Lohan Apologizes to Mental Health Watchdogs
Teen star Lindsay Lohan has apologized to mental health watchdogs who slammed her for repeatedly using the word "retarded" in interviews. The Mean Girls actress, 17, has used the slang term several times in recent chats with journalists, using it to deflect questions about her alleged breast implants, to describe the paparazzi and to rubbish reports of a feud with rival star Hilary Duff. And Maryland, America based mental health organization The ARC Of The United States president Lorriane Sheehan is not happy. She says, "There are few more deeply wounding words than these, which are painful reminders that people with disabilities are still not fully welcome in our society." But Lohan's spokeswoman Leslie Sloane Zelnik says her client had no intention of upsetting people suffering from mental or physical disabilities at all. Zelnik says, "It wasn't meant to offend anyone - it was used as slang. She'll be more cautious and conscious in the future."
Box Office Runway Cleared for 'Terminal'
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Another Steven Spielberg - Tom Hanks matchup lands at theaters this weekend, and if history is any indicator, DreamWorks' "The Terminal" has all the pedigree to knock "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" off its course.
Also vying for some box office dollars this crowded weekend are 20th Century Fox's "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" and Disney's "Around the World in 80 Days."
The latest "Potter" installment brought in $37.9 million last weekend, its second, but it also slid 63%, suggesting some softness that opens a window for the Spielberg film to take over.
"Terminal" is targeting a wide demographic similar to the one captured by the previous Hanks-Spielberg pairing, "Catch Me If You Can," which opened to $30 million during Christmas weekend in 2002. The PG-13 "Terminal," a romantic comedy-drama based on a true story, stars Hanks as an Eastern European immigrant who becomes a resident of a New York airport terminal when his passport is voided after his home country's government is overthrown. Adding to the film's marquee allure are Catherine Zeta-Jones, playing the Hanks character's love interest, with Stanley Tucci appearing as Hanks' nemesis.
Sneaks of the film conducted June 11 to raise awareness with younger audiences saw 125 screens averaging 85% capacity. The film is tracking slightly female and older, but DreamWorks hopes positive word-of-mouth will helps lure the teen audience as well. Bowing in more than 2,800 runs, "The Terminal" should get close to "Catch Me's" opening take.
However, DreamWorks' efforts to reach a teen audience will be complicated by the comedy "Dodgeball," starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. Stiller and Vaughn, whose recent roles as goofy guys in "Starsky & Hutch" and "Old School," respectively, have earned them a strong following with young men, should be able to strike at an audience that has been rather underserved in recent weeks. With many critics finding the movie's lowbrow humor funny -- very much to the surprise of some -- "Dodgeball" is scheduled to bow in 2,694 theaters. It should earn in the high-teen millions and has the potential to garner upward of $20 million.
The crowded family audience is Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan's target with their wacky, physical-comedy roles in the latest adaptation of Jules Verne's novel "Around the World in 80 Days." Directed by Frank Coraci ("The Waterboy," "The Wedding Singer"), the film stars Chan as the partner of Coogan's English adventurer.
Produced by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz's Walden Media, "80 Days" opened Wednesday to $1.4 million from 2,612 theaters, coming in fourth place for the day behind "Potter," "Shrek 2" and "Garfield: The Movie." The packed marketplace may not bode well for "80 Days" considering that it lacks the brand-name appeal of its competitors.
Chan's most recent movie, "The Medallion," opened to only $8 million, but his previous feature, last year's sequel "Shanghai Knights," saw a much better $19.6 million opening. Industry insiders expect "80 Days" to fall somewhere in the middle, with the $13 million range as the best estimate for the three-day period.
In limited release, Paramount Classics will debut "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" in New York. British director Mike Hodges reteams with his "Croupier" star Clive Owen in a revenge tale in which Owen plays a former drug dealer lured back into the game to avenge his brother's death at the hands of his rival.
Sony Pictures Classics will release "Facing Windows" in New York and Los Angeles. A recent festival darling, the R-rated Italian picture centers on an Italian woman who takes care of a Jewish Holocaust survivor.
Stiller Gives Wife 'Dodgeball' Facial
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The humiliating pain suffered playing dodgeball should be a distant childhood memory, but for the cast of "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," the torment is all too fresh.
On the set of the sports comedy, the actors went through a dodgeball boot camp to learn how to move and throw convincingly. Unfortunately, star Ben Stiller proved to possess the treacherous combination of a strong arm and poor aim, much to the dismay of his wife and co-star Christine Taylor, who received two accidental blows to the face.
"I hit her in the face a couple of times, which was not good. That actually affected our relationship for like a week," laments Stiller. "There's just no way not to get upset with somebody after you've done that."
His wife confirms that she was hurt physically as well as psychologically.
"He got me square on the cheek and the ear. I had red speckles on my face," explains Taylor. "[But] when you get hit, the pain isn't as much as the shame. You are mortified. You don't want people to come over and you don't want pity."
After her second agonizing mishap, the extras hired to play the dodgeball audience became outraged and booed Stiller. Taylor eventually recovered and forgave her husband, but the three cameras he nailed with errant throws weren't as resilient: All three were put out of commission.
On top of Taylor's injuries, the rest of the cast learned to live with the aches, bruises, skinned knees, sore shoulders and even a torn rotator cuff. Stiller is relieved that his dodgeball days are over.
"It was just exhausting," he says. "Children have the energy, but once you're like, in your later 30s, it's not fun."
The film's first-time director, Rawson Marshall Thurber, understood exactly what he was asking of his stars when he put them through the wringer. Thurber is one of many wise to dodgeball's revival and has participated in the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Celebrity Charity Dodgeball Tournament that's been held for the past three years.
"It's actually really fun and really fast and really strenuous. It's a hard core cardiovascular workout," says the director.
"Dodgeball" stars Stiller as White Goodman, Globo Gym's narcissistic owner who tries to buy out the run-down Average Joe's gym. He hires lawyer Kate Veatch (Taylor) to facilitate the foreclosure, but she eventually becomes his opponent on the dodgeball court.
The film opens across North America today!
Costello's Rock, Classical Albums Set for Sept. 21
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Elvis Costello has set a Sept. 21 release date for the simultaneous release of two new albums.
A new rock album will be issued by Lost Highway, while "Il Sogno," his first full-length orchestral work, will emerge via Deutsche Grammophon.
Largely recorded at Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, Miss., the as-yet-untitled rock album features Costello backed by his band the Imposters -- Attractions drummer Pete Thomas and keyboardist Steve Nieve and former Cracker bassist Davey Farragher.
The disc also includes guest appearances by Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris, who give voice to characters in the song "The Delivery Man." Also featured is pedal steel guitarist John McFee (Doobie Brothers), who previously appeared on Costello's 1977 debut "My Aim Is True" and 1981's "Almost Blue."
Produced by Costello and Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Throwing Muses), the album also features the song "Monkey to Man," recorded in Clarksdale, Miss., home to the Delta Blues Museum and often referred to as the birthplace of the genre.
The set will be the follow-up to 2002's "When I Was Cruel," his last album with the Imposters. The Island set debuted at No. 20 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 201,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
As for "Il Sogno," it was recorded in 2002 by the London Symphony Orchestra after being originally commissioned by Italy's Aterballeto dance company for an adaptation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
"I was extremely surprised to be asked, I had little or no understanding of the world of dance," Costello says. "When asked 'Who is your favorite dancer?,' I replied honestly, 'Cyd Charisse."'
"There are elements of humor," he says. "When it came to writing music for the supernatural beings in the story, I thought it is only appropriate that they should be swinging faeries. However, there are also passages representing confusion, jealousy, anger and turmoil. These cues have the edges, angles that I go looking for in rock and roll but the way they are achieved is utterly different. I hope there are also moments of tenderness."
The ballet premiered in Bologna and was staged elsewhere in Italy before Costello began to adapt the score to a concert piece. Michael Tilson-Thomas conducted the London Symphony's recording, which features guest soloists drummer Peter Erskine and saxophonist John Harle.
Costello has plans to open Rotterdam's North Sea Jazz Festival with a July 8 performance at the Buhrmann Midsummer Jazz Gala. Nieve and the Metropole Orkest will join him for the performance of songs from Costello's 2003 solo album, "North," and other back-catalog tracks, as well as several unrecorded pieces.
The 52-member Metropole Orkest will reprise its performance with Costello July 13 when it makes its North American debut at New York's Lincoln Center Festival 2004. Costello will play the event two nights later with the Imposters, and on July 17 attend the continental premiere of "Il Sogno," performed by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Nieve and Costello will also perform several songs accompanied by the orchestra during the second half of the evening's program.
Expanded reissues of "Almost Blue," the 1984 set "Goodbye Cruel World" and 1995's "Kojak Variety" will arrive Aug. 3 via Rhino. Costello is also featured performing "Let's Misbehave" on the soundtrack to the Cole Porter biopic "De-Lovely." Released Tuesday by Sony Music Soundtrax, the collection features Costello's new bride, Diana Krall, as well as Alanis Morisette, Sheryl Crow and Natalie Cole, among others.
Forbes Names Mel Gibson Most Powerful Celebrity
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mel Gibson, whose controversial film "The Passion of the Christ" paid off big at the box office, is the year's most powerful celebrity, according to Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100 power rankings.
Gibson, who directed, produced and co-wrote the violent movie about the last hours of Jesus, earned $210 million and tremendous media buzz from the project, according to Forbes magazine, which factors in media attention to compare the biggest money-makers from various fields of entertainment.
Magazine covers, press clippings, TV and radio coverage and Internet hits are all factored into the rankings formula. Money earned in the last 12 months was used to identify the finalists in each category.
Golf star Tiger Woods, the leading money-maker among athletes with $80 million, was second on the list, followed by talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, who matched Gibson in earnings.
Actor Tom Cruise ($45 million) was fourth, followed by venerable rock group Rolling Stones ($51 million). "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling was sixth on the list, boosted by her earnings of $147 million.
"Very broadly, it's a combination of money and fame," said Peter Kafka, who wrote the Forbes story on the rankings in the issue on newsstands on Friday. "We divide the celebrity world into categories and we find the top earners in each category. The power list compares them."
Actress Jennifer Aniston, who topped the rankings last year, slipped to 17th place on the 2004 list.
Casualties from the previous list included singer/actress Jennifer Lopez, who ranked fifth last year, and her former fiancee and movie bomb "Gigli" co-star Ben Affleck, rated seventh in 2003. Both failed to make the 2004 list.
Other power-list dropouts were Eminem and Dr. Dre, the performer and record producer who shared last year's No. 2 spot, and former reality show darlings The Osbournes (12th).
Former President Bill Clinton ranked 51st this year with an income of $6.3 million that qualified him in the "speakers" category. Despite his relatively low income, Clinton ranked first of all 100 contenders in TV/radio attention, press clippings and Internet hits.
"There is intense interest in him still," said Kafka.
Clinton will likely climb higher in the power rankings next year when earnings and media attention from his hotly anticipated memoir, to be published next week, is factored in.