'American Idol' Returning for Third Year
LOS ANGELES - In two years, Fox's "American Idol" has minted three new music stars in Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. Now the televised talent hunt is trying for more.
"American Idol" returns for its third season Monday — and not a moment too soon for the struggling Fox network. More than 38 million people watched Studdard beat Aiken in last May's finale, a bigger audience than the Academy Awards.
"It's as important to our network as `Survivor' is to CBS," said Gail Berman, Fox's entertainment president. "It's as important to our network as `Friends' is to NBC. We need an engine."
Fox isn't messing with the elements that made the show a success. Ryan Seacrest is back as host. Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and the caustic Simon Cowell return as the judges. An estimated 80,000 wanna-be stars applied to test their talents.
That's a lot of excruciating music to sit through.
"There's only two people every year, or in some cases only one person, who makes a difference, and that's the terrible thing about the show," Cowell said. "Of course, every one of the 80,000 think they're fantastic."
Word to the wise: If you want to impress the judges, leave the Mariah Carey-like vocal histrionics at home.
Abdul said it's like "a breath of fresh air" when a singer simply sticks to the melody.
"It's about the sound of the voice," Jackson said. "The kids just don't know that. They're more impressed and trying to impress people with the vocal gymnastics."
"A Whole New World" from the Disney movie "Aladdin" wins the judges' cringe award for the most-butchered song in auditions.
Talent shows on TV have become commonplace in the wake of "American Idol." CBS has revived "Star Search," for instance, and NBC's "Today" show launched its own search for a star. None have approached the ratings impact of "Idol."
"While others may try to copy us, they will never have the caliber of talent on or off the stage that `American Idol' has," Berman said.
In this season's "American Idol" tryouts, the judges said girls held an advantage over guys. The show's producers say they're tinkering with the series to make its middle period better. Fans love the train-wreck auditions and the excitement of the finals, but interest lags in the stretch when 32 contestants are whittled down to 12.
They also hope to make better use of guest stars, many of whom don't find it as easy as Cowell to crush singers' dreams and are boring as a result.
"The good thing about `American Idol' — watching it and being involved in it — is that it has a sense of humor," Cowell said. "One of the things that's missing in the music industry at the moment is that people are taking themselves so seriously, it's not fun anymore."
The judges believe Aiken changed the competition forever because of the way he played to the audience's emotions.
Beneath his innocent looks was a fierce competitor, evident perhaps in how Aiken has overshadowed Studdard since the show ended.
"He played to win, but you didn't think that," Jackson said.
Even the ultra-confident Cowell thinks the show is better because it's the public, and not the judges, who make the final choice of American idol.
"There's never a shortage of talent," Abdul said. "You find some of the best talent in the most remote parts of the country and, you know, there's always someone who drives to make it. And we'd love to see that happen."
'Polly' Comes to Knock 'Rings' From No. 1
LOS ANGELES - "Along Came Polly" came along and swept "The Lord of the Rings" from its four-week perch atop the box office list.
The new romantic comedy collected $27.6 million to debut at No. 1, while "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" fell to fourth place with $10.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Along Came Polly" stars "Friends" sweetheart Jennifer Aniston with Ben Stiller playing yet another romantically inept young man.
Audiences were not deterred by what some critics described as a rut for Stiller, who played similar roles in "Meet the Parents" and "There's Something About Mary."
The chemistry between the two stars was part of its appeal, said Nikki Rocco, president of Universal Pictures distribution. "Sure, he's done this before, but now she's with him. That might have something to do with it," she said.
After weeks of heavy dramas angling for awards considerations, sometimes all an audience wants is a laugh, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co.
"(Stiller) does seem to play this role a lot, but he does it well," Dergarabedian said. "The audience obviously loves Ben Stiller in this type of movie."
If estimates hold, "Polly" will rank as the highest-grossing movie to debut on a Martin Luther King holiday weekend, topping the $23.4 million of 2001's "Save the Last Dance."
The Tim Burton storytelling fantasy "Big Fish," which lost a close race to "Lord of the Rings" for the top spot last week, held on at No. 2 with $10.4 million.
The movie has slowly built an audience since debuting in limited release six weeks ago, and is one of the nominees for best comedy film at next weekend's Golden Globe Awards.
"Enough people have seen and heard about it to create buzz, but not everyone has been convinced to go out and see it," Dergarabedian said. "This is one that could really benefit at the box office from awards or nominations."
"Torque," featuring rapper-actor Ice Cube in a motorcycle-chase action film akin to "The Fast and the Furious," debuted in third place with $10.3 million.
The only other film opening in wide release, the cartoon "Disney's Teacher's Pet," was a bomb that didn't come close to cracking the Top 10. The animated feature, about a talking dog who disguises himself as a schoolboy, was based on a TV show from the Disney Channel.
Although "Lord of the Rings" dropped to fourth place, it is still performing strongly for a movie in its fifth week of release. So far, the third installment of the trilogy has collected $326.8 million domestically.
Worldwide, "The Return of the King" has earned $771.5 million, putting it on track to cross the billion-dollar mark, especially if it fares well at the Golden Globes or Academy Awards.
The overall box office was down slightly, with the top 12 movies taking in $95.6 million, down 4 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Kangaroo Jack," "National Security" and "Just Married" were at the top of the box office.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Tuesday, a day later than usual due to the Martin Luther King holiday in America.
1. "Along Came Polly," $27.6 million.
2. "Big Fish," $10.4 million.
3. "Torque," $10.3 million.
4. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," $10.2 million.
5. "Cheaper by the Dozen," $8.7 million.
6. "Cold Mountain," $7 million.
7. "Something's Gotta Give," $6 million.
8. "My Baby's Daddy," $3.6 million.
9. "The Last Samurai," $3.12 million.
10. "Calendar Girls," $3.10 million.