CTV says 10.5M watched Live 8
TORONTO (CP) - Despite the lure of the great outdoors on a long weekend, a "stunning" 10.5 million Canadians tuned in Saturday to watch some or all of Live 8 on television, CTV said Monday.
The network said one in three Canadians - and 45 per cent of all households - tuned in for the 18-hour, 23-minute broadcast at some point, according to data from BBM Canada.
Peak viewership was over two million at 8:16 p.m. EDT when Neil Young closed the show at Park Place in Barrie, Ont., with Keep On Rockin' in the Free World. Coverage of the Canadian concert lasted nine hours and 20 minutes and had an average audience of 1.1 million viewers per minute.
"The television audience is even more remarkable when considering that the Live 8 event fell on Canada's July 1 long-weekend and doesn't reflect audiences watching from seasonal residences (cottages)," CTV said in a statement.
The broadcast showed every act on the stage in Barrie - there were more than 20 - as well as international hits, sometimes on a split screen, in other locations, including London, Paris, Philadelphia, Johannesburg, Moscow, Berlin, Rome and Tokyo.
Around the world there were an estimated two billion Live 8 television viewers. The free concerts were organized by musician Bob Geldof to pressure leaders of the G8 countries at their meeting in Scotland later this week to increase aid to poverty-stricken African countries.
CTV said 18 separate feeds were pulled in from all the international concerts, and 23 cameras were in position for the Barrie event.
"Never before have the people across this company pulled together to do the impossible and as such, it was a defining moment for CTV," Ivan Fecan, CEO of CTV Inc., said in a statement.
Spielberg, Cruise Wage 'War' With $77.6M
LOS ANGELES - "War of the Worlds" conquered the box office as easily as the movie's aliens overpowered Earth, but it did not have enough firepower to overcome Hollywood's prolonged slump.
Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise's sci-fi tale took in $77.6 million over the long Fourth of July weekend, lifting its total since debuting Wednesday to $113.3 million, according to studio estimates Monday.
That fell well short of the all-time high held by "Spider-Man 2," whose $180.1 million haul in its first six days led Hollywood to a record Fourth of July weekend last year.
The top 12 movies took in $160.1 million, off 25 percent from that 2004 record weekend.
It was the 19th straight weekend that domestic revenues were down compared with last year's, extending the longest slump since analysts began tracking detailed box-office figures. The worst downturn previously recorded was 17 weekends in 1985.
For the year, revenues are down about 7 percent, while factoring in higher ticket prices, admissions are off 10 percent. The longer the slump drags on, the harder it gets for Hollywood to dig itself out of that revenue hole, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
"There's a spotlight on the slump and people's dissatisfaction about going to the movies. That negative perception can create a negative reality," Dergarabedian said. "It also gives people the opportunity to vent all the reasons they don't like going to movies, whether it's high ticket prices or the costs at the concession stand. So they feel validated in that by the slump."
"War of the Worlds," Spielberg and Cruise's update on H.G. Wells' classic about space invaders laying siege to Earth, had the second-best four-day opening over Fourth of July, behind the $115.8 million for "Spider-Man 2."
"Anybody disappointed with the second-biggest opening ever on Fourth of July weekend should really sort of seek help," said Rob Friedman, vice chairman for motion pictures at Paramount, which handled domestic distribution for "War of the Worlds."
The studio hopes "War of the Worlds" will have a long shelf life at theaters, since Spielberg and Cruise's audiences tend to skew older than crowds that rush out over opening weekend for such comic-book adaptations as "Spider-Man 2," Friedman said.
"This is not a sequel. It's not based on a comic book and a young fan-based property. This is based on a 100-year-old literary property," Friedman said. Spielberg and Cruise's "movies tend to play longer, stay in the marketplace longer, so I think as it relates to `Spider-Man 2,' we'll have to wait and see what the long haul brings."
Opening in 78 countries last week, "War of the Worlds" took in an additional $102.5 million overseas from Wednesday to Sunday, putting its worldwide total at well over $200 million. Paramount did not yet have figures on how much the movie took in internationally on Monday.
"War of the Worlds" bumped "Batman Begins" to second place after two weekends in the top box-office slot. "Batman Begins" hauled in $18.7 million over the four-day weekend to raise its three-week domestic total to $154.1 million.
The weekend's other new wide release, the Martin Lawrence basketball comedy "Rebound," fouled out with just $6 million from Friday to Monday, coming in at No. 7.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "War of the Worlds," $77.6 million.
2. "Batman Begins," $18.7 million.
3. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," $12.7 million.
4. "Bewitched," $10.8 million.
5. "Herbie: Fully Loaded," $10.5 million.
6. "Madagascar," $7 million.
7. "Rebound," $6 million.
8. "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," $5 million.
9. "The Longest Yard," $3.5 million.
10. "George Romero's Land of the Dead," $3.2 million.
Christian Group Slams Simpson
An American Christian group have demanded Jessica Simpson apologise for her raunchy new music video. The Resistance have dubbed the video for her cover of "These Boots Are Made For Walking" as "slutty" - and ordered her to shoot a cleaner version. They object to her risque behavior in the video - the song is taken from the soundtrack for The Dukes Of Hazzard - in which she washes a car wearing a skimpy bikini - particularly because Simpson's father is a Baptist pastor and they view her as a Christian role model. The group's representative John Conner says, "It's sad to see her whore herself out like this. She's a singing stripper."
Acts see album sales soar after Live 8 gigs
LONDON (Reuters) - They came out of charity. They left with booming record sales.
The galaxy of rock stars who took part in Live 8 concerts on Saturday to help beat the curse of poverty have seen their records fly off the shelves in British music stores, proving that cash balances as well as consciences were the winner.
According to HMV, one of Britain's main record retailers with 200 stores nationwide, Pink Floyd's "Echoes" album posted a staggering 1,343 percent increase in sales on Sunday compared with the same day a week ago.
The band re-formed for the Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park, where they joined pop legends Paul McCartney, Madonna, U2 and Elton John among others in front of 200,000 people.
"Even allowing for the relative nature of this exercise ... this snapshot still shows that the Live 8 concert is having a marked effect on sales of featured artist recordings," said Gennaro Castaldo spokesman for the HMV chain.
He stressed that the increase for Pink Floyd and other acts appearing in Hyde Park was partly due to the small number of records sold on Sunday, June 26. Total sales of the album on Sunday, July 3, the day after Live 8, were approaching 1,000.
Next came The Who's "Then & Now," with an increase of 863 percent, Annie Lennox's "Eurythmics Greatest Hits" (500 percent) and Dido's "Life For Rent" (412 percent).
Ironically, Coldplay's "X&Y," which has stormed the charts in Britain and the United States, registered one of the smallest increases out of the London Live 8 acts at just three percent.
But according to HMV, the band still sold the highest number of copies at more than 2,800.
The only Live 8 performer to have clocked a drop in sales was Pete Doherty. His former group the Libertines saw sales of their "Up the Bracket" album drop by 35 percent.
Doherty's performance was singled out by the British media as one of the worst of the nine-hour Hyde Park music marathon.
The Mirror tabloid called his duet with Elton John "shambolic."
Reporters at the gig said he struggled with the words of the classic song "Children of the Revolution" and looked unsteady on his feet.
Virgin Megastores, another major British music outline, could not immediately be reached for comment on post-Live 8 sales.
Birthday boy Cruise wages 'War' at box office
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tom Cruise celebrated his 43rd birthday on Sunday atop the worldwide box office with "War of the Worlds," the costly alien-invasion thriller directed by Steven Spielberg.
The impressive $204.2 million global tally, reported on Sunday by distributor Paramount Pictures, includes $101.7 million from its first five days of release in North America, where business is getting a much-needed boost from Monday's July 4 holiday in the United States.
While solid, the North American haul falls short of the record $152 million that "Spider-Man 2" earned in its first five days during the July 4 span last year, when the holiday fell on Sunday.
"War of the Worlds" did, however, beat the opening mark of incumbent box office champion "Batman Begins," which earned $72.9 million during its first five days two weeks ago, albeit without the benefit of a holiday crowd.
Internationally, "War of the Worlds" has earned $102.5 million from 78 countries, including $15 million in the United Kingdom and $15.5 million in Japan, a Paramount spokeswoman said.
"War of the Worlds," budgeted at about $135 million, began its campaign on Wednesday with $21.3 million, topping the $15 million Wednesday start of "Batman Begins," but not the $40 million bow of "Spider-Man 2."
Saturday's sales of $22.7 million represent the biggest single-day haul for both Paramount and Cruise, said the studio, a unit of Viacom Inc.
For the "traditional" three-day period beginning Friday, the film earned $66 million, the second-highest number for 2005, behind the $108.4 million weekend for "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith." That film opened on a Thursday with midnight screenings, making comparisons with "War" difficult.
Some Hollywood commentators have speculated that the movie's prospects could be hurt by Cruise's unorthodox publicity campaign. The usually strait-laced actor has raised eyebrows by giddily professing his love for fiancee Katie Holmes, and defiantly extolling the superiority of Scientology over psychiatry.
But the critics liked the movie, which is based on the novel by Victorian writer H.G. Wells. Cruise plays a blue-collar worker who flees with his two children from aliens who are destroying everything in their path. Paramount partnered on the project with closely held DreamWorks SKG, of which Spielberg is a founding partner.
Because the year-ago period set a record for the July 4 holiday, overall sales this time are expected to fall for a 19th consecutive weekend. A clearer picture will emerge on Monday, because most studios did not report figures on Sunday. "Batman Begins" led the field last weekend with $27.6 million.
The Couch Potato Report - July 2nd, 2005
This week The Couch Potato Report features one thirty year old classic, a casino and a pacifier that won't pacify anyone.
If you look at the Box Office results for this year - so far - there are eight films that have made over $100 million.
STAR WARS: EPISODE III, HITCH, MADAGASCAR, THE LONGEST YEARD, BATMAN BEGINS, MR. & MRS. SMITH, ROBOTS and THE PACIFIER have all grossed more than $100.
This year is half over and there are eight films over the $100 million mark.
In 1975 there was one for the whole year.
Thirty years ago this summer Steven Speilberg's film JAWS became the first movie to ever make more than $100 million at the Box Office.
JAWS was the movie industry's first blockbuster and now the classic film is being released on DVD in a 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
JAWS is the story of Amity, a Long Island summer town.
After some great-white-shark attacks, the business owners and residents find that not only their tourist business is threatened.
JAWS is a movie that features some beautifully crafted, crowd-pleasing sequences of action and suspense supported by a trio of terrific performances by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and especially Robert Shaw.
JAWS continues to be a movie classic, even thirty years later.
The only thing for me that is different about watching JAWS now, as opposed to when it first came out, is that I no longer worry about letting my legs dangle over the edge of my bed.
When I was a kid, the film made me stop doing that for a while.
And I suspect I am not alone!
I also suspect I am not alone in being very happy that this new 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of JAWS if finally giving us fans of the film many of the special features that were issued ten years ago on the laserdisc celebrating the movie's 20th ANNIVERSARY.
This 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION has a very insightful 2 hour retrospective documentary, a sixty page booklet, an interview from the film's set in 1974, and much more from the "Jaws Archives", including this admission from director Steven Speilberg.
JAWS was the first Hollywood blockbuster, and thirty years removed, the film is still worth watching.
How many of this year's $100 million grossing films will we say that about in 2035?
Certainly not THE PACIFIER, but I will get to that film in a moment.
Right now, lets focus on the 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of Martin Scorsese's film CASINO.
In 1995 the legendary director reunited with members of his Oscar nominated GOODFELLAS team. Specifically writer Nicholas Pileggi and actors Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
The result was a three-hour movie about how the Mafia seized, and finally lost control of, Las Vegas gambling.
The first hour of CASINO plays like a fascinating documentary on Las Vegas, intricately detailing the inner workings of casinos.
The first hour sets you up to think that another masterpiece is in the offing.
But after that first hour, the film goes down in quality and - well, if I am being honest - it always just makes me want to watch GOODFELLAS again.
CASINO isn't a bad film, it is actually very, very good, but it is no GOODFELLAS and that latter film's shadow looms large over this picture, even if the movies are filled with different characters.
No, CASINO isn't as fast paced, enthralling or as interesting as GOODFELLAS, but it is still very worthy of your time.
Yes, the movie is worth your time, but I reccomend that you be a bit wary of this 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION of CASINO.
There are only a few extra features on the DVD. Even though they are really good, limited features on a DVD for a movie such as this usually means that there will be other special editions coming out in the future!
So be wary.
You should also be wary of any editions of THE PACIFIER that are released!
Personally, I hope there will never be a 10th, 30th, or even a 1st Anniversary edition of this movie.
THE PACIFIER features action hero Vin Diesel from XXX and PITCH BLACK as a Navy SEAL who is called upon to baby sit a group of kids.
THE PACIFIER isn't very entertaining, and that is too bad as there is a precendent for an action film star to make a kiddie comedy.
In 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger went from the action of TOTAL RECALL to the kids he faced in KINDERGARTEN COP.
That film was very entertaining, but Schwarzenegger had two things that Diesel doesn't have: talent or a good script.
The biggest problem with THE PACIFIER is that it is just a generic fish-out-of-water kiddie comedy.
The second biggest problem with the film is the fact that Vin Diesel has no comedic timing and he just isn't funny.
Young kids who will watch anything might find the movie funny, but parents and older kids will likely find THE PACIFIER a waste of time and they will quit watching it about twenty minutes.
The 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF JAWS, the 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF CASINO and THE PACIFIER are all available now at a store near you.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
The late great John Candy stars in the wonderful 1991 film ONLY THE LONELY, and we'll go back to 1928 for some VINTAGE MICKEY MOUSE cartoons.
I'm Dan Reynish and I will have more on those, and some other releases in seven days.
For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!
One Step Closer To “The Bourne Ultimatum”
The next chapter in the Bourne movie franchise is one step closer to production. Variety reports that Universal Pictures has officially signed Tony Gilroy to return as writer for the next adaptation, expected from Robert Ludlum’s “The Bourne Ultimatum.” The success of the first two films has Matt Damon keen to reprise his role as the keenly-skilled but memory-challenged spy. Although no deal is yet in place for Damon to return to the franchise, it’s expected the film’s casting as well as news as to who will direct, will be made public once the script is complete. Since the first two films proved to be “Bourne” to storm the box-office, there’s no doubt Universal will want the film’s drawing cards stacked in their favor.