived my life on my own terms. Similarly in Jism 2, Sunny is someone who lives her life on her own terms. It was in 2002 when I saw Sunny that innocent face stuck in my head. I thought she would be perfect but things did not materialise that time," she said.

Actors Randeep Hooda and Arunoday Singh will play Leone's love interests in the sequel to the John-Bipasha starrer 2003 hit film Jism.

"I saw Arunoday Singh in Yeh Saali Zindagi and in an ad for a liquor brand. I felt he was perfect for the role of Ayaan in Jism 2. We wanted the person to look believable, rooted from North India, and he fits the bill," Pooja said.

"And then began my nightmare of finding Kabir (Randeep Hooda), as it is a very complex role, it not only requires a good looking man but a power house in terms of talent. It was while the editing of Jannat 2that I happened to see Randeep's work. I felt I found Kabir," she added.

Produced by Pooja Bhatt and Dino Morea, the film Jism 2 will release on August 3.

Read More

Ranbir Kapoor pleads guilty in smoking case

Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor Thursday pleaded guilty, through his lawyers, to charges of smoking publicly during a movie shoot in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district about four months ago and sought exemption from personal appearance in the case, a lawyer said.

Kapoor, who was represented by three lawyers, had been accused of publicly smoking at Ghangaur Ghat in Udaipur March 28.

“Harish Vaishanav had approached the court saying that the actor violated the law by smoking publicly. The court issued a summon to the actor May 31. The summon was delivered to his house in Mumbai by police recently,” said advocate K.K. Purohit, who represented the actor in the court Thursday.

“We filed an application pleading guilty to the charges under the Rajasthan Prevention of Smoking Act and seeking exemption for Kapoor’s personal appearance before the court,” said Purohit.

Purohit pleaded that the offence was mistakenly done by the actor and he (Kapoor) has assured the court that this kind of thing would not be repeated again.

The court has fixed Aug 27 for the next hearing in the case, he added.

The additional chief judicial magistrate had summoned Kapoor to appear before his court July 26 on a complaint that he publicly smoked during the shooting of his movie “Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani” in the town, some 300 km from Jaipur.

According to a Rajasthan law, an offender could face maximum imprisonment of six months or a maximum fine of Rs.200 for smoking in public. 

Read More

Bristol Palin: I Like Gays. I Am Not a Homophobic

Bristol Palin is tired of people saying she's a gay hater. Before she competes on the upcoming "All-Stars" edition of "Dancing with the Stars", the daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin clarifies widely-believed reports that she loathed homosexuals. 


"I like gays. I'm not a homophobic and I'm so sick of people saying that," the single mother explains at ABC's Television Critics Association panel. "Just because I'm for traditional marriage doesn't mean I'm scared or anything of anyone else. And I don't hate anybody." 


"People are gonna make up stuff about me no matter what. And whatever. I'm gonna go dance and I'm gonna have fun," she continues. "It's not about politics. It's not about traditional marriage or anything like that. It's about dancing. That's all I have to say about it." 


Explaining her decision to do reality TV shows, she says, "I just think that you guys will talk about us (my family) either way and I might as well be doing something enjoyable and fun and with a good group of people, and that's why I'm doing it." 


Bristol will return to the "DWTS" ballroom along with Joey Fatone, Melissa Rycroft, Pamela Anderson, Kirstie Alley, Drew Lachey and Shawn Johnson among other previous contestants. "I was ecstatic," the 2010 "DWTS" third-place finisher gushes on her blog. 


"I called my mom right after our conversation and told her the offer I had gotten," she remembers. "I was totally brought to tears just thinking about the last few years of my life, and how abundantly blessed I am to have such amazing opportunities." 

Read More

Olympic Games 2012 Opening Ceremony: James Bond, Lord Voldemort and Mr. Bean

The 2012 London Olympic Games was officially kicked off in an extravagant ceremony dubbed "The Isles of Wonder" on July 27. A number of spectacular scenes highlighting the country's most-famous fictional figures were shown during the star-studded event orchestrated by Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle. 

Daniel Craig appeared in a short movie as the famed James Bond. He escorted Queen Elizabeth II in a Union Jack chopper from Buckingham Palace to the Hyde Park where the ceremony took place. In a royal arrival unlike any others, a stunt-person dressing as the Queen jumped off the helicopter in a parachute. 

In another scene, a huge Lord Voldemort-like figure was looming over the crowd with a wand in his hand ready to cast a spell. Another surreal set was when a bunch of women in black dresses, full skirts and carpetbags descended from the sky using an umbrella each, giving an illusion of raining Mary Poppins. 

Mr. Bean made his appearance, playing a keyboard in a "Chariots of Fire" scene. Wearing the signature Bean silly facial expressions, Rowan Atkinson showed a much faster way to get to the finish line but failed to anticipate his clumsiness. Aside from those popular fictional characters, there was real-life football hero David Beckham making a grand entrance with a speed boat. 

For music fans, Arctic Monkeys catered the crowd with a live rendition of The Beatles' classic "Come Together" which was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. At the end of the ceremony, the Fab Four Mecca showed up on stage to deliver another hit single from his former band, "Hey Jude". 

Read More

Video: Paul McCartney Closes Olympics Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the Olympics was held in London on July 27, Friday. One of the many famous performers who took the stage at the event was Paul McCartney. The former Fab Four sang two songs. 


The 70-year-old rock star performed "The End", a song he penned with bandmate John Lennon in 1969. "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make," Mecca sang to the crowd.


He then started playing "Hey Jude" on the piano and led the entire stadium in a massive sing-along. He guided "the fellas" and "the women, the girls" to sing separate parts of the chorus. The melodic communal moment ended the show.


Other performers at the "Isle of Wonder" included Arctic Monkeys. They played their own song, "I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor", as well as a cover of The Beatles' classic "Come Together".


Two Door Cinema Club's frontman Alex Trimble made a surprise appearance singing "Caliban's Dream" written specifically for the event, as young athletes carried the Olympic Flame around the stadium. "I'm really proud of the performance. I have so much respect for the team that put it all together," he said of the program.


Filmmaker Danny Boyle served as the artistic director of the opening ceremony. "The Ceremony is an attempt to capture a picture of ourselves as a nation, where we have come from and where we want to be," he said of the historic event.


Daniel Craig also appeared during the ceremony as James Bond along with Queen Elizabeth II. Other guests were David Beckham and Rowan Atkinson.


A soundtrack for the event titled "Isles of Wonder: Music for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games" is made available for download after midnight on Saturday, July 28.

Read More

Lady GaGa Makes Acting Debut in 'Machete Kills', Gets Official Character Poster

It's official, Lady GaGa is expanding her career to the silver screen. The Mother Monster is set to make her acting debut in "Machete Kills", director Robert Rodriguez confirms. The outlandish songstress will tackle a sexy character called La Chemeleon. 


Taking to his Twitter to announce GaGa's casting on Thursday, July 26, Rodriguez writes, "I just finished working with @LadyGaga on @MacheteKills , she kicked SO MUCH ASS! Holy Smokes. Blown away!" Along with the message, the helmer posts a character poster for Chemeleon. 


The one-sheet features the "Born This Way" hitmaker sporting Marilyn Monroe-esque curly yellow hair. She looks sizzling in a skimpy bustier that she pairs with scarf made from a real wolf. Finishing her sexy look with black stockings, the superstar is also pictured holding a revolver on her hand. 


Responding to Rodriguez's posting, GaGa retweets the message and adds, "Yes its true, I will be making my debut as an actress ln the amazing MACHETE KILLS BY @RODRIGUEZ IM SO EXCITED!!! AH! Filming was insane." 


In the sequel to "Machete", GaGa will join Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Zoe Saldana, Sofia Vergara, Mel Gibson and Amber Heard. Charlie Sheen has recently been added to the cast ensemble, tackling the role of the U.S. President. 


To be released nationwide sometime in 2013, "Machete Kills" follows the titular assassin who is called upon by the U.S. government to stop a cartel leader and an arms dealer who owns weapon in space. The script is written by Kyle Ward. 

Read More

Lady GaGa Gives Look Inside Her Slumber Party With Lindsay Lohan

Lady GaGa posts some pictures from her recent sleepover with Lindsay Lohan at Hollywood hotspot Chateau Marmont. The Mother Monster includes a caption to accompany the photos, "I love to stay up late and take pictures of beautiful celebrities." 

GaGa uploads the pictures on her newly-launched social network, LittleMonsters.com. One picture sees her with LiLo and photographer Ellen von Unwerth, and some others feature the "Mean Girls" actress wearing a fur coat and having a cigarette. 

Coincidentally, GaGa will make her big screen debut on "Machete Kills", the sequel of LiLo's 2010 movie "Machete". The outlandish singer will play a sultry character named La Chameleon. "IM SO EXCITED!!! AH! Filming was insane," she tweets. 

The movie is directed by Robert Rodriguez. "I just finished working with @LadyGaga on @MacheteKills , she kicked SO MUCH ASS! Holy Smokes. Blown away!" the filmmaker posts. 

Read More

Justin Bieber Writing and Producing Song for Selena Gomez

Justin Bieber has written and produced a song for his girlfriend, Selena Gomez. This was confirmed by will.i.am in an interview with Canada's "New Music Live". 


He says that he was on the same flight with Justin after the Teen Choice Awards. He narrates, "He taps me on the shoulder... 'Yo, I want to show you this song I produced and wrote. I'm really excited about it because it's one of the first songs I produced by myself'," when describing the encounter with the young pop sensation. 


He says that they listened to the track on Justin's laptop while crouching down in a plane aisle. "The song was dope," he describes. He then adds, "He was like, 'Yeah, I wrote it for Selena. It's great.' And it was really awesome. It was, like, really, really dope." 


will.i.am says that as a producer himself, it makes him proud to see someone so interested in producing and songwriting just as he is. "I think that guy is gonna be around for a really, really long time," he says of the pop superstar. 


The Black Eyed Peas rapper also says that he has been working with the "Baby" hitmaker and says that the Canadian singer will appear on his solo album "#willpower." 


The "Boyfriend" singer and his equally-talented girlfriend are not shy about their romance. They were seen celebrating her 20th birthday on Sunday, July 22 with some friends at the Beverly Hills restaurant, Il Cielo.

Read More

Marisa Miller Expecting Baby Boy, Showing Off Baby Bump

It's official, Marisa Miller and her husband Griffin Guess are having a baby boy. The former Victoria's Secret model shows off her baby bump when blogging for PEOPLE. The mom-to-be embraces her changing body and bares her growing belly in a white top and skirt with sunlight illuminating her figure. 

"My first trimester I was so exhausted. I could sleep 10 hours, then wake up, look in the mirror and still have eyes like a hound dog!" she said. "I felt like the life was sucked out of me, no matter how much sleep I got. It was obvious that my body was really busy doing something else and 'beauty sleep' didn't exist anymore!" 

"The first trimester is a little nerve-racking because you hear a lot about what can go wrong at the beginning," she said. "I felt like I was holding my breath until I had my first ultrasound appointment and could see the baby and the heartbeat. I wanted to know that the baby was okay and that this was all really happening!" 

"I was also really dizzy and of course, nauseous. Then my skin started to break out like a teenager - really badly! The funny thing was, even as I was going through all this, I was still so happy. There was so much freedom in letting go of my appearance because the reason for all these symptoms was this miracle growing inside me. I really could care less about what I looked like." 

"Griffin is my everything. We've been married for a little over six years now," she gushed about her hubby and talked about how excited they were to welcome the baby. "Griffin and I have spoken so much about having babies throughout our marriage. We already have enough names for three kids, haha! It's always been a time we really looked forward to." 

Miller is due to give birth in December. "Griffin and I are going on a babymoon soon, and one of the upcoming tasks is trying on all my bathing suits to see if any of them work with my new body," she dished on her next plan. 

Read More

Sonakshi Sinha hurts eye while filming song

Actress Sonakshi Sinha had a tough time on the sets of “Oh My God” as she hurt her eye while shooting for a song in the film.

The actress was required to shoot for the “Go go govinda” in a three-day schedule, but unfortunately it had to be stalled, thanks to the colours and water used during the song.

“Sonakshi was shooting for the song ‘Go go govinda’, which was meant to be a three-day schedule. The climax of the song required lots of colours and water. On the last day she severely hurt her eye due to the colours and the shoot had to be stalled for two days,” said a source.

Produced by Akshay Kumar, “Oh My God” features the actor along with Paresh Rawal and Mithun Chakraborty in prominent roles.

The actress, who is riding high on the success of “Rowdy Rathore”, will be seen in “Son Of Sardaar” and “Dabangg 2″ later this year.

Read More

People will come for erotica, not Sunny: Pooja Bhatt

“Jism 2″ director Pooja Bhatt feels while many people will be curious to watch Indo-Canadian star Sunny Leone on the big screen, many might overlook her for the erotica in the movie.

“There is a whole section of people who will go to theatre only to watch Sunny while there will be another who won’t be bothered with her being in the film. They will come to see the erotica,” Pooja told IANS.

The movie, releasing Aug 3, also features Arunoday Singh and Randeep Hooda in prominent roles. 

Read More

Summit Refuses to Edit 'Step Up Revolution' Gas Mask Scene

In the wake of the Aurora shooting tragedy, some studios have taken actions to change scenes in their upcoming films which coincidentally bore resemblance to the headline-grabbing incident. Summit Entertainment, however, refused to alter the scene in "Step Up Revolution" which features a gang of dancers entering a room in gas masks. 

The masks shown in the upcoming pic are similar to the one donned by James Holmes when he did the massacre during the midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises". The scene in "Step Up 4", meanwhile, shows some dancers infiltrating a party while wearing the gas masks and carrying smoke cannisters. 

Though refusing to re-edit the said scene, Summit has decided to yank the film's promotional materials which include the gas mask scene. Announcing its decision, the studio says in a statement, "There is a brief scene in the film in which a troop of dancers enter a room wearing gas masks as props an the dancers immediately go into a choreographed routine." 

"Because of last week's tragic events in Colorado, Summit immediately removed television advertising that briefly showcased that scene from the film. The scene also briefly appeared in a trailer released three months ago that the studio is no longer actively servicing. Having taken these steps, Summit will open this inspirational, nonviolent film in theaters nationwide this weekend as originally edited." 

The gas mask scene in "Step Up 4" caught the media's attention after the film was screened on Tuesday night, July 24. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Summit execs discussed the issue on Wednesday, despite the fact that the dance flick has already gone out to exhibitors. 

Directed by Scott Speer, "Step Up Revolution" will make its way out onto theaters across the U.S. on Friday, July 27. Lining up in the cast ensemble are Kathryn McCormick, Ryan Guzman, Adam G. Sevani, Stephen Boss, Tommy Dewey, Cleopatra Coleman and Claudio Pinto. 

Read More

Video: Justin Bieber and Kristen Stewart Read Mean Tweets From Haters

How would celebrities react to mean tweets directed at them? The question was answered when Justin Bieber and Kristen Stewart read the haters' messages on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" recently. Both showed different reactions.


"Dear god, give us 2pac back and we'll give you Justin Bieber," the Canadian star read before staring expressionlessly at the camera. Stewart adjusted her pants like a man did after reading, "I liked Kristen Stewart more when she was a boy."


Matt LeBlanc said with laugh, "Go f*** yourself," after reading a short message of "Matt LeBlanc looks so old #whathappened." Matisyahu, meanwhile, said "thanks" after reading, "Ever since @matisyahu shaved, he looks like old, fat Justin Bieber."


Other stars who appeared on "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets" edition included James Van Der Beek, Katy Perry, Zooey Deschanel, Larry King, David Spade and Snooki. Their reactions can be watched in the following video "for your amusement, and hopefully, reflection."

Read More