'Casino Royale' tops Canadian box office
While the animated penguins of Happy Feet beat out Bond in the US, it was a different story in Canada. Casino Royale more than doubled the take of Feet, earning $5.2 million over the weekend.
Royale, the 21st James Bond film and the first featuring new lead Daniel Craig, grossed a total of $46.8 million in North America and $96.5 worldwide.
Back in Canada, the aforementioned Happy Feet earned $2.4 million, to place at a distant second.
In third place, the reality-comedy Borat took in $1.9 million, and has earned $11.3 million in three weeks of theatrical release.
On November 22, wide-release openings include Denzel Washington in Deja Vu, Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick in Deck the Halls, Hugh Jackman in The Fountain and Jack Black in Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny.
On November 23, Emilio Estevez's Bobby opens in over 1,600 screens.
All box office figures provided are estimates provided by film studios for the weekend of November 17-19, 2006. All grosses in Canadian dollars unless noted. Generally speaking, studios earn about 55 percent of a film's gross.
1 - Casino Royale - 5,236,603 (Total gross - 5,236,603)
2 - Happy Feet - 2,457,969 (Total gross - 2,457,969)
3 - Borat - 1,961,498 (Total gross - 11,386,270)
4 - The Santa Clause 3 - 857,552 (Total gross - 4,185,454)
5 - Stranger than Fiction - 688,631 (Total gross - 2,480,561)
6 - Flushed Away - 599,580 (Total gross - 3,608,264)
7 - Babel - 415,766 (Total gross - 1,710,232)
8 - The Queen - 307,380 (Total gross - 3,239,243)
9 - The Prestige - 261,972 (Total gross - 5,763,562)
10 - The Departed - 223,374 (Total gross - 11,389,090)
Slight Delay for Get Smart
We've already received a few emails from customers that preordered Get Smart from Time-Life asking why the set has been delayed until next week. We called our contact over there to find out, and he gave us the low-down on what caused the delay.
The sets are comprised of three pieces; the cardboard digipak, the plastic "O" case that goes over the digipack, and the cardboard box that holds all 5 sets. When Time-Life got all the pieces together they noticed that the 5 sets had a tight fit to get into the box, and this caused the front of the sets to bow a bit. They looked into it further and discovered the company that printed the plastic "O" case used a slightly thicker plastic, and this was causing the problems. The cases have been reprinted, but now they have to be assembled before the sets can ship, so the shipping date was moved back a week.
It's too bad there's a delay for the set, but at least this glitch was caught before the sets shipped out and people complained that they didn't fit in the box properly. I can verify that the sets are tight once my phone booth box arrives; I have the thicker plastic on my sets.
The set can only be ordered directly from Time-Life, and will now ship next Tuesday, November 21.
Dr. Who to Appear on TV's "Heroes"
IMDB.com reports that Christopher Eccleston, who previously was the lead in Doctor Who, will be joining the cast of NBC's popular show, Heroes.
The actor won't say what part he will be playing but there is speculation that he will play the part of Syler, a serial killer whose identity has not yet been revealed.
A show insider told the Daily Star, "Chris is a fantastic actor and we're delighted to have him on board. No one has seen Syler and Christopher could be perfect as the bad guy."
New Releases, Nov. 21: Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, U2
Jay-Z "Kingdom Come"
Merriam-Webster defines retirement as "withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from active working life." That's not, however, how many pop stars (see KISS, Cher, Barbra Streisand, etc.) define the word.
Jay-Z is the latest celeb to put retirement on hold. The rapper returns to action with the release of "Kingdom Come," a work that features the hit single "Show Me What You Got."
The hip-hop mogul kicked off a promotional campaign in support of the new CD on Saturday (11/18) by performing concerts in seven cities in just 17 hours.
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Snoop Dogg "Tha Blue Carpet Treatment"
It seems like hardly a day goes by without Snoop Dogg in the news. Recently, he's made headlines for being busted on charges of drugs and weapon possession at California airports. Then came word that official Snoop Dogg pet products will be sold on Amazon.com (great idea--why'd it take so long?).
Now, the man born Calvin Broadus will attempt to make news with something musical as he releases "Tha Blue Carpet Treatment." The album finds Snoop back in the lab (finally) with old partner Dr. Dre. The dynamic duo collaborated on three new tracks, ending a nearly five-year drought in Snoop-Dre works.
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U2 "18 Singles"
The legendary Irish band releases the first single-disc set to collect singles from its entire 26-year career, which began with 1980's "Boy" and has continued through 2004's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." The disc houses 16 past hits, including "With or Without You," "New Year's Day" and "Mysterious Ways." It also features two new songs: "Window in the Skies" and "The Saints are Coming" (recorded with Green Day).
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Il Divo "Siempre"
The platinum-selling vocal quartet returns with another batch of classical-crossover tunes. One of the more interesting numbers on "Siempre" is sure to be the lead-off track, a cover of the Moody Blues' classic "Nights in White Satin." Moody Blues fans might not like the rendition, but the Moodies will surely dig it--especially once the royalty checks start streaming in.
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Sufjan Stevens "Songs for Christmas"
There have been a number of unexpected holiday-music offerings this season--including discs by Twisted Sister and Bootsy Collins. Add to that list "Songs for Christmas," a five-CD box set from indie-pop sensation Sufjan Stevens. The collection features many familiar yuletide classics, including "Silent Night," "We Three Kings" and "The Little Drummer Boy."
* * *
Other new releases:
The Beatles, "Love" (Capitol)
Brand New, "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me" (Interscope)
Daughtry, "Daughtry" (RCA)
The Doors, "Perception" (Rhino)
Kenny G, "I'm in the Mood For Love ... The Most Romantic Melodies of All Time" (Arista)
Great Big Sea, "Courage & Patience & Grit--Great Big Sea in Concert" (Zoe)
Killswitch Engage, "As Daylight Dies" (Roadrunner)
KISS, "Alive! 1975-2000" (Island)
Loreena McKennitt, "An Ancient Muse" (Verve)
Oasis, "Stop the Clocks" (Sony)
Robert Plant, "Nine Lives" (Rhino)
Rammstein, "Voelkerball: Bildband" (Universal)
RBD, "Celestial" (EMI)
2pac, "Pac's Life" (Interscope)
Tom Waits, "Orphans" (Anti)
The Sopranos Goes Long
The Sopranos won't be sleeping with the fishes as soon as we thought.
HBO plans to air an extra episode of the series after creator David Chase and his fellow producers decided that eight wasn't enough to tie up all the loose ends of the seminal mobster drama before it goes to the great Bada Bing in the sky, a network rep confirmed.
"They going to give it a bonus episode, so fans are getting a bit of a holiday gift," HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer tells E! Online. "They were originally going to do eight, but David Chase wanted the added episode to tell the story, and we obviously said, 'Sure.' "
The extra episode was green-lighted "several weeks ago," Schaffer says, adding that shooting is complete on the first six episodes.
Castmember Steve Schirripa, who plays Bobby "Bacala" Baccaleri, the husband of Tony's sister Janice, first broke the news about the surprise ninth episode to Celebrity Week at last weekend's Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. The actor, a Las Vegas native, also revealed that his character has so far avoided getting whacked.
With The Sopranos' small-screen goombas preparing for their collective swan song, Schirripa isn't about to go quietly, telling the online magazine he's currently developing a late-night talk-show pilot for Fox. Several other castmembers have deals in the works as well, including mob boss James Gandolfini, who has inked a development deal with HBO.
The Sopranos' final season is slated to begin airing Apr. 8, with the extension meaning the series finale airs in early June.
And for those who can't get enough of The Sopranos, Gandolfini and the rest of his crew have lent their voices to Sopranos: The Road to Respect, a videogame for PlayStation 2 that hit stores two weeks ago. (A version for the Xbox 360 is slated to be released early next year.)
Peter Jackson dropped from "Hobbit" film: letter
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Where is Frodo when you need him? Director Peter Jackson has been told he will not be hired to direct a movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien novel "The Hobbit," despite the nearly $3 billion global box office success of his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, according to a letter Jackson wrote to fan site TheOneRing.net.
The trilogy of movies is based on Tolkien's fantastic tale of an epic war among wizards, sorcerers, elves, villainous orcs and friendly little hobbits of whom the novel's hero, Frodo, is one. It is Frodo who eventually saves the day. "The Hobbit" is a fairy tale-like story that Tolkien wrote before the "Rings" trilogy.
In Jackson's letter, which was posted on the Web site late on Sunday, the director said last week a top executive with Los Angeles-based New Line Cinema called him to say the studio was moving ahead on "The Hobbit" movie without Jackson.
"This was a courtesy call to let us know that the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker," Jackson wrote.
A spokesman for New Line declined to comment citing company policy, and a Los Angeles representative for New Zealand-based Jackson was not immediately available.
Chris Pirrotta, co-founder of TheOneRing.net, said the fan site has a long-running relationship with Jackson. Since posting the letter, he said the site has received some 100,000 visitors, far above the more normal 15,000 per day.
"They are very upset," Pirrotta told Reuters. "We are seeing calls for everything from letter writing campaigns to a boycott of the studio."
New Line and Jackson's production company, Wingnut Films, are currently embroiled in a lawsuit over income from 2001's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," which is the first film in the trilogy.
In his letter, Jackson said he and his producing partners have refused to discuss a "Hobbit" film until the lawsuit is settled, and he added that New Line informed him the studio had limited time to make the film so it must move on.
"Given that New Line are committed to this course of action, we felt at the very least, we owed you, the fans, a straightforward account of events as they have unfolded for us," Jackson wrote.
The other two films in the trilogy are 2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and 2003's final installment, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which earned 11 Oscars including best film and best director.
New Line is a unit of New York-based media company Time Warner Inc.
Richards apologizes for racial slurs
LOS ANGELES - Michael Richards said Monday he spewed racial epithets during a stand-up comedy routine because he lost his cool while being heckled and not because he's a bigot.
"For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry," the former "Seinfeld" co-star said during a satellite appearance for David Letterman's "Late Show" in New York.
"I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this," Richards said, his tone becoming angry and frustrated as he defended himself. A clip from the show played on CBS before the "Late Show" aired Monday night.
Richards described himself as going into "a rage" over the two audience members who interrupted his act Friday at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. Richards responded to the black hecklers with repeated use of the "n word" and profanities.
Jerry Seinfeld, who had issued a statement saying he was "sick over this horrible, horrible mistake" and calling it offensive, was scheduled as a Letterman guest Monday. He encouraged Richards to make a satellite appearance to talk about the incident, a CBS publicist said.
Richards deserved the chance to apologize, Seinfeld said on the "Late Show." Seinfeld said, "He's someone that I love, and I know how shattered he is about" the incident.
At one point, however, Richards grew flustered and expressed second thoughts about appearing on the "Late Show" when his use of the term "Afro-American" proved funny to some audience members.
"I'm hearing your audience laugh, and I'm not even sure that this is where I should be addressing the situation," he said in a tape of his appearance shown by CBS to reporters.
Richards, 57, who played Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit 1989-98 sitcom and whose major credit since was a failed 2000 comedy, hadn't spoken publicly about his remarks before "Late Show." Calls to his representatives were not returned Monday.
His onstage remarks were condemned by industry colleagues.
Comedian Paul Rodriguez, who was at the Laugh Factory during Richards' performance, said he was shocked.
"Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don't happen to be African-American, then you have a whole lot of explaining," Rodriguez told CNN. "Freedom of speech has its limitations and I think Michael Richards found those limitations."
His Laugh Factory tirade began after the two clubgoers shouted at him that he wasn't funny. Video of the incident was posted on TMZ.com.
Richards retorted: "Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f------ fork up your a--."
He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.
"You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now mother------. Throw his a-- out. He's a n-----!" Richards shouts before repeating the racial epithet over and over again.
Moderating his tone at one point, Richards tells the audience, "It shocks you, it shocks you" and refers to "what lays buried."
While there is some chuckling in the audience throughout the outburst, someone can be heard gasping "Oh my God" and people respond with "ooh" after Richards uses the n-word.
Eventually someone calls out: "It's not funny. That's why you're a reject, never had no shows, never had no movies. 'Seinfeld,' that's it."
On Monday, about a half-dozen community activists gathered at the club to denounce Richards' remarks and demand an apology.
"These kind of comments hurt all of us," said protester Lita Sister Herron of the Youth Advocacy Coalition. She called Richards' comments hate speech.
The protesters also demanded an apology from the Laugh Factory. At a news conference a short time later, club owner Jamie Masada expressed remorse and said Richards will not be back at the club until he says he's sorry.
"This is one thing we don't tolerate. ... I personally apologize. I apologize from my heart," Masada said Monday.
Richards did appear at the club Saturday, without incident, but that was because he had told the club he intended to apologize, according to a Laugh Factory statement Monday.
Rodriguez, also at the news conference, said: "I kept expecting a punch line. It didn't come."
Veteran publicist Michael Levine, whose clients have included comedians George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield, called Richards' remarks inexcusable. Comics often face hecklers without losing their cool, he said.
"I've never seen anything like this in my life," Levine said Monday. "I think it's a career ruiner for him. ... It's going to be a long road back for him, if at all."
Daryl Pitts, a Laugh Factory audience member interviewed by CNN, compared the incident to another recent celebrity controversy.
"You think about Mel Gibson and what he said, and put that in the context of this, it's very upsetting," Pitts said, referring to Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst during his arrest for drunken driving.
Scrutiny of Richards' remarks likely will continue but won't match the level prompted by Gibson's behavior because Richards is far less famous, Levine said.
Comedian George Lopez told Los Angeles television station KTLA that he thought Richards' lack of stand-up experience may have been a factor.
"The question is you have an actor who is trying to be a comedian who doesn't know what to do when an audience is disruptive," Lopez said. "He's an actor whose show has been off the air, he shouldn't ever be on a stand-up gig."
Richards has angry outburst at club
LOS ANGELES (AP) A barrage of racial epithets unleashed by former Seinfeld star Michael Richards during a stand-up comedy routine drew condemnation from Richards' industry colleagues.
Comedian Paul Rodriguez, who was at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood on Friday when Richards responded to two black hecklers with the "n" word and profanities, said he was shocked by Richards' remarks.
"Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don't happen to be African-American, then you have a whole lot of explaining," Rodriguez told CNN. "Freedom of speech has its limitations and I think Michael Richards found those limitations."
Jerry Seinfeld issued a statement saying he was "sick over this."
"I'm sure Michael is also sick over this horrible, horrible mistake. It is so extremely offensive. I feel terrible for all the people who have been hurt," Seinfeld said of Richards, 57, who played eccentric Kramer on the hit 1989-98 sitcom and whose major credit since was the failed 2000 comedy series, The Michael Richards Show.
Calls to Richards' representatives were not returned Monday.
His Laugh Factory tirade began after the two clubgoers shouted at him that he wasn't funny. A videotape of the incident was posted on TMZ.com.
Richards retorted: "Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f fork up your a."
He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.
"You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now mother. Throw his a out. He's a n-!" Richards shouts before repeating the racial epithet over and over again.
Moderating his tone at one point, Richards tells the audience: "It shocks you. It shocks you" and refers to "what lays buried."
While there is some chuckling in the audience throughout the outburst, someone can be heard gasping "Oh my God" and people respond with "ooh" after Richards uses the n-word.
Eventually someone calls out: "It's not funny. That's why you're a reject, never had no shows, never had no movies. Seinfeld, that's it."
On Monday, about a half-dozen community activists gathered at the club to denounce Richards' remarks and demand an apology.
"These kind of comments hurt all of us," said protester Lita Sister Herron of the Youth Advocacy Coalition. She called Richards' comments hate speech.
The protesters also demanded an apology from the Laugh Factory. At a news conference a short time later, club owner Jamie Masada expressed remorse and said Richards will not be back at the club until he says he's sorry.
"This is one thing we don't tolerate. ... I personally apologize. I apologize from my heart," Masada said Monday.
Richards did appear at the club Saturday, without incident, but that was because he had told the club he intended to apologize, according to a Laugh Factory statement Monday.
Rodriguez, also at the news conference, said: "I kept expecting a punch line. It didn't come."
Veteran publicist Michael Levine, whose clients have included famed comedians George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield, called Richards' remarks inexcusable. Comics often face hecklers without losing their cool, he said.
"It's never seen anything like this is my life," Levine said Monday. "I think it's a career ruiner for him. ... It's going to be a long road back for him, if at all."
Daryl Pitts, a Laugh Factory audience member interviewed by CNN, compared the incident to another recent celebrity controversy.
"You think about Mel Gibson and what he said, and put that in the context of this, it's very upsetting," Pitts said, referring to Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst during his arrest for drunken driving.
Scrutiny of Richards' remarks likely will continue but won't match the level prompted by Gibson's behavior because Richards is far less famous, Levine said.
Comedian George Lopez told Los Angeles television station KTLA that he thought Richards' lack of stand-up experience may have been a factor.
"The question is you have an actor who is trying to be a comedian who doesn't know what to do when an audience is disruptive," Lopez said. "He's an actor whose show has been off the air, he shouldn't ever be on a stand-up gig."
O.J. Simpson book, TV special canceled
NEW YORK - After a firestorm of criticism, News. Corp. said Monday that it has canceled the O.J. Simpson book and TV special "If I Did It."
"I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."
A dozen Fox affiliates had already said they would not air the two-part sweeps month special, planned for next week before the Nov. 30 publication of the book by ReganBooks. The publishing house is a HarperCollins imprint owned like the Fox network by News Corp.
In both the book and show, Simpson speaks in hypothetical terms about how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Goldman.
Relatives of the victims have lashed out at the now scuttled publication and broadcast plans.
"He destroyed my son and took from my family Ron's future and life. And for that I'll hate him always and find him despicable," Fred Goldman told ABC last week.
The industry trade publication Broadcasting & Cable editorialized against the show Monday, saying "Fox should cancel this evil sweeps stunt."
One of the nation's largest superstore chains, Borders Group Inc., said last week it would donate any profits on the book to charity.
Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of murder in a case that became its own TV drama. The former football star and announcer was later found liable for the deaths in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Goldman family.
Judith Regan, publisher of "If I Did It," said she considered the book to be Simpson's confession.
The television special was to air on two of the final three nights of the November sweeps, when ratings are watched closely to set local advertising rates. It has been a particularly tough fall for Fox, which has seen none of its new shows catch on and is waiting for the January bows of "American Idol" and "24."
The closest precedent for such an about-face came when CBS yanked a miniseries about Ronald Reagan from its schedule in 2003 when complaints were raised about its accuracy. The Reagan series was seen on its sister premium-cable channel, Showtime, instead.
One station manager who had said he wasn't airing the special said he was concerned that whether or not Simpson was guilty, he'd still be profiting from murders.
"I have my own moral compass and this was easy," said Bill Lamb, general manager of WDRB in Louisville.
For the publishing industry, the cancellation of "If I Did It" was an astonishing end to a story like no other. Numerous books have been withdrawn over the years because of possible plagiarism, most recently Kaavya Viswanathan's "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life," but a book's removal simply for objectionable content is virtually unheard of.
Sales had been strong, but not sensational. "If I Did It" cracked the top 20 of Amazon.com last weekend, but by Monday afternoon, at the time its cancellation had been announced, the book had fallen to No. 51.