BIG BOX STORIES
Chances are you know somebody who still quotes “Seinfeld." Maybe even a pal who offers Vulcan salutes without irony. Yes, these people can be annoying, but they'll also be easy to shop for this holiday season. On Tuesday, their gifts arrive in stores - as long as you're willing to drop nearly $300. After all, what better to give a TV-show fan than more episodes and extras of that show than they could ever possibly watch.
Case in point: “Seinfeld: The Complete Series" (Sony, $283.99). It comes with 32 discs, all 180 episodes and 104 hours of extras. The truly fanatic will want to hunt down one of the limited-edition faux refrigerators - just like Jerry's! - to store the box in. Inside are all kind of “Seinfeld"-themed edibles, such as muffin tops, Junior Mints and a bottle of Bosco.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation: Complete Series" (Paramount, $455.95) is even more galactically massive, with 178 episodes on 49 discs. It comes in a nifty box that looks like a space station. And that price is liable to make your head explode like a supernova, but it's already been discounted to $297.99 on Amazon.
“Seinfeld" and “Star Trek" join “Everybody Loves Raymond: The Complete Series" (HBO, $279.98), which hit stores last week. Incredibly, it has even more episodes, boasting 210 on 44 discs. Even more amazing, it comes it a nice little suburban house - just like Ray's Long Island digs!
When it comes to ginormous sets, these three are just the beginning.
On Nov. 13, we'll see the arrival of “The Addams Family: The Complete Series" (MGM, $69.98) in a velvet-touch box. Always creepier and slightly funnier than “The Munsters," it's a relatively cheap way to delve insides the minds of Morticia and Cousin Itt.
The same week, a blast of arctic dramedy arrives with “Northern Exposure: The Complete Series" (Universal, $199.98), packaged in a handsomel suede adventure bag.
Teens who love fantasizing about kids much richer than themselves will be thankful for the Nov. 27 release of “The O.C.: The Complete Series Collection" (Warner, $179.98). They can pore over every romantic fling, hissy fit and jail sentence, since the discs come in an illustrated book.
Finally, on Dec. 11, Kelsey Grammer fans will rejoice in “Frasier: Complete Series" (Paramount, $343.99), 44 discs worth of frothy lattes and witty banter.
These are hardly the only “completes" out this season. There's also: “Full House" (Warner, $169.68) and “The King of Queens" (Sony, $232.95), out Tuesday; “The Gilmore Girls" (Warner, $258.82) on Nov. 13; and “Queer as Folk" (Paramount, $249.99) and “Dr. Katz Professional Therapist" (Paramount, $139.99) on Nov. 20.
Yellowbird, Bear dominate at Aboriginal Peoples Choice awards
Fast-rising Alberta country singer Shane Yellowbird tied with British Columbia singer-songwriter Cheryl Bear to win the most trophies at the second annual Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards in Winnipeg.
A Cree from Hobbema, Alta., Yellowbird captured best country CD for Life is Calling My Name, best music video for Pickup Truck and aboriginal entertainer of the year during the ceremony at the MTS Centre on Friday night.
Bear, who is from the Nadleh Whut'en First Nation in B.C.'s Central Interior, captured best songwriter, single (Hey Cuzzin'!) and best new artist. Bear did not attend the ceremony.
Yellowbird had also nabbed the most awards, three, at the inaugural gala in 2006. It has been a stellar year for the singer, who had five nominations for the 2007 Canadian Country Music Association Awards. He got the rising star trophy.
Yellowbird thanked family and fans and brought his band onstage.
"These are the guys who put up with me for the last two years, putting up with all my pranks and all my jokes: they stood by me," he told the crowd of 5,000 screaming fans.
The awards, with 20 categories, are sponsored by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and winners are chosen through online voting. Both Canadian and American acts are eligible to be nominated.
Other winners include the group Indigenous, whose Chasing the Sun won for best blues album.
"We're from South Dakota so it's great to see this here," said Indigenous front man Mato Manji. "I want to thank my family, my wife and my kids, for putting up with me for so long."
Other award winners include:
Best Aboriginal Music by a Non-aboriginal: Home and Native Land, Little Hawk.
Best Album Cover Design: One More, The Boyz.
Best Fiddle CD: Backroads Fiddlin, Darren Lavallee.
Best Folk CD: Dance With The Wind, Mary Youngblood.
Best Gospel CD: On My Way To Heaven, Yvonne St. Germain.
Best Group: Red Nation, Now or Never.
Best Hand Drum CD: Ami Nicimos, Red Bull.
Best Inuit Traditional CD: Drums of the North, Pamyua.
Best Instrumental CD: Sacred Healing, David R. Maracle.
Best Hip Hop CD: The Answer, Seventh Generation.
Best Pow Wow CD, Contemporary: One More, The Boyz.
Best Pow Wow CD, Traditional: Generations, High Noon.
Best Producer: REZalationzzz…,Kray Z Kree.
Best Rock CD: The Dirty Looks, Derek Miller.
Hollywood set for last-ditch labor talks
LOS ANGELES - A federal mediator was scheduled to meet with Hollywood writers and studio representatives at an undisclosed neutral location Sunday in a last-ditch effort to prevent a strike.
Both sides agreed to the meeting a day before writers say they will picket studios and movie locations. The writers' contract expired Oct. 31.
The writers want more money from the sale of DVDs and a share of revenue generated by the sale of TV shows and films over the Internet. The studios say the demands are unreasonable and would hamper attempts to experiment with new media.
The last time writers went on strike was in 1988. The walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry about $500 million.
Writers Guild of America board members voted unanimously Friday to begin the strike at 12:01 a.m. Monday unless studios offered a more lucrative deal. The two sides have been meeting since July.
"The studios made it clear that they would rather shut down this town than reach a fair and reasonable deal," Patric Verrone, president of the western chapter of the guild, said at a news conference.
The union said it would stage its first pickets in New York and Los Angeles.
J. Nicholas Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, called the writers' strike "precipitous and irresponsible" in a prepared statement.
Producers believe progress can be made on other issues but "it makes absolutely no sense to increase the burden of this additional compensation" involving DVDs and the Internet, he said.
The first casualty of the strike would be late-night talk shows, which are dependent on current events to fuel monologues and other entertainment.
"The Tonight Show" on NBC will go into reruns starting Monday if last-ditch negotiations fail and a strike begins, according to a network official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person lacked authorization to comment publicly.
Comedy Central has said "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" would likely go into repeats as well.
Daytime TV, including live talk shows such as "The View" and soap operas, which typically tape about a week's worth of shows in advance, would be next to feel the impact.
The strike would not immediately affect production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
Talks between writers and producers will likely affect upcoming negotiations between the studios and unions representing actors and directors.
All those unions believe revenue from content offered on the Internet, cell phones and other platforms will grow tremendously in the years ahead, even though it's now minuscule compared to DVD sales.
Consumers are expected to spend $16.4 billion on DVDs this year, according to Adams Media Research. By contrast, studios could generate about $158 million from selling movies online and about $194 million from selling TV shows over the Web.
Studios argue that it is too early to know how much money they can make from offering entertainment on the Internet, cell phones, iPods and other devices.
Producers are also uncertain whether consumers prefer a pay-per-view model over an advertising-supported system. They want the economic flexibility to experiment as consumer habits change in reaction to technology.
Heroin pusher, honey bee lift box office
LOS ANGELES - A heroin pusher and a honey bee put some sting back into the movie business. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe's bloody crime saga "American Gangster" took in $46.3 million to lead the weekend box office, with Jerry Seinfeld's family cartoon "Bee Movie" following with $39.1 million. Together, the movies revitalized Hollywood's listless autumn.
"It took three of the biggest stars in the world to get the box office back on track, and they did it in high style with two totally different kinds of movies," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "You had an R-rated movie and a PG-rated movie bringing in a really diverse audience."
After six-straight weekends of declining revenues, overall business rose, with the top-12 movies taking in $127.2 million, up 12 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" was No. 1 with $26.5 million.
Universal's "American Gangster," directed by Ridley Scott and starring Washington as 1970s Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas and Crowe as a Jersey cop on his trail, rode a wave of acclaim and Academy Awards buzz to debut at the top of the box office.
Audiences had been relatively disinterested this fall in serious R-rated films aimed at adults. Many of those earlier movies were box-office underachievers despite critical praise, but "American Gangster" landed with both good reviews and packed theaters.
Washington is known for heroic roles, yet as he did with his Oscar-winning turn as a bad cop in "Training Day," he imbues Lucas with charm and charisma even as the man carries out savage deeds.
"American Gangster" was the biggest opening ever for the film's two stars. Crowe's previous best was $34.8 million for "Gladiator," also directed by Scott, while Washington's was $29 million for "Inside Man."
"These are two great actors telling this true story of Frank Lucas," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal. "You couldn't have picked a better cast."
DreamWorks and Paramount's "Bee Movie" features Seinfeld in his first big project since his TV sit-com went off the air nine years ago. Co-written by Seinfeld, the movie has him providing the voice of a bee who sues humanity for stealing his species' hard-earned commodity — honey.
"Bee Movie" owned the family crowd, and studio executives said they expect the movie to hold up well through the holidays. It does face direct competition this weekend with Friday's debut of the Warner Bros. holiday comedy "Fred Claus," starring Vince Vaughn as Santa's black-sheep brother and Paul Giamatti as St. Nick.
"We look forward to seeing how it plays out, but it really looks like there's some strong playing time ahead for both movies," said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks.
The weekend's other new wide release — New Line Cinema's "Martian Child," starring John Cusack as a widower adopting a troubled boy who thinks he's from Mars — opened weakly with $3.65 million, finishing at No. 7.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "American Gangster," $46.3 million.
2. "Bee Movie," $39.1 million.
3. "Saw IV," $11 million.
4. "Dan in Real Life," $8.1 million.
5. "30 Days of Night," $4 million.
6. "The Game Plan," $3.85 million.
7. "Martian Child," $3.65 million.
8. "Michael Clayton," $2.9 million.
9. "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?", $2.7 million.
10. "Gone Baby Gone," $2.4 million.