Garner Sparks Pregnancy Questions
Alias star Jennifer Garner has sparked speculation she's pregnant with boyfriend Ben Affleck's baby, after being photographed with a plumper-than-usual stomach.
The brunette actress, who has been dating her Daredevil co-star since the summer, is shown in shots taken on December 11 looking more full around the middle than usual. And in another taken a day later, Garner covered her stomach as soon as she spotted a photographer, while a day later, she emerged on the streets of Los Angeles wearing a long, wide scarf covering her belly.
While Garner's representatives has refused to comment, Utah-based nutritional biochemist Dr. Shawn M. Talbott, who does not treat the actress, tells Star magazine, "It really does look like Jen is pregnant. Where she seems to be gaining weight - lower belly and hips - is a typical change in shape for a young, fit, pregnant woman. Jen could have started early eating for the holidays but I think she looks more like she has a baby on the way!"
Judging from the photographs, it is predicted that Garner is four to five months pregnant.
Eminem And U2 Can't Save 2004
Two new CDs cannot save a sinking holiday season. U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Eminem's Encore have sold a combined total of more than four million CDs since they came out in November, but the rest of the music market continues its dismal decline, with sales down for twelve weeks in a row compared with the same time last year.
Despite massive label layoffs and store closings, record executives had been optimistic for much of 2004 that a three-year slump was over. Sales rose about seven percent during the first half, and execs were upbeat about early smashes such as Norah Jones' Feels Like Home and Usher's Confessions. Many in the industry claimed that lawsuits against file-sharers had worked, driving music fans back to the record stores. But with just one big holiday-shopping week remaining, industry reps feared 2004 will end up with a disturbingly small one or two percent increase over last year.
So why did sales drop this fall despite the big business of U2, Eminem and other post-Thanksgiving blockbusters such as Clay Aiken's Merry Christmas With Love and Destiny's Child's Destiny Fulfilled?
"Although the big hits are bigger, there were fewer records released by superstars this Christmas than any Christmas in memory," says Jim Urie, president of Universal Music and Video Distribution. Many of the biggest discs came out on just two dates -- November 16th and November 23rd -- while 2003's top fall album, OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, came out in September and sold strongly through Christmas. Also, this year's dramatic Thanksgiving-week discounts at Target, Circuit City and Best Buy on Top Ten albums drew shoppers to buy $7.99 hits but left many scoffing at paying $14.99 for everything else.
During the past few weeks, according to a Rolling Stone analysis of Nielsen SoundScan CD-sales data, more people bought Top Ten albums than at this time last year, but fewer bought other discs. Sales for Top Ten albums jumped sixteen percent from a year ago in the week of November 16th and 6.8 percent in the week of November 23rd. But overall sales dropped during the same period by a total of 7.9 and 5 percent, respectively. "Music has just been a little bit too compacted into three weeks," says Dave Alder, chief marketing officer of the Virgin Entertainment Group. "Customers only have so much money in their pockets, so congestion in the release schedule tends to stifle sales."
JACK'S BACK
Fox planning to launch its fourth adrenaline-pumping season of 24 with a two-day, four-hour season premiere Sunday and Monday, Jan. 9 and 10, starting at 8 p.m.
Record companies sue 754 more computer users for swapping music
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Recording companies filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 754 computer users Thursday, the latest round of legal action in the industry's effort to squelch unauthorized swapping of music online.
Among the named defendants were 20 computer users suspected of swapping songs over university networks, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group for the largest music companies. Among the college and universities attended by students named in the lawsuits were University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in New York, Old Dominion University and State University of West Georgia.
The colleges and universities were not named as defendants.
As in previous cases, the new lawsuits were filed against "John Doe" defendants - identified only by their numeric Internet protocol addresses. Music company lawyers must obtain the identity of defendants by issuing subpoenas to Internet access providers.
In all, recording companies have sued 7,704 computer users since September 2003. To date, 1,475 defendants have settled their cases out of court, the RIAA said.
Settlements in previous cases have averaged $3,000 US each.
Jim Carrey Pic Set to Take Over at Box Office
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Will the star power of Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler be enough to lure frenzied Christmas shoppers away from the mall this weekend?
That's the hope of Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures, which will release, respectively, "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "Spanglish" Friday. And 20th Century Fox counters with its action-adventure remake "Flight of the Phoenix," starring Dennis Quaid.
Insiders predict "Lemony Snicket" will pull in $30 million-plus for the weekend, with "Spanglish" opening in the mid- to high-teen millions. "Phoenix" is looking more troubled, and observers aren't expecting it to reach into double-digit millions. Last weekend's champ, "Ocean's Twelve" bowed to $39.2 million, about $1 million more than its 2001 predecessor, which went on to dip 42 percent in its second weekend.
Set to open in 3,620 theaters, "Lemony Snicket," a co-production with DreamWorks Pictures, reimagines the first three books of the wildly popular series by Daniel Handler. The dark, fantastical adventure showcases Carrey as the evil Count Olaf, who is charged with the care of three children after their parents die in a fire.
The film from director Brad Silberling ("Moonlight Mile," "City of Angels") saw a slew of musical chairs before it was locked last year. Director Barry Sonnenfeld and producer Scott Rudin initially were on board but left because of budget cuts. DreamWorks then joined, bringing along Silberling. Co-starring Meryl Streep and Jude Law, the PG-rated "Lemony" should do a wide range of business, bringing in young children and their families.
Sony Pictures will open the James Brooks film "Spanglish" in 2,438 theaters. Starring Sandler, Tea Leoni and Cloris Leachman, the film has been gaining in awareness during the past week. The story revolves around the cultures that collide when a beautiful Mexican woman (Paz Vega) becomes the housekeeper for an affluent Los Angeles family.
Sandler's most recent turn in a dramatic role was Sony's 2002 black comedy "Punch-Drunk Love," which opened to a limited audience and wound up earning $17.8 million domestically.
Brooks' films are notorious for opening in the teen millions but going on to reap significant boxoffice dollars. "As Good as It Gets" bowed to $12 million in 1997 before going on to earn $148.4 million. Similarly, "Jerry Maguire," which Brooks produced, bowed to $17 million in 1996 on its way to $153.6 million.
"Flight of the Phoenix," a remake of the 1965 thriller starring James Stewart, boasts a striking initial crash scene but ultimately is a film that takes place in the desert. Unfortunately, that is not resonating well with audiences. What may help is that as the only action-adventure film of the season, "Phoenix" could hold on through the Christmas holidays, when moviegoers are apt to show up for more than one flick. Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi lead the ensemble cast. John Moore ("Behind Enemy Lines") directs.
Opening in limited release is the much-anticipated "The Aviator" from Martin Scorsese. Opening in 40 venues in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, the PG-13 biopic has received much advance kudos and got six Golden Globe nominations this week. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes, "Aviator's" primary drawback is its nearly three-hour running time. Co-stars include Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale and Gwen Stefani.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Pictures bowed the widely praised "Million Dollar Baby" on eight screens in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto. "Baby" stars Hilary Swank as a boxer, with Clint Eastwood playing her manager. Eastwood also directs. The film received five Golden Globe nominations.
Lions Gate will open the Bobby Darin biopic "Beyond the Sea" from multihyphenate Kevin Spacey on six screens Friday in New York and Los Angeles. The film will expand Dec. 29.
"The Sea Inside," starring Javier Bardem, bows in Los Angeles and New York. The Spanish drama from Fine Line Features has received many kudos on the festival circuit and got Golden Globe nominations for Bardem and best foreign-language film. It expands early next month.