“'Toy Story 3' plays big in 109M opening weekend - Daily Local News” plus 3 more

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• 'Toy Story 3' plays big in 109M opening weekend - Daily Local News
• Blockbuster again urges ’no’ on board activist - WNYT
• Taylor Lautner Regrets Offering to Carry Kristen Stewart for 'Eclipse' Scene - AceShowbiz
• RIMES' MARRIAGE OFFICIALLY OVER - Daily Star

'Toy Story 3' plays big in 109M opening weekend - Daily Local News Posted: 22 Jun 2010 03:02 AM PDT Click to enlarge FILE - In this file film publicity image released by Disney, from left, Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack, Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen and Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks are shown in a scene from, "Toy Story 3." Movie fans have not outgrown the "Toy Story 3" gang. The animated sequel about toys that come to life leaped to the No. 1 spot with a $109 million opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. (AP Photo/Disney Pixar, File) NO SALES LOS ANGELES (AP) — Movie fans have not outgrown the "Toy Story 3" gang. The animated sequel about toys that come to life leaped to the No. 1 spot with a $109 million opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Toy Story 3" became the third animated film to top $100 million in the first weekend, joining "Shrek the Third" at $121.6 million and "Shrek 2" at $108 million. It was by far the best debut for a film from Disney's Pixar Animation, topping "The Incredibles" at $70.5 million. Reuniting voice stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, the movie has Woody the cowboy, Buzz Lightyear and their toy pals facing their mortality, worried they will end up on the scrap heap now that their kid has grown up. "Whether you're a kid or a parent, you always come to a fork in the road where you make the decision of what to do about your toys. Therein lies the appeal of the movie," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. That, and the fact that Woody, Buzz and the gang have become like family to "Toy Story" fans, he said. "Somehow these characters have worked their way in. When you go there, you can see the audience is vested in the movie from the start. It doesn't take any time to warm up. The minute it hits the screen, they're in," Viane said. "Toy Story 3" took over the No. 1 spot from Sony's "The Karate Kid," which pulled in $29 million to raise its 10-day total to $106.3 million. The weekend's other new wide release, the Warner Bros. action tale "Jonah Hex," bombed with just $5.1 million. Adapted from the comic book series, "Jonah Hex" stars Josh Brolin as a disfigured 19th century bounty hunter tracking a villain who aims to unleash a doomsday weapon. "Toy Story 3" took in an additional $44.8 million overseas, giving it a worldwide total of $153.8 million. The movie has opened in such countries as Mexico, Argentina and China but will not debut in most major foreign markets until July and August. The film also maintains the perfect track record of Pixar, whose 11 films all have opened at No. 1, starting with the original "Toy Story" in 1995 and continuing with such hits as "Finding Nemo," ''Ratatouille," ''WALL-E" and last year's "Up." "Disney-Pixar is the best box-office insurance policy you can have," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It's a brand that just resonates with audiences. If they go to a Pixar movie, they know they're going to be entertained. They're going to have a great time and also get a message. There's always a positive lesson you walk away with." The film gave a nice boost to Hollywood, whose overall receipts had lagged in May. Domestic revenues totaled $198 million, up 31 percent from the same weekend last year, when "The Proposal" led with $33.6 million. "Toy Story 3" continued Hollywood's streak of 3-D hits. The 3-D version of the film accounted for 60 percent of revenues, though it played on more 2-D than 3-D screens, according to Disney. Tickets for 3-D movies typically cost a few dollars more than 2-D versions. "Toy Story 3" took in $8.4 million in 3-D showings at huge-screen IMAX theaters. That beat the IMAX record for an animated film previously held by "Monsters vs. Aliens" with $5.1 million. In limited release, Fox Searchlight's comedy "Cyrus" debuted strongly with $180,289 in four theaters, averaging $45,072 a cinema, compared to $27,061 in 4,028 locations for "Toy Story 3." "Cyrus" stars John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill in the tale of a man whose new romance is jeopardized by his girlfriend's grown son, who wants his mom to himself. The film gradually expands to nationwide release through mid-July. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday. 1. "Toy Story 3," $109 million. 2. "The Karate Kid," $29 million. 3. "The A-Team," $13.8 million. 4. "Get Him to the Greek," $6.1 million. 5. "Shrek Forever After," $5.5 million. 6. "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," $5.3 million. 7. "Killers," $5.1 million. 8. "Jonah Hex," $5.09 million. 9. "Iron Man 2," $2.7 million. 10. "Marmaduke," $2.65 million. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Blockbuster again urges ’no’ on board activist - WNYT Posted: 21 Jun 2010 09:08 AM PDT (AP) DALLAS - Blockbuster Inc. said Monday that two more proxy advisory firms support its position that its shareholders should not elect activist investor Gregory S. Meyer to its board. Proxy Governance Inc. and Egan-Jones Proxy Services also said Meyer's strengths are not relevant to the movie rental company's needs at this time and he would be a distraction on the board, according to Blockbuster. The company also again urged shareholders to vote for its proposals in its ongoing proxy fight with Meyer, who founded a DVD rental kiosk business in 2001 called DVDXpress. Meyer sold DVDXpress to Redbox operator Coinstar Inc., which has become a major competitor to Blockbuster. Another proxy advisory firm, RiskMetrics Group, said last week that Blockbuster shareholders should elect Meyer. Meyer has argued that Blockbuster doesn't have a practical strategy for dealing with competition. He is trying to replace director Gary J. Fernandes, chairman of real estate investment company FLF Investments. Shareholders are scheduled to vote on board nominees during the June 24 annual meeting. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Taylor Lautner Regrets Offering to Carry Kristen Stewart for 'Eclipse' Scene - AceShowbiz Posted: 22 Jun 2010 02:48 AM PDT The Jacob Black of 'Twilight' movie series has been left in pain after volunteering to carry Stewart, hoping to make the scene look convincing. Taylor Lautner was left in agony after volunteering to carry slim actress Kristen Stewart for a "Twilight" film scene because the short sequence took all day to shoot. The actor plays teenage werewolf Jacob Black in the upcoming third installment of the franchise, "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse" and Lautner's character shows off his superhuman strength by effortlessly picking up Stewart's Bella Swan. Producers had attached Stewart to a harness so Lautner would look like he was carrying her, but the young hunk decided to flex his muscles and haul his slim co-star himself to make the scene look convincing. But Lautner quickly regretted his decision. He tells MTV, "There's a scene where I'm carrying (Kristen), and it's also, like, four pages of dialogue. We actually had plans, a rig that was basically going to carry her, and I was just going to pretend that I was carrying her." "We got there on the day, and the rig didn't look very natural. They were like, 'What are we going to do?' and I'm like, 'I'll just carry her. She's like, what, 110 pounds? It's no big deal!' We filmed that scene all day long. Did the wide shot, did my close-up, did her close-up, the back shot, everything. It was so hard... It was painful."   Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

RIMES' MARRIAGE OFFICIALLY OVER - Daily Star Posted: 21 Jun 2010 11:27 PM PDT Country singer/actress LEANN RIMES is officially single - her divorce from dancer DEAN SHEREMET was finalised on Saturday (19Jun10). The star split from Sheremet last year (09) after seven years as man and wife when Rimes was caught on camera kissing her TV movie co-star Eddie Cibrian. Rimes and Sheremet subsequently filed for divorce, while Cibrian broke up with his wife, Brandi Glanville, so the stars could be together. And Rimes can now put her failed marriage firmly behind her - a judge signed off on the divorce petition at the weekend. The former couple reached a split settlement in December, 2009. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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